AC
Alesha Carmon
Jun 14, 2026
My husband and I visited San Jose tonight with my best friend and her husband. The food and drinks were absolutely amazing and were definitely the highlight of our visit. Unfortunately, the service did not match the quality of the food.
When our server first came to the table, my husband and best friend were ready to order, but my friend's husband and I needed a few more minutes. The server told us she would take their orders and come back for ours so that all of the food could be brought out together. Unfortunately, she never returned to take the remaining orders. Instead, my husband’s and best friend’s meals came out while the other two of us had never even ordered.
The staff seemed confused, and we spent several minutes trying to locate our server. When she finally returned about 10 minutes later, we explained that our orders had never been taken. Her response was, “Well, you said you weren’t ready to order.” While that was true initially, she had told us she would come back, which never happened.
After she finally took our orders, our food eventually arrived, but we rarely saw her for the remainder of the meal. We had to ask other servers for condiments, napkins, and assistance because she was unavailable. The overall attitude and lack of attentiveness were disappointing.
I also want to address the automatic 20% gratuity. I understand and respect tipping, and I almost always leave a tip regardless of the service. However, I find it unfair to automatically charge a 20% gratuity when the service provided was poor. In our case, the gratuity totaled approximately $36. For a server who was largely absent, failed to complete our order, never checked on our table, and required us to seek assistance from other staff members, that amount felt undeserved.
What concerns me most is that automatic gratuity can sometimes remove the incentive for servers to provide quality customer service. When a tip is guaranteed regardless of the experience, some servers may not feel accountable for how they treat their customers. I'm not saying that is true of every server, but based on our experience tonight, it certainly felt that way.
We noticed the sign regarding the credit card fee when we entered, but there was no mention of the automatic gratuity. When we asked about it, our server explained that a new manager had implemented the policy just three days ago. If that's the case, customers should be clearly informed before ordering, either verbally or through posted signage, so there are no surprises when the bill arrives.
The food and drinks were excellent and are the reason I would consider returning. However, great food can only go so far when the service experience leaves customers feeling ignored, frustrated, and then automatically charged a substantial gratuity for service that did not meet basic expectations. I hope management addresses both the communication regarding gratuity and the level of customer service, because this restaurant has a lot of potential.