"I made a reservation for 7 for 12:30pm on Father’s Day. We have an autistic child who unfortunately was having a meltdown when we needed to leave. My parents, who are almost 80, got there on time and I told them to explain what was going on and to go ahead and sit to get some drinks and appetizers. They let me know the restaurant refused to seat them until all of us were present. I figured they must be really busy and didn’t want to make other people wait or didn’t want to mess up the kitchen flow. Having worked in restaurants before, I understand the need for that policy. However, once we got there around 1:15pm, we saw the restaurant was over half empty and no one was waiting for a table. Staff was standing around, and my almost 80 year old parents were sitting on a short wall in the shade to stay cool. I was appalled that the restaurant manager seemed either unable to determine if she should adjust restaurant policies or was simply lacking empathy and did not care. I checked in and said we were the party of 7 with the 1230 reservation where my parents arrived on time and you wouldn’t seat them. She simply curtly replied, “Yes” and didn’t even look at me. If my parents and my autistic child could have waited to eat and get some water I would have left right then. I am glad we stayed because the food was good and the waitress and staff were wonderful. The view was great and we loved the aesthetic. We spent a large amount of money and tipped the waitress over the mandatory gratuity for parties of 6+. But I seriously question the judgment of a manager that will not allow 2 almost 80 year olds to sit at a table and get food and water when it’s over 80 degrees and they have the space and staff to handle a table that does not follow the typical order timing. The fact she was informed of why we were late and she showed no understanding or concern also leads me to think this coldness and rigidity is not out of the norm. We will not be returning."
