P. J. Clarke’s At The Curtis — Restaurant in Philadelphia

The atmosphere and details in this historic building, located at an historic intersection, overlooking Independence Hall and Washington Square, was terrific. The room felt rich, warm, upscale, trendy, and very well thought out. However.... the staff and food quality ruined the evening.

We walked in one of the entrances. The hostess looked at us and said “Do you have a reservation...”. It was more of a statement than question, with zero inflection and not preceded by a welcoming greeting. We replied that we did not have one, but would like to sit at the bar. She replied “Do you know where it is?” (Rather than inviting us to follow her, or offering us a customary “enjoy...”) We said, we think so, but when we turned the wrong way, she simply yelled “That’s not the bar... that’s the Walnut room... the bar is down that way.” The only thing missing was her calling us stupid for making such an obvious mistake.

After this, we walked down the hall past a number of staff members. All of them were engaged in conversation with one another. We were not greeted by anyone. Once we made it to the bar area, there was another hostess. She was much more engaging and friendly. I informed her of the other person... she apologized and did seem genuinely sorry for the situation (and rightfully, a little angry).

We made it to the bar and waited about 5-8 minutes before we were approached by a bartender; although two bartenders were working... one seemed to be concentrating on a shift change task. While we certainly understand shift changes require certain things to be done... the number of staff members in the building and two bartenders standing in front of us, does not justify why we didn’t receive an acknowledgement or water for nearly 10 minutes.

Once we did place the order... the food came out without delay. However, the calamari was very poorly executed and far below our expectation. It looked like a bowl of baked panko clumps with slices of peppers mixed through out. Once the squid was eaten, there still remained half a bowl of excess dredging remnants. The wings that were suggested by the bartender (and touted as possibly the best in the city) were not very good. The flavor was too subtle to be considered a buffalo wing. It was a light red pepper sauce that was very thin, and while it was mixed with other seasoning, it did not stand up well against the flavor of the blue cheese dipping sauce (the blue cheese was great though, if this was house made... well done!). We also ordered mussels, which were good - but not good enough to sway our overall disappointment in the food.

We were excited for the opportunity to try this place, as we often do not have an opportunity to spend time in the city after work and before we head home with our child. We really loved the look, location and atmosphere of this restaurant. It seems the owners have spared no expense in making this a quality location. My sincere hope, is that they address the deficiencies of their staff members (including the kitchen) before their underperformance causes this restaurant to fail despite its...

Went in for an interview, spoke to Heather and she seemed to like me, so she set up a second interview for the next day to meet with the general manager, Tim. We spoke about availability and my experience. He also seemed to like me to the point where he said he would call me later that evening. During the interview Tim was very adamant about transparency and communication. I never received a phone call that evening. The next day I called and I gave the benefit of the doubt because it was memorial weekend and restaurants are busy, and I was told that Tim would reach out to me when he started his shift. I waited and did not receive a phone call. I called once more during his shift to also show I was interested and that the job was of importance to me but I was treated with attitude and it seemed to be frustration as well. When I finally got in contact with Tim again he mentioned he would call me on Monday. I waited for Monday and not one call. I reached out yesterday and I was told he was in the office but then the hostess said she couldn't find him and to leave a message with my number so he could call me back. He intentionally never called me back.I had made it known during the interview that calling me wether they wanted to move forward with me or not was important because I didn't want to miss any job opportunities during this time and so it was agreed. Both interviews went well but then they never called me after making the importance of transparency and communication known. Not only did they say three times they would call me but I also missed out on two job opportunities with the impression that they wanted me to start working there. It's very immature for two grown adults to not be transparent after claiming transparency was of importance. I am writing this review because I feel that it was a bit ignorant and disrespectful after claiming three separate times they would get back to me regardless of them wanting to move forward with me or not. I waited days for a response or phone call and nothing. I turned down other jobs feeling that I was fit to work here but their lack of communication makes it seem like the picture they try to paint for the public is false. Good luck to the...

I wasn't going to write a review on a horrible interview but I scrolled down and saw someone else did so I figured why not. I am a human being and if u treat a potential employee as such, I don't even want to know how you treat your guests. Came to this interview in the pouring rain, on day three of a stomach bug. Wasn't feeling 100 but I am dedicated. Sat down with Heather and immediately wanted to leave. Within the first couple minutes, I knew. Started off asking me about myself and my experience. Told her I was a restaurant manager to a 20 million dollar restaurant in Wildwood New Jersey called Mudhen brewing company. People came from all across America to come there. Also stated I was the general manager of the Waterfront restaurant, also in Wildwood. Told her I was familiar with both boh and foh and frequently bartended and served. Told her I just relocated from Cape May, new jersey. My last job being a server/bartender at delaneys Irish pub in the Cape May mall. She proceeded to look at my resume and say "so what are these --dive bars? " I told her they were upscale casual restaurants. She then proceeded to ask me the steps of service. I stated, greet the guests, go over any specials, offer beverages, serve beverages, offer apps .. she proceeded to laugh in my face. I did not continue with the steps of service out of embarrassment ..Are these not the typical steps of service? I implemented steps of service as a general manager. I would know. She then proceeded to tell me that my experience isn't aligned to what pj clarkes was looking for. Then why did her superior set up the interview after looking at my resume... Maybe Heather should Google the above restaurants and do her research before minimizing someone's experience. Especially someone who has more experience then her. If she really wants to know, pj clarkes in comparison to the places I have worked is a dive bar with 4 people at the bar and two tables total. Very unprofessional. Very rude. Thanks...