Gotti's Restaurant — Restaurant in Houston

Update: THEY RESPONDED TO THIS REVIEW VERY PROFESSIONALLY BUT INACCURATELY. I HAVE SCREENSHOTS OF WHEN I CALLED THEM. I SENT THEM THE SCREENSHOTS NOW ALTHOUGH THEY NEVER ASKED FOR THEM. AND IS THAT NECESSARY WHEN DEALING WITH A CUSTOMER - I AM NOT A GIRLFRIEND THAT NEEDS TO PROVE WHERE I WAS. I AM A CUSTOMER WHO REACHED OUT BECAUSE THERE WERE SOME MAJOR FAILURES WHEN I CAME TO PATRONIZE THEIR ESTABLISHMENT. SO...THE UNTRUTHS AND QUICKNESS TO DIMISS US IS CONCERNING.

ADDITIONALLY, A BUSINESS CAN RESOLVE AN ISSUE LIKE THIS AFTER FIVE DAYS, AFTER 20 DAYS...AFTER HOWEVER MANY DAYS. THE ONLY THING IT REQUIRES IS A MOTIVATION TO HAVE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND TO ENSURE THAT CUSTOMERS ARE TREATED WELL.

ADDITIONALLY, THEY NEVER, NOT ONE TIME, ASKED ME WHAT FOOD WAS MISSING FROM THE ORDER.

THEY ONLY SAID WE DON'T SEE YOU ON THE CALL LOG AND IT'S BEEN FIVE DAYS SO THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO TO RESOLVE IT.

AGAIN, BE WARY OF DINING HERE AND SPENDING HERE - MAYBE GO FOR THE HOOKAH BUT IF YOU DO TAKE OUT, BE CAREFUL BECAUSE THEY WILL OBVIOUSLY DO AND SAY WHATEVER THEY HAVE TO, IN THE MOST PROFESSIONAL WAY, TO AVOID TAKING RESPONSIBILITY AND COMING TO RESOLUTION.

FOOD TENDS TO BE IMPORTANT FOR TRAVELERS AND THEY LEFT A SORE ON THE TRAVELS.

We chose this restaurant out of all of the nearby restaurants while we were visiting from out of town. We initially tried to place the order online through their website but it kept giving errors so we paid $40 to park to go in and place the order. When we went in, we were told to wait to place the order so they could clean up the area. We went outside, came back in, they were ready to take the order. We placed the order without any issues. They said it would be 25 minutes. We came back in 35 minutes and they advised it would be another 20 minutes. We came back in 20 minutes and we were given two bags and sent on our way. The bags were not made in a way that you could open the bags, check your food, and then use the bags. Opening the bags rendered the bag useless so I just took the bags and left. It was very late by now. We got settled in and opened our bags there was food missing, key food items were just not there. It was awful. It was too late to call on that Saturday night so we called Sunday. We selected the option to speak to the manager and the hold music just played R&B songs in rotation forever and no one ever answered the phone. I called again on Sunday and the same thing happened. We left to travel. I reached out again to them today, Thursday, once we got settled again. This time I decided to try a different method and selected to chat on their website. They directed me to text from my phone and so I did. The person responding said they did not receive any calls from me on their caller id and so that meant I waited 5 days to reach out and they have no resolution. It's the craziest thing because I have screenshots of when I called on Sunday and Monday. But, they just were not interested in providing any type of satisfactory customer service. So, in all, we paid for food that we waited for about an hour to get, key items were left out of the order, and management refuses to provide any resolution. Amazing. All I said to them is that I would have to dispute this then, for those reasons I just stated and for them to have a good day. It's a shame that this is how management feels they can dismiss their justly dissatisfied customers. I bet you if they asked the chefs from that night or whomever bagged the order, they would tell them - "Oops. I did leave that out but we didn't realize it until they left." They just completely refused to provide any resolution, which I also have screenshots of. Just be careful when you go. The floors are sticky and apparently, so is their service.

Let me be clear - the person that took my order was very kind and hospitable. But she left before the order was ready (because it took about an hour) so she had no part in any of the dissatisfaction parts of...

I had the unfortunate experience of attempting to dine at Gotti’s, and it was nothing short of disappointing. Despite having made a reservation well in advance, the staff seemed utterly clueless and disorganized. The young lady at the hostess stand with the AirPod in, didn’t understand the need to seat reservations over walk ins. She continued to state that “they were waiting longer.” Not only did they fail to honor our reservation, but they also attempted to cram our large party onto tables not meant for the proper size. I am not sure who the other person was that sat us, but, she was very pleasant but just a little unorganized as well. It appears that two reservation systems were being used in which I inquired about. I was told that “we are overbooked” today. There shouldn’t be an overbooked situation with reservations.

To make matters worse, the lack of customer service was astounding. It was as if the staff had all collectively decided to take a vacation and left the customers to fend for themselves. We were practically begging for attention, only to be met with indifference.

It was clear that they were severely understaffed, resulting in excessively long wait times despite having a reservation. When speaking to the manager, he was unaware of what was going on as there was no effective communication amongst staff. He stated that he was only one person. We acknowledged that along with reminding him that he has a team of people helping him. His response was disheartening, “I don’t have a team of people, I have servers.” That statement alone informed us that we needed to just find somewhere else to dine.

Just to provide a full description:

Reservation for 5 was at 1:30 PM. Checked in as a full party at 1:26 PM. Seated in a 4 person booth at 2:04 PM. Spoke with server/hostess to be relocated at 2:10 PM. Server/Hostess returned at 2:33 PM with no communication about table. Table server attempts to bring water and acknowledge us for the first time at 2:37 PM. Spoke to Manager at 2:41 PM Walked out 2:47 PM.

Just a few suggestions from someone who works in change management.

Utilize one reservation system. Have a more team centered approach and properly staff the establishment so there isn’t one manager and only servers. There’s needs to be some segregation of duties. Train ALL staff on proper customer service etiquette. One shouldn’t be the “face” of the establishment and wear AirPods and not be able to communicate effectively. Along with fully understanding how to work the systems and the different level of importance between a walk in and a reservation. Train staff on proper table seating, there shouldn’t be a teaching moment in the middle of serving in front of customers about how many can sit where. Always listen to the customer first before responding because all the customer is always right, it doesn’t make the employee/establishment wrong. So presumptively responding can do more harm sometimes. Implement a time limit on seating to create a better flow.

Overall, Gotti’s failed miserably in every aspect of hospitality. I will still rate the food as a 3 although I was unable to eat as the prices were fair and it both looked and smelled good! As far as service and everything else, it’s a 1 star for me. If you need some technical assistance or training, please feel free to reach out as I would provide it complimentary as I think you have a great space, in a great location. Unfortunately, the internal controls just...

The problem is definitely the time. We were sitting there from 415-612pm(a two hour wait) before any food was brought to us. And that was only until after I got up and said something. Apparently our waiter clocked out (with his own food in tow) and didn't say anything to the waitress that had replaced him.during those two hours( which I should have just walked out no one came to check in on us or anyone for that matter) many tables were waiting for hours( I wish I was exaggerating) some people were still there from the brunch rush(11-4) waiting. When I got up to bring this to their attention the tall butch looking waitress( not an insult just giving description if you encounter her) simply in a non-chalant way stated every one has been waiting for food. Why is everyone waiting 2+ hours for their food??? You can see in the kitchen baskets of food was cooked and fried but no food was coming out until hours after the order. They had more than one chef and fish, shrimp wings and grits are fast food to be cooked so again why 2 hours??? The waitresses was also too busy twerking on patrons of bigger parties(they also was waiting a hot minute for the food).The music choice was good but extremely loud( had a DJ) for a small location like a club almost. I ended up having to stuff tissue in my ears to muffle it just a little. They have hookas for those who are ok with it. I was not, especially when they placed a hooka right behind my friend( they need a designated spot for that. And also they have a gratuity of I think it was 8 or 12% added to your bill. And I see why. No one is willing to give a tip to the waiters and waitresses with the lack of care, efficiency and urgency the restaurant has. The worst part is that the food is amazing and at least our food was hot and fresh( I seen complaints of food being cold after long waits) the ratings are high because they probably get big parties of people who are looking for a vibe and don't really notice that the food takes hella long. They don't get repeat customers which is possibly why the ratings are high and little complaint about the wait because it's big party groups there to catch the vibe. Almost all the reviews that are one stars are about the same problem- WAIT TIMES! it's clear the owner doesn't care as they respond the same way for every complaint of the wait times. The farthest complaint I saw was 6 months ago about the same thing and it's clear nothing has been done to fix it. I wrote my review the day after eating there. But we were sat by a lovely couple who was writing her review as she was waiting a longside us which I guarantee is low as well as she was more livid that me.

And to owner- dont write on you menus that the tables have a 2 hr limit of how long you can stay there when you have you patrons waiting that long as well without food. your shooting yourselves in the foot for business. Yes your successful but you don't get many loyal customers that's will to come again after their first time with service like that. I'm all for supporting black businesses as we got so much talent and opportunity is few and far. But if we keep doing this type of business it only hinders the growth of establishments that have the ability to go bigger...