I had dinner with a colleague at the Porterhouse recently, and was immediately turned off by the woman who I believed to be the hostess when we arrived (I later learned from my waitress that she was the owner). Although the place was obviously slow, she made us feel very unwelcomed by the fact that we did not have a reservation. After a bit of the shame game, we got a table nonetheless, and proceeded to have a wonderful dinner. Things had gone well, and just as I had begun to forget about our unfriendly ""welcome,"" our coffee and dessert was disturbed by the owner yelling at a couple of her employees about something I couldn't understand (within 5 feet of our table). I found it to be very unproffessional, and it really brought me right back to the feeling I had when we walked in the door. I understand as a business owner myself that there are times when employees need to be reprimanded, but never to the degree that I heard, and never in front of customers. I gave my business card to my waitress and told her to call when she was ready to be treated with some degree of respect, and we left. The food and service were fabulous, but the hostess/owner leaves a lot to be desired.
Pros: food, service, parking
Cons: terrible welcome/ unpredictable atmosphere
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