Lang Bar im Waldorf Astoria — Restaurant in Berlin

On January 18, 2018, we had bar food, two glasses of champagne. The service was okay, but the food was mediocre. The following night, January 19, 2018, the hotel concierge couldn’t make a reservation for us as hotel guests; nevertheless, later I found out that anyone can make a reservation to the Lang Bar via hotel’s website. We spent total of two and a half hours at the Lang Bar to get seated, have a second drink and finally get the check. Unfortunately, Lang Bar staff members, led by head waitress Hanna, failed to deliver service of any sort; moreover, treated us like we have never been treated in any hotel of that scale before.

It was impossible to place an order for a second drink, forget about getting seated as we were told since she and other waiters were consciously making an effort to ignore us by not even making eye contact, they treated us as if we did not exist.

When we were leaving the Lang Bar, Hanna gave us the most insincere and fake smile and said “sorry for tonight” with subtext “I cannot care less about you.”

Smile and apology go into the recipe for proper etiquette; however, it’s not enough when none of the actions are sincere and above all, problem is not solved. For instance, did she check on us whilst waiting by asking for a new order or updating us about waiting time and finally seating us one of the available tables (they were three empty tables while I was talking to Hanna to ask for the check).

The key indicators for excellent service experience include employees with a passion for service and for their work, as well as employee honesty, trustworthiness and ability to deal with emergencies.

Most luxury hotels have similar facilities; however, excellence of hotels depends on delivery of a high service quality, a pleasant atmosphere and an entertaining experience resulting in customer contentment. Because of this unpleasant experience at the Lang Bar, I don’t think that I will return to Waldorf Astoria...

I've been to this bar actually a couple of times, going for dates there, sometimes by myself just to have a cocktail.

The second to last time actually was around a year ago, when besides my cocktail I also had something nice to eat from the bar menu, cannot remember what, and also a wonderful cheese cake, which I actually do remember.

Again I hit this bar some weeks ago. The cocktail menu had changed and they served only what was on that card, but which was not even possible at all, because certain ingredients weren't available, which I learned when talking to the waitress(es), who were looking at me like I was some weirdo, being there alone at all not to mention asking some questions about what cocktail they would recommend (instead) - just the usual talk, including small talk, one has with good bar keepers or bar staff in (considerable) high class bars. Go figure. Other cocktails, which one expects in a bar, which claims - in its menu btw. - to offer first class / five star service, they did not offer or recommend at all. Only what's on the card is possible - which wasn't much either, they downsized it to just a few "hip" cocktails.

Then I also asked for some food, whether for instance that nice cheese cake would be available I recalled. No they don't have that anymore, but I could go downstairs, into the Hotels coffee shop and look at the cake shelf. WTH.

So that said: This bar actually has changed and not to its advantage. I cannot recommend to go there anymore - if you're into some bar culture and with style at all. Consider it an average...

Wonderful bar with an amazing bar staff. We had drinks here on two different evenings after being out on the town, and it was a terrific way to end the night.

Both bartenders we met were incredibly knowledgeable, very well trained in making the perfect cocktail, and genuinely listened to what we liked and recommended the perfect cocktail to meet those requests. Execution was top notch, and everything we had was delicious.

Beyond the drinks, the staff were very personable, and because it was not too busy (5-6 people in the bar), they were happy to talk to us about all sorts of topics.

Aligned with the service level of the Waldorf in which it resides, the bar staff was more than accommodating when we simply asked for some ice to take to the room, which while a seemingly small request, was probably out of the ordinary for Europe. Nonetheless, they happily met the request and sent us on our way feeling well taken care of.

Pricing was in line with a high-end bar, but that is indeed what you're receiving - high quality ingredients, knowledgeable and well trained staff, and a wonderful experience that you won't find at many...