Cockroach in a restaurant?

[TigH]

Tonight we went out for Mexican food. The place we went to used to be great (when it was Rio Bravo) but since it has turned into Chevy's it has become increasingly horrible. One time we went and there was something unidentifiable in our nachos. Service has gotten worse. My sister works with the local police and one of their officers had to go into to kitchen at Chevy's and he said it was digusting looking!

Tonight we went and were about 1/3 of the way through our meal when a COCKROACH crawled over the table! My sister tried to smoosh it with her napkin but it scrambled away over to my side of the table and then ran and hid between the table and the brick wall. We immediately alerted someone to this and they comped our meal. I felt bad that they comped our dinner, but we were too grossed out to finish eating anyway. We did leave our server a tip for what the meal would have cost. She apolgoized to us numerous times but we assured her it wasn't HER fault the roach was there.

This was the last straw for us, we will not be dining at Chevy's again. The service has really declined and I can't imagine going back to EAT at a place where a roach crawled over my table while I was dining.

What would you have done? We were pretty quiet about it, didn't want to interrupt other diners or cause a big scene, but it was pretty disgusting. We do have the occassional palmetto bug (really big roach, but the kind that lives out doors and just kind of gets into the house) in our laundry room (near the garage door entrance) once in a while, but never have had anything like this happen in our home thanks to a great bug service treament!

 

[gshoemate]

Ewwwww!!! You should have drove to Girabaldi's (or however you spell it). I'm a letter writer, I would find the address to their corporate office and send them a letter about the condition of this particular Chevy's.

 

[suzannews]

We used to go to the Chevy's in Kissimmee and never had a bad meal. Two weeks ago we went to the one by the West Oaks Mall in Ocoee and won't return. The floor under the booth was filthy, the food wasn't as good, the order came out of the kitchen wrong and they charged me extra for regular chicken instead of salsa chicken in a quesadilla that I have never been charged extra for before.

If a roach crawled across the table I would have screamed. Not to cause a scene but I don't do bugs.

 

[Deb in IA]

At least he wasn't IN the food -- DH found a well-done CENTIPEDE cooked into his green bean cassarole at a Golden Corral once here.


The restaurant closed shortly thereafter and is now a car dealership . . .

 

[Minnie824]

We were eating at Bob Chinns once and one of those earwig bug things (don't know exactly what they're called) crawled on my lap on the napkin! Now, I am NOT a bug person so I flung the napkin off, not realizing that a busboy was right where I swung my arm, and I think I accidentally hit him in, um, well, his 'area'. I complained to the manager, and they gave us some money off, but who cares! I wouldn't eat and couldn't stop looking around the whole time! I know a lot of restaurants probably have some bug issues at some time, but no way should they be on the table or on me!

 

[Beth E. (NJ)]

I had a problem with ants at my local Macaroni Grill. It made me lose my appetite too. The restaurant needs a better exterminator.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Ewwwwww......Well my kids would have been screaming and crying...yes we would have made a scene. We would have left immediately most likely. Nice of you to leave the tip, my dh would not have.

Have you seen 'Victor/Victoria' with Julie Andrews and Robert Preston? That is what I thought of immediately when I read your thread. She is starving and brings the cockroach to put in her salad so she can eat for free. Too funny.

 

[gshoemate]

We went to OIA to pick up my MIL a few months ago and I wanted to go to the food court for something to snack on. So I decided on a cookie (I think it was Ms. Fields) and I am just getting ready to order and DH is like "no you don't want a cookie" and I said yes I do, and he said again "no you don't". So I can tell by the look on his face something was wrong and we walk away and he said there was a huge bug in there and walked across the cookie trays. Living in Florida I have learned to deal with bugs but not on my food.

 

[TigH]

Ewww! I'm glad I had my breakfast before I read all these replies!

Ginger, you are right, we should have gone to Garibaldis! We aren't going to Chevy's ANY MORE! And that is a shame because I love their margaritas and it's so close to our house. I thought about contacting the Health Department or whoever goes out to do restaurant inspections. It was just too gross!

I think they comped our meal to just keep us quiet. The place just doesn't seem to do the business that it used to, which is a shame. It was a really great place to dine a few years ago, but the quality of the food has just gone down hill.

 

[wdw4us]

This happened to us in a Chinese restaurant. For a year I could not eat chinese food. We did not make a scene, but quietly called the waiter over and told him what had happened and why we were leaving.

My daughter works in an upscale restaurant here in NH. While their place is spotless, what can happen is that a small bug will come in with they supplies. Lettuce is a favorite hiding place.

My BIL, used to do Fire Inspections for the city and saw all the restaurants, we knew which ones were good, bad or marginal. Pays to know people in important places!

denise

 

[caitycaity]

it depends what the rest of the restaurant looked like (clean or not) and where it was located.

around here, especially in the summer, roaches are a fact of life. from what i have been told, there are two kinds of roaches (well probably more than that, but...). one kind is attacted to garbage, etc. and the other is just around in warmer, more southern climates no matter how clean they are. in my general experience since moving to dc, it seems like that is true. i have seen roaches here in places that are cleaned every day.

if the roach was actually in my food no way would i eat it, but if i just saw one or two roaches at a restaurant that otherwise looked clean, it probably wouldn't worry me if it was some place with a warm climate.

 

[snoopy]

Having supported myself through college working in restaurants, I can tell you for sure that even the finest restaurants have cockroaches.

They might not be where you can see them, but they are there! Especially when you turn off the lights at the end of the night.

 

[Chattyaholic]

You can be the best housekeeper in the world and your house can be spotless, but you will probably still find a bug crawling somewhere at some point. Nothing different for a restaurant.
I can understand not wanting to finish your meal if you find a bug in your FOOD, but just crawling on the floor or the table??? Like another poster said, there are bugs in the finest of restaurants....

P.S. If you saw what goes on in the kitchen of a restaurant you'd probably never eat out again!!!

 

[DisneyDiver]

I'd have to agree with the bug not being a big thing, unless it was in your grub.

Personally, I'd find it nastier to have flies buzzing round me and my meal in a restaurant than seeing a bug like a roach on the table (assuming we're talking about hot climates - if I found a roach dining with me here in the UK, I'd be concerned enough to tell the waiter)