This marks my first ever negative review of a CFS. I was hoping that it would never come to this, but I was so severely disappointed that I could not hold back. It all went down on a my annual ski vacation with Marc to South Lake Tahoe. For the past 7 years we have been heading to Whitefish, MT and decided to switch it up with this year and explore the slopes of Nevada and California.
For our first morning we ventured 8 floors down to the basement of Harvey's Casino to check out the tunnel that connects it with Harrah's. The tunnel also houses the fabulously designed Cabo Wabo Tahoe Cantina. The room is convertible between a traditional restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and a club during the evenings. The two bars make ordering a drink convenient and the floor area cleans up nicely to appear as a respectable dining establishment.
We knew it was going to be an adventure as soon as we walked up. Only 6 of the 18 tables had seated parties with only one having more than 2 guests. Given the 3 servers and a busser, it seemed strange that no one acknowledged us or even looked up at the seating podium for almost 5 minutes. When we attempted to seat ourselves were asked to go back and wait by the entrance. After an apologetic and excuse ridden seating, we immediately ordered our drinks. I completely understand restaurant bartenders being preoccupied with talking to customers or having a few tables to attend to, but I have never had a Bloody Mary and Screwdriver come out after my food was served. When the Bloody Mary finally surfaced in a gigantic margarita glass, I was disgusted when all I tasted was vodka and 10-day-old tomato juice. No mix, no spice, not worth $9. I tried unsuccessfully to doctor it up with some hot sauce, salt, and pepper.
The food situation enhanced the weirdness of the experience even further. Once again we were approached by an apologetic server who told us that they are 'super busy' and that he was contemplating asking us to help them out. While I appreciate his candor, I am positive that understaffing was not the root cause of the poor experience. The lack of quality management and training seemed to be more realistic.
The actual CFS followed the theme of the lackluster service. Half of the CFS was over conditioned and textured like ground beef. The other half was so thick and fatty that my oversized steak knife would not even cut through it. This was the first time I have ever had to leave CFS on the plate. The gravy was nothing to write home about either with no flavor or applied in a sloppy manor. I did enjoy the greasy eggs, but had to avoid the soggy hashbrowns. I felt bad for all of the unsuspecting casino patrons looking for a decent meal and escape from the traditional buffets and fast food.
For our first morning we ventured 8 floors down to the basement of Harvey's Casino to check out the tunnel that connects it with Harrah's. The tunnel also houses the fabulously designed Cabo Wabo Tahoe Cantina. The room is convertible between a traditional restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and a club during the evenings. The two bars make ordering a drink convenient and the floor area cleans up nicely to appear as a respectable dining establishment.
We knew it was going to be an adventure as soon as we walked up. Only 6 of the 18 tables had seated parties with only one having more than 2 guests. Given the 3 servers and a busser, it seemed strange that no one acknowledged us or even looked up at the seating podium for almost 5 minutes. When we attempted to seat ourselves were asked to go back and wait by the entrance. After an apologetic and excuse ridden seating, we immediately ordered our drinks. I completely understand restaurant bartenders being preoccupied with talking to customers or having a few tables to attend to, but I have never had a Bloody Mary and Screwdriver come out after my food was served. When the Bloody Mary finally surfaced in a gigantic margarita glass, I was disgusted when all I tasted was vodka and 10-day-old tomato juice. No mix, no spice, not worth $9. I tried unsuccessfully to doctor it up with some hot sauce, salt, and pepper.
The food situation enhanced the weirdness of the experience even further. Once again we were approached by an apologetic server who told us that they are 'super busy' and that he was contemplating asking us to help them out. While I appreciate his candor, I am positive that understaffing was not the root cause of the poor experience. The lack of quality management and training seemed to be more realistic.
The actual CFS followed the theme of the lackluster service. Half of the CFS was over conditioned and textured like ground beef. The other half was so thick and fatty that my oversized steak knife would not even cut through it. This was the first time I have ever had to leave CFS on the plate. The gravy was nothing to write home about either with no flavor or applied in a sloppy manor. I did enjoy the greasy eggs, but had to avoid the soggy hashbrowns. I felt bad for all of the unsuspecting casino patrons looking for a decent meal and escape from the traditional buffets and fast food.
My advice to the Cabo Wabo Tahoe management:
1) Train your servers
2) Show up and do your job for the Tuesday breakfast shift
3) Train the morning bartenders how to make a Bloody Mary
4) Take the CFS off the menu until you can do it justice
1) Train your servers
2) Show up and do your job for the Tuesday breakfast shift
3) Train the morning bartenders how to make a Bloody Mary
4) Take the CFS off the menu until you can do it justice
Although this experience was truly terrible and unacceptable, I kept my mouth shut and paid the bill in full while tipping appropriately. The only thing I hate worse than bad food and service are jerk customers that throw a fit and ruin the dining experience for everyone else in the restaurant. I do not look for handouts or further apologies, but rather I believe that a poorly managed establishment will die a natural death because customers like myself will not return. The person who has the most to lose in this is Sammy Hagar himself. C'mon Sammy, if you are going to put your name on something, make sure there are some quality controls.