Dinette Marcella — Restaurant in Montreal

On August 5th, we made a reservation at Dinette Marcella Restaurant for 9:00 PM for two adults and two children (age 7). We chose your establishment based on positive Google reviews. Normally, I don’t leave negative reviews easily. I’ve dined in restaurants across Europe and America, but I can’t recall ever feeling as humiliated—especially in front of my family and children—as I did that evening.

We arrived at the restaurant exactly at 9:00 PM. A female staff member greeted us at the door. We told her we had a reservation. She checked and came back, asking us to wait 5 minutes. We kindly agreed without any issue. While we waited, we noticed walk-in guests without reservations being seated immediately. Two other people arrived after us and were also promptly taken to their tables.

After waiting 15 minutes outside with two young children, we asked about our table again, and we were told to keep waiting. When we expressed our concern, we were told we had to wait because other reservation holders had arrived late, and those tables were still occupied.

First of all, being made to wait 20 minutes despite arriving on time with a prior reservation, while others were seated before us, was extremely disrespectful. We mentioned that service would end at 10 PM, and staff could not give a clear response to that concern. We asked to speak to the restaurant manager, and someone named Mike (introduced to us as the mixologist) came instead. When we explained the situation, he told us to wait at the bar with two small children—an insulting and inappropriate suggestion.

After 20–25 minutes, Mike, the person who was presented as the manager, said he didn’t know when our table would be ready. We said, “It’s late, and we have two small children—where else can we even find a restaurant now?” To which he rudely and angrily responded, “If you want to wait, wait. If not, just leave,” and walked away without even offering an apology. We were left speechless and had no choice but to leave the restaurant.

We have each spent nearly 15–20 years working as senior professionals in the hospitality industry. Never in our lives have we encountered such unprofessional behavior and disrespect. Both my spouse and I are currently managers at reputable firms in Canada and were visiting Montreal from Toronto on vacation. Our children were visibly affected by this person’s conduct, and both of us were publicly humiliated. We were essentially kicked out of a restaurant where we had a valid reservation, simply for asking to be treated with...

I am usually not one to complain or write negative reviews. But, given the overall poor experience and negative components of this dinner, I had to voice my thoughts. The following issues present during the dinner are: Hostess at front barely acknowledged us and our reso Lack of AC in restaurant: Yes, it is an old building but there were no fans and open windows until requested by multiple patreons. Friends and I had to assist in moving table and opening windows. A small electric fan was being placed on certain tables and not others (ie. white people who spoke french recieved the fan but other POC tables did not) even after expressing discomfort related to heat. We had to ask for a menu to use as a fan. Waitress did not acknowledge our general heat discomfort at all during these multiple encounters. Our drinks had no coasters and made the table wet — we then asked for napkins and were given three small ones; had to ask for more napkins a second time as the three was not sufficient. Said yes to pepper and parm with our pasta when it was being served but then had to flag staff for it twice. The cherry one top was towards the end of our meal. A white english speaking male was extremely loud and vulgar, making multiple misogynstic and unecessary comments about the staff and patreons seated around him. Same waitress hosting our table did not ask him to be respectful of others but laughed and encouraged his comments. While paying for our bills waitress stated passive aggressively that service was not included after seeing lack of tip and was visibly upset about it but instead of apologizing or inquiring why she quickly dismissed us.

Overall: food itself was decent, but the absence of proper cooling during 35 degree weather, poor service, and lack of respect from our primary waitress made the experience unenjoyable. Will not be back nor do I recommend it. Go to the Greek restaurant across the street for a...

We were here on our last evening in Montreal and wanted to enjoy a good dinner at the end. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. The food was okay, as was the wine. The tiramisu was absolutely not to our liking, but that's a matter of taste. But what was an absolute disaster was the service. We were hardly noticed. When the waiter spoke to us, he didn't even look at us. However, other, mostly local guests, were warmly welcomed and looked after, which gave us the feeling that we are not so welcome. We therefore decided to tip relatively "little", as we were simply really dissatisfied with the service. When we were paying, the waiter started a discussion with us about how rude we were to tip so little, as it's not included and you have to give at least 15%. When we explained that we would be happy to give more money for the service we received, we were met with a stroppy response and they tried to explain to us that he had provided the service because he had asked us what we wanted to drink. As we didn't let this put us off, he then went to complain about us to the manager and obviously made fun of us. His last answer to us was that if we tip so little, then we shouldn't order wine for $20 a glass. If you feel like tipping a lot regardless of the service or the quality of the food, you're in good hands here. Otherwise, we would recommend another restaurant, as there are also very good restaurants in the area with excellent and courteous service. We could only leave this restaurant stunned! We have themself 10 years of work experience in the Gastronomie and we've never encountered...