Dinner 3/20/2019 Bonito

krand1

SBH Insider
We had dinner at Bonito last night. Our reservation was on the early side, 7:00pm. We had a lovely table on the railing overlooking the harbor. And oh my what a view with all the boats in the harbor getting ready for the race. My daughter and I both had the Crispy Tuna Ceviche and the Spiny Lobster Risotto. Husband ordered the grilled octopus for a starter and the Mahi-Mahi for main course. All was delicious. HOWEVER. We had ordered cocktails to start our evening and before we had even finished them and immediately after they delivered the bread, they swooped down with our appetizers. And the evening went on like that...the main courses were brought within five minutes of finishing our starter. We felt extremely rushed and for no good reason. The table next to ours was empty the entire time we sat there. When we left (around 8:30pm) we noticed that there was no line at the door with people waiting to get in. I have to say we were extremely disappointed with that kind of service and we are loathe to go back again in a hurry.
 
My wife and I experience that far too often.

We love to enjoy a pre-dinner cocktail before ordering anything.

Then, we do not order our main course until the 1st course arrives or after we finish it depending on our timeline, not theirs.

We sense the frustration of the server and sometimes they suggest that we order everything at once and they will pace our meal.

We politely decline.

We experienced tons of confusion while in Paris a few months ago. We would be seated, order a cocktail while we perused the menu and our cocktails would come.

The server would ask for our order, we would decline saying "later". They would try to take the menu. I guess the pre dinner cocktail ritual is not common?

Anyway, we have no problem taking control of our dining experience after having too many situations as you described.
 
Thanks to everyone for sharing their experience at Bonito so others can learn from the past experiences. We always do just as Dennis suggests when we dine at Bonito
 
From what is being written, guess Bonito is using a management therory that a quick turnaround translates into higher revenue and improved service. That style might be great for a Chili’s or Olive Garden but for a high end restaurant totally inappropriate. And I wonder, this forum represents loyal, repeat guest who are affluent enough to afford St Barts. If I was a business owner in St Barts, would difinetly be a lurker on this forum. Hopefully someone is giving them this feedback, it’s a favorite restaurant of ours and on my list for our April trip but that could change for us and many more visitors.
 
Cheryl loves Bonito. I have always felt a bit rushed there. I agree with Dennis. When we pace our orders there is always that underlying pressure that I never feel at Eddies, Tameran or L’Espirit.
 
We experienced the same thing in early February, and it actually started with ordering wine. I was having a lot of fun just reading the wine list, and the sommelier came back to our table three or four times in a 5-10 minute period. He was getting very frustrated that we hadn't yet made our decision. At that point, we decided to follow the Dennis theory of "order as we go" which worked quite well.
 
My wife and I experience that far too often.

We love to enjoy a pre-dinner cocktail before ordering anything.

Then, we do not order our main course until the 1st course arrives or after we finish it depending on our timeline, not theirs.

We sense the frustration of the server and sometimes they suggest that we order everything at once and they will pace our meal.

We politely decline.

We experienced tons of confusion while in Paris a few months ago. We would be seated, order a cocktail while we perused the menu and our cocktails would come.

The server would ask for our order, we would decline saying "later". They would try to take the menu. I guess the pre dinner cocktail ritual is not common?

Anyway, we have no problem taking control of our dining experience after having too many situations as you described.

Thanks Dennis for your info & method ! also could you post wherever on the Forum about your London & Paris Christmas & New Year visit, unless you have & I missed it ! How were your BA flights ? Met couple from UK in Jan. who said BA stood for Bad Attitude !
 
At least you had one of the preferred tables for a harbor view. We have tried to secure one there and they have always told us- ‘first come- first served’ on tables. Most other restaurants on the island you can choose your table in advance.
 
we agree, we went once and it was obvious that they needed us to HURRY UP!! so they could turn the table. nowhere else on st barts have we experienced that and since there are so many choices we just chooser to go elsewhere.
 
Thanks Dennis for your info & method ! also could you post wherever on the Forum about your London & Paris Christmas & New Year visit, unless you have & I missed it ! How were your BA flights ? Met couple from UK in Jan. who said BA stood for Bad Attitude !


Ahhhh.....I'll try to put something together. It was amazing....you should follow me on FB...I posted every day of the trip there.

Short version, it was amazing!

And no BA from BA!
 
Ahhhh.....I'll try to put something together. It was amazing....you should follow me on FB...I posted every day of the trip there.

Short version, it was amazing!

And no BA from BA!
We went for the first time last month, and it started out a little rushed until we slowed them down. The lobster risoto was fantastic. We had the best seat in the house, secured by WIMCO. We emailed them before we left and gave a choice of evenings and said give us whichever has the best seat. It worked.
 
We made multiple reservations for Bonito for Bucket week and we were able to request and get a written confirmation for a table "outside" along the railing. We were able to get reservations for an early seating at 7:00-7:30 and a 9:15-9:30 later seating.
 
Yes, when I made the reservations, I asked for 7:00pm (already was aware of the two seating times from last year, also the week of the Bucket) and also requested a table by the railing , which we got. I do hope that they become aware of these grumblings about pace and slow things down because it is a lovely setting in which to have a meal.
 
Thanks Eve, Black Ginger is on my list for mid April, will be our first visit there. They were not open when we were there in August
 
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