Duomo51 — Restaurant in New York

I visit NYC and stay at the DoubleTree Hilton in Midtown twice per year, every year. I’ve been to Duomo51 11 times. Today was the first time I’ve ever had a bad experience with anything, but it was bad enough that management or someone needs to know about it.

Staff has always been attentive in the mornings, perhaps a little too attentive - almost like they’re trying to rush you out the door. Twice (during prior visits) I had been working on my laptop or phone and they’d come to clear my table before I had even finished my meal. I get it, they need to turn over tables. I, however, prefer to have slow mornings while away from the hustle and bustle at home. I’m paying for the experience, and enjoy the ambiance of the restaurant - especially with the windows open and the hum of people and traffic below. They never have a line in the mornings - always plenty of open tables, so I won’t be rushed

Today, my coffee had a hair in it. Not mine, as it was much darker and a thicker strand than my own. I’d already consumed quite a bit when I saw it. They grabbed me another, with apologies.

I ordered French toast with fruit and patiently watched, drinking my hair-free coffee, and waited for my food to arrive. My server came to my table attempting to give me an eggs Benedict that wasn’t mine, which I informed her of. Again, apologies.

About 30 minutes later, others who had arrived well after me, and ordered after me had received their food, eaten, and were getting their checks. I had yet to receive my meal. My server, Dona, came over and dropped off my check as well “have a nice day”… I told her I had not gotten my food yet. Her response was shock: “really? Are you sure?” I laughed a little. Um. YES I am sure I have not eaten yet, I believe I would remember (!?!?). She apologized yet again, blaming the kitchen for some sort of mixup and saying that she hadn’t known I didn’t receive my food because she had been fixing the kitchen issue (but she had refilled my coffee while I was waiting and checked on several tables around me, smiling and making eye contact with me as she passed each time, checking in, so she should have known…).

My food is brought to me, finally, then another cup of coffee, with more apologies and more “explanations”. I’m happy to accept the apologies - as I said, I know things happen - but I can do without the excuses.

My bill comes, and I’m typing an email, intending to take care of it when I’ve finished. Less than 5 minutes later, here she comes to grab the check presenter which I hadn’t touched yet. I told her it wasn’t ready, and again she offers excuses “oh, so sorry, they said you had put a card in”. I’m unsure who “they” were. I took care of the bill and left a 50% tip despite feeling as though I really shouldn’t have paid a penny for being so mishandled.

This makes 3 ways in which my dining experience was far less than exceptional. I was there over an hour, for breakfast, not a problem for me as I was not in a hurry, but not the normal turnaround time. It was honestly, aside from the taste of the food (French toast doesn’t require a Michelin Chef), a complete failure from start to finish. If I had been the server, I would have tucked my tail and asked my manager to comp the entire thing.

Whichever manager reads this, please let Dona know that I didn’t blame her for the mistakes and was not upset with her, but her rushing me and then blaming the kitchen, was very off-putting. Did she even ask management if she could do anything to save my opinion and make my experience better? I don’t think so. Also, had she checked on me to see how my meal was before trying to just give me the bill the first time, I would have told her that I hadn’t received it. I tipped 50% anyway. Dona has been at Duomo the last 6 times I’ve visited and while always a little “overly” attentive/pushy, I’ve had no complaints. I hope her day gets better and that she learns from this instead of continuing to...

Response to owner's reply: Mariglen, the busyness of the kitchen during this season? Again, if you read my post, there was nobody in the inside dining area when we placed our breakfast orders. When we looked up again, we saw diners being seated in your indoor dining area and their meals were served even before ours came??!! Nevertheless, we were not going to take the food for reasons mentioned below. We were not going to come back as we had to catch our plane back to Toronto in the morning.

There were 3 other diners with me that day who were also impacted & left your establishment HANGRY. To request that " I consider removing the duplicate negative reviews" because it may unfairly affect your small business is very audacious. Especially since you just copied & pasted your response to my friend's review. It is more important than ever for restaurants to focus on customer satisfaction. Satisfied customers are more likely to return and recommend your restaurant to others.While unhappy customers can damage your reputation with just one review. Perhaps you can take my review and other less than perfect reviews regarding your restaurant, and take into consideration why we were dissatisfied. Creating a culture of guest satisfaction starts with your employees. The importance of customer satisfaction can not be overstated.

Our experience at  Duomo51 was less than perfect and so disappointing that I felt compelled to share.  We made reservations for 11am as we had to head  to Madison Square Gardens (MSG) for a 1pm hockey game. We arrived eager for a good breakfast meal. Upon arrival, hostess/Manager Elva quickly pointed out that we were too early for our reservations, we arrived at 1045am, and she told us we could   wait in their outdoor (heated) waiting area; the Rockefeller tree was visible from the balcony. We were seated at 1115am, the outdoor seating area was a busy however we noticed most diners were just finishing up their meals. Drink orders were taken after a few minutes, one incorrect drink was brought. Food order was taken at 1130. After waiting for over an hour, our food was still not served. Only  update from the staff was that the restaurant & kitchen were busy. Again the restaurant wasn’t even that busy in the outdoor seating area when we arrived & the inside eating area was empty , so there was no excuse for the delay. When we asked about the status of our order, the staff was unhelpful, and seemed to be avoiding our table We were very HANGRY and frustrated. At 1230 another staff dressed in a suit & said "he was just the dishwasher" and he obviously wasn't proceeded to say our food would be out soon, and I proceeded to tell him.that we had to get to MSG, he said ok but "dont give us a bad review". At 1245, we noticed indoor seating now had diners & they were being served!  We asked to speak with Manager & Elva came over; she told us the kitchen has been so busy & that our food was "almost ready"😲. We told her that we had to leave. 1255, her suggestion was to wrap the food up & take it with us, we again explained we were going to  MSG & they don't allow outside food. Elva offered again to do take out of all the food at no charge. We said no again as we had to now take an uber to MSG, however we did offered to pay for our drinks; she said no charge for all he drinks (1 latte, 2 hot chocolates & 1 tea) 1pm & we walked out without having eaten. Terrible service, lack of communication, and a complete waste...

Sorry, unfortunately my experience was so vastly different than other reviewers. Went there last night after a show, hostess couldn't find my reservation, but didn't admit it, she just kept advancing screens on her seating map, then minimized the screen, took two menus and escorted us to a table 2 feet away from patron's legs dangling from their stools at the bar. I had a lovely view of an old portable lectern/podium pushed up against the wall and next to it a bar pantry stocked with Heineken beer cases. (I included that detail more so that the restaurant owners know this is an authentic review by a real person). Servers greeted us promptly seeking our water and beverage choices. Pinot Noir was delicious although small 4 oz pour for $18. Bread basket arrived containing what seemed like a small assortment of thin-sliced supermarket bread scraps which we ate anyway during the 25 minutes which lapsed until our order was taken. Simple order for a table of 2, a shared Cesar salad and 2 pasta dishes. Although a parade of servers seemed to be cascading around the dining room, another 35 minutes lapsed before Cesar salad arrived (which was tasty) and then, yep, you guessed it another 35 minutes for our pasta to arrive. One could tell that this was outside the norm of the restaurant's meal timing as our server kept apologizing for the wait. She emphatically understood when I gently asked her to bring us our check with the entrees. She even offered, almost insisted that she bring me a glass of wine on the house, which although thoughtful, I had to decline because I was facing a long drive home. The entrees finally arrived. I was at first surprised by the small sized portion of the Cacio de Pepe, but then after tasting realized it was so rich that one's stomach couldn't handle a larger quantity. Although the homemade pasta was tasty and delicate, the sauce was overwhelmingly salty/cheesy/buttery without a trace of pepper - tasted more like a heavy carbonara, which my stomach could not handle at this time of night, I took 3 forkfuls of my long awaited meal and left the rest. My dining partner's critique of the Pasta Bolognese was similar, tasty homemade noodles, quality meat but sauce taste subpar. Our disappointing experience was capped by a visit to the restrooms which mirrored one would only imagine in a Mobil station. Not trying to be unkind, just honest. Hope my experience was a fluke and hope, if you go, your experience is as positive as the other...