Worst service accompanying bad quality food

Dear La Paranda Management,

I’m writing to express our disappointment following our visit to your Constantia branch on Sunday, which was meant to be a special lunch celebrating my mother-in-law’s birthday. Unfortunately, the experience was far from memorable for the right reasons.

From the outset, service was slow and inconsistent. It took nearly 20 minutes just to receive our drinks, and even then, the orders were repeatedly incorrect. This created unnecessary frustration and disrupted the flow of what should have been a joyful occasion.

The food itself was equally underwhelming. We ordered a pulled beef pasta, which arrived with no beef at all. When we raised this with management, the explanation offered felt dismissive and inadequate — as if it were acceptable for a dish to be missing its key ingredient without any prior notice or apology. For a restaurant of your standing, this was surprising and disappointing.

Several other dishes lacked the quality and care one would expect, especially considering our bill totaled close to R4000. At that price point, we expected not only decent food but attentive service and a welcoming atmosphere. Instead, we left feeling let down and embarrassed in front of our guests.

We hope you take this feedback seriously and use it to improve your standards. A response and acknowledgment of this experience would be appreciated.

Kind regards, Steven Gareth Wyngaardt