Dined on November 27, 2024
- Overall 3
- Food 4
- Service 3
- Ambience 3
The quality, especially service, has diminished in the past year. I was a big fan when they opened, but in two recent visits, I was disappointed.
On both occasions, the host was particularly unhelpful. Yesterday she was even ambivalent while we waited 25 minutes past our reservation time. She instructed us to wait in the bar, but there was no room in the bar. She seemed irritated with us as we stood instead at the entrance and waited for our table. The only alternative was to stand outside in the rain. When she finally seated us, there was no apology or acknowledgement.
The service team does know the menu, but they are not coordinated between themselves. Multiple servers came to ask the same questions, and on a humorous note, the somm recommended a bottle of wine, but then apparently departed for the evening without telling our server which wine or what the price was (it eas off menu). When finished, one server cleared the empty bottle, then the other server came and asked if we could remember the name of the wine and the price so he could put it on the bill. One server also told us a story about a customer who was banned from the restaurant. While banter is banter, this is not a customer-friendly topic, kind of threatening.
Also, why do servers show up at a table carrying dirty dishes from another table? That’s unappetizing and more like a diner than a restaurant with a $300 tab.
James Beard winning chef Michael Solomonov spoke about his success by underlining the importance keeping one eye on the kitchen and one eye on the front of house. At Dunsmoor, no one is keeping an eye out on the front of house.  I worry that the fact that it’s crowded only encourages the owners to believe that they’re doing fine when in reality the place already needs an overhaul. Fingers crossed. NELA needs good restaurants, and this one was promising until it wasn’t.
