Lemoncello's Cairns — Restaurant in Queensland

Upon our arrival we were reluctantly greeted by a woman whose surliness was only matched her arrogance as she eyed me up and down. She then turned her eye to the short reservations list, running her finger up and down several times before finding my name. She semi-rolled her eyes upwards then brusquely ushered us to a table on the footpath at the entrance to the establishment. At this point I turned to see that my friend was very unimpressed by the location of the table. We sat our kids down and had a brief conversation relating to this. The hostess rudely asked her what was wrong and my friend stated that she wasn't happy with the location of our table and asked if she could move us to one of the empty tables in a better location. We were sternly advised that our table was the best in the restaurant and we didn't like it.then we should consider leaving. The hostess then left us and rushed to the rear of the premises. The four of us sat down and my friend and I continued our discussion relating to the table's location. I asked our kids if they were okay with it. My son was a bit concerned about my bag and we discussed  where we would put it down in such an exposed location. My friend and I weren't happy that potentially people walking past so close to us on the footpath may potentially have Covid. So were we simply weighing up the pros and cons of staying. Suddenly a man who we presumed to be the manager  came charging towards us. It became obvious that the hostess was irritated by our request for another table and had raced inside to convey her anger to him. He was fully intent in giving his opinion without even asking about our issue.  He said, "You are obviously still talking about the table, so I suggest you leave if you are unhappy". The conversation continued whereby I explained that I had booked a few days ago and had expected a better table.  There were six tables with no customers and although reserved, it shouldn’t have been a problem to transfer us. He then offered us a booth inside next to the toilet. Obviously he knew we wouldn't take it. He then very loudly kept repeating that if we weren't happy that WE SHOULD LEAVE.  Not only was this very embarrassing as people on the next table were gaping at us, he became so aggressive and loud that I was worried for our kids. I calmly asked him to lower his voice as there were children present. He continued to rant, so we left. Never in my life have I been treated appallingly by a restaurant owner. Obviously being booked apparently  "2 weeks in advance" has gone to their heads. I can see after reading other reviews that we are not the only people who have been mistreated by the manager. I strongly recommend to stay away…. Or just eat the food and put up with their disgusting behaviour. By the way we ate a  beautiful meal just down the road at Villa Romano and although we didn't have a reservation, were given a perfectly acceptable table. The friendly staff, although extremely busy, were friendly and attentive.

They really turned our disastrous night around and for that we...

Very poor service. I had to collect our own drinks from the bar as they didn't bring over the drinks which I observed were sitting waiting to be served to us for an extended period of time 2. after 40 mins we had to put our hand up to ask for someone to come and take our food orders, 3. after 35 mins we asked if he (the owner) could check how long it would be before our orders were ready , keeping in mind it has now been a total of 75 minutes since arriving to be angrily responded to with point 4. "10 mins" after waiting 75 minutes already .And he stated "do you want to stay or not!!!" He then said twice angrily and abruptly ,"yes or no , stay or go if you want" To which we were disgusted with his hostile attitude but we then said we had already waited so long we could wait another 10. Another member of staff came over and said "he was not rude just Greek"!!!!!! We then had to ask for service once again for more drinks as no one offered and all glasses we ordered previously were empty . After finally receiving our food orders I went to pay the bill and returned to our table to finish our drinks. While finishing our drinks he was behind us mumbling, "I need that table hurry and go!". With this, us 4 women found this to be very insulting as there were other diners too. Granted it was closing time however we didn't intend on being there so long. After telling him we are finishing our drinks and that he is being very rude he started to verbally abuse us. Using foul language at the top of his voice and raising his arms around in an animated angry meltdown,Shouting "I don't need people like you here, complaining about a 30 mins wait" He was using obscene curse words whilst saying this . !!! I tried to Converse with him that we were not complaining , although if he would of listened I was trying to point out calmly reasons 1,2 ,3 and 4 as mentioned above in the form of constructive criticism trying desculate the situation , to which was impossible as he was enraged and not open to listening . People in the street observing his aggressive behaviour came over to us to see if we were ok . Mum and I my mother being 76 years old and here visiting me on holidays from the UK and two other female friends were shaken by the experience as the verbal abuse was shocking, uncalled for and frightening. He had already verbally abused 2 of my friends at the table who at this point left the premises in shock (all women) . I will never go back and I will make sure all my local connections don't go back by sharing my experience as a customer . Looking at previous reviews left on Google this seems to be a common theme with people experiencing verbal outbursts and general hostility and abrupt and uncalled for behaviour towards customers and he seems to have an excuse for his terrible attitude and behaviour in his replies as evident by previous reviewers. If you cannot deal with people or pressure you shouldn't be...

Hey guys - not the person to post but sometimes you have too..

Service was exceptional - food was good ( did expect a piece of Grilled fish with my $53 main) not a pan fry of tiny fish bits/ pieces of calamari & scollaps with a garlic butter sauce…

Unfortunately the end was a ‘Limoncello cheese cake - expecting in house at the very least - but no it was a ‘pre frozen’ lemon cheesecake’ same same ‘Sara Lee’ type - bland commercial base - thick pre frozen filling (that clearly never saw a lemon - let alone Lemoncello ) - no zest on the top or attempt to make it a Lemoncello cheesecake…

Spoke to 2 staff - who assured me it was made in house - problem being “I’m a baker” - & there was nothing ‘in house/ or chef/ cook made” - disappointed & pissed off at attempts to tell me otherwise…. Even with a shot of Lemoncello- I couldn’t finish despite my best efforts…

Love eating out & trying things ‘even if I make them myself’ - but no Seriously no when commercial products are ‘stated as in house’ & Are Clearly Not!

Pick up your game guys…

Jim

Hey guys thanks for your response - I think you missed my entire point - the cheese cake was - ‘SaraLee like - so frozen that it was difficult to push a spoon through & unfortunately bland as per a commercial product…. I commend you that you own it Cudos for that 👍 - but your final comment - “take your half baked comments elsewhere” is disappointing & lacks professionalism…

As a baker- it’s not my ‘first rodeo’ to be told something I made was sub par or resembled a commercial product…. My mother & Grandmother were my harshest critics…

As a professional I take it on the chin & reflect & revise the product - believing that someone wouldn’t be bothered to comment or post a critique unless these was something amiss or ‘less than expected’…

You’ve got a great restaurant & I’m not going to post a further reduction in ‘star reviews’ - service & staff & overall food were great (credit where it’s due) - you’ve got a great opportunity to make your cheese cake a stand out ‘Limoncello’ signature’ - I would happily comeback & retract my previous comments...