Reviewed By: Kraken
Average Score: 4.0
Restaurant
Perth
East Perth
9325 4900
Service: 1
Atmosphere: 3
F
or the upcoming occasion of my thirtieth birthday, I had thought to invite sixteen guests for a degustation dinner at Amuse.
I left an email message from the Amuse website, requesting a booking, and was called back the next day by Carolynne, the manager, and wife of the chef Hadleigh, who confirmed that they would be able to seat seventeen people
It was at this point that, in consideration of the not-insubstantial cost I faced of paying for dinner for seventeen people, I asked the question: “For a booking of this size, would you be able to do a group price”.
This rather innocuous question, which, for such a booking, I would have no hesitation in at least mentioning while booking for any restaurant, was to unleash a thirty second diatribe, which, without any exaggeration in the recounting, began with a fairly mild “Our profit margins are fairly slim as it is”, then progressed to a “We pride ourselves on the high quality of our food and service; you know how good we are”. The tirade then included the implication that, perhaps, I could not afford to dine at their restaurant, with the line “If this is out of your price range, maybe you should be looking at other restaurants that do discounts”. In conclusion, Carolynne delivered the coup de grace: after a slight pause, the words “Actually, I find it insulting that you’re even asking for a discount. I am now cancelling your reservation”.
Then, she HUNG UP ON ME.
The breathtaking arrogance of it all, unexpected as it was insulting, left me literally speechless, in complete disbelief over what had just occurred.
Let me clarify also in saying that, while this diatribe was being delivered, I agreed to each and every statement that was being made, and, bar the initial sentence inquiring into the possibility of a group price, at no stage did I again press that point, or in fact, even mention it. After quite quickly realising that the price was most definitely non-negotiable, I was waiting for an opportunity to proceed with the booking.
Not only was Carolynne rude and arrogant in the extreme, but after all that, I was not even allowed to make a booking.
In case one was wondering, no apology eventuated; in fact, calling back to register my shock and bewilderment at the preceding conversation/monologue, I was answered by Chef and owner Hadleigh Troy, who did not find anything wrong with his wife’s statements, and in no way offered any kind of apology, or showed anything vaguely resembling embarrassment, at the way I had been treated.
Needless to say, I am less than Amused. My previous dining experiences at Michelin-starred restaurants has demonstrated that fine dining and arrogance more than verging on the insulting can, in fact, be mutually exclusive, despite what the proprietors of Amuse seem to think.
Submit Your Reaction
Reactions (13)
| I have been here and I agree - 2 | |
| |
| I have been here and I disagree - 2 | |
| |
| I will definitely try this place now - 1 | |
| |
| This review hasn't altered my view - 1 | |
| |
| I probably won't try this place now - 3 | |
| |
| I will definitely steer clear of this place - 4 | |
|
Comments - ( Click Here to join up, so you can post a comment! ) | ||
Date: 3:39 pm 2nd Mar 2009 | Name: Tony | Host: 203-59-53-82.dyn.iinet.net.au |
This is really quite bad. | ||
Date: 6:38 pm 2nd Mar 2009 | Name: chimera | Host: 124-169-184-20.dyn.iinet.net.au |
The nature of the conversation as you described sounds very blatant and rude.. | ||
Date: 4:15 pm 3rd Mar 2009 | Name: absolutlea | Host: 124-169-120-169.dyn.iinet.net.au |
Well as we have seen before many restaurant owners do seem to 'lurk' or find out by other means of bad/not positive reviews on these sites, lets see if they feel like replying I am not doubting the posters comments but I would be interested in the restaurant owners side of the story..... (oh and in case anyone is wondering I dont own/work in a restaurant I work for the govt) | ||
Date: 4:58 pm 3rd Mar 2009 | Name: chimera | Host: 124-169-184-20.dyn.iinet.net.au |
I brought this up with one of my friends, who happens to be a chef.. He gave me his thoughts, which I found to be surprisingly logical.. | ||
Date: 7:49 am 5th Mar 2009 | Name: Tony | Host: 203-59-53-82.dyn.iinet.net.au |
I agree that asking for a discount may be insulting as chimera explained that larger tables are harder to serve. But the fact still remains that she wouldn't take the booking and apparently was quite rude about it. Plenty of times in all our jobs we want to tell the customer to go F themselves, but you just can't do that. | ||
Date: 11:45 am 5th Mar 2009 | Name: chimera | Host: 124-169-184-20.dyn.iinet.net.au |
I guess so.. Seemed as if she took the insult quite seriously.. | ||
Date: 1:38 pm 18th Mar 2009 | Name: bdc | Host: dialup-106.bekkers.com.au |
While I agree that if things occurred as described its disappointing for one of the leading establishments in town... BUT... I'm not sure that it is strictly a review of the restaurant - more a review of the booking process/customer service. | ||
Date: 3:05 pm 18th Mar 2009 | Name: Tony | Host: mail.freshfield.com.au |
There have been a few 'reviews' like this. I guess they would be more suited to the discussion forum. But not everyone can navigate this site like the regulars, and I don't want to discourage people from contributing. | ||
Date: 9:20 am 15th Apr 2009 | Name: pixie9 | Host: 124-169-180-85.dyn.iinet.net.au |
i am more questioning the linguistic talents of this thirteen year olds review.the grammer reads more than an educated adult.,.......i may be wrong or just a dummy but i dont think a child wrote this.its just too well written. | ||
Date: 9:56 am 15th Apr 2009 | Name: pixie9 | Host: 124-169-180-85.dyn.iinet.net.au |
oops my error i am a dummy!i now see it saids thirtieth not thirteenth..my bad. i apologise. | ||
Date: 3:54 pm 15th Apr 2009 | Name: cross | Host: 210-87-22-146.static.dsl.syd.hotline.net.au |
Im sure Kraken will forgive you! At least there is some form of conversation going on.. I hate these occasional dry patches. | ||
Date: 1:29 am 15th Oct 2009 | Name: mutely | Host: CPE-121-221-184-35.wa.bigpond.net.au |
restaurant amuse serves foie gras it is made from the tortue and force feeding of ducks and geese. this is an extreme form of animal cruelty so that people can eat fatty liver that is what foie gras is. how can an establishment think or portray themselves as respectable when they can serve food that treats animals so inhumanely all to make a dollar. people that say some foie gras is produced humanely have got it wrong, any demand for foie gras will continue in the senseless tortue and violent deaths of these birds, google it and see for yourself. this restaurant has no class and to the person booking their thirtieth arent you glad you didnt go there? no wonder they were rude to you they serve foie gras? that leads to one of the worlds cruelest forms of animal cruelty. and we all know what they say about people that are cruel to animals!!!!! | ||
Date: 11:56 pm 15th Oct 2009 | Name: loki | Host: 124-169-32-249.dyn.iinet.net.au |
yes! And lets all start boycotting chicken, beef & pork too (including egg, milk, cheese, bacon, sausages), so these poor animals don't have to be raised for the sole purpose of feeding us, the most destructive species on this earth. Duh. | ||
Date: 7:11 pm 18th Oct 2009 | Name: Tony | Host: 203-206-113-119.dyn.iinet.net.au |
foie gras is fairly unique, and I don't think it is going away any time soon. You shouldn't have a go at restaurant amuse, you should have at go a people like me who eat there and like it. The restaurant is just giving people what they want. | ||
Date: 8:07 pm 18th Oct 2009 | Name: cross | Host: 120.16.64.226 |
All this talk of foie gras is making me hungry. | ||
Date: 9:08 pm 18th Oct 2009 | Name: chimera | Host: 124-169-242-40.dyn.iinet.net.au |
Me too, god it's been a while since I last had foie gras. | ||
| Other Reviews [5] |
| I was told that the chef had apparently worked with Gordon Ramsay and received a michelin star so my expectations of the food were very high. Restaurant Amuse met all my expectatio...[more] |
| I can't stop coming back to this delightful restaurant! the food and the service are amazing and it is the only place in Perth for a romantic and intimate experience... you won't ...[more] |
| After much consideration, I decided to get a few friends together for a nice dinner at Restaurant Amuse for my recent birthday.. One thing I found interesting when I was making res...[more] |
| Restaurant amuse is on par with the best restaurants in Perth. The service was professional and the food was nothing short of superb. It is in a very unassuming location with absol...[more] |
| Celebrating a special occasion, we decided what better way to celebrate than a return visit to Restaurant Amuse.. 9 course degustation menu with a few bottles of fine wine.. Arr...[more] |