Da Esmat — Restaurant in Amman

We have been loyal customers for nearly eight years, but after today’s experience, we will never return. The receptionist ( the young guy with no beard) was incredibly rude, disrespectful, and completely lacking in hospitality.

Upon arrival, he insisted that we sit at a central table that no one ever uses, claiming that other tables were reserved because it was February 14th. However, when we requested a more comfortable table, he refused and kept insisting on “upcoming reservations”—not actual, confirmed ones. When I pointed out the contradiction and asked if I could simply call from the parking lot to get a proper table, he became even more dismissive.

His attitude toward my elderly mother was particularly unacceptable. She was left waiting in an almost empty restaurant during non-peak hours, treated with utter disregard. A restaurant that prides itself on good food and a cozy atmosphere should also prioritize basic hospitality and respect for longtime customers.

It’s disappointing to see such arrogance from an employee who clearly knows nothing about customer service. If this is the kind of treatment you expect guests to tolerate, I sincerely hope you reconsider your standards. Even the best food can’t make up for poor service.

Not to mention, the furniture is outdated, the interior lacks proper design, and the fake roses on the tables do nothing to elevate the atmosphere. A successful restaurant should invest in both its ambiance and its staff.

At this point, I would rather pay extra at Romero and secure a table in advance than deal with such an unprofessional and discourteous experience. Enjoy seeing your place...

Sadly we had a bad experience… at first everything went good, we sat at the table and ordered our meal and drinks. We had a lemonade with basil but it tasted pretty much like a too sour chemical lemonade. The waiter actually noticed and asked us if it tasted good. We said that it was a bit too sour and that we’d rather have a pepsi but he took back the lemonades and brought them back after adding some water to them but it still had that chemical taste… We shared the pesto salad as started and it was good but the main dish was terrible. We ordered the three kinds of pasta (arrabiata, aglio e olio and cream pasta) and the pasta aglio e olio (garlic and oil) which was for both overcooked and not that good. The aglio e olio just tasted like dill with too much salt, the cream pasta was not that good and the arrabiata tasted like a bad tomato sauce… Before we left, I rolled myself a cigaret, and one of the waiter literally told me “give me one cigaret”. Being too embarrassed to refuse, I offered him the one I just rolled for myself and as I gave it to him he asked me if it was fresh and smelled the cigaret in front of me. First it is completely unprofessional to ask a cigaret to the client, secondly he didn’t even ask, he didn’t say please or thank you and finally he dared to ask me if my tobacco was fresh and smelled the cigaret to make sure… what a lack of respect.

On behalf of my Italians origins I clearly do not recommend this place...

I visited Esmat today with a friend for lunch, and all I can say is I was VERY disappointed.

The only positive thing is that the main course tasted good and we enjoyed it. I would like to highlight negative points for the management, and I hope they'll be taken into consideration:

When the waiter took out order, he didn't write it down. Eventually, they forgot to bring the salad, and we never asked for it again.

We ordered water, they brought us the plastic bottles with no glasses. Are we expected to drink water from the bottle in an upscale restaurant?

The appetiser arrived, and we didn't get any cutlery until we asked for it a few minutes after.

When we got the cutlery, the waiter brought them.with his bear hands and was holding them from right below the top.

When the main course arrived, they took our appetiser plates and didn't get new plates. we ate from the big dish and had to leave the shells and unwanted parts at the edge of the plate.

I ordered a second soft drink and it never arrived,I had to ask 3 times, they brought the can of pepsi and left it on the table with no glass.

-The appetiser we ordered had shrimps that were obviously frozen.

For the prices of the restaurant, you'd expect excellent service. I believe that non of the servers has any experience of serving in a...