29507 Tue May 25 19:17:42 -0700 2004 16 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 125115 While visiting San Francisco last week my wife and I stopped by One Market for lunch. We have been fans of Bradley Ogden since he was at Campton Place. I did not have a reservation, the restaurant was very busy, the friendly women at the door directed us to the bar area. So far, so good. After seating ourselves we were approached by a server He never said hello or asked how we were doing, he just wanted our order. We ordered lunch, two salads, and two glasses of wine. His only comment was, "what are you having for lunch." We took our time to explain that what we ordered, the two salads, and two glasses of wine, at which point he said, "that's it" and walked off in a huff. Needless to say the service and the servers dismal attitude went down hill from there. We had to ask three times for water and bread before it was served. Our second round of wine by the glass was delayed five minutes while the bartender stood and watched a soccer match on the television. The salads were great, so was the Ahi and Crepe starter. But you get great food all over the bay area. Tue May 25 19:17:42 -0700 2004 0 CBurns 1 125150 So why isn't this thread titled "One Market - Great Food, Terrible Service"? As to "but you get great food all over the Bay Area" and its implication that you can get good food everywhere, do you really believe this? Don't you suppose that it is much easier to get a new waiter than to get a new chef? Finally, shouldn't this be in "Not About Food"? There is only one singularly-uninformative sentence about food here. Sorry to pick on this post, but frankly I am tired of seeing people using Chowhound to gripe about service. Use Citysearch to gripe about service. Use Chowhound to talk about chow. Wed May 26 00:34:09 -0700 2004 125115 0 Paul H 2 125155 so, if it belongs on not about food: why didn't you post your answer there? but in anycase I don't agree: sure, it's all about the food, but the food comes in a context: price, service, ambiance. If one of those is way out of line, the food just won't taste as good, and thus it is worth discussing with the other chowhounds. Wed May 26 01:02:14 -0700 2004 125150 0 susancinsf 2 125180 Then don't read the post. Heck, the OP did you a favor with the subject line. As a culinary rubbernecker, I happen to enjoy bad service posts if just for entertainment. But I do think they are useful, especially when one post kicks off further reports with either supporting or contrasting stories: sometimes a pretty consistent pattern emerges that helps me decide where, or where not, to spend my limited time and money. So, anyone else have recent comments on One Market? -Nick Wed May 26 12:26:42 -0700 2004 125150 0 nja 3 125193 I agree -- the service one receives at a restaurant is an integral and inseparable part of the overall dining experience, and is likely to influence one's decision to either repeat the experience or avoid that restaurant in the future. To separate service from quality of food is not assigning the overall dining experience the respect it deserves. As for a recent experience at One Market: I had lunch with 2 colleagues and a client two months ago at One Market, and must say the service was less than stellar. It seemed to take 15-20 minutes just to have bread/butter brought to the table. Next, the entrees were also slow to arrive. They were OK, but overly salty and quite unmemorable. I think the flavored teas were the best thing about the meal. Nevertheless, one of us needed some salt to sprinkle on his steak, but the devices for grinding salt/pepper were stuck. When we asked the waiter for help, he simply said that was all they had, turned and walked away and made no attempt to either unstick the jammed device or provide us with another. If necessary, he should have run next door to purchase some salt/pepper or else borrow some from a nearby establishment -- but to not even try to remedy this situation was inexcusable. The overall experience was downhill from that point on, as the bill also took an inordinate amount of time to arrive. I actually had to get up and walk over to the PC/Cash register area and present my credit card so we could get back to the office on time, and still ended up waiting another awkward 10 minutes after that. The waiter then said he would offer to give us an extra dessert (1 -- even though there were 4 of us in our party) to make up for the wait, but we were so disgusted by then that we decided to just leave and cut our losses. We will not be back in the future, and only ended up there because Tadich Grill (our usual place to take clients) was too crowded that particular afternoon and Sam's Grill was closed for remodeling. Sam's, to our relief, has merely received some fresh paint and still possesses the same wonderful ambiance it always has. Whew! Wed May 26 13:29:26 -0700 2004 125180 0 wedgeheadjunkie 4 125201 One Market seems to have fluctuating service issues. About 2 years ago, I posted about some really awful service my colleagues and I received during their Dine About Town promotion. Larry Bouchard, the General Mgr, posted on this board to set some things right. I have since been BACK to One Market (for lunch and dinner) and had rather exemplary service. It appears that perhaps there is a wave of new hires there who haven't picked up on the sensibilities of fine dining. Wed May 26 14:16:31 -0700 2004 125193 0 Fatemeh 2 125189 We all use this board for various purposes. I, for example, come here to research my meals before I go. And then, I come back and post about them - all aspects, INCLUDING service. And frankly, on the rare occassion when abysmal service overshadows the entire meal... well, I post about that, too. And I want to know about it when it happens to others. So, really, if you don't like reading this type of post, avoid them. Pretty simple solution, if you ask me. Wed May 26 13:11:48 -0700 2004 125150 0 Fatemeh 2 125195 First, service is a part any dining experience. Coffee shop or a restaurant like One Market. Second, The terrible, and I mean terrible service and attitude demonstrated by the server and bartender that day overshadowed the food (and it was excellent) 100 to 1. Third, This was our impression when we vacated the restaurant..."terrible service." Last, I'll post whatever I want so get over it... Wed May 26 13:35:20 -0700 2004 125150 0 CBurns 1 125192 I want to hear about rude service, even at lunch. Eating is not just about food, and service is certainly part of the package, especially if you are paying top dollar. I can forgive lousy service if the place is cheap/has character and good chow, but a nice restaurant has to deliver the whole package. That being said, one bad service review is not going to keep me out of a place. Wed May 26 13:21:13 -0700 2004 125115 0 sensi63 1 3304884 Hmmm, more than 3.5 years down, and things didn't seem to have changed one iota. Like CBurns, I didn't have a resevration, and (this sounds like deja vu) a friendly woman at the door directed me to the bar area. Good Gawd, I think one has to dunk oneself in fuel & set oneself on fire to attract any of the waiters/waitresses/servers' attention. Took 20 minutes to get my order in. Took nearly 30 minutes to get my entree after I finished my soup. I gave up on dessert - was in there for more than 2 hours, much of it spent waiting & waiting for some service. Didn't get any bread or water, too, by the way. One Market is very busy, but I don't think it's any excuse. I was at Boulevard round the corner a couple of nights earlier. It was just as busy, but service was very prompt & efficient. Oh, but the food at One Market was good, and I do mean really, really good - the Portobello mushroom soup was divine, and the seabream entree was absolutely spectacular. My waitress was very friendly - if & when you can get her attention. Oh well, some things never changed. Thu Jan 17 09:38:15 -0800 2008 125115 143097 klyeoh 2 3304945 Last time I was at the bar there it was so packed with happy hour folks that I can't imagine trying to eat dinner in the bar area. When I have eaten in the restaurant though, service has been very good. When were you there? I was hoping to hear some reports on what the DAT menu offerings are.... Thu Jan 17 09:48:21 -0800 2008 3304884 10158 susancinsf 3 3305424 I was there last night - turned up at the door after I failed to get reservations in the dining room despite calling 3 days ahead & checking daily. Perhaps, like Morton the Mousse said, service in the dining room is different from that in the bar area. But waving like a drowning swimmer for 20 minutes & still getting little or no attention is a bit trying for me. Mind you, I was also seated at the bar in Boulevard 2 nights earlier, but the service there appeared to be much more polished. Thu Jan 17 11:23:46 -0800 2008 3304945 143097 klyeoh 4 3306360 We're headed here for a DAT group lunch next week. I'll be sure to report back on the food and the service. Thanks for the heads up. Thu Jan 17 16:15:38 -0800 2008 3305424 49974 osho 2 3304979 I had great service at One Market a couple of months ago. It was just fantastic - like a well-oiled machine. The server was very aware of our table, kept our glasses full, predicted our needs, etc. Wait between courses was comfortable, food came out piping hot. I felt very well taken care of. However, we had a reservation and were seated in the dining room. Sounds like the dining room and the bar are night and day in terms of service. Anyone interested in exploring their DAT menu should probably make a reservation. The food was excellent. Not the sort of price range I would normally consider, but with the in-laws paying I was one happy hound. Thu Jan 17 09:55:40 -0800 2008 3304884 10793 Morton the Mousse 2 3305307 I had terrible service there about a year ago for a weekday lunch. The waiter was, well, there was definitely something mentally wrong. He was even a bit disheveled. We had to remind/plead/beg for things he kept forgetting. At the end of the meal, I paid with a card, signed my bill/added tip, and placed the check back in the jacket. Imagine my surprise when my friend and I left the restaurant to have this waiter chase us down the street, accusing us of not paying our bill. He hadn't even opened the jacket to look!! An entertaining story down the road, but very annoying at the time. Thu Jan 17 10:59:51 -0800 2008 3304884 10658 Atomica 3 3306040 That is odd enough that I would have said something to a manager.... Thu Jan 17 13:46:18 -0800 2008 3305307 10158 susancinsf 3 3307112 When I was a waitress, the managers always started the inexperienced people in the lunch, Sunday and Monday evening shifts. If less than stellar service bothers you, you may want to dine on Friday and Saturday evenings, which are usually reserved for more qualified and experienced servers (unless of course, they're related to the manager). Thu Jan 17 21:09:50 -0800 2008 3305307 16853 yehfromthebay