This was one of the strangest service experiences ever. My husband and I had a $25 gift certificate for Gotham and we headed out on Friday night in hopes of good things. Our evening started out on a good note: we had a private 'pod' table which was a new and enjoyable place to sit - a place where I'd imagine Captain Kirk and his crew would hang out.
Our first server was obviously the owner: (perhaps overly) eager to please, very accomodating with substitutions and quick with suggestions. Our second server was obviously new and flustered - and having the owner (who ended up being not only a server, but the chef) incessantly ring the kitchen bell when orders were ready likely did nothing to calm her anxiety.
Our dinner was delicious and then it happened: time to pay.
We got the bill which was grossly miscalculated: our appetizer was omitted, the combined entree prices were under by $10. Our gift certificate required that we paid $35 for food in order for it to qualify. Our flustered server told us our certificate couldn't be used and we went through her math to show her that it indeed did qualify. She thanked us for the correction and went back to process our bill.
When she returned, our credit card was charged $8.71 more than what the bill was supposed to be. My husband and I kept looking at the statement puzzled again by the calculations. The owner saw our frustration and had our waitress approach us. "Oh...by the way", she said, "the tip is already on there."
An $8.71 tip on a $24 bill? We didn't dispute it...we simply vowed never to return.
Pros: Food was tasty, star trek ambiance
Cons: Inflated prices, poor math skills, the continuously ringing bell
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