Josephine's Downtown — Restaurant in Lancaster

I have the worst customer service I've ever had in my life. I reached out off life to explain what happened with no response for 2 months. I only received a response I prompted them a few more times. Here is what I sent them Good morning. We love dining with you and have been in many times. Last night, we had a spur of the moment date night and made reservations only an hour or so ahead. The only table available was a high top at the bar, and we gladly accepted. We appreciate you accommodating us on such short notice. However, our service last night was far below anything we have experienced at any of your restaurants. In fact, it was insulting. After being seated, we were only offered tap water. We declined cocktails as we do not drink. Our waiter went over the specials but never mentioned the Wagu, which left us puzzled because we have ordered 8 to 16 oz every time we are there. In fact, that menu item is what brought us to you in the first place. When our server came back to take our order,we asked about the Wagu. He said yes, we have that all the time. We ordered the bacon and shrimp as appetizers. We did not order out entrees at that time because we were still deciding what we wanted. Some time later, our server came back to take our dinner order. We ordered 12 oz of Wagu, the pork chop, and the duck. We like to eat family style and share everything. It is not uncommon for us to get multiple appetizers, entrees, and desserts. We enjoyed our bread and waited for our appetizers. We were hungry and really looking forward to two of our favorite things on the menu. And we waited, and waited. Then our entrees came out. No appetizers. The wagu came out on 3 separate plates, as in 3 separate 4 oz orders, not one 12 oz order. And then the duck and the pork chip also. Ever other time we have ordered the wagu, it has come out on one plate. As there are only 2 of us dining, there is really no need for 5 plates on the table. As our dinner was served, we were puzzled as to where our appetizers were. We asked our waiter, and he told us that he had never put the order in. He asked if we would like the appetizers now, but with 5 plates of hot food already on our table, we declined. He came back later to check on us and said he was just going to bring the bacon since he forgot to put in the order earlier. This was appreciated, but.... Dinner was good. All 3 desserts were good. The food was amazing,as it always is. But the service was not. We have been to Josephines twice in the past few months and 401 twice also. We enjoy the entire fine dining experience that you offer. The food is always amazing and the service usually is too. We were not only let down last night, we were insulted. We feel like we were pre judged and treated as if we could not afford to eat there. We normally spend $600 to $700 for the 2 of us, without alcohol and tip well. We've been coming to Josephines for years, and every time we leave, we can't wait to come back. After last night's experience I don't know if we will be coming back. We didn't want to put a bad review on social media nor are we looking for anything for free. We just wanted to let you know how disappointed we were.

I received this response. Hi Joseph! We sincerly apologize for you experience you had in December. We strive to offer the best cuisine and service. There is no excuse for you to have a poor dining visit with our establishment. We hope that you will dine with us in the future so we can remedy the situation. Again our most sincere apologies.

I don't feel like that is good customer service. I don't see how Josephines values their...

Not a real fine dining restaurant. We were there for the first time on Valentine’s Day and our experience wasn’t that good. Lancaster is a place with a plethora of great restaurants to choose from and every new place that opens makes you wonder what new can they bring to the table? The answer for Josephine’s was NOT A LOT. +Wine prices were really reasonable and the personality of the people working there was great. Friendly, talkative, polite and attentive -There’s is this new trend lately that I see in restaurants where they slide a hidden fee of 2% in your check. If you read closely on the menu it says that it’s going to the kitchen staff. Which of course I’m totally fine but my question is “WHY DON’T YOU PAY THEM A DECENT SALARY?”. For those who don’t know a fine dining restaurant makes more than 20K on a night like this so I think they can afford a pay raise. -Service is ok but definitely NOT fine dining. They need some adequate training in professional serving techniques. Bread and butter without a butter knife. Basically you have the same knife for 3 courses. Bread plates were never cleared until dessert (making the small tables feel even small) table was never cleaned from breadcrumbs and salad and when we had to share we had no extra plates. Also the soup spoon that was part of the setting It accompanied us until the check. -Food was below par: it wasn’t terrible, but there weren’t any technical characteristics that would justify the term “fine dining” on their name. The salad was plain so was the appetizer. Entrees weren’t any different, I got the chicken. Just some interesting sauces trying to make up for the lack of creativity and cooking techniques. Chicken breast, asparagus and mush potatoes, I could easily had made that at home. Risotto had too much butter. -The Chef. We went there because we heard of this amazing head chef. We were thrilled to see that his name was on the front page of the menu so we assumed that he was going to be working that day. To later find out that he never stepped foot into the kitchen (he wasn’t even wearing his apron). A good chef (even the best in the world) are always inside the kitchen, especially on a night like this, leading, expediting and making sure that every single dish that leaves the window is made to perfection. Apparently sitting down with his “friends” and spending more time with the hostesses were his priorities...

My wife and I have dined at Josephine's many times and always enjoyed its excellent food and intimate elegance. In September, I phoned the restaurant to explain that I wanted to reserve a table for 11 for family members who would be having dinner following my mother's interment at Woodward Hill Cemetery. The gentleman who took my reservation over the phone kindly offered his condolences. When we arrived at the restaurant, our group was seated in a semi-private back room, I imagine because of the circumstances surrounding our visit. It was wonderful for our family to be in this serene environment in which we could share reminisces of my mother. The server was excellent. He projected just the right balance of warmth with gracious formality. He provided extensive descriptions of the specials (including price, which is rare and was much appreciated) and welcomed any questions about the menu. He took the orders of the ladies at the table first, which was a traditional and elegant touch. Of course, the food and service was excellent. The atmosphere of the restaurant, including its decor and photos of stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood, evoked my mother and her era even better than I had hoped. In the end, I felt that Josephine's had done an outstanding job in providing my family with an unforgettable evening that allowed us to gather in a fitting tribute to...