Twelve 21 Restaurant & Lounge — Restaurant in Providence

I have been going to Nara Lounge for a while and just tonight realized they have gratuity built into the bill. I was a party of 2. Never realized this. Come to find out I was giving a 20% tip on top of this 18% built into the bill. Basically almost. 40% tip. Horrible business ethics. I will not be back. You don treat people like that.

I learned a lesson tonight so thank you for that. I hope others read this and you go out of business. Not ethical at all. Probably not even legal.

Unhappy customer. Too bad, because I otherwise like the place. You don’t need to be so greedy.

In response to your reply. I realized the gratuity was on the bill so this time I did not leave additional gratuity. I have no problem showing my gratitude and leaving a tip for the servers. This is what they work for, and they do a good job. I don’t want a refund, I expect you to be an honest business person. Also, I don’t understand why you refer to these 2 things as different, they are one in the same. Tip and gratuity is the same thing. You don’t build gratuity into the bill and then ask for a tip. Finally, I find it horrible you are putting this on your server. This is clearly something you instituted as a business. You got caught and now you take the low road and blame someone else, worse, an employee that you hired. There are other places to go and I will not be back. I hope you stop...

I wanted to share my recent experience regarding our reservation that was confirmed twice with Irene, who was very accommodating and helpful.

However, when we arrived, the restaurant was closed, and the attendant seemed unaware of our reservation. We were left outside in the rain while she verified our booking. Once we were finally let inside, we were seated in a dark corner with no lights on and weren't even offered water.

After being seated just before noon, it took an unusually long time for us to receive our orders. When the food finally arrived, only one out of nine orders was correct, and two of our guests had to wait an additional 30-45 minutes for their meals. Being we were the only patrons, I found that excessive.

I was extremely disappointed with the overall experience—not just with the preparation for our visit, but also with the service and food quality, which unfortunately led to several upset stomachs over the weekend. We ordered the chicken and waffles, the waffle was decent, we didn't eat the chicken. It tasted like a chicken parm cutlet with Italian seasoning. It wasn't juicy or crispy and the breading was wet and falling off. The cheeseburger tasted like Wendys, the french toast and the steak and cheese egg rolls were blah, but eatable.

While the DJ and bartender were fantastic, they couldn't compensate for the overall...

I do not recommend Twelve 21. Integrity and honesty are essential in running a business, and this place lacks both.

We made a Valentine’s Day reservation based on their Instagram promotion: 1 appetizer, 2 entrées, 1 dessert, and a bottle of red wine or Prosecco for $120. When we arrived, they asked if we wanted to sit at the bar…despite having a reservation. After insisting on a table, we were seated and placed our order, choosing the bottle of Prosecco.

That’s when the bait-and-switch began. The waitress immediately said the promotion only included 2 glasses, not a bottle. We pulled up their Instagram post, which was still live, and showed her. She claimed it was a mistake and said we could get the bottle for an additional $25. At that point it was clear they had no intentions on righting their wrong so we left. Plus, we don’t support deceptive marketing tactics. Thankfully, Ours, a restaurant across the street, welcomed us, even on a busy holiday. Their food was great, and they didn’t resort to shady business practices.

Twelve 21, you should be ashamed. On a day meant for love, you chose dishonesty to make a quick buck. Maybe an Ethics class would do...