Robert P
GLOBEX - taking over your world one country at a t
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2002
We arrived at Spoodles at 6:55 p.m. for our 7:30 p.m. ADR. We had wanted to eat much earlier than 7:30, but as we had changed our previous plans and booked here just the day before, we were lucky to get anything. I was guessing/hoping that they would be able to fit our party of 2 adults in a little early, and I was correct. We had to wait maybe 10 minutes, and were called. The restaurant was about 75% full, with many of 4 seaters empty, but still lots of activity going on.
Our server was Tony, and he was good. I say only good because after he brought our appetizers, we saw that he got pulled over to take a large (over 10 person) party at a nearby large table. That was beyond his control (more later), but from then on, our service was much slower than we would have liked. So, we end up at good.
Anyway, we told Tony first thing that we were on the dining plan, and he quickly reviewed the deal for us. He was wanting us to order appetizers right then, but as we had just gotten the menus and listened to him explain the plan, we really hadnt looked over the choices. He came back a few minutes later, and we ordered our appetizers and the entrees. Tara chose one of the flatbreads, and I had the calamari. The flatbread was fine, but nothing memorable this visit. The calamari was very good. (For some reason, we tried a lot of calamari this trip, and this was one of the best we had. I was surprised they had it, as it wasnt on the most recent menu I had found online before our trip, but it was a good choice).
The entrees came out about 10 minutes after we had finished the appetizers. Tara had the grilled salmon, which was a large piece of salmon. I had the Portuguese Seafood Stew, which was my last chance this trip to try to find a replacement for my favorite seafood stew dish that was previously offered at Palio in the Swan. I am going to miss that place!
The salmon was excellent, well cooked with a nice flavor, but not quite as good as the stew, IMHO. I finished the stew, which had a good portion of seafood in it, and Tara almost finished the salmon. After we were done, Tony was still very busy, with the large table taking up most of his time. When he stopped back by, we ordered desserts. We got the ice cream sundae, and the crème brulee. The crème brulee was excellent, with a nice and solid layer to crunch on the top. The ice cream sundae is apparently a make your own type thing, which is nice, but it only had 2 very small scoops of ice cream. Probably not a great value there, if we had been paying out of pocket.
After dessert, Tony checked on us again, and brought the bill. I was waiting for him, and had the c/c waiting for the drinks that were not on the DDP portion. We were checked out quickly, and on our way. The food quality was excellent.
This was overall a good meal. It was very fortunate for us that they had an ADR available on such short notice, and even seated us early. The only bad thing was that it appeared Tony wasnt scheduled to take that large table, as he had at least 3 other tables going at the time. We think he got pulled in there because the original server could not handle that large of party (overheard), and thats fine if it happened that way. However, I would have expected someone (manager or server) to offer some help with his original tables, if he was being pulled elsewhere.
So, to recap: good food, spotty service (circumstantial), and a very good value using the DDP.
Our server was Tony, and he was good. I say only good because after he brought our appetizers, we saw that he got pulled over to take a large (over 10 person) party at a nearby large table. That was beyond his control (more later), but from then on, our service was much slower than we would have liked. So, we end up at good.
Anyway, we told Tony first thing that we were on the dining plan, and he quickly reviewed the deal for us. He was wanting us to order appetizers right then, but as we had just gotten the menus and listened to him explain the plan, we really hadnt looked over the choices. He came back a few minutes later, and we ordered our appetizers and the entrees. Tara chose one of the flatbreads, and I had the calamari. The flatbread was fine, but nothing memorable this visit. The calamari was very good. (For some reason, we tried a lot of calamari this trip, and this was one of the best we had. I was surprised they had it, as it wasnt on the most recent menu I had found online before our trip, but it was a good choice).
The entrees came out about 10 minutes after we had finished the appetizers. Tara had the grilled salmon, which was a large piece of salmon. I had the Portuguese Seafood Stew, which was my last chance this trip to try to find a replacement for my favorite seafood stew dish that was previously offered at Palio in the Swan. I am going to miss that place!
The salmon was excellent, well cooked with a nice flavor, but not quite as good as the stew, IMHO. I finished the stew, which had a good portion of seafood in it, and Tara almost finished the salmon. After we were done, Tony was still very busy, with the large table taking up most of his time. When he stopped back by, we ordered desserts. We got the ice cream sundae, and the crème brulee. The crème brulee was excellent, with a nice and solid layer to crunch on the top. The ice cream sundae is apparently a make your own type thing, which is nice, but it only had 2 very small scoops of ice cream. Probably not a great value there, if we had been paying out of pocket.
After dessert, Tony checked on us again, and brought the bill. I was waiting for him, and had the c/c waiting for the drinks that were not on the DDP portion. We were checked out quickly, and on our way. The food quality was excellent.
This was overall a good meal. It was very fortunate for us that they had an ADR available on such short notice, and even seated us early. The only bad thing was that it appeared Tony wasnt scheduled to take that large table, as he had at least 3 other tables going at the time. We think he got pulled in there because the original server could not handle that large of party (overheard), and thats fine if it happened that way. However, I would have expected someone (manager or server) to offer some help with his original tables, if he was being pulled elsewhere.
So, to recap: good food, spotty service (circumstantial), and a very good value using the DDP.
