Ravintola Rioni — Restaurant in Turku sub-region

We visited Rioni on April 15, 2024 Sunday for lunch and while the food was mostly okay (except for the slightly tough kebab), the overall experience was brought down by the server's communication style. His communication style was quite off-putting, using phrases like "as I've said to you" repeatedly and in a way that felt condescending.

It seemed like the restaurant had a policy of two main courses per table, which we weren't aware of. We originally ordered their cheese bread (12euro) and the eggplant starter (10.50euro) to share with one main course (25euro), but the server requested that we order two mains. We ended up ordering two mains and the cheese bread without eggplant cold starter and he again used that phrase, "as I've mentioned" since he was insisting we should also get the eggplant cold starter.

Things got uncomfortable when we gave honest feedback politely about the food because he asked. We mentioned the kebab being a bit tough, but the waiter's reaction was excessive. He kept insisting on giving us free replacements, even offering another main course or a dessert. While the gesture was kind, we were simply providing honest feedback when he asked, not seeking free food. We were perfectly capable of paying for our meal and didn't want to diminish their offering. His reaction, bordering on aggressive, made the rest of the meal unappetizing. We understand restaurants aren't perfect, but his communication and handling of the situation were off-putting. Perhaps this is his usual style, but it didn't sit well with us.

After repeatedly declining the free food offers, the server abruptly stated we wouldn't be charged for the kebab anyway and walked away without waiting for our response. He then spoke loudly in Georgian to the kitchen staff after our conversation, which we couldn't understand. We were still in the middle of eating at the time and quite shocked by his behavior. Interestingly, when we paid the bill, he seemed much friendlier. I even asked if it was wrong to give honest feedback, and while he said he appreciated it, his earlier actions spoke louder.

The waiter's overall demeanor was inconsistent. He was overly apologetic yet aggressive after the feedback, and finally a bit friendly when we paid.

We decided not to argue further and let him handle the situation. He did remove the kebab from the final bill. While the food was decent, the server's communication style and reaction to our feedback significantly impacted...

Note: this rating does not consider quality of the food or food related service.

Upon being ignored at first after entering, only a rude question if we would have a reservation was thrown at us (2 poeple). Looking at a half empty restaurant I said I don’t have a reservation to which we were told a simple “well, no then!” This was done rudely and without any explanation or further offer of a possible table later (again, half the restaurant was empty at that time) then I asked if it would be possible to come later time, which again was simply shrugged off with a rude “no, maybe at 10pm”. Then after leaving a quick online table reservation check on their own website revealed plenty of tables available from 8pm onwards. Very disappointing, rude and unpleasant impression given within 2minutes, followed by what can be interpreted as an attempt only to get rid of us... Also note: corona and social distancing rules can’t be blamed since they had poeple at tables adjacent to each other yet plenty of possibilities of putting poeple...

In a nutshell our eating experience. 6 colleagues went to have dinner around 17:00. They gave us a 4 person table next to the kitchen door even though there were other tables available. We asked for two more chairs. They took our order after half an hour. We waited for another one hour for our food. We witnessed people coming in and finishing their dinner and paying for it. It was like a montage. Then another person came to take our order again citing a minor confusion amon the staff. After waiting for an hour more we got our incomplete food. The sauces were missing because of the sudden unavailability. We couldn't talk as the long day became a race to food. Meanwhile there were confusions regarding our drinks every now and then.... We somehow finished our food and didn't want to carry on with our evening. It was 21:00. As they understood cumulative effort somehow managed to bypass our table they took only the food price. I managed to have a beer. I love Georgian food but I will definitely avoid...