TOBY'S Vernon Restobar — Restaurant in East Hartford

I usually try to write good reviews of the places I visit, but this time I'm compelled by circumstances. Yesterday, I invited an American friend because he'd raved about Peruvian food, its acclaim among culinary experts, the international awards it's received, the delicious variety it offers across its diverse geographic regions, and more. When we arrived, there was only one table occupied by an American couple in the spacious Vernon location. As my mother always said, she's wary of restaurants that don't have customers, but I ignored that warning that immediately came to mind. We sat down, and a friendly waitress came to serve us. My friend ordered only water, and I ordered a chicha morada. Here's where a strange situation began: we are in the middle of summer, and the lady only put ice in my friend's glass of water and no ice in my glass of chicha morada. It's true that the chicha was cold, but in the summer heat, drinks quickly become lukewarm, so they need ice. It's just a matter of common sense to simply put ice in drinks in the summer. I didn't think much of it; I figured she'd simply forgotten that detail. After looking at the menu, a waiter came this time, and I wanted to order my classic lomo saltado, but I thought it appropriate to change this time so my friend could try the spectacular Peruvian ceviche, a culinary marvel everyone loves. And we decided on a special dish called Velero Toby's, for two people, which included fish cracklings, fried yuca, ceviche, tiger's milk, causa, and seafood chaufa—a whole catalog of Peruvian coastal cuisine, which would surely delight my friend, I told myself. But he also ordered empanadas because he wanted to compare them with the ones he'd previously tried from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. The waiter's response was that they didn't have any empanadas, and I asked why. He replied that empanadas are seasonal, and that they don't always serve them, but he didn't tell me what days or in what season they serve them. This puzzled me because I'd never heard that Peruvian empanadas are seasonal. I didn't say anything either, because I didn't want to seem like the customer who makes a big deal out of everything. So I asked him if while we waited for the Velero Toby's, he could bring us some canchita, that popular Peruvian appetizer that EVERY Peruvian restaurant serves, especially with chili pepper. He again told me to excuse him and that he owed me the cancha because the caterer had failed the restaurant and hadn't brought the cancha to prepare it. Again, I remained silent. Finally, the Velero Toby's arrived, served on two different platters because it was a dish for two people. The ceviche was good, very spicy, too spicy I'd say, but I'm used to dealing with chili because I like it spicy, but my poor American friend couldn't eat it precisely because of the spiciness, in other words, he couldn't taste the Peruvian culinary wonder called ceviche. The small bowl of ceviche literally came with three pieces of fish; the chicharrón came with three pieces of fish (I could count them); the causa was absolutely bland, flavorless; the leche de tigre (tiger's milk) had more onion than anything else; but the worst was the chaufa (fried rice): while the rice was good, the seafood, especially the mussel and shrimp, wasn't fresh; I'd even say they were spoiled and their flavor wasn't pleasant. I felt embarrassed in front of my American friend. His expectations were so high that he felt frustrated, and I told him that's not usually the case elsewhere, etc., etc. Finally, after waiting several minutes for our check, the waitress came and asked if everything was okay, and this time I told her everything I just described. I don't know if Toby's always serves like this, or if my friend and I were just unlucky that day. Finally, I repeat that I don't usually write bad reviews because I don't want to affect or damage the reputation of a business, but unfortunately, my visit got worse with each...

Only reason I keep coming back is the food. Food is great here. Service sucks, so I decided to only order food by phone. First time I ordered food by phone they were late with my order and the staff wanted to charge me $8 for a less than 1/4 inch slice of cake. This was upsetting since there was apparently one slice left which I asked them for and I noticed they cut it in half and put the other half on the side for themselves. When I then $8 was way too much for the slice they gave me , they ended up giving me the other slice which was comical. Same day they also told me they put forks in my bag after I asked, but they didn't and I had to come back into the restaurant to get it. Very unprofessional staff due to young age and just probably understaffed. I tried ordering again via phone and automated message sent me a link to order online . I ordered online that process went smoothly. When I went to the restaurant to pick up my order at the time specified the restaurant looked at their screen and they realized they didn't put the order in, they then put the order in to the kitchen...the staff didn't apologize or offer any discounts ... so , I may give this place one more chance because the food is great. The service really really sucks tho. Hopefully that gets better with time. I've given this place lots of chances and personally would like to...

I had heard from others that this place made good food. So, I decided to try it out. Overall, the food was ‘ok’. I ordered pick-up, drove 45 min to pick up two orders. Again, two orders! Not three or four… just TWO ORDERS… it was no later than 8:00 pm … and they charged me a service fee! How is it possible that you charge a “service fee”… what’s the service exactly? I explained my thoughts politely to the employees there, but, absolutely no one could provide me a sound explanation. Their response? “It’s night time” … what good reason is this to charge a service fee? I drove back home to eat my food… and I open my ceviche mixto... I find one shrimp… barely any shellfish in the ceviche mix. I was very disappointed. How are you going to provide 90% juice with barely any shellfish, and then charge me on top of that, a service fee? If you’re ok with tiny, diminished portions, this place will be right for you! I also by the way, called them back to inform them that this is not an actual portion size. UNBELIEVABLE! Be better next time! Get better please for future customers. The public...