Itsara — Restaurant in Nedlands

I am writing a review due to our negative experience at this restaurant a couple of weeks ago. 🥺 We came the restaurant in a group of 8 with friends, 2 of whom are long term customers. It had initially been booked for 7 with a last day addition of an extra person! We sat down with menus in front of us, We each decided what to order - with out friend highly advertising the pad thai! We were then greeted by staff who told us that because there was 8 of us - we would have to order the set menu. We did not feel like we were properly informed about this previously! We had a discussion with the staff to say we were not aware of this and were all excited to try the pad thai which would not be an option with the set menu, there were a few of us who preferred to have fish or meat and we did not feel the set menu worked well for us, and were not happy to spend the money without getting any of the meals we were hoping to order. We tried discussing this with the restaurant manager - who was very inflexible and we felt quiet rude towards us, we felt we were not listed to and our concerns and preferences not taken into consideration. To the point where one of our friends did not want to stay and decided to leave the restaurant. We were told that even tho this person had left and there was now 7 of us we would still have to have set menu. We also could not leave as we would have to pay a cancellation fee. The solution that was then agreed on was that we had to order the entrees set but could get out own mains. We were overall unhappy with the meal, the rudeness and inflexibility of the staff that brought our friend to leave the restaurant. We did not enjoy our meal and regret choosing this...

One of the most beautiful restaurants I've been in, the setting is just gorgeous. The food is beautifully presented. The waitstaff were pleasant and attentive. However I have never, in my entire life, encountered the level of sheer arrogance and rudeness as we did from the owner /manager. During our meal I watched this owner / manager ignore customers and yell at his staff in full earshot of the restaurant. While unpleasant to witness, it did not prepare me for our experience with him. After ordering the papaya salad (which was rated as being 1 chilli in terms of heat), we discovered it was incredibly hot, possibly the hottest papaya salad we've ever eaten. To put it in context, the green chicken curry was also rated as being 1 chilli in terms of heat yet was far, far, far more mild than the salad. We asked the waiter if the papaya salad could be remade but with much less chilli because it was literally inedible. In the meantime the rest of our food was delivered to our table but no sign of the remade papaya salad. It was a solid 10 minutes after finishing our meal and having our plates cleared before the owner / manager came and told us that they would not be remaking the papaya salad for us, that reducing the amount of chilli would not produce an authentic dish that he would serve in his restaurant, and that all papaya salads are "super hot". He was exceptionally rude and condescending in the way he spoke to us and it ruined an otherwise pleasant meal. Will not, under any circumstance, be returning to...

Have never left a 1-star review before, and have reflected on the experience I had here for a few weeks before writing this. The food was excellent, unfortunately the service from the manager/owner was disrespectful when we didn’t order alcoholic drinks. We already had a non alcoholic drink on the table when we were asked to order more drinks.

When I approached him to give respectful feedback, he refused to take responsibility, acknowledge that he raised his voice at our table or made us feel so uncomfortable that we left early.

His explanation was that “he was six foot, direct and had a loud voice” and he pointed out to me that his predominately Asian staff were “passive” and didn’t seem to have an issue with his demeanour. As a woman of Asian descent myself, I felt it was somewhat implied that I should also be agreeable to his style of service.

He eventually apologised for “making me feel that way” rather than apologising for the way he spoke to us or taking ownership for his actions. I was appalled by the way I was treated and felt extremely undermined, disrespected and intimidated by his behaviour. It was unacceptable and completely inappropriate.

Edit*

Dear Owner,

I can see that you have written three different responses and edited them over the past few hours. I hope that you can take this feedback on with an open heart. I have left this review from my personal account and therefore open to contact by email if you wish to chat about...