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Fancy Restaurant Bouley Royally Screws Up Engagement, Says Yelper
By
Garth Johnston
Published May 4, 2012
Modified May 4, 2012
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By
Garth Johnston
Published May 4, 2012
Modified May 4, 2012
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Celeb chef David Bouley's flagship restaurant Bouley is undoubtedly one of the finer restaurants in the city. But if a recent Yelp posting sent in by a reader is to be believed, it might not be the ideal place to pop the question.
Let's just jump to the awkward heart of the matter:
When I made my reservation they asked "Is this a special occasion?" I reflexively answered "Um...well yes actually...I'll be proposing, but not in the restaurant" I wasn't planning on saying anything, but i was asked, and hey, if it gets us a nicer table or some special treatment all the better. Well, I couldn't notice any special treatment during the meal...until desert. The waitress brought us out a creme brulee with the word "Congratulations!" written on the top...which would have been nice...except for the fact that I HADN'T PROPOSED YET!!!.
Really?!? I mean, isn't that one of those things you make absolutely sure of before doing?!?! Act like you've been there before, all the waitress had to do was look on my girlfriend's finger to see there was no ring there yet!!! UNBELIEVABLE. Totally amateur hour, and very disappointing for such a high end place.
I don't know whose fault it was (the person who took down my reservation, the maitre d' that night, the waitress) - but any one of them could have used some basic hospitality 101 skills to recognize the delicacy of the situation and the importance of getting it correct. I told the maitre d' what happened and he said the pastry chef had a note that this was an engagement dinner. WHAT?!?! Who cares!?!? I obviously didn't pass him a note. I'm just telling you that someone screwed up MASSIVELY. You telling me the specifics of how you dropped the ball doesn't help my now completely ruined once-in-a-lifetime night. I'm not looking for a free meal guy (the bill was not reduced at all BTW), just a sincere apology and possibly someone else to share the look of complete shock and embarrassment I just had at the table. Grade: F.
BOTTOM LINE: If you want one of the tastiest meals in your life, come to Bouley. If you are looking for a first class dining "experience" (service, ambiance, etc), you may want to look elsewhere. And if you are planning on having a surprise party for your wife there, expect to be greeted at the door with "Welcome to Bouley, all your guests are hiding in the back waiting to jump out and surprise you when you walk into the dining room...right this way please"
Yup, they screwed up the guy's proposal AND didn't comp him for the trouble. Tacky, tacky. We've put in a call to the restaurant for comment on the veracity of this incident (it is worth noting the Yelp story comes from a one-time poster) and will update when/if we hear from them.
Tagged
bouley
engagement
whoops
yelp
Garth Johnston
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