We went to Hasta La Pasta for lunch today. The food is good, but not exceptional…but the service makes the difference.
We waited for 20 minutes to get a table–something that is not too uncommon for a Sunday lunch. And after we ordered, the bread wasn’t quite done yet, so we waited a few minutes for it. And the next thing you know, the manager (/owner, maybe) stopped by our table to apologize for the delay. He let us know that they had been unusually busy with large tables, that our food was almost done, and that we could pick out a couple desserts on the house. He thanked us for our patience and disappeared in the back.
Now that’s service.
He didn’t try to obscure what happened–he was honest regarding the situation, and gave us the information (which we could all see) so we could decide if we believed him or not.
And that’s a restaurant worth visiting again.