Isabelle's Restaurant — Restaurant in Dublin

Had the pleasure of dining at Isabelle's yesterday. My friend had booked a table based on a recommendation from her daughter. I would like to say at this point that the interior is really lovely and the food was delicious. So highly recommended. However, two members of staff/management let the experience down. When we were arrived, on time, we expected the now normal Covid cert checks to delay us going in, but the guy on front desk duty was busy on the phone so we waited in the doorway. When he finally hung up, rather than deal with us he discussed the phone issue with another staff member leaving us waiting another couple of minutes. So unlike the statement on their website about welcoming customers in, we felt that this guy was more concerned about the call he had just had, than greeting his customers. And as it was our first visit, we all agreed when we sat down at the table that it was not very professional. The table service during the meal was lovely and as I said, the food was really great. We didn't hold back, had starters, mains and ordered Gin & Tonic's, Bottle of Wine and then coffee's and a shared dessert. All yum. While we had finished our meal, we were still enjoying drinks when I noticed the floor manager looking at our table and checking his watch and I said to my friends, 'I think we are going to be asked to finish up by the looks we are getting'. And that was fine as we had been at the table for about 2 hours or more (although we were not given a minimum time slot when we arrived). A waiter then came along to tell us that they needed the table so we asked if we could retire to another section and he kindly arranged that for us. We were taken to the lovely terrace area and told that we had the table until 9 pm. Perfect. But again as I got up to go to the ladies I heard the floor manager giving instructions to the waitress to ensure that the bill was paid up and it just felt like we were being monitored (as if we were going to run off!). At 8:30 pm our friend from the front desk appeared and told us that they needed the table so we told him that we were given the table till 9pm so he said OK that was fine. Having had such a lovely evening we were really disappointed about how two people could really 'forget' what customer service is all about. They might have their tight schedule and need to keep things flowing but surely not at our expense? The final straw was the moment when we stood up gathering our coats and bags at the allocated time and our front desk friend came back again and said 'Ladies we really need this table now'. Are you kidding? Could he not see we were leaving? It left a bitter taste in our mouths after a long awaited evening out together. But 10 out of 10 to the chef and waiting staff, that was...

Pretty restaurant, simple menu. they were very nice to seat us without a booking. We were seated right in front of the kitchen, which in itself was not a problem. However, unfortunately the table was quite wobbly, which was very inconvenient and unexpected from a restaurant that wants to look high end. I wanted to have a nice dinner with my friends, the waiter took our orders. We had some limited time and the food took a while to come. When the food arrived, they forgot my order. It was really disappointing. One lady (not the waiter that took my order initially) came back with a menu minutes later saying that I had to pick again as they did forget my order. She basically assumed I would just pick again and it would all be fine. Initially there were no apologies and it all felt very rushed and unpolished. I looked clearly frustrated because I already knew I wouldn't be having dinner then, as again, it took quite a while for food to come initially. So I told her I wouldn't be eating and I think that is when she noticed I was visibly upset. However, the waiter who took my order was very apologetic, and I actually felt sorry for him because it was a busy evening at the restaurant, and I thought he did a better job at diffusing the situation than the previous person. Mistakes happen, but it was unfortunate as I couldn't afford to wait for another 40 minutes for the food. So I did not eat and ended my evening hungry. They did offer another side on the house, but the options are rather limited and I already had the side I wanted. I know they tried to amend the mistake, and I know the waiter was really sorry but I won't come back again. There are as nice places in Dublin for good pizza, if that is what you want. There is nothing really special about the place and the whole experience felt unpolished and disappointing. Just another Italian restaurant. There are many like that around. I do recommend trying BAH33 at the opposite corner as it is very nice and always good, or lemon and duke for nice warm pub food. You can...

Went here with a friend for a glass of wine. When asked at the door if we were looking for food we said just a drink and the server said that if we were looking for drinks only we'd have to sit on the terrace at the back (not an issue as it was a lovely evening!). Restaurant almost completely empty bar a handful of people, terrace too. Took a while for anyone to take our order, the waiter's demeanour changed completely when we said we weren't having food (despite us stating this at the beginning to the front of house server). We asked for a 500ml carafe of a specific wine from their list – he read back a 750 bottle and I had to correct him. 20 mins later he came back and told us they didn't do wine in 500ml (despite it being on menu) and tried to sell us a bottle of a different wine for close to 50 euro – he brought this to table instead of the menu and didn't seem happy we didn't jump to it and asked to see menu again. We settled on 2 glasses of wine and again, it took a long time to come. The bill was promptly dropped (the only prompt thing about the entire interaction – if I am remembering correctly it was actually dropped to us before the wine) and we had barely taken a sip before the card machine was brought down. We couldn't have felt more unwelcome and rushed – a really horrible experience and there are much nicer places to have a drink in the area without feeling like you're putting them out so definitely won't be back! If your waiters don't want to serve people buying a drink or two, please state this at the beginning and save both parties (especially the customer who is paying for the experience unfortunately) the awkwardness and frustration of the entire interaction and give the customer the opportunity to go somewhere where they won't be treated like a massive...