The Grand — Restaurant in North Island

It is in the most ferocious sea that a “good” sailor distinguishes himself.

Instead of developing solutions for the customers, the on-duty manager or some sort of owner (the Gentleman in charge) chose to insist on defending their own stake.

It is required by the law that “drinks must be ordered together with the same number of mains as that of the guests per table on Easter Sunday”, according to the Gentleman in charge (2018), although we said we’d already had our dinner but just want to try some Wellington craft beers. The gentleman in charge could have advised that we take some of the ordered food away if we really cannot finish it, which we actually asked for his permission, but he didn’t permit and instead kept insisting that their restaurant didn’t have the required “takeaway” license. Because the beers had been already served on the table when we were told we “HAD” to order two mains, we agreed and ordered two mains given no other choices available and we had no intention to cause even bigger embarrassment for us all by just leaving the beers on the table. For the next one hour or so, the gentleman in charge seemed to avoid any verbal contact with us, even without asking us about the experience of the food itself, which is probably the single most important component of a restaurant.

Most importantly, I personally have no problem at all if people are just prohibited or restricted from drinking during Easter or any other periods because I respect, understand and enjoy the variety of customs and habits. What I also believe is that any practitioner in the service industry including hospitality, should always put customers first. Whenever there’s misunderstanding or confusion or conflicts, a mature, wise and competent hospitality practitioner should always try to develop a plan that can work for both parties instead of just rolling out the cliche and dashing along so that they feel warm inside and holier than thou.

Anyway, the food is nice given I’ve had two mains, admittedly. This has made the review score...

TG in central Courtenay Place offers meals and drinks in a lovely lounge at the front, and also in their informal, garden bar at the back. Service is fast and friendly and the ambience, warm, calm and inviting. Their lunch menu is worth exploring as the food is good and served quickly, the portions adequate and the pricing reasonable.

There's plenty of seating to choose from without booking, some in private alcoves, and sufficient menu choices to please most people should you decide to drop in as a large group. Most of the dishes are accompanied by a small salad, and additionally you can order side dishes if you're a big eater, or like to share with others.

Their signature stone-grills is where you can cook your own steak, etc. exactly to your liking and currently there is a special dinner offer of 2 rump steak meals for $30. TG also offers 2-for-1 meals on Monday nights and there is usually a good turn-out then. Their desserts are not too shabby either. Staff are super-efficient and congenial. Nb. there's been a chef and menu change since...

Today I had lunch at The Grand and I am not impressed with the staff's conduct. While the aesthetics and menu were excellent, the expectations of lovely food and customer service were instead replaced with the negative effects of misgendering, dampening our experience considerably.

My friends and I were seated, I bought a drink, then the rest took menus to order their food. When the waitress returned to take their orders, my friends were repeatedly referred to as “sir” which resulted in invalidation of their personal identities. When we rightfully corrected this misgendering to the Ma’am honorific and she/her pronouns, The Waitress became rude and disrespectful. We decided to leave after this.

For as long as this problem persists within the staffing body of The Grand I will not be returning. I recommend retraining staff to be more aware of the harm making assumptions of identity has on individuals so future customers are not harmed in this manner and everyone gets to experience The Grand...