Milano — Restaurant in Dublin

I recently had the deeply unpleasant experience of dining at Milano (6 Excise Walk, Clarion Quay, Dublon Ireland), and I feel compelled to share my distressing encounter. As a well-traveled Black woman, I am accustomed to navigating different cultural norms, but the blatant discrimination I faced at this establishment was both shocking and profoundly disheartening.

Upon arrival, I was greeted with barely concealed disdain by the Manager. He sat me in a corner at a wobbly table. I moved one table up and waved to the manager to explain. He never came, but he saw. Then who I presumed would be my waiter came over to the area to tend to other patrons.The dismissive attitude of the staff was glaringly apparent, and it became clear that my presence was an unwelcome inconvenience.

I reviewed the menu for less than 2 minutes. I knew I was only getting a salad. I then watched the waiter tend to a table directly to my left and another table directly in front of me. He even made eye contact with me, but never came to check on me or ask me if I was ready to order. I watched as he walked away and another couple came in and was seated at the wobbly table behind me. The waiter came over to the area again, made eye contact with me and then walked back to the hostess booth talked to manager and walked away again. There was about two rounds of confusion and the waiter making eye contact with me, but opting not to serve me.

Sitting there I already knew what it was! Just then the waiter walked over to the table behind me to the couple who came in after me, again making eye contact. Then I waived the other waiter over to asked for the manager. He inquired about my concern and I said loud enough for the other waiter to hear. He was all so apologetic then. At that point, I only wanted to talk to the manager, who was also apologetic. I shared my observations and we both agreed that all the waiter had to do was ask if he was unsure who came in first. The problem however; he knew who came in first and so did the manager! The manager offered a discounted meal and again apologized profusely.

At this point I was done and walked out. It was as though I were invisible, a ghost among the living. The staff’s blatant disregard was not just an affront to my dignity, but a stark reminder of the insidious nature of racial discrimination that persists in so many forms, all over this world, and even in places where one might least expect it.

I left Milano feeling deeply disheartened and disrespected. It’s a sad reflection on our society when even in this day and age, one can be made to feel less than human simply because of the color of their skin. I strongly advise anyone who values equality and respect to steer clear of this establishment. No one should have to endure the kind of treatment I experienced, and I sincerely hope that my review serves as a warning to anyone who is considering dining here.

Also... I felt it important to give racism a face. Posting a pic of the waiter.

Just read the manager's response, and I couldn't let it go... Unfortunately, there is no verification of the untrustworthy reply. Pictures don't lie, Sir! I know exactly who the server was. I know exactly were I was seated, and I know exactly what you did! Nothing! I could debate incessantly here, but I won't. All I'll say is, if what you described was anywhere close to the truth, all you had to do was have the "least likely" person to discriminate, apologize! Oh yeah... that wouldn't have been necessary even if I misconstrued the situation because the least likely person to discriminate would have done that on their own! It's very sad when excuses are used for bad behavior! ...And btw... pictures and videos are necessary in my community because we often have to have proof of...

Ate here as a family during the week. Firstly we were placed at a cramped table whilst majority of the restaurant was empty, so I asked to be moved to somewhere we could fully pull back the seat without hitting a wall. This wasn't an issue, but I couldn't understand why they fit us there to start with.

Service was slow, despite the restaurant being half empty we rarely saw the waiting staff. We had to point out that we needed cutlery after starter was cleared away for example, and then go get some.

Food was fine but the portions don't match what was advertised. I'd requested a side of potatoes but they didn't even cover the bottom of the small ramkin dish they came out on. When this was pointed out , the waiting staff weren't really interested the comment being "thats probably normal", then management came over to ask about it, we were very pleasant about it, just pointed out the portion size, they said "everything comes in sealed portions to us and the portion was as it was". ( thats an insane amount of plastic if every items portion is really prepackaged). I pointed out the menu picture of a portion vs the tiny 1/4 of the picture dish I got and they became embarrassed and went to have it replaced. I was advised 2 mins as another was already being cooked, I waited , and waited and at the point when everyone else with me had finished their meal, I gave up and ate the salad. I didn't want to have to go walking around to find someone to ask about it and all the waiting staff were as they had been all night, away.

They brought out a replacment dish about 15 mins later, almost exactly as I had finished. It seemed either grossly incompetent or...... I returned it. They took the portion off the bill, but there was no real sense of apology.

It was quite disappointing as I hadn't expected that behaviour.

Therefore, be wary about portion sizes as from the menu and special offer pictures and don't be afraid to go looking for staff, I should have chased them down after 5 mins rather...

So, first off, we ate at a Milan's in Galway and loved it. Unfortunately this one failed to deliver the same experience. We talked to a waitress twice in 2 hours. It almost felt like we were ignored. They seemed busy, so we tried not to add to their proverbially full plates, but when no one appeared to show any interest in refilling our drink orders, we had to start waving people down. Ordered two beer in 2 hours, neither one came with a glass for me to pour the beer. Asked for one, didn't get it. Oh well. Not the end of the world. Our pizzas finally came out, and they were both burned. The edges were black. Mine had portions underneath that were black as well. At this point we were already so tired and hungry that we didn't want the hassle. But for €20, the pizza could have been much better prepared. The waitress, bless her heart, was a sweetheart when we did talk to her. And she was quick to bring us drinks once we finally asked for them. The 4 stars in service are for her and overall friendly demeanor. Overall, not a very good experience when compared to our first meal at...