Qafé Guidoline — Restaurant in Geneva

We were received in a scandalous manner at La Guidoline on the morning of August 20, 2023. There was only one person to take, prepare and serve orders for the entire establishment, inside and on the terrace. This person was very stressed and unable to manage, which is understandable. But even though we wrote down our order to make her life easier, after 35 minutes she still hadn't taken it from us and made it clear that she didn't know she would. Other people, who arrived after our group, were served before us. When reinforcements finally arrived, this new person told us in no uncertain terms that if we weren't happy, there were other cafes in the area! Needless to say, that was the straw that broke the camel's back, and we left. This is all the more unacceptable that we have for years, during school term, been coming every Saturday morning in a group of 8 to 20 people. But yesterday – in further evidence of the deterioration in service observed for several months – was really the pinnacle. We were clearly not welcome. The least they could have done is to tell us from the start that it was not going to be possible to serve us that morning rather than have us wait unnecessarily for a total of more than 40 minutes. Instead, the servers were rude and dismissive. It is with sadness that we have watched this neighbourhood establishment that we cherish deteriorate over the months, suffering from evidently incompetent management and staff that is at best overwhelmed and at worst unpleasant. This is not the first time this year that we have suffered from poor service and been made to feel like an inconvenience. There is a limit to what we are willing to endure, however, and that limit was well exceeded yesterday. We won't be back....

I really love the vibe of this place but the service in the evenings is consistently terrible. I've been around 5 or 6 times in the last few months, and every time I have been left waiting at the square bar in the middle of the cafe for at least 3 or 4 minutes before any of the bar stuff even acknowledge me. I know when it's busy there's likely to be a bit of a wait, which I would be fine with if they just gave the waiting customs some indication that they knew they were there, just something like "be with you in a few minutes" or even just eye contact and a smile would be fine - rather than scowling and ignoring us.

This is the first review I've ever posted for any restaurant or bar because it's been so noticeable on my last few visits (and friends I have spoken with have agreed that the bar staff come across as rude a lot of the time). Really hope they see this and do something about it - it's such a great bar spot in Geneva with a good atmosphere, but the service really lets...

Worst service I have experienced for a long time and I travel a lot. Rude, indifferent and incompetent staff. Took 20 mins just to get served, despite inquiring at the counter whether we should order at the counter or wait for service. Eventually had to wave them over to get served even though they were not particularly busy. What little focus they did have seemed to be saved for their regulars (I am surprised they have any). Despite coming back to reconfirm the order, they still did not serve everything we ordered. It took a further 20 minutes just to get two coffees, two juices and a few croissants served.

When I paid the bill, the waitress took five minutes just to return with the change, plonked it on the table, 10 Swiss francs short, and walked off before I could say anything. I had to say loudly excuse me and, before I could say anything else, she said “oh yes, I forgot the 10 francs.”

Strongly recommend...