Running Thru Life... Carmello's Review

My husband and I have decide that this year- 2012 will be the year we get more adventurous with our eating out.  We do not eat out that often but when we do we seem to pick the same places out of habit.  So when talking about where we were going to Valentine's Day dinner we started looking around for something different.  We stumbled upon Carmellos on Open Table- the reviews were good, it was Portuguese food (which I heart!) and it was a place that we actually had been wanting to try.

So we made the reservation for the Saturday before Valentine's Day.  

I hate eating out of V day- I much rather have a nice quite night at home.  

So we headed out on Saturday to Manassas where Carmello's is located.

It is located in Old Town Manassas which is quaint.  

We walked in and it just went down hill from there.

First, we were not greeted at all.  It was almost we were inconveniencing the wait staff being there.  

They did not offer to take our coats. 

 (This is suppose to be a fine dining place!!!)

We were escorted to our table which was very small and so close together that I could barely get thru the sides and as my husband pointed out "you have a small ass!" 

 Thank you Joseph!

The waiter then came over- did not introduce himself, did not go over the special, nothing- just asked us if we wanted to order.  Joe ordered the Paella and I ordered the Scallops. 

My dish was terrible- It was 4 small scallops on cold white rice with barely any sauce.  

Joe Paella was Ok- it was made with a tomato base which was the not way it was advertized on the menu. 

The waiter did not come back to check us until Joe was done and my plate was still pretty much full to ask us if we wanted dessert.  Both Joe and I were so over the experience we asked for the check and proceed to a local cupcake store for a treat.  

I normally do not do this, but the next morning I woke up and wrote a email to the owner about our experience.  I have now only done this twice in my whole life.  

However, I felt it was warranted because of the bad customer service! 

I was very civil and explained that what we experienced the other night was not fine dining. 

 The owner answered me within 2 days- apologizing for our experience and stating we are not the only ones who did not receive excellent customer service.  

They are apologizing by sending up a substantial gift card to try Carmello's again. 

I will update you with our second experience...

One can only hope it will get better!