LONG BAR & TERRACE — Restaurant in Boston

Hands down the worst dining experience I've ever had in Boston.... Manager told us that "this is not fine dining". I will just start at the beginning- we were a party of 4, two of us went up as our partners were parking. Hostess seated two of us with one menu and said she would be back with more. She never came back. Waiter did not come to our table until everyone was sat, ok fine but he could have acknowledged the two of us and offered us water while we wait. Waiter was inattentive and barely around. Food service was extremely slow- about a half hour for our appetizers came out, but I also had to wait an additional ten minutes for the whipped ricotta to come out. Waiter again, hardly around. We had finished our second drink and the empty appetizer plates were on our table for about twenty minutes. We had to ask for the plates to be cleared. No one came. Finally one of our friends put the plates on the seat next to him and then suddenly a waitress came right over- only to start reprimanding us, with a nasty attitude, for putting the dishes on the seat and told us she would be sending the manager over to talk to us. The manager never came over. Same waitress brought our food over and I asked about the manager that she said she was going to send over a HALF HOUR AGO. In a very nasty tone she said she would, but that I should eat my food first. Manager FINALLY came over, probably another twenty minutes later and was the most defensive and confrontational manager Ive ever come across. I tried to discreetly tell him that we were very disappointed with our service and shocked at how the waitress addressed us, and he asked us where we have eaten before in the city. Why should that matter? Regardless, I let him know I was at Yvonnes two weeks ago. His response- "well, this isn't fine dining". EXCUSE ME?? I must have been confused by the upscale decor, everyone dressed up, and the Louis XIII on the menu for $103 an oz. I didn't realize I had walked into the local Ruby Tuesdays. The manager then proceeded with, "well what do you want me to do about it?". I said, you know what, nothing, don't worry about it, We WONT be back. Then we had to wait for what seemed like forever for the bill! The kicker- the food was terrible. Everything was dry and frankly just not good for the price point. We ended up at the yard house after for sliders because we left so hungry.

Lastly, to round out this mind blowing experience, the bathrooms were gross. Clearly no one goes in there to check on them throughout the night. And the toilets don't flush.

Needless to say, NOT what I expected out of a...

The hotel affords a beautiful environment in its decor and design and flowers for days. The inviting and luxurious yet cozy atmosphere to sit and relax here and there in the hotel is a particularly lovely touch. The staff is very polite and pleasant. It's a feast for the eyes but it sadly, it stops there. Although, we did enjoy perfectly chilled good champagne, The Long Bar missed the mark in too many respects. Never in my life have I left a restaurant, stopped in a waiting area to write a review because it was primarily a bad experience. But luckily in my review, I've given credit where credit is due. The bar is quite nice and the service was professional but the dining room lacked good service and the food was extraordinarily bad in presentation, quality and flavor. It's too much to explain but everything about it was terrible. Moreover, the manager did not alleviate our disappointment. His manner was pleasant and he "acted" as if but he did not take matters into his own hands. His fist response to us was he would pass "that" feedback along to chef and kitchen. Obviously, that was not my objective and I found it highly offensive, although I didn't say that. However, we discussed the situation and he challenged me by explaining why he made a small gesture and that basically that was all he should do. He didn't really understand the concept of how to make a customer happy when there are issues, which is inexcusable across the board in a luxury hotel! There are myriad ways to do that, which I don't have to name but he proved unwilling or incapable. So, he is either poorly trained or an inexperienced manager. Ultimately, we couldn't overcome our differences. I kindly expressed that I was dissatisfied in his handling but asked if he wanted us to come back but again he offered no incentive. I genuinely gave him another opportunity but he refused. I then respectfully told him for that reason I would not return and he accepted that, unfortunately. Also, the seats at the bar are comfortable but hard to get into partly because they are slippery and the stools slide back. There are no hooks underneath for a purse and you sink in chairs in the dining room but the couch is pretty and comfortable. We really were looking forward to fine food but it was very disappointing and the experience of that especially was very frustrating. In a luxury hotel the restaurant should be exquisite in every respect! I have little faith that it will improve but given the entirety of the matter, I won't have the chance to find out and I would not recommend...

This is my first true restaurant review. I don’t do this at all, but the treatment I received today warranted one. Today, I arrived at Raffles for my reservation excited to experience the ambience that has been hyped online. To my surprise, when I arrived the service was a complete antithesis to the standards that it has tried to set online.

We had a reservation and despite the team knowing of our arrival, we were given the second to worst table possible. We then asked to be moved outside and were asked to sit next to a party of two highly intoxicated men whose legs were basically inside of our table. Because the woman in our party felt uncomfortable, we then asked to go back inside and were handed the table right next to door despite there being so many tables open and available. When asked if we could go to any other table, the hostess claimed she needed them for other parties, but then we watched her give tables to people who had just walked in with no reservation. All of them were never filled.

The team was aware we had a reservation and actually gave parties who were just walking in preferential treatment. They knew we were coming in and decided to treat our arrival as a surprise and a burden as opposed to one they should have welcomed and been prepared for with a table we deserve.

It became very clear as the minutes were going by that this treatment stemmed from the color of my skin. The ethnic majority in the room looked different than me and so could garner the respect of a hostess to truly care for them and their needs. Now, would I have received this same treatment if my skin was the same color of the ethnic majority in the room? Raffles was another reminder of why, no matter the level of success and money you have in your life, you are still a black man and will be treated as such. This restaurant reminded me of the racist roots that Boston has and made me feel less than a human. Thank you for this reminder Raffles. I hope that in the future you will accommodate customers requests regardless of what they look like and how they are dressed. I hope that your hostesses will allow for a better experience during the duration of a customers stay because I couldn’t even drink your water since I felt sick to my stomach. Please continue to cater to your targeted audience. I will not...