Falls Terrace Restaurant — Restaurant in Tumwater

My boyfriend called and made reservations at noon on Feb. 7th for Valentine's day dinner. When he spoke with the hostess she did not seem very knowledgeable or informed... he asked if they had anything going on for Valentine's Day. she told him "we have a special menu". Recognizing he was just going to have to take his chances, he asked if he needed to make reservations. Her response was "no, but you can" when he told her he would like to make reservations and asked what times she had available she FINALLY told him "the only reservations still available are 4:30 and 8:30" ... don't you think when he first asked if they had anything going on for Valentine's Day she should have told him about the special Menu...maybe what would be on it AND that they were taking reservations but they were filling up fast? He took the 8:30 reservation.

We arrived and were seated right away. A man came and filled our water glasses. then we waited a looooonnng time before our waitress came to get our drink order. It was so long that we were ready to order our entire meal (FYI - I take FOREVER to decide!). we got rolls and then our drinks, followed by the clam chowder which was the best part of the meal, even without the fresh cracked pepper which was only offered after we had used the table pepper and had eaten 1/2 of the soup, and I'm sure the clams used (if not the entire soup) were canned.

Someone came and took our empty soup cup. Someone else delivered our entrees. The Halibut was way over cooked. I would've let the waitress know if she had come by to check on us!

Meanwhile in the booth behind us was a very "needy" couple. The woman had sent her steak back 3 times, big drama...the manager spent most of the time we were trying to eat, apologizing to the couple and offered to comp both of their meals (loud enough that we couldn't hold our own coversation). That wasn't enough. the manager then returned to their table and offered them dessert, which they accepted taking her fresh perfectly cooked steak & sides, AND dessert home.

During this time the booth on the other side of us opened and was filled again. We finally saw our waitress when she went to take their order. we watched her go back & forth getting their drinks, bread, salads, & meals. Not once did she stop to check on us! Someone eventually came and took my boyfriend's plate and was going to get me a to-go box for what wasn't too overcooked. That box never came. FINALLY, our waitress stopped by to ask "how is everything" I told her I had been waiting for the other girl to bring me a to-go box. So, she went and got me a to-go box dropped it off and walked away! I boxed my own food. She returned a few minutes later with a dessert menu! um, I don't think so! She then actually inquired about our evening. I told her after the manager comped the couple's meals they should've then focused on their paying customers. She didn't get it! and tried to put blame on someone else! I told her it really didn't matter, I would've liked to let her know our halibut was over cooked but I was never given the opportunity. She said "sorry, did you save room for dessert?" We asked for the bill - which took only seconds to produce. But then we waited again for her to return to be the cashier! Holy Cow!

Bottom line, the meals we ordered just so happened to be a couple of the less expensive on the menu at $28ish, the soup was extra. (price was not an issue, I'm just pointing out their lower priced meals) The food was mediocre & the service SUCKED! Our bill for the 2 of us including 1 beer & 1 glass of wine 2 meals & 2 cups of soup was close to $90. I doubt I will be returning there, at least not...

Let me start off by saying that this was one of the most worst dining experiences ever. Other than the view of the falls, I was so shocked to see that this place was actually a fine dining restaurant!!! The first thing I thought of was that this place should be on an episode of Kitchen Nightmares....

Anyway, after an exhausting day of work and an evening of house hunting, I decided to stop here for a bite to eat. My waitress was terrible. I was looking for light menu selections. This was my first time coming to this restaurant and I thought she would be a little more caring, especially since I announced that fact to her. Well, she rudely replied, "There is a side salad. I mean I do not know what you want." Then she said she was going to get my iced tea and come back. Once she came back, I gave her my order and then she left the table. After she brought my food, she was M.I.A. Now I did notice the care she was giving to other tables. I am assuming it was because there were larger groups. Although as an African-American woman in Olympia my mind began to wonder.....

She did not ask me if I wanted a refill on my drink until it was time to bring me my check. For the other tables she asked if they wanted desert, assistance with the menu, and even asked if they had any questions. I did not receive any of this service. I told her that I did not want anymore to drink since I was done with my meal. As she is sitting the check into the table, she managed to spill iced tea on my shirt and pants. The waitress quickly grabbed the dinner napkin and wiped the table. She offered to bring me another towel. When the idiot returned, she gave me a dirty kitchen towel!!! Seriously!!!! Of course I refused that foolishness!!!

When I noticed my very lovely shirt was stained with tea, I alerted the hostess who gave me a clueless expression. When I asked for a manager, the hostess replied, "The manager does not work on Mondays." What the hell!!!! She told me to come back with my cleaning bill. I told her that I live in Federal Way and I was house hunting in Olympia tonight so that was unacceptable. She said she was going to speak with the waitress about this issue. Now keep in mind this is the same waitress who offered me a dirty kitchen rag to clean my shirt. The hostess advised that the waitress said to comp the bill. Even after all of that, I still left the waitress a $5 tip.

Even though the meal was comped, the principle of horrible and rude customer service remains. Save your money. Go to...

A man at a local restaurant paid for his meal with his credit card.

The bill for the meal came, he signed it and the waitress folded the receipt and passed the credit card along.

Usually, he would just take it and place it in his wallet or pocket. Funny enough, though, he actually took a look at the card and, lo and behold, it was the expired card of another person.

He called the waitress and she looked perplexed.

She took it back, apologized, and hurried back to the counter under the watchful eye of the man.

All the waitress did while walking to the counter was wave the wrong expired card to the counter cashier, and the counter cashier immediately looked down and took out the real card.

No exchange of words --- nothing! She took it and came back to the man with an apology.. (This scenario actually happened to me at a local restaurant- Falls Terrace-between the waitress and the front desk cashier.)

I went to this restaurant & paid for my meal with my credit card.

The bill for the meal came ,I signed it and the waitress folded the receipt and passed the credit card along. Usually, I would just take it and place it in his wallet or pocket. Funny enough, though, I actually took a look at the card and, lo and behold, it was an expired card of another person. I called the waitress and she looked perplexed. She took it back, apologized, and hurried back to the counter under my watchful eye.

All the waitress did while walking to the counter was wave the wrong expired card to the counter cashier, and the counter cashier immediately looked down and took out the real card. Why was nothing said between the two individuals? Sure looked as if they were "WORKING TOGETHER" on this scam. No exchange of words --- nothing! She took it and came back to me with an apology. This actually happened to me at this restaurant. Now, is the restaurant at fault for these scams? How many other people have been scammed and did not noticed? Are the owners aware of any of these shady occurrences? Tons of these incidents are occurring every day. I highly suggest that everyone pay REAL CLOSE ATTENTION to their credit cards when using them anywhere. The scam artist are getting better and better. Who knows how much would have been charged on my card had these individuals started using it. Who knows when I would have discovered the discrepancies. Things like this are ruining peoples'...