Still an American at heart

[darachu]

I am sortof shocked by this thread but maybe its because when i am in BsAs i am almost exclusively in the south end of town???. I love my neighborhood, Parque Patricios, and the instances of getting treated badly in a food establishment are the very rare exceptions. (There was one, in a new restaurant, about 5 years ago... how can you screw up an order of empanadas???)
I find the people running the restaurants - waitstaff, cooks, bussers, are amazing in the workload the complete and the personability in their trato. The waitstaff are usually patient even under major stress of carrying 10-20 tables. Having waited tables for many years in my youth i am amazed at the workload professional waitstaff manage here, as rickulivi pointed out. Rarely would a gringo be able to handle the work of the waitpeople here with the same level of professionalism and patience.
Even in the states they get mad when you come in at the end of a shift.
In the neighborhoods around here many waitstaff still make a point of remembering the order.
And I also don't understand, the food is usually incredibly superior to most establishment-prepared stuff served in the states. By gosh, they often make their own mayonnaise! They also don't throw the check at you and rush you , you can stay as long as you want. There is pride in presentation, the tables are set carefully, etc... And then, it is so cheap for us... what is there to complain about? As i wrote, I am surprised by the thread and the agreement... Its not been my experience at all after 20+ years of coming and going. I would guess there are better places to go to really enjoy things, and those places that are not hospitable should leave the rotation.

 

[Ries]

I have had almost no bad experiences with service, in 15 years of part timer here. We often get the opposite- special attention, because we usually eat in places where there are never any non-argentines, and we are such a novelty. Just had a series of amazing meals with lots of great service in Mar Del Plata, including a waiter who downsold us by giving us two half orders, rather than the two full size portions we tried to order, and who talked us into the most amazing tasting tomato draped with boquerones I have ever had. Then called us a cab, when he saw us on the corner looking for one.

 

[Stantucker]

Two of my daughters, while in college in California, worked as servers at the Macaroni Grill, a chain of Italian semi-fancy restaurants. They drove their own cars to work, which was not longer than a 15-minute drive, and usually took care of 4 tables each. Their tips were either 15% or 20%, rarely less or nothing, and they did not share their tips (except with busboys). The rest went into their pockets.

In Argentina, often waiters must travel an hour or two to get to work on crowded public transportation, and need to tend ten or more tables if all other servers show up; tips are 10% if lucky, and usually shared with all, and then must return home on crowded public transportation, which may take another one to two hours, and finally, they may need to walk a few blocks to get home. Under these conditions, who wants to work as a server? On top of it all, you get people that walk away from the table if they don't get quick service or get a QR code instead of a printed menu.

It's tough to work under these conditions. Depressing is more like it. I think we should be more tolerant, and understanding, of the difficult life that many servers contend with.

I think lots of us on this forum see and understand those transportation and workload issues for servers and are sympathetic. The problem is that there are times when servers are not busy, and even after you have waited a reasonable amount of time for them to say, bring you a menu, they still have not moved, or they act as if they are doing you a big favor. And it doesn't get any better after that. This doesn't happen every time I eat out, but it does happen too often in the city.

 

[jblaze5779]

Yeah like you've never been sitting there waiting for your check for 30 minutes while the whole pile of waitstaff is standing at the counter jaw jacking and messing on their phones and then you have to tell them to take off the drinks you ordered that never arrived but somehow still made it onto the bill.

I don't have a problem waiting for food if it's worth it but then I've never really had anything that was worth writing home about.

On a positive note, you can't go anywhere in the US and get a bottle of wine and a boat load of food for 50 bucks.

Despite this there have been many times where I don't want to go out because I just don't want to deal with a situation that has a high likelihood of being a bad time.

 

[Alby]

On Friday two visitors from Peru arrived. They insisted on going out to eat at lunchtime. I told them that I never do so, unless I feel like a parrilla because the rest of the food in restaurants here is very basic and the service is often poor. We found a recently refurbished cafe on Arenales, in the heart of Recoleta. It wasn't busy. They were surprised at how basic the menu was. I said most restaurants have most or less the same set of dishes. We ordered: salmon for one, an omelette for the other, and I ordered the ubiquitous ham and cheese toasted sandwich. For each I think the choice was the least unappetizing option on the menu. The waiter was perfectly pleasant. The food for the two visitors was basic but fine. My sandwich never arrived. We had to ask the waiter to scrub it from the bill. I told them "Welcome to restaurant service in Buenos Aires".

On Saturday I went with one of them to a quite well-known parrilla in La Boca. We had arrived 90 minutes before the game, hoping to eat and then watch it elsewhere. After 15 minutes with no service, my companion insisted on summoning one of the disinterested waiters, who was annoyed to be pulled out of her sector. We ordered (asado and chips and a bondiola). The guy who was responsible for the sector bought the bread and utensils. By 3:30 my companion was starting to get edgy and wanted to them hurry them on. I told her if we did that, it would just be worse and they'd bring it out in worse humor and half-cooked. By 4:00 pm, the food still hadn't arrived. We asked to be moved inside where there was a TV screen. About 15 minutes into the game, it become obvious that they had forgotten our order. We reminded them. The food arrived just before half-time.

I think the poor service and poor quality (and lack of variety) is undeniable. I mean, I predicted it to the visitors. They didn't believe me, but the only two times they dined out, it was amply demonstrated.

However, I do enjoy a good parrilla. There is nothing quite like it, even when it arrives late.

The most amusing thing I see is two Porteños sitting down at a restaurant with good silver cutlery, a nice white napkin, and a big white plate topped with two small empanadas in front of them waiting to be devoured. Haute cuisine.

 

[steveinbsas]

On Saturday I went with one of them to a quite well-known parrilla in La Boca. We had arrived 90 minutes before the game.... After 15 minutes with no service, my companion insisted on summoning one of the disinterested waiters, who was annoyed to be pulled out of her sector. We ordered (asado and chips and a bondiola). The guy who was responsible for the sector bought the bread and utensils. By 3:30 my companion was starting to get edgy and wanted to them hurry them on. I told her if we did that, it would just be worse and they'd bring it out in worse humor and half-cooked. By 4:00 pm, the food still hadn't arrived. We asked to be moved inside where there was a TV screen. About 15 minutes into the game, it become obvious that they had forgotten our order. We reminded them. The food arrived just before half-time.

Did either of you notice the flavor of saliva (not your own) in your food?

 

[Alby]

Did either of you notice the flavor of saliva (not your own) in your food?

Did either of you notice the flavor of saliva (not your own) in your food?

Exactly, that's why I was horrified that my companion wanted to rock the boat, pull waiters out of the sectors to push for us to actually be asked what we wanted and then push for us to eventually get it. All I could think (after being so indoctrinated for so long), was that it would just make things worse. I tried to explain that this was just porteño service culture and she should just soak it up as part of the experience of being a tourist here. What I couldn't believe (and where my companion turned out to be 100% correct) was that the waiter had completely failed to pass the order on to the parrillero.

 

[Reply Guy]

On Friday two visitors from Peru arrived. They insisted on going out to eat at lunchtime. I told them that I never do so, unless I feel like a parrilla because the rest of the food in restaurants here is very basic and the service is often poor. We found a recently refurbished cafe on Arenales, in the heart of Recoleta. It wasn't busy. They were surprised at how basic the menu was. I said most restaurants have most or less the same set of dishes. We ordered: salmon for one, an omelette for the other, and I ordered the ubiquitous ham and cheese toasted sandwich. For each I think the choice was the least unappetizing option on the menu. The waiter was perfectly pleasant. The food for the two visitors was basic but fine. My sandwich never arrived. We had to ask the waiter to scrub it from the bill. I told them "Welcome to restaurant service in Buenos Aires".

On Saturday I went with one of them to a quite well-known parrilla in La Boca. We had arrived 90 minutes before the game, hoping to eat and then watch it elsewhere. After 15 minutes with no service, my companion insisted on summoning one of the disinterested waiters, who was annoyed to be pulled out of her sector. We ordered (asado and chips and a bondiola). The guy who was responsible for the sector bought the bread and utensils. By 3:30 my companion was starting to get edgy and wanted to them hurry them on. I told her if we did that, it would just be worse and they'd bring it out in worse humor and half-cooked. By 4:00 pm, the food still hadn't arrived. We asked to be moved inside where there was a TV screen. About 15 minutes into the game, it become obvious that they had forgotten our order. We reminded them. The food arrived just before half-time.

I think the poor service and poor quality (and lack of variety) is undeniable. I mean, I predicted it to the visitors. They didn't believe me, but the only two times they dined out, it was amply demonstrated.

However, I do enjoy a good parrilla. There is nothing quite like it, even when it arrives late.

The most amusing thing I see is two Porteños sitting down at a restaurant with good silver cutlery, a nice white napkin, and a big white plate topped with two small empanadas in front of them waiting to be devoured. Haute cuisine.

Shame for your Peruvian visitors. In Lima the service in much better. The food is more simple in Buenos Aires than Lima, but the value is pretty unbeatable at the moment in dollar terms.

Generally I've found service to be worse here than elsewhere. Very lackadaisical. Taking forever to bring menus, forgetting items, 20 minutes passing after asking for the check.

There have been some memorable, warm servers as well, but they aren't so common these days.

It doesn't bother me anymore, I know that's just how it is.

 

[Gringo80]

If I'm unhappy with the service I just leave. It's not wise to piss off someone that handles your food, things could go very badly. And also, it's their country, I'm just a visitor here, it's not my place to correct the way they run their businesses.

 

[Ries]

One of the things I love about Argentina is the extreme amount of family owned businesses. Unlike the US, where every starbucks, mcdonalds, or panera is basically the same, no matter where, everything in Argentina is different.
That means you have to work, to find out whats good, and whats bad.
I like this- its something I have done, in every aspect of my life, for 60 years.
If you do the research, you find gems. If you dont, you get what you get.

for instance, in Recoleta for lunch-
Rodi Bar is wonderful, open all day, big and varied menu, and everything is good. Assuming you are nice to them, the seasoned waiters are nice and efficient.
Arambiru Bis is elegant, world class, and service is great- and the menu ejectivo is a great bargain for lunch.
La Rambla is old fashioned, classy, and serves the best steak sandwich I have ever had. A big expensive, but worth it. Good service.
All three are a short walk from the strip of low quality tourist traps across from the cementario.