Meal claim hits a raw nerve with restaurant
THE owner of a Surfers Paradise restaurant has bitten back at diners – who claim they were dished up the “worst customer experience ever” – by claiming they should be ashamed.
Gold Coaster Natalia Clarke, who goes by Natalia Jayne online, posted a scathing review on Facebook after dinner at Sardjiono’s Italian restaurant with four friends on February 1.
She claimed on their social media page: “Steak was undercooked and when we approached, I’m guessing the boss (head chef), we got abused for it. Will never ever come back to this restaurant. Rudest head chef I have ever met.”
Ms Clarke gave the restaurant a one-star review on its Facebook page.
Ales Malecek, who has run Sardjiono’s Italian Restaurant for 14 years, replied to her rant on Facebook by explaining they ordered medium and medium-rare steaks.
“Staff have checked on your steaks and you replied ‘Steaks are undercooked’,” Mr Malecek (inset) wrote.
He claimed his staff offered to cook the steaks longer and claimed on Facebook Ms Clarke’s group said no.
“When you came to pay you have refused to pay for your meal because your steaks were undercooked. You have finished most of your meals,” he wrote.
“Your behaviour was absolutely unacceptable. You have abused all of us in a restaurant and you should be ashamed of yourself.”
Ms Clarke replied, claiming not once did they refuse to pay but asked for a discount, adding a waitress’s offer to put the “undercooked steaks” back on the grill was not acceptable.
“You sat there with a smirk on your face, and so did your waitress behind you. You were not letting us have our input without getting interrupted,” she wrote on Facebook.
Mr Malecek replied: “I could easily give you discount if you behaved like adults.”
When contacted by the Bulletin, Mr Malecek said he had not received a complaint like it before and alleged: “They ordered a lot of food and wanted it for free. You can’t finish the food, make drama and then try to get a 100 per cent discount.”
The owner said the onestar review was “unfair’’ but he wasn’t too fazed as he served 200-300 on busy nights.
“I handled this as professionally as I could,” he said.
“This is emotional for people like me who work seven days a week, 15 hours a day in a kitchen for 14 years. I want to forget about it.”
His restaurant is rated 4.3 out of five stars on Facebook by 240 people.