Aqimero — Restaurant in Philadelphia

Dear Aqimero Management,

My name is Sade M. Gary Lowe, and I am a proud U.S. Navy veteran and a Philadelphia native currently living in Miami. I recently made a long-awaited trip back home to reconnect with my city and celebrate with friends. As part of this visit, I was genuinely excited to dine at Aqimero on Sunday, July 13, after seeing a video on your Instagram showcasing the restaurant as a vibrant Latin American dining destination with exceptional food, service, and ambiance.

Unfortunately, what I experienced was far from what was advertised. Instead of feeling welcomed and celebrated, I left feeling deeply hurt, disappointed, and disrespected.

Despite our 12:30 p.m. reservation and the restaurant being far from full, my friends and I — all people of color — were sat in a secluded corner behind curtains, grouped alongside other guests who looked like us. It was hard not to notice this pattern, and it gave off a troubling impression of classism and subtle discrimination. When I politely asked the hostess if we could move to a more open table, she told me the other tables were reserved. Yet, during our entire visit, no one came to fill them. It felt intentional and exclusionary.

The food only added to the disappointment. I initially ordered the chicken and waffles, but when I saw the dish served to another table, I was appalled — the pieces of chicken looked like frozen chicken tenders that had been cut up and thrown on a plate. I quickly changed my order to a burger, but even that was not worth the inflated prices. The only thing remotely decent was the cold bar, but even then, the oysters were the smallest I’ve ever seen. The entire meal felt like a poor imitation of the high-quality cuisine your restaurant claims to offer.

The final straw came when our server accidentally spilled a large amount of champagne all over my friend — completely soaking her outfit and personal belongings, including her phone. He handed her a few napkins but offered no real help, no apology, and did not return to check on us. We were left to clean the mess ourselves, sticky, embarrassed, and stunned by the lack of empathy or professionalism.

I asked to speak with a manager, and it took over 20 minutes for someone to arrive, despite the restaurant being far from busy. When the supervisor came, I calmly explained what happened, including how far I had traveled for this experience. She said the waiter had told her he apologized, but that apology was never given to the friend he spilled the champagne on — and he never returned to our table. The supervisor offered us a mere 15% discount, which felt like a shallow gesture given the emotional and physical discomfort we endured.

This experience was more than a disappointment — it was dehumanizing. I came home to Philadelphia, hoping to be embraced and celebrated at a place that looked so promising online. Instead, I left feeling invisible, marginalized, and taken advantage of. Aqimero sold me a dream on Instagram and delivered a nightmare in person.

This is not about getting a discount — this is about accountability. I am respectfully asking to speak with someone in senior management about this experience. What happened to us should never happen to any guest — especially in a city as diverse and soulful as Philadelphia.

Thank you for your time and attention. I hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely, Sade...

Would give it 3.8. First, I'll list what we liked. The atmosphere was lovely, open and airy, perfect temperature, not too loud, so we didn't have to yell to talk. Table setting, chairs, cutlery, etc., were beautiful. Our primary server, Rosie, was charming and well-educated on the menu, and her descriptions of the food items were fantastic. Our water was never less than half full, and when I dropped my fork, I was fine using it, and another server quickly came over - within seconds - and said no, no lol. And again, within seconds, I had a new fork. A taller gentleman with glasses checked in on us a few times. The food was tasty. The 18.00 guacamole and crispy calamari was DIVINE. The branzino was delicious and light (selected by 2 people), my husband enjoyed his prime filet on hot stone, my tiger prawns were okay, and my side of heirloom carrots was delicious. Chocolate cake for dessert was okay, nothing special, and the crepes were served like a cake. We would have preferred actual warm crepes. My friend said her Espresso Martini was delicious, and my Cosmopolitan was perfect. The men got old-fashioned and way too watery. I mean, the ice used was something I'd expect from an iced drink at Starbucks. Awful for such a classic drink.

Now, we sat down and were served water right away. Took 20+ minutes to get our drinks served. I did ask for an Apple Martini, but Rosie wasn't sure it could be made, so I said my backup is a Cosmopolitan. We ordered our starters at the same time. The starters came about 15 minutes later, and still no drinks. Starters were served by other staff. Rosie came with our tray of drinks, and I noticed 2 Espresso martinis and 2 Old-fashioned. When she came to me, she must have remembered the error. She said they didn't have an Apple Martini, so "I'm getting you..." I said a cosmopolitan. So the Espresso Martini returned to the bar, and about 5 minutes later, I got my drink.

Ordered our meals, which came about 15 minutes after they cleared our plates.

Food was good. Hot, tasty, and seasoned exceptionally well.

Then we ask for a dessert menu. As noted above, we ordered crepes and chocolate cake. I asked for a short Espresso, and one of the husbands ordered an Americano. The hot drinks arrived in normal time, but the desserts came 45 minutes later! We tried to get someone's attention, but the service had diminished at this point. Rosie came back and asked if we needed anything else, and one of the husbands said our desserts (politely). She made a confused face that meant either the order wasn't put in or someone missed it because other servers bring you the food, not your actual server. She came back to apologize, but we still had to wait. He got his crepes within 5 minutes, and I have to wait another 5 minutes for my cake. It's just a slice of cake. It's not like it needed to be baked. We were not charged for the desserts, but this annoyed us on top of the drink issue.

We go outside to get our vehicle from the valet and have to go back in to pay. This should be told to us when we drop the car, or maybe by someone inside while we pay. A simple, "If you valeted your car, please pay at the front concierge desk."

Would I return? Maybe. I'd have to order everything immediately, including asking for the bill...

12/03/2023

Ritz-Carlton Hotel 10 Ave Of The Arts Philadelphia, PA 19102

Subject: Disappointing Experience at Aqimero Restaurant

Dear Ritz-Carlton Management,

I am writing to express my profound disappointment with the service I recently received at your Aqimero restaurant Today 12/03/2023. As a loyal patron of the Ritz-Carlton, I have always held your establishment in high regard for its exceptional hospitality and impeccable service. However, my recent dining experience at Aqimero fell very short of my expectations and left me feeling deeply dissatisfied as well as embarrassed for taking my Brothers there for Brunch after speaking so highly about the service and atmosphere.

My Brothers and I arrived at the restaurant between 1:30 and 1:45 pm and were promptly seated by the hostess. Unfortunately, our experience took a downward turn from there. Our assigned waitress was noticeably inattentive and slow. She failed to take our main course order in a timely manner, leaving us waiting for an extended period to the point where Brunch ended.

Despite placing our appetizer order, requesting a bottle of champagne, and ordering additional drinks, our waitress failed to pour the first glass of champagne for us and neglected to introduce herself. This lack of basic attentiveness was disheartening, especially considering the reputation of the Ritz-Carlton for providing exemplary service.

During our wait for the waitress to take our main course order, the AGM (Assistant General Manager) approached our table twice to inquire about our experience. While we appreciated his concern, we felt uncomfortable having to share our negative feedback directly with him.

When the waitress finally returned to take our main course order, she informed us that the brunch menu had ended and we would have to wait for bar bites or until 5 pm for dinner service to begin. This news was met with great disappointment, as we had specifically chosen to dine at Aqimero for their brunch menu before going to an event.

We expressed our disappointment to the AGM once again, and he graciously removed the cost of the champagne from our bill. However, this gesture failed to compensate for the overall poor service we had received. It was only once the bill arrived that we discovered our waitresses name was Maria A. By the time we left the restaurant, it was too late to enjoy a leisurely brunch before our scheduled event. We were forced to grab fast food and head on over to the event.

My dining experience at Aqimero was a stark contrast to the exceptional service I have come to expect from the Ritz-Carlton. The inattentiveness and lack of basic professionalism displayed by our waitress were unacceptable and left us feeling undervalued as patrons.

I hope that my feedback will be taken seriously and that steps will be taken to address the shortcomings I have outlined. I remain a loyal Ritz-Carlton customer and hope to see a return to the high standards of service that have always been a hallmark of your...