Club Chasse et Peche - Very Disappointing Evening
After reading so many rave reviews, we finally made it down to CCetP last night. The meal started out promising when we asked our server to suggest a bottle between $80 and $100 to accompany our meal, and he returned with a lovely Syrah at $84. On the recommendation of our server, we ordered the seared scallops and the risotto to begin--both were very good. Scallops were cooked perfectly, the risotto was very tasty and quite different than any we have tried elsewhere. We could have stopped there and gone home very happy, and had we known what was coming, we would have. Our mains were the duck and the fish selection of the day which was Alaskan cod, and we ordered another plate of risotto for our 5 year old. The magret was just ok (when I asked my daughter she said that it was good, but not as good as what dad makes). It was a little overcooked for me, the sauce was fine but nothing special. The "mash" that accompanied it was fine (a mix of potato, duck confit, a few sprouts) but this was a side that was strikingly similar to something we tried at l'Eau a la Bouche 3 years ago. The cod was overcooked and was accompanied by peas that were undercooked. My husband found a strand of hair in the fish. When our server dropped by to check on our meal, and my husband told him that the fish was overcooked, he had no real response, simply "ah, vous trouvez?". He filled our wine glasses, and that was the last we saw of him--from then on, our water glasses were filled and our dishes taken away by busboys, but no more server. My husband ordered a dessert that was a kind of variation on strawberry shortcake--I didn't try it.
After so many amazing reviews on this board and elsewhere, I was really disappointed with our meal, particularly the service which seemed to come to a crashing halt immediately after my husband criticized his fish. We take our kid with us to most restaurants, and we don't expect anyone to fawn over her, but we do expect servers to at least address her at the table (ask her if she wants more water, ask her how her meal is)--no one did. There weren't any other kids in the resto, so maybe they just aren't used to serving children. The total was $300 with tax and tip, which we thought was overpriced given the quality of the food and service. Oh, and because I wanted to pay by debit card, the server (who had finally reappeared to give me the bill) accompanied me to the computer, where I had to tell him how much to add for his tip---this seems a little tacky for a restaurant of this caliber. With so many other restaurants to try, we won't be back in a hurry.
foodismyfriend
Jul 12, 2008 05:40AM
Unless you intended to pay the server his tip in cash he would absolutely have to ask you how much to add on. That is how interac works, the merchant must enter the amount of the transaction and you the client must approve the amount. There is nothing tacky about it. Next time you pay with interac at a restaurant simply tell the server to add a tip of $X to the total as you hand him/her your card so that he/she does not have to ask.
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Hmmm, I have been in restaurants where the hand-held thingy asks me how much tip I want to enter, then asks me if the total is correct. This seems somehow a little more discreet, no? Especially considering we were not too thrilled with the service, I felt uncomfortable with the other procedure.
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I've never seen that with Interac. And even if the possibility exists, it's certainly not common in Montreal restaurants. I either tell the waiter how much to put on or I make sure I have enough cash on me to cover the tip.
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Maybe merchants have the choice of activating this option? At any rate, I guess it probably would not have bothered me so much if I was not so disappointed with the service.
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I've seen it in both situations: debit and credit. I also feel weird being asked by my server how much i'm going to tip, before they put in the amount. I usually avoid the situation by bringing enough cash for the tip.
Also, I'm no computer engineer, but I reckon it could be pretty easy to get those terminals to offer the tipping option by just updating their software.
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«I reckon it could be pretty easy to get those terminals to offer the tipping option by just updating their software»
Oh, I agree. But the whole electronic cash (i.e. privatized monetary) system is in its infancy and there are still plenty of kinks to be worked out. Also -- and I admit I'm talking through my hat here -- what the terminals can and cannot do may be determined by the financial institution that provides them, not the merchant. Or the added function may involve an extra fee that merchants are loathe to pay. Or interfacing the function with the merchant's accounting or bill-tabulating software and government tip-reporting requirements may be a nightmare. And anyway, even if you enter the amount yourself, isn't the waitron going to know how much you've tipped as soon as s/he hands you the receipt?
The best solution, obviously, is to bring cash for the tip.
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Talking through your hat or not, you're almost bang on. There are a multitude of different programs for restaurant till/ordering/booking systems which have to be interfaced with a few choices of credit/debit devices - leaving the restaurateur with a number of options for how to process and keep track of payments. It mostly depends on the brand of credit or debit device, or the bank branding that processes the payments -- which is often why restaurants are confined to the technology that their bank uses.
Also, it seems to me that credit is the most sensible option for dining out, and with a number of restaurants refusing to even accept debit, why carry $300, have to punch in a PIN or have to run to a nearby bank when you can just have a card?
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I've seen it at Bella Pizza on Papineau facing Laurier of all places so yes, it does exist and that's the way it should be in top restaurants. Some places (L'Avenue comes to mind) even do that trick of asking for the total amount when processing your credit card instead of having you write the tip's amount on their copy as it should be.
I'm absolutely with foodismyfriend on this issue.
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I've seen both instances in many places. Since I usually leave a cash tip, when I use the Debbie thingy & it asks for tip amount, I'll just blurt out to whoever's within earshot that I left cash tip on the table so there's no misinterpretation or confusion (or swearing at me). I was once told by a server that it's preferable to leave cash --- anyone have any thoughts on that?
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Waiters prefer cash because there's no paper or electronic trail.
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Actually, there is a setting that lets the customer enter the tip him/herself on a separate screen after you say OK to the pre-tip total. I've done that many times before, and I find it less awkward than having to verbally tell the server the tip. Some restos don't seem to have that setting, though.
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It's bad that they don't acknowledge a complaint, it happens so they should do something to make you happy. I personally think it has to do with the management/chef, the staff follows what they are told to do. Not impressive at all. I was there once and loved it. I hope they are not getting complacent, a reputation is meant to be maintained to a standard of exellence at those prices.
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I think you and I had the same waiter. My evening at Club Chasse et Peche was exceptionally disappointing, particularly because of the service. Our server couldn't bear to bring himself to ask us if we wanted refills on our drinks or water and gave a very visible grimace when we decided to skip a cheese course and just have dessert. (Clearly, we committed some unpardonable sin.)
While we enjoyed most of the food, the dismal service pushed it off our list when we are visiting Montreal again this fall for our honeymoon.
I really wanted to like CCeP, but it really was the most disappointing meal of our trip.
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No cheese? How dare you?! Maybe it was the same guy.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that after we had ordered, our server returned to the table to tell us that he would be bringing us a platter of vegetables, he couldn't say what they were because it was the chef's choice. It turned out to be a small plate with a few different sides of vegetables, including a tiny salad, caulifllower puree, and something else. When I got home, I found the $8 platter was added to my bill?!? The more I think about the evening, the more I am sure we won't be repeat customers.
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