The Little Sparo — Restaurant in St. John's

This experience was the worst I have encountered in many many years. Started off with 1) They failed to find our reservations. 2) When we walked in it took them a little while to even acknowledge us 3) the gentleman who “supposedly “ was greeting guests told me “don’t touch me” when I lightly put my hand on his arm (like I’ve done a million times to other folks) just to de-escalate the situation 4) The GM intervened (thank God) and tried his best to find us a table. 5)After 20’ they did! A nice one with a view of the harbour. As I had originally requested. 6) I think the waiter did his best given the circumstances. At least he was patient and understanding. That was a very positive vibe. 7) My food was lukewarm. Not piping hot. As it Should be. 8) We stayed past their closing time to make up for all the lost time with our friends who were visiting NL for the first time and had literally just gotten off the plane after travelling 6000 kms!!. This was such an embarrassing and insulting experience that I hope no one will ever have to go through. I hope they make diversity training mandatory for ALL of their staff and educate them on the value of GOOD customer service. The only reason we had fun was that we were having dinner with old friends that we haven’t seen in many years and I did my best to ignore the inadequacies of this restaurant. While we wish them success in years to come. This was an embarrassment for this City in peak tourist season. Oh and did I mention that our friends were guests at the Double Tree hotel that this restaurant is situated in? Oh and BTW I have worked at several top notch restaurants in some of Canada’s...

I was enticed by the Bavette steak they advertise on the DoubleTree QR code in the room, but when you get to the restaurant they tell you that the food on the website isn't accurate anymore and that they can't update it for some bogus reason, but that they have a steak substitute for double the price!! Then I took the burger instead. My goodness!!?? Ok it was tasty; but small! Although, was it laced with gold? How can you justify charging $28 for this. Then after. To add to the insult and continue the ongoing heist, the server offers me dessert which he says now we have all the items on the menu. So I pick the tiramisu.... then he comes back moments later to tell me that the tiramisu is no more available. So very disappointed I opted for the Gelato. Major disappointment!!! Maybe they should research what gelato is!! It's supposed to be creamy and rich, not watered down tasteless ice cream for $9.00!! the only good thing I have to admit, Nice view. Anyway never again to this restaurant which might compromise my pick for this hotel altogether, although very comfortable. Reason is, I like to sometimes dine in at the hotel or have room service after a long...

Had our first dining experience at The Little Sparo yesterday - The room itself is very beautiful, and overlooks the city/the bay - In my opinion, what does take away is the traffic in the hotel lobby, as where we were seated was direct down from the hotel lobby desk. Traffic wasn't terrible at the time we were there, but it does take away from the ambiance a little bit of such a great room. The food was fantastic, we both ordered a pasta dish and were very impressed. The service was also quite good, however when we booked the reservation, it was mentioned that this was for a birthday. We were asked twice, by 2 different servers, if we wanted dessert, but when the reservation was made, it was specifically requested on the call what desert was to be brought out for the birthday. To make things more awkward, the host came over and inquired as to what had happened, therefore ruining the surprise of it all (and it was the wrong desert that was brought out at that - Which we were comfortable paying additional for as it was specific as we wanted the surprise of it all mainly).

Despite the hiccup, it was a great experience and we would definitely go back...