The Martini House — Restaurant in Burlington

Please note prior to posting this review we emailed Martini House twice to voice our concern without a reply hence this review : On May 16 at 6:00 pm we had a reservation which turned out to be very unpleasant/ unwelcoming, we left without enjoying the Martini House experience. We have been to your restaurant many times and to this point always enjoyed the quality of service and meal, not on this occasion. As stated we had a reservation to celebrate our 43rd wedding anniversary, this was indicated in the on line reservation. Upon arrival we were seated in the bar, to be specific the first high top table near the door, very windy with door opening and noisy. We were not told we would be seated in the bar versus the dining room which we have always had in the past on a reservation made 5 days in advance. We asked to be moved which you did but to another seat in the bar. The first thing the server asked us “will we be staying for dinner?”, we had a reservation and had indicated it was our anniversary. Our drink order was eventually taken, the server stated she was not sure if the Potato Ravioli was available and would get right back to us. In the meantime at least 5-10 minutes later 2 walk in customers came in their drink order taken, and then before taking our order ( or telling us if Potato Ravioli was available) the server took their order. Twenty five minutes after being seated the server asked if we were ready to order. Something was off, we shared this with the server, who proceeded to comp my drink and we left. In a nutshell: with a reservation made well in advance why were we seated in bar area not the dining room? As per the reservation why did the server/bartender ask “if we were staying for dinner?” Although not in a hurry why were we served after 2 walk ins with no reservation? When we questioned our server on this her flippant response “well they were ready” , by the way to this point the server still hadn’t acknowledged if the potato ravioli was available. We were not feeling it , we were not welcome time to go. So disappointed we will...

To be clear from the start... the 2 star rating was for the food which was good. Why not higher you may be asking? Well, I ordered an entree called the Dragon Bowl. For $24 you had the option of having beef, chicken or extra veggies included with the dish. After asking our server, I was informed that the beef was sirloin tips cut from steaks. Since that appealed to me, I ordered the beef.

What transpired next is why the ratings begin to fall fast. Our waiter returned few minutes after taking our order and told me that I could not have the beef option. The reason? There's a VIP group that is arriving soon and the chef needed to hold the steaks for them just in case they ordered the steaks! The chef was unwilling to cut off the tips to add to my bowl!

After a brief, but stunned moment, I asked what he could substitute the beef with and he told me chicken or shrimp. I decided to take the shrimp. Later, the bowl arrived with a generous and tasty portion of shrimp included.

When the bill arrived, I noticed that I was charged an ADDITIONAL $12 FOR THE SHRIMP! Not wanting to get too upset, I asked the waiter why I was charged for a substitute option in the dish. He said that I ordered "extra" shrimp...which I did NOT. He did agree to remove the extra charge.

I left the restaurant some time later and thought... So, I order a dish that they have the ingredients for but CHOSE NOT TO GIVE TO ME due to the fact I wasn't a "VIP" and then proceeded to try and make me pay for a substitute item!

That was the WORST impression from a restaurant I've had in years! Seems like they consider the importance of their customers over all else.

Rather than speak to the manager, I decided to write this review to make you the reader aware of what had transpired and let you decide if you want to visit this restaurant.

I personally will NOT be returning. It's unfortunate too, since my wife has gone there several times for drinks and loved it but after last night, she was less than impressed.

If you choose to go, show them your VIP card! Maybe you'll get...

We were out for my partner's birthday and wanted something a bit upscale. Martini House looked like a good choice. We did find the food, as well as the service very good. Unfortunately, we were seated next to two middle age men who were talking extremely loudly, and using profanity. The restaurant is fairly noisy, but the two men were talking well above everyone else. The two men were drinking when we arrived and continued to consume large amounts of alcohol during the whole time we were there. When they got up from the table to use the washroom, they were staggering. There is a separate room in the restaurant that has a bar, and this would have been more appropriate for this pair.

Our waitress was very sympathetic and moved us a couple tables down, which helped somewhat. Nevertheless, these two men continued to make our whole dining experience rather unpleasant. I spoke to the manager early on. I was not impressed with my interaction with her. She did not seem to have done anything to manage the situation and never touched base with us again.

When we were leaving, our waitress apologized for the situation, and said to us - "they just seem to be getting louder".

We came to this restaurant for a nice dining experience, which was spoiled due to the behavior of two others in the dining area. This restaurant has a bar in a separate room to which would be more appropriate for a rowdier clientele. I would have expected the restaurant manager to have done a much better job of dealing with these two men who should have not been in the dining area of the restaurant. I also believe that if one raises a concern with the manager, and they say "we will see what we can do", it is only appropriate that they follow up with you. We were...