Barbossa Abu Dhabi — Restaurant in Abu Dhabi

Premium Prices For Poor Customer Service

Recently, my wife and I decided to explore the culinary delights of La Carnita before attending a concert at the Etihad Arena. Given the bustling nature of Yas Bay restaurants before such events, we attempted to book a table in advance. However, we were informed that reservations are only accepted for parties of six or more - a peculiar policy. Despite this, we ventured to try our luck on the night of the event.

Upon our arrival at 6:15 pm, we were informed that only outdoor seating was available. Despite the balmy evening, we acquiesced, appreciating the restaurant's inviting decor and vibrant atmosphere. One minor detail, though, was the insufficient air conditioning for the expansive outdoor area, provided only by a single-standing unit.

Service was initially efficient, with our waiter promptly presenting menus and introducing himself (regrettably, his name escapes me). We promptly ordered two Mexican-style draught beers, in the hope of relief from the warm evening.

The menu design was engaging and harmonised with the theme of the restaurant. Notably, the prices were higher than average for Mexican cuisine in the Abu Dhabi/Dubai area, suggesting the prospect of a superior dining experience (watch this space).

Our order consisted of a mixed (chicken and beef) OG Sizzling Fajita, Padron Peppers, and Bravas. Our beers were served after a wait of approximately 15 minutes - understandable given the concert rush, yet nonetheless a substantial wait given the ambient temperature and premium pricing.

The drinks were adorned with lime and a salted rim. Although satisfactory, the presentation and flavor profile were ordinary rather than remarkable.

The food arrived approximately 20 minutes post-ordering. Regrettably, there was a discrepancy in our order; our Sizzling Fajita was served solely with beef, the chicken absent. Amidst the evening's timeline and our growing hunger, we chose not to bring up the oversight with our server.

The food quality was generally good; the beef was well-cooked and the quality of the ingredients was apparent. However, the overall dining experience did not warrant applause.

Oddly, the Sizzling Fajita was accompanied by merely four tortillas, despite the generous portion of meat and peppers. Our request for additional tortillas, directed towards a passing waiter, was met with a perplexing reaction and an unfulfilled promise. Similar interactions occurred twice more, with an unreasonably long wait (15 minutes) for an extra two tortillas, which arrived when our meal was no longer hot.

La Carnita, please explain to me:

Why would a Fajita, particularly one of premium pricing, be served with an inadequate number of tortillas? Why was the wait for additional tortillas excessively long? Why did it take multiple requests to fulfil a basic request?

Our voiced concerns regarding the service were met with a simple explanation of busyness with no offer of apology.

Upon departure, we courteously thanked the front-of-house staff but received no reciprocation, a basic tenet of customer service!

As a veteran in the customer service industry, it's concerning that a restaurant situated in a competitive market appears to undervalue fundamental customer service and effective complaint resolution. If you aspire to charge premium prices for above-average food and beverages, it's essential to uphold high standards of customer experience.

Our experience left us feeling rather disappointed. There are more satisfying dining experiences to be had in Yas Bay, such as Asia Asia (which is right next door).

It's my hope that this constructive review will aid in refining your customer service strategy and overall dining experience. Please let me know when you have addressed your customer service and we may return with others, but until then, it is a hard no and avoid at all...

Very unprofessional and rude team and management, we tried them for the second time and again got disappointed, first time they were trying to refuse me and my family for awkward excuses when they had lots of empty tables and claiming to be fully booked but finally they took us in, food was very expensive but most of it good and we were not worried about the food costs as we always spend a lot on food, in our second trip to AD and stay nearby we decided to try them again and never expected that we will have a similar bur worse experience, again this time they started an excuse that we are fully booked and once I told them we are only two people and just arrived from Dubai they changed their mind and provided us a table far from all other guests by the entrance door!!!we got provided with food and drink menu, after 10 minutes and when we were about to order food they came back and said we don’t have any food and only can provide you with drinks! we clearly told them at the beginning that we are there for the food initially,Me and my wife were both shocked as we spent a lot of time going through the menu and we were just about to order the food, if they had no food why we were given the food menu! We left the place and felt terrible,I felt really bad in front of my wife which was very tired and I wanted to create a memorable dinner for her (after long time far from kids), this all happened when most of other tables had food in front of the guests and people were just chilling and drinking and dancing after food! we will never forget this experience as in my twenty years life in UAE this was the first time a restaurant dealt with us so disrespectfully, not to mention that that I am a doctor with about 40 staff under my supervision in our medical company and respect to the client is the only and most important slogan of our work! I have posted this review to make people aware of this scam restaurant,I will take this to the consumers right department and will make sure to spread the word to anyone possible ,story will never end here and I have already contacted my lawyer for guidances for the next legal steps!

Updated reply: thank you very much for taking your valuable time and replying to a costumer that you thought does not worth providing service! you already lost us as the costumer at the very first minute when we walked out, I will never forget the look in my wife`s eyes and the disappointment she felt! there is no need for communication between us, I hope people who read this review think twice before coming...

VERY RUDE EMPLOYEES. We came after the backstreet concert and it clearly said 20% off the bill for bsb ticket holders. There were no terms and conditions mentioned but the team seemed very confused . The person at the entrance confirmed the discount , he mentioned just show the bill to the waiters. The waiters are clearly in their own world , no proper communication among staff members. A few waiters confirmed it was the offer was valid for before the concert. I told them no terms and conditions were mentioned :/. They finally gave it to us. But also the waiter with the long hair said that he will get back to us and confirm this information of the discount . He NEVER came back with confirmation. Upon receiving the bill there was no discount. We had to ask them about it again :/ .

We sat in the area with the BIG TABLE and we had asked to put on the music in that area , while calling the waiter , he acknowledged us and it’s walked away.

We had to ask another waiter 10 mins later and that’s when it was fixed.

I personally felt we were not attended to properly despite being a customer , we didn’t get the best vibes from the waiters but we did have a good time only because of the concert and we wanted to chill in a place.

Also the waiter with the long hair( note that we were attended by 2-3 waiters) , while placing the order , we are a table of 12-13 he only stood in one corner taking their orders . Does he expect a few of us sitting on the complete opposite end to shout out our orders ?

Anyways please educate , communicate with the team to treat all PAYING customers equally , speak to us politely , address our queries / situation.

On the contrary...