(Changed from 4 stars to 1 star). I had the worst experience at Montreux tonight. This was solely because management failed their customers and failed their employees. My family and I went to for dinner this evening. Part of our party arrived at 6:45 and requested a table outside. They were provided with a pager and informed they would be called when the table was ready. They proceeded outside and ordered a few drinks at the bar. While waiting, they sat at one of many empty tables. The rest of the party arrived at 7pm and joined them. After an hour of waiting and no information being provided, we inquired about the wait as most of the tables were not occupied and we still had no waitstaff helping us. The hostess informed us that the kitchen was backed up and not taking any food orders. They said that there was a rush of 120 people all at once, and this overwhelmed the kitchen. We were told that it would not be long until we were seated & served. Finally, at 9 pm (two hours after arriving), we were provided with a server. We were told a different story than the first, and that the reason for the kitchen hold/delay was because two of the employees walked out. I’m not sure if either or both stories are true, but that’s not the issue.

The issue is the way that this was handled. This issue is entirely with management. If we were informed upfront (at 7pm, or even 8pm) that there was a kitchen hold on food orders, we would have enjoyed a few drinks at Montreux rather than becoming more angry and impatient while waiting with no indication of the situation (and, as we sat with many empty tables around us). Furthermore, we never received any apology or acknowledgement. Management wasn’t anywhere in the area to address customers. The poor waitstaff were tasked with delivering the unfortunate message. This was not their fault, and management did absolutely nothing to provide customer satisfaction nor support their staff. On top of the lack of communication, lack of acknowledgment, lack of responsibility, and lack of ownership, management did nothing to compensate for this disaster. We sat for 2 hours without a waiter/waitress. We purchased our drinks from the bar (if the kitchen was backed up, couldn’t the waitstaff attend to the customers in the interim??). We were not offered a drink/appetizer/dessert/anything as an apology. We were not even offered words of empathy. This was an unfortunate circumstance that should have been gracefully handled. Management failed. They failed the paying customers and they failed their staff.