Restaurants have been criticized for their’shambolic service’ on Christmas Day. One father told how his son walked out of the restaurant after waiting 45 minutes and an hour to get food.
Paul Millar, 53, from Whitefield, paid £276 for a set Christmas Day menu for his family-of-four at Don Giovanni in Manchester.
Paul posted on Facebook about the incident after it was over.
Other disappointed customers shared their feedback on Trip Advisor, with one saying they were only given two of the three desserts they had ordered and both had been ‘inedible’.
The restaurant responded by saying that Mr Millar’s accusations were false and incorrect and that many of its customers had left happy.
Manchester diners have criticised Don Giovani for its Christmas Day service. One father recounted how he left after having to wait 45 minutes and an hour for his food.
Paul posted on Facebook and advised others not to go to the restaurant, while also accusing management not of caring about customers.
The disappointment of his diner was felt by many others who complained to Trip Advisor or Don Giovani pages.
Mr Millar (53), visited the restaurant along with Jayne, his wife, and their children Louise (21) and Charlie (18).
He described his experience to Manchester Evening News as a flurry of chaos. “That is the best way that I can describe it.
“We ought to have known from the beginning that there was a long queue outside the front door, and the desk was full of people complaining.
“When we got to the front, they said our table would be available in 10 minutes. They also suggested that we have a drink at the bar. The bar was packed – the place looked like Old Trafford’s concourse. We decided to wait outside the entrance.
I was at 4.30pm when I asked them for a table. They told me it took 10 minutes. At 4.40 I called back to confirm.
“Everytime we requested to be served, it took a minimum of 10 minutes. But, it never arrived at 10,’
Since Christmas Day, a series of unfavorable TripAdvisor reviews and Facebook posts have appeared. Many claim they were subject to long waiting times for service.
The family was still not served their pre-ordered food at 5.20pm so they decided to leave.
Paul says that other families were also at the restaurant when his family was there.
Other diners were also disappointed and took to Trip Advisor and Facebook to vent their dismay.
One critique wrote, “The only salvation for the chaos of Christmas Dinner here was that some of our staff did a great, professional job, as everything fell around them with no precautions whatsoever.”
We were seated an hour early, but it was quite a wait, relative to other times. Our portions seemed to have been rationed, so it was obvious that the restaurant was running out of food.
“We were served two of the three deserts, one of which was incorrect and neither were edible. We had to inquire twice about the third, but were told they were out. Then we weren’t offered another option until we requested it. To make matters worse, we received a bill detailing the cost of service.
Paul claimed that he was forced to wait for 40 minutes at a table for his family, despite being booked and waiting almost an hour for service. Pictured, inside Don Giovani restaurant
One said, “It was an absolute disgrace!” Do not think that the manager raised his head even once to make eye-contact with anybody. His head is as buried as a young girl running away from her feet. There is no way anyone can apologize here. Also to add to the drama we got to spend £50 in useless taxi journeys.’
Another: It’s shocking! Christmas Day was ruined. Told table to arrive at 3:35pm. The waitlist will inform you that the table is ready in a matter of minutes. Take a place at the bar. It was amazing. It was all done without masks or covid regulations.
“Waited 1 hour for sat. No apology. We waited another 20 minutes, and no prosecco was available upon our arrival. The waitress/waiter did not stop at the table to take orders or serve drinks. The chair was right next to a bar pillar so you could not even place your coat on it.
‘After a further 10mins, we went to get a full refund, as we had nothing and they wanted the full £69.95 each upfront! ‘
According to a spokesperson, the restaurant confirmed that all allegations were made in error and are false. Many tables were late to the party, with many more than expected. We tried our best to accommodate everyone as much as possible because it was special.
“Those conditions were related to the customers, not to the restaurant. This naturally had some knock on effects to the service. It was an amazing day overall, with many happy customers.