Viva Chile Lindo Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Hollywood

Today me and my wife decided to go and have lunch at Viva Chile Lindo ( Chilean Restaurant) around 5PM, our last time there ( 1 month ago), we had a really good service by a young Colombian guy, the food was good and prices aswell. Today was the whole opposite unfortunately, and this time I invited my parents also. Our server Ana was far the worst service I've ever had in a restaurant, I have family members and friends that go often there and they have mentioned to me about the really bad service that she gives to customers, that I at the time did not yet experience untill today. The place was empty , it was our table (group of 6) and 1 other table with 1 person only... The music was a bit loud when we got there, they eventually lowered it a little.... My first surprise was that the prices on the menu were a bit higher than the last time, some plates $3usd more , side plates some $1.00 more , empandas also a little higher....so mainly the whole menu went up a few dollars.. Which that's fine, but it's not updated on the Internet yet... So Ana started taking our order one by one, using the word "TU" instead of "Usted" which in Spanish it's not formal at all and disrespectful when your working and giving customer service and talking to clients... You must treat everyone with respect using the Term "Usted" (which is you, but in a kindly and respectful manner. Second thing was when she approached with my son's plate at the table , he was distracted watching a video and his arms were on top of the table leaving her without room to put his plate, so she tells him " Saca las manos" which means (move your hands, but you can say it in a different and friendly manner, and not the way she said it). So at that point I was getting upset and obviously this spoiled our whole lunch.. Meanwhile we were eating but before that, they give you bread with butter and some sauce called "Pebre" before they bring your food, just like Cheese Cake Factory or a lot of different restaurants mainly latin are used to this tradition, so in the middle of our meal I asked for more bread and she answered back saying I will add it to your order, that's when I asked her : Am I going to be charged for the extra Bread ? (Which is supposed to be complimentary) She said Yes the first order is free but any additional order , it will be charged to your bill. The other times before when I went and actually the last time I went , I asked for additional bread and was not charge at all or was mentioned anything about it... So I told her that I've been here before and was never charged for the bread and she said : "We always charged it and I've been working here more than 10 years..." After that las interaction I got irritated and asked for the manager..At first she denied me to let me speak with him...telling me that he was in the Kitchen Busy and that doesn't like to speak with customers.... Which to me that was very strange, which owner of a restaurant doesn't want to know when some thing is wrong or the service isn't good..I'm the kind of person that when this gets to this level I ask for a manager... At this point it was necesarry. She left to the cashier, I got up the table went back to her and asked her again for the manager and she changed the story telling me that the owner wasn't there and that he will be returning very late. The she tells me go outside and see if his truck is there...( And I was like 🤦couldn't believe what I was hearing) Than I tell her if she can call him over the phone , and she says , "No I can't , I'm not allowed to call him". At that point she was only saying nonsense.. Than she ask me why do you want to talk to the owner , is it because of the bread?? And I was like, probably , but several other things... And than she tells me because I could give you some extra bread... I think she felt that she messed up and then brought 3 little tiny bread to the table... I hope Brandon P the owner takes discipline actions. It's sad to know that good clients like myself will not go back to this location due to the poor service from...

Huge Disappointment!!! Visited Chile Lindo during the Mother’s Day Weekend and being that this is one of the few Chilean restaurants around; I was really looking forward to experiencing Chilenean cuisine and also their well-known Chilean Empanadas! We decided to go for lunch the day before Mothers day, Saturday, in order to avoid the crowds and the price gouging that always happens everywhere for holidays or special days like this one. When we called, we were told to still make a reservation, but when we actually got there, the place was almost empty, there were maybe a total of 5 people. They still have Covid notices and warnings on the front door and the walls, even though no one uses masks anymore and the pandemic has been officially over for some time now. Just plain silly and lazy that no one has taken them down yet. There was also a stack of chairs stack against the wall instead of putting them in a closet out of view. The atmosphere is ruined with the oversize TV’s showing cooking shows?? The place was cleaned but again I visited while the place was empty so no idea what is like when they are actually busy. The Food and Prices The menu itself was a joke, it’s a thin paper copy with the previous food prices whited out and the new prices clearly written over them. So you can actually tell the prices are now higher than before. Just really cheap and silly that for a few dollars they could not print out a new menu instead. The appetizers and the actual entrees were tasty and OK but nothing special, especially for the prices that they charge. We ordered the famous Chilean empanadas and it was like buying the same generic latin empanadas that you can buy everywhere else. Small and pricey, I could buy better ones at my local Publix. I ordered some kind of Chilean fish and I speak pretty good Spanish and I still have no idea what kind of fish it was?? It was some soft white meat and tasted just like Tilapia, again nothing special. The side order was a joke. A small portion of smash potatoes and nothing else. I was still hungry afterwards. Ordered a diet coke and they gave me a can with no glass! The Diet coke was an actual can for $3 dollars and did not include the glass with ice, just the can. And no refills I could walked across the street and bought one for $1 from the vending machine We also ordered some lemonades, once again nothing special and were charged a ridiculous $5 dollars for a normal 8 ounce again and again no refills on anything. The Service. The service was lousy and slow for the place being so empty. We had no napkins on our table, we had to ask and wait 3 times to get some. At times we could not find our waitress, we had to ask other waitresses to bring us stuff. Not courteous at all and lacking good service skills Overall, nothing special here, I did not get the Chilean experience that I was expecting. Food is ok, tasty but pricey. And it really felt just like any other generic Latin restaurant. I would go somewhere else next time, not worth the time and specially not worth the prices...

For all customers, check your bill.

I have been coming here for the past year and I’ve never had a complaint about a waitress adding something to my bill without knowing about it.

I came with my family, and I ordered the following:

2 orders of empanadas de queso 2 empanadas de carne 2 pasteles de choclo 1 order of humitas 1 completo, 2 soft drinks 2 mix drinks

For this entire order, we get a small bowl and their regular size bowl of pebre.

When I asked for two more pebres the waitress brought me one. She never said that it will be of extra charge, nor I believe it’s on the menu.

When the bill came I asked why she charged me $3 for the extra pebre. The waitress begins to argue and I told her that I have never been charged for extra pebre. I told her to go ahead and charge the $3 and I left.

I’ve been a waiter in the past and I’ve always had the curtesy to tell the customers for any extra charges.

I am not an argumentative person and I can assure you that $3 is not going to hurt my pocket, but I’m writing this because there are people like this waitress that takes advantage of others.

If I’m wrong about the waitress, I hope the restaurant makes it clear for all customers that pebre is of extra charge because chilenas can eat several bowls of this during a...