UNPEASANT FIRST IMPRESSIOn AT V&A WATERFRONT

<p> </p> <p>On the 15th December 2016, my friend and I decided to go out for some sushi and wine. We both never tried Harbour House and I was personally eager to try due to the 'good reviews'. As we walked into the restaurant, we were greeted very coldly by what I assume was the hostess. I do not remember her name but it was the evening shift and she was wearing a purple dress.</p> <p>When I asked her for a "table for two" she rep**** hesitatingly, asking us if we " made a reservation." I rep**** no, and she said that she does not think she can seat us but that she will try and look for a place. As she left to go 'look for a small two seater table, another 'white' couple arrived and the waiter immediately just took menus and immediately offered them seating without any hesitation. Then not long after that, the hostess arrived and gave us seating outside on the edge of the restaurant. Once she seated us, another couple (I assume foreigners) came in and she did not ask them if they made a reservation but instead eagerly went to go and find them a place to be seated.</p> <p>At this point, I just could not believe what I was seeing and my friend was in shock too. I did not want to make assumptions and see things that were not there, but it was too clear that we were profiled by this woman.(we are mixed race by the way) All I wanted to do was get up and leave but my friend insisted that we stay! After being seated, we were then moved inside because my friend could not sit in the location we were in due to personal reasons. Once we were seated inside, we were ready to order but when we ordered our sushi platter and wine, the waitress told us that we need to go to the sushi bar for that.I personally had to keep my cool and calm down because my friend wanted to stay at your restaurant, so we ended up going to the sushi bar and I can honestly say that we had a great time upstairs. The people were amazing and the sushi was very good.</p> <p>Regardless, I was completely upset about this! Why were we not given the option when we arrived? This damn hostess gave us the impression that everything was reserved and also locked out the option of us going to the sushi bar? Did we not 'look the part' or something? I used to be a waitress when I was a student, and I worked for many restaurants, including fine dining so I know how this industry functions and I am not stupid enough not to notice that this woman was a snob, and was clearly profiling us from top to bottom. It grieves me that I have to throw the race card but its the world we live in and I know many restaurants that are guilty of race bias in Cape Town! I am sorry, but this is absolutely unacceptable, as a restaurant you need to serve me regardless of how much money I spend or what kind of clothes I wear! I probably earn thrice as much as that hostess but you don't see me profiling people and treating them as lower than me. I can honestly say that I won't miss the snobby environment that I experienced when I walked into the restaurant for the first time! It is absolutely horrible and makes me feel so uncomfortable to go out and eat at a nice place because one feels that they have to put on a performance on. in order to justify their existence at a place. I would never bring someone to Harbour House dining ever again after what I experienced on Thursday.</p> <p> </p> <p>I emailed the branch and I am currently waiting for a reply.</p>