Pomodori’s in Clifton: Epic Service Fail
I genuinely hate giving a restaurant a bad review, but sometimes it is well called for. I spent over twenty years working in restaurants in the front of the house, most of the time as head waiter. This means not only that I know good service, but also that I am more inclined than many to turn a blind eye to errors if the server is obviously “in the weeds,” or otherwise having a crappy night. I’ve been there, it sucks.
I have to speak out concerning my first visit to Pomodori’s this evening. The food was quite tasty, but the service was nothing short of abysmal. A spontaneous dinner out with some friends became a comedy of errors in extremely short order.
Sitting around for fifteen minutes waiting for a drink order is a bit excessive, but I’ve dealt with worse and still left a solid 20% as long as the rest of service went well. Such was not to be the case. One reason that a good waiter repeats your order back to you is in order to ensure its accuracy. This is especially true if the table is asking for changes to the dish, or “mods,” as most places call them. Our table had several mods, all of the simplest kind- add chicken, add prosciutto, etc. Nothing subtracted, no drastic rewrites of menu items. One would think that your average college student could get that, right?
No. Well over twenty minutes after placing our order the first entree arrived, accompanied by a pizza that turns out to be for a different table. Lonely it was as it sat, unaccompanied, on the broad and empty expanse of our table of six. Another twelve minutes go by. Then four more entrees arrive. One of them is a salad, not the pasta we ordered. It goes back and our party begins to dig in, sharing what is there. If you’re having trouble keeping up that is now four out of the six entrees that are on the table. Additionally, my Alfredo was suspiciously lacking in the chicken I had requested. Absolutely famished at this point I wrote it off and began to dig in.
Another fifteen or so minutes go by and the replacement for the salad, the Gorgonzola pizza we originally ordered, arrives. That still leaves us one down, a pizza that had still not arrived. I really should have called a manager over, but morbid curiosity had gotten the better of me I have to admit. I wanted to see just how far the quality of service would actually sink. You see, among the other annoyances the server only came by to refill our drinks once during our entire two hours there, when one of our party motioned to her after prolonged neglect.
The entire visit was filled with this sort of thing. The check had to be redone three different times, and it would have been more if I had not decided that my time was worth more than waiting another twenty minutes while a $2.00 addition of chicken got removed. It was the first time in over a decade I left without tipping. (I tip 20% for average service so you can imagine what this took.)
I want to close with a comment, so that it is fresh in your mind after reading this: The food, was wonderful. I really enjoyed the items that hit our table. All compliments to the chef, still it would have been nice if there were more resemblance to the items we ordered, but it was great eating nonetheless. Since I’m the new guy, only been in Cincy a year and a half, I’m still trying out restaurants. I have a feeling that despite the great food it will be a long time before I go to Pomodori’s rather than trying something new.
Service like that is something you remember.
-Loki, Founder and Publisher
Image by Identity Photogr@phy, used under its Creative Commons license
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I think it’s a Clifton thing.
I think it’s a college student thing.
I think it’s a Pomodori thing. The food prep is always slow, I think they generally have just one guy handling all the in-house orders and another doing the carryouts and deliveries. But a slow kitchen does not excuse inattentive service, and I’ve seen that every time we’ve gone there. Servers return only with your check. Offering a drink refill with your check is pointless to me. I love the food, but they’re not the only wood-fired pizza joint in town anymore, so they do need to train their wait staff much better than they do (which apparently is “not at all”).
It’s been years since I’ve been to Pomodori’s. Sounds like nothing has changed. Olive has wood fired pizzas, and they have excellent service.
I used to think it was a Clifton thing (I have ate at Pomidori’s for over 20 years) but imo Habanero’s and Dewey’s proves that false. They both have superb service. It seems something systemic to Pomi’s. Occasionally you find excellent servers. We used to joke about grooming our servers (we went a LOT).
Sad to hear your experience, though. We just started returning there after a few years away and the service has been solid on every visit. It is always my example of one of the few places I tolerate bad service for the food. However, I often wonder ho often I would go if the service matched the food.
I don’t think it is a Clifton thing. As Lee points out, Olive is wonderful and I’ve always gotten terrific service there and I really enjoy the food.
Besides, I don’t think you can tar an entire neighborhood’s worth of businesses with a single brush like that. Sure Sitwells is an awful experience, but I’m sure that Clifton is littered with both good and bad. Olive is a winner, The Om Cafe at Aquarius Star has decent food and coffee, etc.
From the responses telling me this is a long standing pattern confirms me in not bothering to go back anytime soon.
Wow, that sounds pretty bad–you deserve a gold star for your patience. I still don’t think it justifies stiffing the waitstaff, though.
It’s a shame! Love that place, but I have also noticed their service taking a backseat.
Laura, this is the first time I have not left a tip in well over a decade. As with most writers who grow up in New Orleans I’ve done my time as in food industry. I’ve done fine dining, high volume, you name it. I never tip less than 20% unless the service is abyssmal and then I tip 10%. This was below abyssmal. My review above was incomplete because if I fully detailed the experience it would simply be a long winded rant that non one (rightfully) would want to read. By the way, you just gained a lot of points with me for sticking up for waitstaff, it is just unwarranted in this case.
Those reading these comments should take note- stiffing your server is the absolute last resort. They do not make minimum wage, they make just enough that taxes eat it before paychecks are cut. Servers life and die on the basis of their tips.
Service is hit or miss there. Ive had great service and some bad…the food is awesome though! Try Hyde Park Pizzeria yet? Their pizza is wonderful!
Food is good, not awesome. Hit or miss is one thing, but I repeat – not one thing was done properly. I’ve had better service in the rural areas of the Caribbean. Hyde park is on my list, several people have advised it.
Pomodori’s in Clifton has been this way forever. Decades ago, the service was better and the food held so much promise. But it seems to me they gave up on service a little over a decade ago. It is sad really. I love the taste of some of their wood fired pizza’s, but alas, this too can be inconsistent.
I don’t know that Olive’s matches their wood fired pizzas yet, but they hold promise. Olive’s service is certainly much better, and their beer list is great.
Pizza wise, I have been ruined for all else since I went to Lombardi’s in New York. Best. Pizza. Ever. Now I am getting hungry…
Loki,
Been a while since Sean M’s Crawfish Fest. We used to go to the Clifton Pomodori’s few years ago and their service was lackadaisical at best. In the past year or so, we started to go to the Montgomery location and the service is MUCH better.