Carli‘s Fine Bistro and Piano — Restaurant in San Juan

In November 2013, I went here for an anniversary. Despite making reservations the prior day, the staff insisted that we leave upon arrival on the very day, they never told us a specific reason as to why they wanted us to leave, they just made sure that we felt unwelcome. I told them I made reservations and that it sounded like a personal problem for them, not us and if they didn't want us there that day all they had to say was that they weren't taking reservations when I called the previous day, not tell us to leave after I plan around this.

The place was filled to the brim with an absurd amount of tables blocking the approach to the rear and front of the restaurant, clealy a fire code violation if I've ever seen one. They take approximately an hour to take our order and two more to bring us our meals which were not even what we ordered. They then proceeded to offer a Souffle on the house due to what they recognize as incredibly poor service. Incredibly, they made a souffle so hard and difficult to digest that I could only describe it as a doorstop they had been using to keep the rear door open when they brought in supplies earlier that day, we left it almost entirely uneaten. I had been here before and the service and food had been very good, this was the reason I was actually willing to come here on a special day, so my guess is that they decided to make me eat garbage and treat me so poorly just to spite me because I wouldn't leave when they were the ones that messed up. We obviously didn't complain because it was free, and we were willing to believe there were good intentions somewhere.

When we finally got the check (the only thing they managed to give us at a reasonable speed), I stand up to pay with my partner and the only venue to approach the register is going around the front of the reastaurant because the excess of tables meant they were so close together that I couldn't cut between them to get to the register. Incredibly, Mr. Muñoz and his Fedora greeted us by slamming his arm across the door as if he thought he was blocking us from leaving without paying, he asked where we were going and I told him to the register and that clearly it was the only way for us to get there. I was appalled and deeply humiliated, my first anniversary was almost ruined because of incompetent staff that I still tipped despite the abhorrent service, terrible food, and instead of an apology, the owner basically called us thieves in front of everyone that had been sitting near the front tables.

After about twenty minutes waiting to ring me up, I was at the end of my patience when a fat, older waiter with a moustache actually had the audacity to get in my face with hostility and question me about why I was standing in one of the only available lanes to get from the front of the restaurant to the rear, I then asked him, rhetorically, if there was any other place I could go stand if I wanted to pay the check I had been holding for twenty minutes besides maybe behind the bar with the other employees or even the kitchen. When the cashier finally arrived, I had lost all patience, I just rounded up the check and threw cash at the register and told them to keep the change. The owner stood off to the side and didn't say a thing. I know for a fact that he knows full well how terrible the service and food had been that day because if he was paying enough attention to us to pretend that we would dine and dash in his fantasy despite the mobility situation within his establishment, then he probably knew of the repulsive service his staff had given us.

Am I bitter about this? Yes. Is there any way to make this up to me? No. This was a thoroughly embarassing experience for me. I worked hard to save enough to take someone I loved to this place because I believed it was great, instead we get treated terribly and are insulted.

So if I have to synthesize this review: Food and service can be excellent. But when it's bad it's the worst you'll have of either and that's enough for me to put a one star review that is this long and never...

Stay away from this place. The owner was incredibly rude and hostile for no apparent reason over a situation regarding a poorly prepared meal. The local police stated this restaurant has a bad reputation. Me and my friend sat down at 7:20 pm. To start our waiter was unsure of the specials or what to recommend on the menu. Then, our drinks came out and my friend got the wrong drink. We asked for a Bon Bon which had passion fruit but received a mango drink instead. When we finally were able to flag our waiter down he just said it has passion fruit and she explained it was a mango drink he shrugged and replied with a ohh ok then hurried off. People who arrived after us was receiving their meal before us so we had to flag down our waiter who didn’t know what was going on with our meal. We ended up waiting over an 1 hour and 30 minutes for our food that was overly salty and we couldn’t finish it. We flagged this to our waiter and explained the dish was poorly cooked. We didn’t eat the full dish we had a bite and I asked friend to try a piece she agreed our dishes was not eatable for being overly salty. The manager came over and apologized for the poorly prepared meal and agreed to LET us pay for what we CONSUMED which was our drink and 1 appetizer. The first check which was $37 dollars when we paid and was waiting for our change a gentleman who I assumed was the owner came over started speaking to my friend. The man was very rude in explaining we had to pay for our meal whether we liked it or not. He further explained this is a “law” in San Juan (not true) that diners have to pay for their meal even if they didn’t eat or like the food. He continued to get combative and rude with my friend who was politely speaking to him and telling him that we have dined before know how good food tastes. After he continued to berate my friend I asked him what is this law that states that. He points to the menu says our policy so I pointed out a law and your policy is two very different things. He continued to be disrespectful when we explained that we are not obligated to pay because it is not a law in Puerto Rico and we will be paying for what we consumed which was two drinks and a appetizer. He continue to use comments like this is not where we’re from and we can’t do whatever here like ok we are willing to pay for what we ate not for food we didn’t eat and there’s no need to sit next to us and come off disrespectfully and blatantly lie about laws and such to scare us into paying for a meal. He then threaten to escalate this to the police because we were only going to pay for the first receipt PROVIDED BY THE MANAGER. Additionally, the hostess was laughing giving us dirty looks laughing at the situation. We ended up paying the full bill and finding a police officer to explain the situation. As I mentioned earlier they said there is no law that says we are obligated to pay for a meal we didn’t like or eat. The owner should’ve offered a different meal and we pay that or comped the meal. Please proceed with caution when deciding to eat here. The service is not very good and the owner is a very rude man who has no hospitality at all. A great evening ruined by an angry man who clearly needs to be in a different place of business with the way he handles and speaks to customer problems.

Editing my review to reply to the owners comment First of all I did not fill up on any appetizer as I can’t and don’t eat raw fish. We ordered 1 appetizer and she ordered for herself. Secondly, we were out all day had a small lunch at 2 pm so we were VERY much hungry & had an appetite & excited to try this place based off a recommendation from a colleague. Lastly, not everyone was happy one of your waiters dropped a wine glass on the floor and splattered red wine all over a woman who was clearly upset and had small glass pieces on her sweater. Stop the theatrics. My friend left the restaurant in tears bc of you. You were wrong for how you conducted yourself when addressing a simple situation that could’ve been handled by us just paying for the...

I've never had a more terrible experience in my entire life. Reservations were made for 8pm and weren't able to seat us until almost 8:20pm (even though we arrived at 7:58pm.) So after a wait to be seated, we had another long wait of getting our drinks. Our drinks did not come out at the same time and by the time some people's drinks arrived most of us had already finished ours. About 25 minutes goes by, and we are just now placing orders for appetizers. At this time, we finally get glasses of water poured, which doesn't make any sense because that should have been the first thing we had taken care of. Some of our appetizers come out, but not everyone's once again. So now, at about 55 minutes, we finally get to put our entrées in while trying not to be angry and impatient. It took a great deal of time for all our food to come. We were literally about to get up and just pay for drinks and appetizers when they brought the food out. You would think after an hour of waiting for your meal that it would be worth the wait, right? WRONG! Our food was tasteless, no seasoning and overcooked. We demanded for them to take this off our bill because we did not eat our food because it did not taste good but they have a very convenient rule on their menu that says you HAVE to pay for your food once it's made regardless if you ate it or not. At any other restaurant, if you do not like something and you didn't eat it, it's taken off the bill, or they get you something else instead. With this cheap and petty establishment, that was not the case. They took off certain things in the menu but not everything. My question was, "Why can't you take the rest of this stuff off if we didn't eat this either? Why only take some of it off and not all of it?" All it came down to was they were cheap and petty. They didn't want to lose out on too much money, but that's not on us, the customer, that the food was not to anyone's liking. Instead of just realizing that they dropped the ball, the owner requested the COPS to show up to intervene. Unfortunately they sided with the restaurant which we all saw coming so we ended up having to pay for food we didn't eat. Worst experience of my life, I never wish for anyone to endure this type of situation. By the time this issue was "resolved," all other restaurants were closed, so we were stuck with no food for the night, basically. We ended up getting some food off a food truck. Might I add the entire time the owner was incredibly disrespectful solely because he had the cops standing right behind him because that was not his tune before they got there. I was extremely angry and dissatisfied and encourage not a single soul reading this to step foot near that restaurant. I would give it negative stars if it were possible, but all I can...