Afro Lounge — Restaurant in Hollywood

FIRST & LAST TIME VISITING! HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE! I was invited to my friends bday dinner on a Thursday night. When I arrived, some of her guests were already there & some ordered appetizers. The waiter Francesca came & took the couples order next to me, which he asked her if she preferred the grilled or fried conch, & she replied both. After they placed their order, she left but came back to take mine. I ordered the "conch and griot." When the food came out, I noticed the others received appetizers & mines came out as a full meal! I immediately stated that I did not want meals & wanted appetizers like everyone else. She stated I did not say "appetizer," so she "assumed" I wanted the meals. Why would a person arrive at a restaurant & order 2 meals for themselves when everyone is ordering appetizers? Especially when the sides are exactly the same! I explained to her I couldn't eat all this, nor did I plan to & wanted to sides returned and only wanted the conch and griot alone. She said there was no manager on site & that she didn't have access to cancel the order. She left to get the drinks. While she was gone, my friend at the table said the waiter she had to speak to a manager when she ordered so there was a manager. When Francesca returned, I told her I was told a manager was needed earlier & wanted the manager. Francesca said the manager had left & was not coming until 9:30 or later. She refused to call the manager, & when I said to just take the food back, she said she would have to call the cops for not paying for the food. She also proceeded to tell me the everyone had said the words "appetizer" which the other guests said, "they did not" & even the couple that order before me took up for me & told her she was being rude & acting like it was my fault for her mistake. I ended up calling the restaurant while sitting there a few minutes after the waiter walked away. The manager Maritsa answered & said she was onsite. I explained the situation, & she agreed & mentioned how she had been hired to fix the customer service & would only charge me for the 2 appetizers. She also left the sides for me to keep & provide a free drink. I never wanted the sides & only sampled them, letting the people at the table enjoy as they pleased. Maritsa later brought me a bill in which she charged me for 1 appetizer and 1 conch entree. NOT HONORING what she agreed to, which was only charging me for the 2 appetizers & even charged me gratuity. After I told the manager, I was called sweetheart in a condescending tone & advised the police would be called on me for refusing to pay for meals I did not order. In order to not make a scene as the birthday person was at the table & more people arrived. I simply paid the bill & did not wish to escalate further! The food was good, but there was nothing I needed to go back for. I feel that at the end of the day, the waiter did not have any accountability for her mistake, and the manager decided to make me responsible for part of that mistake. The area was busy, & the restaurant was empty outside of our table of 20. So it was not like she could have forgotten what she promised. Even the other guest said they were not interested in coming back after the way I was treated. Never again! P.s. I also didn't like the way my credit card was taken for a long time and not in sight, so I will monitor the transaction & might request...

Server Fran Sets Bad Customer Service Experience

Tonight I set out intentions to gather with family in friends just to meet for dinner and vibes. (no special occasion). Our party of 12 turned into a party of 16. I was able to set reservations early on during the week and was advised for the additional 4 seats they will have to come in as a walk in an they could accommodate them a table, she also was very clear that she just cant guarantee the table will be in close proximity. (which was fine)

Unfortunately, from the time being seated our evening was tainted, with overwhelming feelings.

Fran had a bad attitude with a non helpful spirit. Not once was she warm or had a inviting smile. Even after the chaos was settled, she remained very poker face , which was not appreciated your a server part of your job is to serve and be pleasant.

Waiter mentioned after being seated that we will be provided 1 check CAN'T be split or separated in anyway. Shocker , i called on two occasions for reservations not once was this mentioned. I also been here twice of big groups an was able to get check separated with no issues. which was a huge inconvenience for our group to be notified on arrival.

Even at a sperate table with 5 ppl with 3 checks needed she advised it could only be 1 check. I been to plenty of restaurant establishments i have never heard of something so outlandish unless requested.

The food was good, and the DJ was great !!!

This was my 3rd time here (big groups) which is why I even recommended to family an friends we should go there. I want to think this was a isolated experience and will not occur again. However, i can not chance it. I want to spend my hard working money at place that I know customer service is a priority, not making me an my group feel like unwanted customers. The amount of money spent here, we could of hired a DJ and a private chef and enjoyed the ambiance instead of dealing with a waiter that doesn't like her job.

Take your food to go an get a better...

I am literally just walking into my condo at 12:55am from visiting Chwa for the first and last time. I don't know if my expectations were too high... but it's a lot of hype for no true reason... I ordered the jerk chicken well done, the chicken was undercooked, thus I left it there on the table, the rice wasn't good, the drinks were watered down... I ordered the Mimi Punch and Grand Marnier (they ran out of glasses and ended up giving us clear plastic cups), the Pepsi was literally colored water... the only thing I liked was the arugula side salad that comes with the entrée. The first waiter was rude and knew nothing, the female who took his place wasn't bad, but I think she was spread too thin with so many big tables/parties. The other 9 people in my party also left Chwa with a bad taste in their mouths. The DJ was weird with all those love and breakup songs (he played no scrubs, irreplaceable, etc 🤷🏾‍♀️) as soon as he started for 45 minutes... maybe he was still on the Valentine's tip... the tables are long white folding tables with white fabric table cloths on them, the chairs were stained. The food is ridiculously priced for what you get (especially when they run out of items so quickly... got there around 8pm, no salmon, no cake, and other dishes). The service charge is even more ridiculous, especially when the waitress said it isn't her tip and I added another 20% (no matter how bad the food, drinks, etc... I always tip 🤦🏾‍♀️). I met the owner who was doing a live... I told her it was my first time... she was excited for me to get the Chwa experience and try the Mimi Punch... I tried it and if that's the experience... then it's nothing to brag about... this is restaurant/lounge is trying to be high end and fabulous and could be... but the owners need to reevaluate some things... because right now it seems like nothing but a ripoff and some fake buzz! #thetruthhurts #toughlove...