Genesis — Restaurant in San Juan

My partner and I went for a late dinner (8:15am) on Christmas day and our waitor immediately told us he had worked a long day and was tired, he told us we should order everything at once as soon as possible because the kitchen was closing in 30 minutes. We were very sympathetic to this and did as he asked, placing our full order about one minute later. We then waited 85 minutes before receiving our food. We didn't do anything for about 45 minutes, then started to occasionally make eye contact with him to which he would respond that our food was coming out quickly, or that there were three tables left before us. Then he stopped coming around or saying anything to us. About 50 minutes in, two new tables came in and got their food within 15-20 minutes of being seated. When this happened with a second table, I got his attention and asked if they had placed orders ahead of time - he said no, they were here first. We told him emphatically that was not the case, and he said he would look into it, going back and asking another staff where our food was to which that staff replied with a shoulder shrug. Our waiter did not come back after this until giving us the receipt, he had someone else bring the food, check on us, and collect the dishes. Two tables came in, finished their meal and left before we were served. Another table was in a similar situation to us and the father was clearly very upset, when some of their food finally came, one of the daughters waited another 15 minutes before getting her plate. Our food was average - Mofongo with beans on top was pretty basic, mostly garlic and salt. The Arroz Con Pollo was better. When our waiter finally came back and brought our check, he automatically inserted an 18% tip on the receipt even though at the bottom it had the usual numbers illustrating what different tip percentages would be - I suspect he did this because he knew he had not provided service worthy of that tip (I never tip below 15). I didn't have the energy to contest it. What is concerning to me is not that it took unusually long for the food to come, especially given when we visited. It's that there was no apologies, no discount, no free sodas, no proactive reassuring us that our food was coming or explaining what was going on. We would have left before our food came, but at that point it had been an hour and we weren't sure if other places would be open or any faster. I assume this was an atypical experience, and I hope they can develop systems to prevent this and address it better...

First night in Puerto Rico after 50 days in Central America. My tastebuds were ready for a treat. Alas, this wasn’t the place for something special. Genesis is what we’d call in Australia - “a pub” which attracts certain clientele because of the menu. Two sangrias for $10 and a fettuccine con pollo and I was in and out in under 20 minutes. The service was good and staff exactly like in the USA. Friendly, helpful and efficient. Alas, the food was average. Fettuccine with pollo (chicken) was a mix of oddly cooked chicken in large chunks and parts of the chicken you don’t normally see in this kind of meal. Plus the sauce had the same texture and taste of a “sauce in a jar”. Portion size huge. Am I back in the USA? $30 for a very average meal but good service. As someone whose just spent nearly 20 months in Central America reviewing places, think I wants jump on a plane and head back. Now feel sick in my tummy and not happy. I take my reviewing seriously and this is one ofnhe fee places I’ve visited thst I would not return to give a second chance. Sorry Genesis but this is food for the masses. I misread the ambience from the street and thought it was of a higher calibre. Indoor and outdoor dining. Disabled friendly. Kid friendly. But your staff are awesome so do keep up...

Stopped in here for lunch while in old San Juan. Our waitress was rude. When we sat down, she brought over menus, and took our drink order, then left us for about 10 minutes. When she came back, I asked if she had any specials as we noticed that all the other patrons were getting lunch special menus. She then handed us lunch menus and asked if we were ready to order within 5 seconds of handing the menus to us. When we were about to start giving the order she walked away and left us again for another 5 minutes. She returned and we placed our order. as we were waiting, we noticed about 4 other tables that had come in and ordered after us start getting their food. We've now been waiting 30 minutes for 3 lunch specials. Not once does she come back and check on us during the meal nor can she be bothered to bring us our check. It was like she couldn't be bothered to serve us or be even remotely decent to us at all. One of the other waiters was kind enough to check on us and get us our check towards the end of the meal and he was working his butt off with other tables. If we would have had him as our server I highly doubt I would have had this awful experience at...