Utterly Disappointed

I am writing to let you know how terribly disappointed my family and I were in your Christmas lunch which cost R495.00 per person.

We had been to the Central One before for breakfast (before the refurb) and it was lovely, so we had high expectations. We were a party of 12, and completely let down by expectation vs reality.

1. Some guests arrived at 11h45 and were told to wait at the bar and told they could receive complimentary drinks while they wait for the restaurant to open (which was supposed to be at 12h00) but had to wait longer than that. When we requested the bill at the end of our lunch, we found that the complimentary drinks were added to our bill. 2. It felt like the hottest Christmas I’ve ever had, and the aircons did not work. 3. The menu for the day was beautiful and enticing, which is why we chose Central One, but the reality was far from what was promised. Let me elaborate. a. Smoked Salmon and Malay Prawn salad with Citrus dressing (starter) was actually just penne pasta with sprinklings of salmon and non-existent prawns with a very bland sauce. b. Confit duck leg with plum sauce – it was a salad with micro shreddings of duck. c. Ham hock terrine with homemade piccalilli and cranberry brie tart – these were nowhere to be found on the day. d. Carvery of thyme roasted beef with red wine sauce – was so tough and dry it was like eating biltong. e. Carvery of chicken with bread sauce – the chicken was raw inside. f. Pan-fried fish with lemon butter sauce was so dry and the sauce probably dried up on the fish – horrible. g. Yorksire pudding was not present on the day. h. Christmas pudding with brandy sauce – not present on the day. i. Fresh berries with honey jelly and linseed brittle – not present on the day. 4. We had paid for R495.00 per person, and expected value for money but were utterly disappointed by the quality of the food (it was absolutely terrible and bland) and more disappointed that what was on the menu was not available on the day. 5. Bottomless champagne was also promised, but around 14h00 the champagne stopped coming – we had to request this and even so, it was limited. 6. The service on the day was appalling – we ordered a normal brandy and coke. The drink arrives and tastes like whiskey to the untrained palate only to find out the waiter had brought a 20 year old without consulting us and the coke had already been poured. I mean, who adds coke to 20 year old brandy?? This too was added to the bill even though it was the error of the hotel (the shot cost R240.00) which we refused to pay for. 7. We requested a cake for my cousin’s birthday (this had been arranged prior to the day) and it took over an hour to arrive at our table. The cake was not good. 8. Our bill was sent back 3 times due to errors made, and what made it worse is that instead of finding a solution, the staff ran around not knowing what to do and annoying us even more.

The worst part is none of the staff tried to “make it right” and instead tried to shift blame and talk in circles, and no one was willing to take initiative or make the call. At the end of the day, we were hungry, hot and bothered, fed up and just wanted to leave. My entire family and I share the same sentiments and will never return. This was absolutely the worst Christmas experience at any restaurant we’ve ever had, ruining this special day. The almost R6 000.00 we paid for food was a complete waste and not even worth half of that. We are left utterly and completely disappointed in Radisson Blu.