Haití Café - Bar - Restaurant — Restaurant in Lima Metropolitan Area

The server tried to scam us.

When paying by card: ALWAYS INSIST ON ENTERING THE TOTAL YOURSELF.

Our server decided that the language barrier was perfect opportunity to harness the confusion and give himself a 40% tip. That's after we gave him what I now understand was an excessively generous 20% tip.

When I first asked him to explain the math, he quickly brushed me off saying that yes, the totals were fine and were 5-10%.

I gave him a quizzical stare as he rushed off. Of course as an engineer, I instantly pulled out: my calculator my bank app, to see what he actually charged my credit card

From inside the restaurant, I suspect our waiter watched nervously as the numbers took shape: Yep, he'd given himself a 40% tip in total. That's a lot even for the most charitable of Canadians.

NOTE: I will give credit to the waiter's reflexes and survival instincts: once I'd come to my mathematical conclusion, he suddenly reappeared to give me 20 sol and explained there had been a mistake... without me having to get up and ask for the restaurant manager.

Just in case the owner of this establishment wants to know exactly who is responsible for this bad review, know that there were 3 waiters that served us:

The 1st waiter - an older gentleman - was courteous and seated us; when we told him we only spoke English, he immediately found someone that could help us (to him we say thank you)

The 2nd waiter, a younger waiter (or bus boy?) took our order and understood us perfectly (to him we say thank you)

The 3rd waiter (the problematic one) served us our food and processed (rushed) our payment and tried to take me for a fool

Had it not been for our 3rd enterprising waiter, the restaurant would've received a 4-5...

I'd avoid it. Like a cafè in Paris where you can see the Eiffel Tower, there will be a cost for your view of the kitty park.

The food is overpriced for what it is. The service is nice, but the waiter was looking for ways to pad the check as well. When I asked for a pisco sour, he announced "a double!" as he ran away.

The bill for lomo saltado and 2 drinks(doubles) and a bottle of water was 130 sols. The waiter asked me if 15 sols was an acceptable tip. That's above 10% but I said fine. He input 25 sols. When I asked him, he said it was 15%, which is a lie because 15% would be 19.5 sols. I paid 160 total for average food, an uncomfortable chair, an overpriced bottle of water, and the distinct feeling that someone was trying to get one over on me because I'm not from here.

Read other reviews, I'm not the first. The casual dishonesty is unappetizing.

I'll never go...

Amazing place full of great food, service and history!

The menu is extensive, interesting and full of choice. Now this isn’t a high quality establishment, more of a cosy local place with hearty fare. It doesn’t have high end prices so don’t expect haute cuisine.

Our waiter was so friendly and smiley and really tried his best with his English.

We tried a pisco sour for the first time and was pleasantly surprised although be warned it’s very strong!!

For food we had our favourite Lomo saltado which comes with rice and chips, plus the bolognese ravioli.

Both were super hot, tasty and came out fast.

All in all it’s a fab place to grab a bite to eat and watch the world go by.

This cafe bar was established in 1952, so they must be doing something right if they’re still going...