Cavalli — Restaurant in Dallas

where do I start? If I could give this place negative stars i gladly would. We came to for a birthday celebration and in the 3 hours we were there we got 2 hookahs, both which were burnt in 5 mins, topped with the possibly the worst customer service we have ever received. The servers took so long to tend to us, and the table next ours was predominantly male to which they had been attending to all night even though their arrival was significantly after ours. To give context, We were a table of females. When attempting to smoke a new hookah it was completely burnt and unsafe for consumption. We notified a staff member and he agreed that it was burnt. The first hookah that was burnt we waited for a replacement and after 40 minutes a member of the party cancelled and had a verbal confirmation that the hookah was comped. The Second hookah is called A Daku and was for the birthday person. To give context its a hookah you can get free refills for 2 hours. when the hookah came out it was completely burnt. we first notified a staff member that completely disregarded our concerns and chuckled at us. once we realized he was not listening to our concerns we asked for a manager. After 15 minutes the manager came out. We explained the same concerns he then said he would do an internal review with his staff. he left for about 15 minutes. we requested a staff member for a follow up from the manager. the manager then came out and said that he would do another internal review with his staff. we stated we would like to leave and wanted to clarify if the hookah was compted. the manager kept not giving us a clear answer. we stated our concerns again and then the manager told us we can go ahead and go. we agreed and left respectfully. about 30 minutes later the manager has messaged about 2 party members requesting for Full payment and threatened to notify the police. the establishment has called over 6 times over insta. i know, embarrassing.

this establishment was completely unprofessional, unethical. please be mindful when go especially as a...

Apart from the food tasting cheap, and a couple minor nitpicks that I'll describe below, the general experience I had was positive.

The hookahs themselves are Contraband (retailing upwards of $300 per hookah), and the quality of them is apparent from the first puff. I ordered a mix of 50% double apple, 35% spiced chai and 15% vanilla. The person who made it followed the instructions exactly, providing me with the exact flavor I anticipated. 5/5.

Now, here's the first complaint. If you're an avid hookah smoker like myself, you'll understand why I'm peeved. They will not—under any circumstances—allow you to have access to your own tongs. They also do not have a cover for their heat chambers, which prevents you from managing the temperature in any way (apart from heavy use of the purge valve).

By default they will only put three flat charcoals (placed vertically). This is not enough heat if you want a proper smoking experience. I requested a fourth charcoal, and I had to request that they keep it placed around the edges, standing upright (if a coal is placed in the center it will cause the tobacco to burn, so be wary). This is perfect. As the smoking session went on, I used my fingers to lie down each charcoal on its side to increase the heat as it was needed. The fact that a pair of tongs is not allowed for this is ridiculous, but I managed well enough on my own.

The only food I ordered was their spicy hummus with chicken added. The hummus was good but the pita bread was mostly flavorless. All in all I would rate it 3/5. There are much better places out there in the area.

The prices were reasonable. $25 for a hookah and $9 +$4...

I had visited Cavalli about 10 months ago and really enjoyed the food and service. Sadly, my recent visit for a birthday lunch was nothing like that.

We arrived around 4:30 p.m. and got our Ribeye Shawarma after about 30 to 35 minutes. The beef was cold and dry, and it came with egg fried rice instead of the usual saffron or flavored rice. When I raised it, they took the plate back. Later, the waitress came to say the beef is “just dry” and that I should have gotten saffron rice, but they didn’t have any ready, so they served fried rice without informing me.

She told me I could pick something else, so I ordered the chicken kebabs and waited another 35 to 40 minutes. She also told us that saffron rice would take one hour, and we had no choice but to accept the egg fried rice again since that’s all they had.

When the chicken finally arrived, so did the egg fried rice, which wasn’t fresh either. At that point, around 6 p.m., they dimmed the lights so low that we couldn’t even see our food properly. It wasn’t late or close to closing. It just felt careless and unwelcoming.

The whole experience felt frustrating and disappointing. It’s not about how much you spend. It’s about the experience and how customers are treated. Unfortunately, I felt like mine was wasted.

They used to be so polite and responsive when they were newly opened. But now, the quality has dropped and the service feels indifferent, even rude. I don’t think I’ll be...