Van Đa — Restaurant in New York

This is all written in a kind tone. I dont want you further misinterpreting my intelligence and moral compass.

Thank you very much for your response. It's very much appreciated that you took the opportunity upon yourself, to verbalize how toxic your management is.

I spoke up about my mistreatment. I don't think you understand what bullying is.....I was told Id be refunded. I was hung up on. I was told COVID is no longer an issue.(SOMETHING IMMUNO COMPROMISED PERSON SHOULD KNOW!) I was told if I wrote an email, that I would be refunded. And I was told it is an issue with RESY, which is also a lie. This is how you treat someone, who was thinking of OTHERS when they canceled the reservation due to their friend having COVID. Now, who might you call the bully? And again, your response to my review is as well bullying. Calling someone a Karen for speaking up about mistreatment? I also don't think you understand the definition of petty either. So, Ive taken the liberty of sharing it below.

I commend you for also trying to act as though you tried to help me out by offering a "credit" to dine in the future. My friend and I had every intention of coming in once she got over COVID. WHY would a sane person ever want to patronize at your establishment after you have insulted me time and again, over the number of ways you have mistreated me. Calling me a liar, MULTIPLE times. Literally, WHY?

I started off kind, I was pushed to stand up for myself. If you didn't like the outcome, perhaps you should revise how you treat people.

And yes, I did say if you didn't get a refund I would write a bad review. People have a voice in this day and age, again, maybe you should take that into consideration before you treat a possible patron in a petty matter.

Again, YOU responded with a petty response for all folks to see. I spoke up about the way you treat possible patrons.

Petty: Of little importance or trivial. (The way you treated me).

By the way, my name is Jenna... but I appreciate the immaturity for the purpose of the review. And I welcome you to call me it some more, if it helps you feel better about how you behaved.

Folks, don't dine here - they are truly a disrespectful establishment, and would rather than advantage of you instead of providing a...

Not the greatest nor something you cannot get anywhere else to be honest as we were told when being handed the menu. Upon arrival the host seemed to be annoyed a bit at the fact that we were slightly 5 minutes late because he treated the time and also looked at his watch...as if we didn't realize we were late. Nonetheless, onward with the food! Presentation was nice for upscale Vietnamese cuisine unlike traditional that is. I had these rice cakes on a petri dish which again was told dishes here cannot be found anywhere in NY or probably US he said but indeed I've had sheet tray full of them before elsewhere and they were delicious. I had the chicken salad which was basically boiled chicken and shredded then tossed in with the salad which was mostly mint and onions and fennel, it was bland and not an acquiring taste, packed it to go in the middle of my meal. My friend however got what traditional Vietnamese would call it "beef cubes". I had a piece from her plate and the meat was rare inside as in bright red like taretare. I expressed my concern about that and when the server returned he said "its actually meant to be "medium rare" anything that has the word "rare" in it especially meat the customers are usually made aware of it prior to placing the order. However, he then proceeded to say after taking the dish back to the kitchen with my piece of raw meat he came back and said "i just temp'd your piece of meat and it tells me its medium rare" I'm not quite sure how that can possibly be possible if it had sat on the table for over 1 hr yet it is able to give you a read on the thermometer as a medium rare doneness for meat...if they were just to tell me its only seared on the outside and inside is meant to be a bit on the rare side and thats how it is served I wouldve been like okay but lesson learned i hope, never underestimate your diners and their ability to distinct how food is served or should be served! By the way we didnt like it overall and would not return so not...

Tldr: Micro-Aggressive General Manager (Andrew Pisano) who treats people (of a different race) as less than equal

Had a reservation for a nice evening with a friend when she fell sick and had to cancel last minute. I cancelled our RSVP and was charged $30. Instead of calling to debate the charge, I walked to the restaurant the next day to apologize in person.

Although I’ve been to Van Da several times, I was met with a cold response. “The owner isn’t in. I’ll leave a message,” the host said. I asked if there was a manager and the GM, Andrew Pisano, eventually came out. I explained the situation (for a second time) and apologized that I had to cancel so last minute. He proceeded to lecture me on the importance of canceling at least 4 hours in advanced. “It’s just restaurant etiquette, a common courtesy in New York.”

Rather than tell him I’m a 38-year-old who’s lived / dined in New York since 2006, I said, “I understand and I apologize.”

“Thank you for the apology,” he responded, and continued to lecture me on common courtesy in the hospitality industry. I said nothing and he ultimately asked me to write my email down and said he’d get back to me.

At this point, I could care less about the refund. I would only like to be treated like a decent human. Sadly, it seems that’s not a common courtesy afforded to everyone.

UPDATE: Van Da’s response to this post (screenshot below) only deepens my concerns:

1. they said the fee is $15 — it is $30 (screen shot attached)
2. they said I canceled 15 minutes before — I canceled 29 minutes before (screen shot attached)
3. they implied I’ve never been to Van Da before because they didn’t have me in their RSVP system — I was a walk in customer on my previous visits (and could attach my bank account screen shots but that’s just tmi).

Dear owners: what if you tried to address the fundamental problem(s) here instead of providing misinformation and suggestions that I am not credible? New Yorkers deserve...