Bossa Somerset West — Restaurant in Somerset West

Bossa’s description online states: “Bossa is all about good times. They strive to provide a space where young and old, families, friends, business associates and groups can relax, unwind and enjoy themselves.” And they’re right. They are about good times. So much so that they’ll just ignore the bad ones. In fact, the staff will flip on a dime and go from accommodating and friendly to hostile and cold in a matter of seconds. It seems that everybody can relax, but they’ve yet to find a way for everybody to relax at the same time, it seems - like the one guy in the ladies restroom. He seemed very relaxed. Everybody else around him… well, not so much. “You can look forward to a casual dining experience with a lively ambiance, friendly service and great facilities and interiors. The menu includes lots of appetizers, salads, vegetarian options, lunchtime deals, prime cuts, burgers, pizzas and more.” Menu items which are truly all-encompassing. They even have vegan items! And, just to spice things up, they’ll throw in dairy products with those vegan menu items (which caused everybody at our table that evening to jump, trying to find medications to give to our friend to avoid a very dangerous and possibly even lethal allergic reaction). They truly have something for every palette and occasion with well-priced, generous portions.” “Well priced” is being generous. As for portion sizes... Well, if we’re talking about portions of panic, shock and disgust, then yes. Very generous indeed. I liked Bossa. I really did. And I’ll probably be back. But it’s going to take a lot of “well-priced” drinks to get the bitter taste of the way we (as customers) were treated. The evening ended poorly, and I’ll be making sure that I don’t interact with some of the staff for the time being.

I sincerely hope that the only thing this Bossa has in common with any of the other branches...

Myself and my son popped in on Saturday morning. The restaurant opens at 730am and we walked in around 740am. As we walked in the person by the door in no uncertain terms told me that most of their tables were reserved for the Rugy starting at 9am. As it was just before 8 and noticing that my son and I were the only guests, I assumed we would be out before the rugby starts and I mentioned this to the person. We were shown to a table outside, (which was lovely). Note we were so early that one of the waiters was still busy setting up the jumping castle. As we sat I ordered drinks (cuppacino and Hot Chocolate), around 8am our drinks arrived (20min later) and they arrived with a Americano - I sent it back, and placed our breakfast order. My sons breakfast arrived, the bacon was soggy, but he was so hungry by then he couldnt be bothered. about 15 min after my son's breakfast arrived, my breakfast eventually came (note I ordered avo on toast with bacon and soft poached eggs) when the waiter put the plate down she noticed no bacon - back goes the plate. (ps should she not have noticed this before bringing the plate out?) another 15min and plate comes back - this time I notice the eggs arent poached or soft - waiter goes on to tell me that they nervous for the throng of people expected to arrive for the rugby - at that stage there were only 2 other tables occupied, so 3 tables in total. By 845am, still waiting for my breakfast and these throngs of people arriving I decided to leave. I cant believe it took an hour to serve one table (2 guests) while being rushed when entering the establishment because of the expected throngs of people. How can one kitchen not get a simple order right and how can one waitress not check before going up and down with the same...

Dear Bossa Somerset West Management,

I’m a regular Bossa customer and always enjoy visiting your different branches. Unfortunately, my recent experiences at the Somerset West branch have been consistently disappointing over the past two months.

While the recent expansion looks fantastic, it seems the staff are struggling to handle the increased customer volume. My visit today (around 12:15 pm) was particularly poor:

We were only attended to at 12:30 pm.

By 1:15 pm, we had to ask another staff member about our drinks, only to find they’d been standing at the counter waiting to be collected.

At 1:30 pm, our food was also waiting, and another waiter (not ours) had to step in when we raised concerns.

By 2:00 pm, after asking for water, takeaway boxes, and the bill, we only received the boxes. Our waiter seemed frustrated and disappeared again, so we ended up settling our bill at the counter for Table 101.

It’s disappointing to see such poor service, especially when I know how great the Bossa experience can be. It feels as if walk-in customers receive less attention compared to those with bookings, and the branch doesn’t appear to be adequately staffed to handle both.

For now, I’ll continue visiting Bossa Strand, where the staff are consistently friendly, attentive, and seem to genuinely enjoy what they do.

I truly hope Somerset West can address these issues, as I’d love to return and experience the same level of service I’ve come to expect from Bossa.

Kind...