Ate out again last night with more friends - this time at Raincheck Lounge in North Hobart - and interestingly, had the opposite experience to the night before at Brunswick. Quite a few people have spoken reasonably negatively recently to me about both the food and service at Raincheck (someone described the waitstaff there to me as being very hoity toity!), so it was with tremendous surprise to find our table, on a busy Thursday night, being very attentively serviced, with a fair amount of humour and good fun attached.
The food was tapas style, and the menu, so we were informed, changes regularly. The other three girls shared a Chef's Platter, which comprised 3 savoury tapas dishes and a dessert to share, plus bread and a salad, and which was priced at $30 per head, and which they usually do for two people, but three shared it last night, with an additional plate ordered just in case it didn't satisfy those hungry girls! (So the total cost for them was the $60, plus the additional cost of the extra plate they ordered).
They loved all their nibbles, with the bread being used to mop up all plates at the end of the meal! (So uncouth!). They had a pork dish, and a chilli prawn dish, as well as a gorgonzola souffle.
Rita grazed on a Salmon Pate with toast ($10, from memory), which was more the texture of flakes of smoked salmon than the usual creamy, blended, spread-it-on-your-toast style pate which you get at somewhere like Nosebag, so not easily spreadable per se. I really enjoyed it, and combined with the amiable good humour of all staff who serviced our table, it made for an extremely pleasant night out.
So - for two separate eating out experiences, an interesting comparison, and one which restaurant owners would do well to take note of. Yes - we eat out to meet people, and chat, and eat, and drink, all at the same time, but the situation is way more memorable and enjoyable when the restaurant provides the other vital part of the eating-out equation - the good food and service.
Friday, 18 March 2011
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26 comments:
Sad to say but the last few times I have been to Raincheck I have been bitterly disappointed! I usually love the place but on not one but two occasions was serviced uncooked food and spent all night rather unwell. I will think twice about going again
'Bitterly disappointed' Good grief get over yourself, it's just a cafe not an out of body experience
Wow you didn't have to be so rude - maybe your the one who needs to get over themselves... I saw simply telling people about an experience I had there.
Anon 3.45 - for some people in the world, eating actually can be (and indeed, IS) an out of body experience, and those are the people who take their eating (whether it's out, or at home) very seriously, and don't just see food, or a meal, as the space in the day for re-fuelling their body ready to get on with the next activity in their lives, but as an extraordinary experience to be savoured, and hallowed. The food, and the meal, is the apex/highlight of the day. Anything filtered through these people's bodies/systems has the ultimate aim of perfecting that food, and meal.
Be gentle with them!
Anon, did you alert them at the time that your food was undercooked? Why did you continue eating when you knew it was not right? I can understand once but being served undercooked food a second time, then eating it seems a bit daft if you ask me.
Forgive me, I'm just getting over myself
That place is always busy day and night, weekdays and weekend. It is a good sign esp in North Hobart with quite a few good eating places to choose from. But, I have to admit I have been there twice when they first newly opened and was a quite disappointed with the service. Not the food. Thus, have not been back. But, that was a long time ago. I guess it is time to revisit the place again esp from your rave review on the food and service. It has to be doing all the right thing to have such good crowd.
I hope all you bloggers think very carefully before you publish negative comments.
Think about the effect it can have on the owner(and staff) and their livelihood. This is how they pay their bills, feed their families and you can guarantee with the exception of a few most establishments are doing just that....paying their bills.
Think about yourselves in your own work space and if a co worker was to do a shit job. Would you like a pay cut or loss of hours.
Everyone has a right to an opinion but when you place it in the public domain as you do you are effecting peoples lives for the sake of expressing it.
Many owners just make it by and are you happy to shoulder the burden of knowing your opinion was the one that sent them bankrupt....broke up their marriage....?
i love this place, never a bad experience. Good food, service (for a cafe) and a great place
Love it
Go
Spag Blog
p
Someone is having trouble adding the following comment to this post, so I have copied and pasted it below:
anon I am a commenter not a blogger. Rita has provided a forum in which we can read about her experiences and comment on these places ourselves, their merits and their negatives.
Its futile to think you can censor people opinions just becaue you might disagree with their views.
I dont think there is any correlation between the success or otherwise of a business based on the views expressed on this or any other blog. I invite you to offer some evidence to the contrary.
In my opinion, this blog and others concerned with the same subject matter appeal to a small number of people and some industry types who are keen to keep up with the Hobart food scene, no disrespect Rita.
I agree with you Anon above, and absolutely no disrespect taken!
(PS - Apologies for whatever is going on technically with either your or my systems!)
Got to wonder. Peppermint Bay gets another good review, this time in the Sunday Tasmanian but who goes there? There's no tables left, staff or service and its expensive.
Anon above reviews are generally bullshit. We had a critic call up in advance to say who he was and when he was coming, so naturally he got great VIP treatment and we got an undeserving great review, meanwhile other people are being ignored.
Who gets ignored? Cream always rises
Chefs & restaurateurs always complain about the bad reviews never the good ones, ever notice that?
who was the reviewer 420?
me
no.... it was me
no it was me
I've done Raincheck three or four times now before dancing or the State. I haven't had a bad one yet, even during a packed-out visit.
Had a great steak at the new Dr Syntax. They have put a few new walls in to make it a little different from the Bay Hotel and I guess that is what you do.
So walls were removed and now they are back and it all makes some sense!
We live in interesting times!
P
Hey Rita,
Totally off topic, but I'm moving to Sydney next week and am wondering if you know any good foodie blogs based up there?
Thanks :)
Lady Jayne- check out noodlies.com for a great site about food in Sydney.
Rita, I have eaten at Raincheck a couple of times and found the staff to be fantastic, food equally so!
your review on The Brunswick is justified and will only serve as good feedback for those in charge who will no doubt take it on board and help them make the experience better for all! That's what good people do with constructive feedback!
Apart from the food that I look forward to when dining in a restaurant, I always believe that customer service is equally important in order to deliver a great and memorable experience to customers. They both go together and play a big role in making sure that the restaurant or any establishment meet customer expectations.
So for the experience you shared to us Rita, I guess Raincheck Lounge made it satisfying. Thumbs up!
I went to Raincheck yesterday, with three friends for breakfast. 1. The friend who had the flat white was happy. 2. Since when does fruit loaf contain more mixed peel than fruit? 3. Is it ok to serve frozen bread? 4.How long should one need to wait for a second coffee?
Guess a 25% hit rate is better than zero:(
Have not been to Raincheck for a long time, due not to the quality of the food (was always enjoyable) but to the rudeness of the wait staff.
The last straw was going for lunch with my partner, on which occasion remarkably there were only a handful of other customers. Despite sitting in plain view of the counter, we waited in excess of 30 minutes to be approached by staff who were busy wiping down (empty) tables, and drying glasses behind the bar and chatting to other staff through the servery. When I approached the counter to ask if someone might attend the table to take our order, I was told tersely to sit back down and
"someone would get to me when they were ready".. I returned to the table and suggested we leave and find lunch (and better service) elsewhere - which we did, at Solicit.
I'm not sure about hoighty-toighty, I'd be more inclined to say poorly trained, and possessing an over-inflated opinion of themselves due to the popularity amongst the "hipster" set. Funky environment and good food does not, however, make up for obnoxious staff.
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