Poor service and mix-up mar meal

SINOLWAZI APRIL

ON A CHILLY Monday morning I decided to grab a meaty meal to warm up and help kickstart my day. I walked up Loop Street and my eyes fell upon on a building on the corner of Loop and Longmarket streets, a trendy bistro with big wooden windows adding a vintage feel.

The minute I walked in, I went to sit at the window. I enjoyed the view.

The service, however, was poor. I had to wait seven minutes before receiving the menu and the waiter who eventually served me didn’t introduce himself.

He appeared to be new at his job, as he seemed nervous and stuttered. I asked him to speak in Xhosa if that would calm him.

I ordered a beef burger with fries on the side and an Appletiser to ease the thirst as I’m not much of a coffee person. I had to wait another five minutes for my drink to arrive.

Once he brought it, he came to the realisation it was not cold and only then did he offer me ice. I waited another 10 minutes for my order to arrive.

To my disappointment, he brought the wrong order. I was serve a chicken burger with pickled mushrooms, onions, garnish, tomato with barbecue sauce with no fries instead of the beef burger I had ordered.

With the amount of time I had spent there, I couldn’t afford to wait for them to make another burger.

Filled with disappointment, I tried to keep an open mind about the food I was about to eat.

It wasn’t bad considering it wasn’t what I ordered. The chicken was not as tender as I would have liked. The mushrooms saved the day and the barbecue sauce held the dish together.

After that disappointment, the manager offered to give me a discount.

The restaurant has free wifi and it’s spacious with the bar on the far side of the room with an on-site tour operator.

It’s a venue for celebrating birthdays, Christmas parties, wedding receptions and hosting corporate events. If you want to grab a not-so-quick bite for breakfast, lunch or dinner, or to have a drink, make a stop at The Honey Badger. Maybe your experience will be better than mine. sinolwazi.april@inl.co.za