John Dory - clueless or an attitude problem?
I was running errands the other day and as I was passing 29th as I walked down Broadway late afternoon, I suddenly remembered I'd just read a nice review of something around there. I peered around. No signs, but obviously something looked like a restaurant.
I went in. It was John Dory. Rather empty that that hour, of course. The host was on the phone, and I quietly asked for a menu, thinking he would still understand and hand me one, but he didn't, so I patiently waited. When he was done, I asked a menu, and he handed me a lunch menu. I asked for a dinner menu. No, he didn't have one, he said. It was 4:30, and he wouldn't get the menus until 5:00. Irked, I asked if he had yesterday's menu. No, he said, those were gone. Giving up, I asked as I was leaving, why they had no decent signage out front. He didn't know, he said, shrugging it off.
Now, really, what do you think? Is it reasonable to expect customers to pour in if you refuse to give them even a vague idea of the menu? Is it sensible to have a restaurant without good signage? It's not as though it's some place haute and posh. Is this stupidity or snootiness?
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The John Dory Oyster Bar
1196 Broadway, New York, NY 10001
By Fida
on Mar 27, 2011 09:57 AM
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As to signage: if you go a little bit later, you'll see that the lack of signage has not been a deterrent to people finding the place.
As to attitude: sorry about your encounter. I will add, however, that it's entirely inconsistent with my experience there. I have found the staff to be quite pleasant as they've told me that the wait for a table would be an hour!
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Same thing happened at the bar at The Breslin the other afternoon. Asked the female bartender for a menu and she replied that she didn't have one as they don't start serving food until 5:30 and they menu changes daily.
Awaiting until 5:30 and she pulled menus out from under the bar area, somewhere that they had been all along.
Wondering why she had previously said she didn't have a menu and that it changes daily I asked what the daily specials are and she said she would go and find out.
Why couldn't I have just looked at the menu prior to 5:30 if she had it there ?
Oh well.
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The Breslin
20 W 29th St, New York, NY 10001
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How do you know she didn't have it there? Were you watching like a hawk to see everyone that entered and exited the bar area? It's entirely possible that someone stepped in and placed the menus there without your noticing.
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Yes - perhaps David Blaine.
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So what if they manage to be popular?The fact that Cinnabon sells millions of its products doesn't make them any more desirable or better. Why bother to defend a lack of signage? The issue was what level of general customer service one has a reasonable right to expect, and the treatment here was offhanded at best. How hard is it to come up with a menu, and whose job is it? Do we have to peer under counters to make sure the staff is right? Please.
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The manager/host did gave a sample, albeit of the lunch menu, which seems like a fairly reasonable thing to do considering he said he didn't have the day's menu yet, or a copy of yesterdays. I'm not sure what else he could've done.
Whatever issues they may have with their service (and note, i've never had any issues there and am far from a regular but have heard/read of some service issues), this certainly cannot be classified as one of them.
I have no idea what made the OP get so upset as I see nothing from the string of events that would get me "Irked"...
"I asked a menu, and he handed me a lunch menu. I asked for a dinner menu. No, he didn't have one, he said. It was 4:30, and he wouldn't get the menus until 5:00. Irked.."
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Hmm. My previous post you're replying to was removed.
Just for context, I'll post again to add a reminder that this is the second incarnation of John Dory, after ownership closed the original.
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...And that's why your post was removed. It's not relevant to the topic: the original John Dory failed because of its location, obviously not the service. If the service were the issue, the Pig and the Breslin would not be nearly as successful.
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The Breslin
20 W 29th St, New York, NY 10001
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"the original John Dory failed because of its location"
Which explains why the second time around they changed the:
entire concept
decor
style of seating
menu price point
Little remains the same beyond the Owners/Executive chef, a seafood theme and name.
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You're failing to acknowledge that the restaurant's environ has changed completely too. Obviously the restaurant's new physical location (in a hotel) is going to warrant a few changes.
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I don't see what context it provides to know this is John Dory's second incarnation. As you point out, other than the name, it's entirely diffferent.
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Because sugartoof is somehow trying to relate the first John Dory's closing to the "clueless" staff.
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Wrong. I'm relating it to a history of poor management choices. It wasn't merely the location that failed the original John Dory.
Either way, the new version will be around a while.
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"A history of poor management choices." Hmm, one failed restaurant among a group of stunningly popular ones. Are we supposed to not enjoy The Breslin, John Dory and The Spotted Pig because they had one bust?
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Popularity has little to do with anything.
I think Breslin is ok, but the John Dory operation has a very relevant history, and I'm not sure what the point is to deny or hide it.
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The Breslin
20 W 29th St, New York, NY 10001
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Yes, they staff at John Dory and Breslin can be a bit flighty, and lackluster in their attention. It's their attempt to provide a casual staff, but in regards to John Dory it does come off clueless. It's worse at night when they're packed, there's nowhere to stand, and the front desk it overwhelmed. I've watched them look right through people. The Breslin is a step up from that.
Obviously signage isn't a problem for them so that's unfair. They can barely handle the clientele they do have, even when the place is empty, but aside from that, it's a form of marketing these days to open without visible signage.
Asking for a menu shouldn't be a big deal. You shouldn't have to walk in and ask multiple times, rephrasing the question to find out what the place is all about.
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The Breslin
20 W 29th St, New York, NY 10001
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I have never seen the front desk at John Dory be overwhelmed, even when the place is packed. They seem to keep it all amazingly under control.
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I've seen them completely unable to tell people if they had room, where they could stand if there was a wait, or how long the wait would be...and the result was a fire hazard of confused groups of people, sandwiched together. I haven't been back for a month so maybe they got it together.
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