"I wish I could say we had a 4-5 star rating but my sister, her daughter and I were outsiders who were unwelcome. When we got there, the host (on 6/24 at 8pm wearing a silver dangling earring on his left ear) didn't welcome us nor did he ask us for our name when my sister checked us in. He said, I'll just come outside when a table is ready (It was a rainy night and there were no umbrellas for shelter Maybe he had a photographic memory, I thought, but he took down everyone else's names; or maybe because we didn't have reservations he didn't want to write our names down, but he took the name down of a party of three who didn't have reservations. Nonetheless, my sister reassured us that we'd be seated and if we weren't called before the party after us then we should leave. You see, she had her daughter with us and she is the type to teach her daughter to treat others with respect until they show her they don't deserve respect. So we waited. But after the party after us was seated, she turned to her 19 year old daughter and said, If the party of three after the party after us without reservations is seated then we can leave Moments after she said that, the party of three without reservations was called BY NAME to be seated. So we left. In hindsight it was clear that everyone dining, and all those let in before and after us, were white. We weren't. (My niece is half white and my husbands is too. So having trust in this environment is second nature to us We were the only ones who walked in that night who were treated as if we were unwelcome poorly by the host wearing the silver dangling earring on his left ear (6/24 8pm). That host didn't want our names and made it clear that he had no intention of calling us to a table. We weren't welcome to be seated at Cucina Rustica and our journey to one of the most beautiful places we've admitted to seeing just before walking to this restaurant from the Hilton, just a stone's throw away from stunning red mountains, became untrusting and ugly. We felt defeated and we acknowledged that Cucina Rustica in Sedona casted a shadow on our trip. Thankfully, we were welcomed by Dellepiane further down in the plaza and the service was welcoming and warm. When we shared our experience with our hostess, her nonverbal response communicated it wasn't the first time she heard it. So, we resolved to leave big tips to our waiters during our trip who showed us just how beautiful Sedona could be. It's not just the scenery that graces us when we visit new places, but so too are the welcoming smiles and kind words. Sedona is filled with beauty and kindness, just not at Cucina Rustica. I should note that as we left, my sister was stopped by the host who asked with a smirk if we were sure we didn't want to continue to wait for a table. My sister replied that we wouldn't be staying as he had seated a number of groups who arrived after us before he had seated us. The host then feigned innocence by saying that each group had made reservations prior to arrival. The three of us recognized this to be a bold faced lie as we had overheard multiple (white) groups come in without reservations who had all been asked for their names and later retrieved by name by the same host who had refused to take ours. This lie solidified the fact that we were clearly discriminated against and were unwanted at Cucina Rustica. What was supposed to be a fun girls trip was quickly marred by the disappointing and dehumanizing treatment at Cucina Rustica. Below I have attached a screenshot of a similar reviews posted by people of color who have unfortunately been treated the same as us."
Fried Calamari
