Ówàḿbẹ̀ African Restaurant & Lounge- Owambe — Restaurant in Colorado Springs

I went here tonight for the first time. If I could put 0 stars I would. I’m not even sure where to begin. The only people being served well in that restaurant were Nigerians. We were waiting there for at least 10 minutes before anyone acknowledged us. A waiter then said have a seat anywhere on this side of the restaurant. There were no tables to sit at. There was a couch and a bar. We had no option but to sit at the bar. The bar tender was very overwhelmed and had no help. The wait staff that seemed like he could be an owner was yelling at her and being very disrespectful. Mind you this is all happening while we are sitting at the bar waiting for our food which took over an hour to get. My friend was supposed to get fish with her meal and after an hour of waiting they tell us that they have one more piece of fish left, so she wasn’t getting any with her meal. The waiter took out brand new silverware from packaging and wrapped it up in napkins. Did not sanitize it at all and that’s a health code violation. There was also a bucket on the bar because the ceiling was leaking. It was clear to us that the focus and respect was on the Nigerians that were eating there and nobody else. I’ve never felt so disrespected. There was terrible communication, lack of respect, no proper training, lack of management, understaffed and…..so much more. My friend and I are both black but because we are African American and came in with a white woman we were treated differently. It’s just sad all around. The secondhand...

Bottom line up front: This place is challenged to entertain parties looking for a meal.

Situation overview: My family and I spent 2.5 hours in the establishment and only received four drinks and two COLD entrees. The other entree order remained ABSENT during the entire time spent at the establishment. Additionally, it was observed numerous times that the staff including various owners/management personal spent more time catering towards a gathering of Nigerians, who were party goers.

Situation: After twenty minutes of only being sat at a table, not given menu's and not being asked our drink or food orders. I found a member of the waiting staff and explain the absence of follow on services. Forty-five minutes later a member of the waiting staff came back to the table and was able to provide menus and take my families order. After the orders were taken, another 45 minutes were spent waiting for the food to arrive. During that waiting period I complained to a member of the waiting staff and asked for management or an owner to come to the table. Neither position appeared and only cold food showed up at the table.

The rest of the time was spent asking the waiting staff to warm up the food and waiting for the entree that NEVER showed up.

After all of that I was CHARGED for the drinks and cold entrees.

Recommendation: Stay away from this place!!!

Establishment Advice: Put your best foot forward to avoid a negative...

We were never really acknowledged or served. When we arrived, the woman at the front, I believe she was the host, appeared busy, as she was bent over doing something. When she was complete, she stood up and said, "We are full. Perhaps there is room on the patio." I stated that it was a bit of a chilly night, and she said there were heaters out there.

As we walked through the restaurant, the decor was lovely, warm, and inviting. Although, as we made it towards the patio area, we noticed 3 empty tables, but maybe those tables were reserved... we then slogged through deep sand as if we were on the beach, and we waited for approximately 20 minutes. I believe I'm only assuming that it was the owner who saw that we were without menus and made the server bring them to us along with glasses of water. The menus were nicely designed. However, the server never returned after that.

My friend and I were done waiting for what felt like another 20 minutes, and we decided to leave. As we were leaving, another server had walked by us and cheerfully said, "Have a goodnight!" It was disappointing as I was excited to try this new place. However, I will attribute this experience to maybe being the growing pains of a new restaurant that needs to focus on a better system of customer service and...