May I Speak With Your Manager?

Before I get into this, I must say I really, really wanted to hate Del Friscos: a large, pricey and popular, chain restaurant with standard steakhouse food and “suggestively” clad young women as servers. I even visited multiple times just in case I was wrong about the good experience I had the time before. But, after about six different visits (including two birthday celebrations and one large party) over the span of about four months, Del Friscos has now become one of my favorite restaurants in Philadelphia.

Here are Del Friscos’ Sparks and Fizzles!

SPARKS:

•       very courteous and professional staff when making reservation and checking in.
•       free coat check.
•       short wait time for the table.
•       accommodated my large party of 16 without the dreaded F&B minimum or set menu (frown face to all Steven Starr Restaurants; another post on this at another time).
•       we were greeted in less than a minute of being sat at our table, during every visit.
•       drink and food orders were taken in a timely manner and suggestions made; I could tell the servers listened to preferences.
•       drink levels never reached the bottom of the glass; many servers very attentive to the table.
•       served the shared side dishes to each diner.
•       sent over a delicious birthday cake for the birthday boy
•       the assistant general manager, Drew Carballo, came over to greet us; he even made a few funny jokes!
•       sent a handwritten “thank you for dining with us” card, which pretty much solidified the chances I would visit again (the very first time this has happened to me J).

FIZZLES:

•       one particular time, the server we had verbally expressed frustration to me because the guys went down to the bar to get a shot instead of it being placed on our table tab (I’m sure he was thinking about the size of his tip); he should have kept that to himself.
•       the valet parking is not specific to the restaurant so you have to walk around the corner (in the cold or heat) to get your car. I can’t be cute in my heels shivering out in the cold!
•       I still don’t understand why the female servers are dressed in tight, black mini-dresses with fishnet looking stockings. Maybe its to bring down the stuffiness level of the restaurant or maybe the owners want men think they’re in an upscale Hooters?! The first time I dined here, I wondered if there was a “champagne room” downstairs…lol!

RECOMMENDATIONS

•       specify that “valet parking” is actually on another street from the entrance.
•       adding an palette cleanser between apps and the entree would add a special flare or perhaps doing a “chef sample” for special occasions.
•       if the party is celebrating a birthday, suggest celebratory shots while taking the drink orders if the servers are going to complain about diners going down to the bar.
•       reconsider more conservative attire for the women.

I know this is a service blog but it is worth noting that everyone loved their food, each time, and it was perfect and piping hot regardless of the party size (extra SPARK)! Yum!

Until next time, Del Friscos!