Caffè Grande Abaco — Restaurant in Oldham

Now I have been coming here years . Never a complaint on the food BUT the serving staff just not very good I am afraid . As per pics ordered the Abaco large board with wine £45 it ain’t cheap we had a few other drinks also . After first drink tried to order the staff are expert at looking down to avoid eye contact small young female short dumpy asked twice can we order . Asked same one for cutlery for the food smiled nodded but ignored what we said . Eventually tall blonde lady took our order very friendly , food came no cutlery asked young lad can we have some he came back with 1 knife ! Asked could we have a knife each at least !! Problem is they are always full , prime spot and food good but boy are the service staff slow and seem obsessed with spraying tables ! Anywhoo I will continue to go but come on it ain’t tricky . Few tables few drinks and food work hard get tips . UPDATE 3/11/2023 Place was empty Friday afternoon not a good sign! Several young Eastern European females inside chatting waited ten minutes sat at a table so I went inside to order asked could I order two medium cappuccinos female looked puzzled asked another for a tablet took my order and payment then she walked away I asked now what ? She replied wait here or stand here up to you ! I became annoyed look I just want two medium cappuccinos why is that so hard ? Eventually she said ok I’ll bring it to you …. 5 mins later another Eastern European female came outside asked was it take away ! I became angry look all I want is what I paid for two medium cappuccinos is that too difficult to understand she then said lady who took orders was new !! Eventually the arrived ! Heard staff was bad and witnessed this before and told owner not a nice chap to work for hence poor staff morale. We won’t be back place used to be ok

“Owners reply response” Unfortunately Dan you don’t get a say in how I post my reviews . It was a honest observation your young female staff are Eastern European this is not a derogatory term simply a fact . By your turt response it’s obvious it’s true what they say about you, you didn’t seek to address or apologise for the poor service to a paying customer . Don’t worry I won’t be back . You had your chance and an empty place Friday afternoon speaks for itself . You will always get people who don’t care about service and simply want to sit outside posing . I’m not one of them like I said plenty better places nearby . Wish you the best for the future as you are going to need it !

UPDATE 6/7/24

Wow things have actually turned around gone from a negative one star to a 4-5 star review. Saturday afternoon place buzzing quick service from young staff ordered a beer and a la … previously latter devoid of brandy but this time plenty and tasty. Beer spot on but bit pricey. Ordered a cheese meat board plentiful fresh and very enjoyable . I think owner is listening and things have changed bravo 👏

Update 25/4/25 Changed a lot inside lots of alterations very enjoyable...

Before I start this review, I wanted to say that previously I have had a really good time at Abaco and really do love the place. However, my time last night really wasn't up to the standard that I have experienced before. We had a 5:30 reservation for 4 of us and was quickly sat down outside. We tried to order drinks on the app but couldn't find a specific gin so asked 3 different people to help us before someone came and took our drinks/food order. Another problem we had at this stage was that we couldn't find the pizzas on the app either (however, that could have been us!). Drinks took a while coming out and the gin we ordered was wrong 3 times (first time they didn't charge us for the mixer, so had to pay for that separately, and we asked for it without ice twice and it came with ice both times). While we were waiting for the food, a young lad repeatedly put menus on our table and when we said that we didn't want them there he said he had to put them on the tables - we didn't want the table cluttered with food menus after we had ordered! The lamb tajine came out first with no sign of pizzas coming out, we waited for 5 mins before asking someone about it. They apologised, took the lamb away and we must have waited an extra 10 mins before all the food came out They said that the different kitchens cooked different food which is why it came out at different times. The good thing, however, was that we had a new portion of lamb. Noone checked on us while we ate our food but the food was okay. We then wanted to order some more drinks and the previous guy who insisted we had menus, even after ordering, took our order. It must have taken at least 5 minutes just to make the order as he didn't really know what we were asking...he was unsure what a dry white wine was, what a pale ale was or even the sizings. He was clearly new, which is absolutely fine, but it just seemed like noone had taken the time to go through the drinks menu/systems with him. It was a massive shame as we had family visiting us and I had been raving about Abaco and it just didn't live up to the expectations. The women who was seating people was great though and helped us...

Dreadful ,appalling experience. Firstly we were just sent to a table and told to use the app to order. The app was neither use nor ornament. We asked one of the staff if we could order without using it . He had asked us what we wanted and we explained we didn't know as we hadn't been able to access the menu. Eventually he took our order or so we thought. I ordered the beef bourguignon but was told it was not available but there was beef stroganoff instead, my wife ordered the meat balls and our daughter ordered spaghetti bolognese .We also ordered starters. He took payment there and then but marched off before we could even be given a receipt, we never saw him again. My main arrived first no starters, it was a bowl with a brown sludge covering what I assume was rice. It was clearly fresh from the microwave steaming in parts luke warm elsewhere. It resembled no stroganoff I'd ever seen ,in fact I suspect it was the last dregs of the bourguignon slopped over some pre over cooked rice. Our daughters spaghetti bolognese was devoid of any sauce to cover the rubber pasta again it had clearly just come out the fridge and been microwaved. Then the starters came tasteless humus and tinned vine leaves We were the lucky ( or unlucky ) ones because there was no sign of my wife's main. When I asked the waiter where it was he just said 'you haven't paid for it' No apology no attempt to take the order. He made us feel like we were asking for something for nothing. As if we'd go out for a meal and just not bother to order a main then ask for one ! Having seen my main my wife opted to just eat the starter. Having spent most of the day walking around the beautiful countryside we were both so hungry we actually ate the 'stroganoff' Home Pride came to mind ,bland beyond belief and a stranger to paprika or cream ( or meat for that matter ) We were offered two free drinks but we'd actually been foolish enough to come out for food. This place is all style over substance with terrible service, impolite staff and awful food that any chef would be ashamed to serve up Thankfully we'll never set foot in this place again and not should...