Cattle Baron - Shelley Point: New Year’s Eve 2019

Cattle Baron - Shelley Point: New Year’s Eve 2019 Wow, what an unmitigated disaster. I thought it would nice to treat the family and overseas visitors to a nice New Years Eve dinner. My mistake. I had read the reviews prior to booking and was concerned as to the number of negative reviews, however decided to give the CB the benefit of the doubt as the average rating was not too bad. Bad mistake. We had booked and were told it was a set menu which I thought would be an advantage as they would be setup for a smaller amount of options. Another mistake. We arrived and were led to our table. We were taken through the restaurant and into and adjacent ‘function’ room where there were more tables. I could also see that they had put tables on the veranda adjacent to that, which only had blinds and the wind was blowing hard and cold. Unease started to creep in. But I was glad that we weren’t relegated to the verandah. Lovely friendly waitress took our order promptly and delivered us a complimentary glass of champs. We ordered drinks and they came. So far so good. Starters came in reasonable time. I began to relax. My mistake. So, there we waited, plates not cleared, no more offer of drinks. But we were determined to enjoy the evening so enjoyed each-others company. In the mean-time very few waitresses could be seen and the ‘supervisors’ were running around doing ‘nothing in particular.’ One table on the verandah had obviously complained and were relocated. Eventually the main course arrived. Plates cold, food cold. Sauce & vegetables missing. Medium rare steak – raw (and obviously ice cold). Medium steak – rare. Medium steak – ok (1 out of 3). Sea food platter ok but cold. Sauce eventually arrives but no replacement cutlery. Food gets colder. Utensils arrive, don’t send food back under the fear that we will not eat … ever. So, we eat our food. All social talk gone, none of us are enjoying the evening at all by this stage. Wait for plates to be cleared…. An age. Time for dessert … what nightmare will the universe release. Cheesecake – stodgy. Apple crumble – ok. 50/50 result. Time to get bill and run. Due to previous complaints to the manageress who showed up once to ask ‘if all was ok,’ we were promised a discount for the items that weren’t replaced. Here is hoping. Bill arrives, no discount. Ask for discount, eternity passes. Revised bill arrives … R150 more than the previous! They try to explain why… !?! Pay bill, as cannot be there any longer as will be there to see in the next new year. Ask waitress how many of them are there. Seven! For 3 full rooms of tables!!! And to cap it apparently a number walked out as they were so frustrated. Gave her a good tip as she didn’t stand a chance. It is obvious what the owner did. Fill the place to maximum to get as much money as possible with as little overheads as possible. Take the money with out any regards to the consequences. I also realised that the first bill was an itemised bill of the normal rates for the food we ordered. The second invoice was the ‘set menu’ price which was much more than the normal prices. The truth is that we shouldn’t have even been made to pay. In all the restaurants in all the countries I have eaten, it was by far the worse. So, I hope the owner enjoys driving his / her fancy car at the expense of your patrons. Shame on you. Pay attention to the negative reviews, they are the truth. Do not waste your money or your time. Go to a Wimpy, you will get a better meal with better service.