Lone Star Riccarton — Restaurant in Christchurch

To preface our experience at Lonestar Upper Riccarton last night:

I called prior after looking at the menu to make sure eating at your restaurant would be suitable for me.

On the phone I spoke to the same person who served us last night. On the phone I was told there was no problems and we could have nearly everything.

On the night we arrived and were greeted and told to wait in the bar. Which I found odd. There were no servers in the bar. We weren't asked if we wanted drinks or snacks while we waited for the other guests and there was no one else in the bar. It was dark and cold. No atmosphere and felt pointless. I asked why we couldn't be seated at the table already and was just told "we seat people in the bar and take the party through together". Seems pointless.

We were sat at a smaller table which we were shoulder to shoulder with each other and felt crowded.

The server I spoke to came over to me and showed me the vegan menu. His attitude was already in a negative and he started pointing out all the things I couldn't have which was everything on the main vegan menu after stating on the phone I could have almost everything. I then said could you please tell me what I can have then? Which was 2 things - Cauliflower and Coleslaw. So I asked for those.

We were moved tables and then things continued down hill. We had an extra long wait to be served for a drinks order and were bought a water jug with no glasses. I had to get our table glasses and was given a scowling look by the server when he saw me with them.

I had to ask for a server to come and take our order.

When the server came to take our order he seemed even more agitated.

He took my husband's order and then I felt he must not have heard me when I previously said I would have the Cauliflower and the Coleslaw so I asked if he needed my order again and he said yes.

I then saw that there was a Salad on the menu board that wasnt on the vegan menu which looked more appealing than just Cauliflower bites and Coleslaw the salad had capers/almonds etc so I asked if I could have that he said yes though he was talking over me I wasnt confident he had listened. I asked if I needed to let him no my allergies again as I was worried for my own safety. He again said 'yes vegetarian and gf.' I said 'no I am vegan, vegan isn't the same as vegetarian' he then spoke over me again and said 'yes vegan vegetarian and gf.' I was uncomfortable and said 'ok thank you'.

Our entrees came out. The garlic bread was enjoyed by all. My partner (also vegan) had his bean dip entree come out with a side of sour cream. Again with my lack in confidence in the service I asked the other members of the table to smell the sour cream as I suspected it might not be vegan. When the server came out we asked and he said yes it was so my partner went to have it and the the server said no wait and ran to the kitchen. He came back and said it wasn't vegan.

Why were we bought out non vegan sour cream with our vegan meal? Also why wasn't the sour cream replaced with vegan sour cream?

There was a wait for our mains My main was bought out first and on top of it were edamame beans. ( my allergies are: peanuts, soy, coriander and fenugreek)

I went to tell the server what was wrong and again he spoke over me and said "yes that is the vegetarian cheese". 1: why is he speaking over clients, 2: is it vegetarian cheese or vegan cheese??? I said no there are edamame beans on the Cauliflower they are soy. I am allergic to soy.

Part 2 will be posted by another profile...

I love the variety of food Lone Star offers, which makes this experience all the more disappointing for our meal last night.

To start with the positives: the spicy bean dip entrée was delicious and arrived quickly. The drinks, once they finally came, were excellent. Shout out to the guy behind the bar doing a great job on his own.

Unfortunately, that’s where the positives end.

From the moment we walked in, the service left a lot to be desired. The waiter in the blue shirt clearly saw us waiting to be seated but didn’t acknowledge us until we approached him. Once we were finally seated, his attitude gave the impression he didn’t want to be there at all. That showed throughout the night.

We asked for tap water while waiting for our drinks. Not only did the drinks take about 45 minutes to arrive (right before our meals), but we had to ask again for the water that was forgotten. At no point were we given updates or apologies. Just silence. Again, I acknowledge the solo guy making drinks because they were amazing.

Our entrée came out quickly, which was appreciated. But after ordering the fish and chips and BBQ ribs, our mains took over an hour to arrive. The restaurant wasn’t even particularly busy. It was just clear that the waiter didn’t care to check in or provide even basic service.

By the time the mains arrived, I honestly considered just paying for the entrée and leaving. I was really looking forward to the St. Louis cut BBQ ribs, but they weren’t quite what I’d hoped for. The cut was quite fatty, and the flavour didn’t really come through. I know not every dish will land perfectly every time, but it was a letdown after such a long wait.

The only thing that helped later on was when we started getting served by one of the waitresses. She was very attentive, and that honestly was the overall one star I've given this review.

I really wanted to give this place a chance, but sadly, based on this experience, I was quite...

I came here for a welcome back dinner and left very upset with the whole night. Service was awful, food was disappointing and bland. We ordered off the new vegan menu after being previously advised they had food available for a guest with allergies, they kept bringing out non vegan sour cream with the vegan food without saying it wasn't vegan which makes no sense at all and did not listen to the guest with allergies saying she couldn't eat what was put in front of her. The server kept leaving with a huff and was pretty aggressive with our table. The food was bad and bland. We weren't given glasses for water just the water jug so we had to go and get them ourselves off the bar. Our drinks were delayed too. We complained at the end was met with an aggressive manager who has no customer service skills. Blamed the guest with allergies saying she should have checked the menu herself when she had already called in 2 weeks ago to confirm. He then told me I should be nicer to people after I had said nothing to him except that they needed to sort their vegan menu out. He is the manager and he is blaming the customers who have had an awful experience at the restaurant. Then blamed us for not being rude while running away and ignoring what we were saying. I will never come here again, avoid at all costs. I'm assuming these staff members are losing their jobs with their closure soon and that is reflecting their work. Still cannot believe how much we paid for this meal to be made to feel so little and disrespected as if it was our fault....