A Few Lessons for Grace Restaurant in Toronto

It’s rare that I have to rant about the crap service I received at an expensive - takes it self-serious - restaurant (in fact this is the first) but I have to rant....A few months ago during the midst of renovations, my beloved and I decided to hit the town and have a nice meal. We stumbled across "Grace" located at 503 College St, Toronto http://gracerestaurant.ca/

I recall reading a number of wonderful reviews a long while ago about this place and recall Toronto Life rating a must eat at place at some point in history!

see the 2008 article - http://www.torontolife.com/features/grace/
see teh 2005 article - http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/05/05/restaurant-review-grace/

My hopes were high, but was I disappointed or what!!!!!!!  Bottom-line, the service was abominable. The worst! It was so bad I must write them a letter to express my sheer disappointment. One would assume time would heal my disappointment but months later I am still pissed about the experience. I should have know better as the articles that I read were over 5 years old - perhaps if the National Post and Toronto Life returned their reviews would not be so positive.

I'm not going to be petty and get into all the things they did wrong. I believe in moving forward. As such I have compiled a few lessons that small restaurant owners may want to try working on.

Here are a few lessons Grace might want to consider incorporating in their staff training:

1) Lesson 1 - if you restaurant is not busy ie. there are only 5 patrons in the place, don’t seat anyone at the back of the restaurant next to the kitchen. This will piss off your patrons.

2) Lesson 2 - servers, don’t offer suggestions about your menu and then, after selling your patron on the item, return and ask them to select something else as it is sold out. Why not check with the kitchen before suggesting.

3) Lesson 3 - Avoid  having your servers stand around and chitter - chat away, by the kitchen, about where they are going after their shift ends, next to the patrons you seated beside the kitchen. Not only does it suck to sit by the kitchen because it is poorly lit, drafty, and uncomfortable (not to mention the staff keep walking by you with trays and food) - but noone is interested in hearing about the servers late night plans, especially when they are paying $27.00 for a tiny little piece of duck.

It should be stressed that there are hundreds of fantastic restaurants in the City of Toronto. One bad experience – or in Grace’s case, 3 bad experiences – will result in me never returning to your restaurant or recommending it and most of all, me telling everyone I know how disappointing the experience was.