It was my friend's Birthday and she decided to do a low key girls night Birthday dinner/dessert close to where she lives to make it easy. But it didn't end up so easy when SPIN Spun Out.
A couple of us got there at about 7:30 and my friend wasn't there yet and when we asked about reservations the guy told us it was in some other name other than my friends name so we were going to wait and then he said it was for 10-15 people and I guess that was the only reservation for that many so he advised us to sit at a long table.
My friend arrived about 10 minutes later and was confused at the name he had as the name reserved. That should have been our first clue that it wasn't going to be a great night.
It took another 10 minutes before we got menus and then at least another 15 minutes before I had to ask to get water. So it must have been at least 25 min from the time we sat down until we got glasses of water. Then a few minutes later to take our order. My friend wanted to switch up a sauce on the menu and they did. We got our dinner about another 10 min later I think. One of the girls ordered dessert and wanted a certain ice cream and they were out of it. Then when our orders arrived my friends and my savoury crepe dinner came with ceasar salad and my friend asked for some extra cheese and the waitress looked at her like she was asking for crab legs or something. Then after a few minutes she said she will see. I think there was something else my friend asked for but I don't know if she got that.
My friend ordered a chicken pesto crepe and could hardly cut the crepes with the knife that was as sharp as a butter knife. My order was the chicken fajitas in a crepe with condiments on the side which was fine but the guacamole looked a bit brown like it was sitting around for a while. The crepes were tough and crispy and it was tough to cut them down. The chicken though seasoned ok just tasted like it was a cold chicken breast sliced and tossed in. Very below average.
Then it gets better when my friend tried to order dessert. After all it was her Birthday and she wanted a piece of cake. She tried to order the Red Velvet Cake and the guy said he just took it out of the freezer and it was frozen. Then she asked for something else and they said that was gone. Some of the friends said to them they should look after her since it was her birthday. Then she asked for a third thing and she couldn't get that. All she could get was chocolate cake and cheesecake and she didn't want either. So she just skipped the dessert and asked for the bill. I think they gave her some sort of credit but her dinner wasn't comped totally. We had money and the bill on the table and the waitress still didn't come and clear the plates but instead was kind of hiding out in the back and chatting away.
We finally left and it was pouring rain but my friend was still hungry and by this time annoyed and really wanted a drink so she wanted to go to either Pickel Barrel or Moxie's. We ended up going up to Moxie's because they had Bellini specials on Wed. night. What a difference good service and good food makes. The Moxie's is in my neighbourhood so by the time we went it was only my friend and I. I felt bad because her Birthday experience was less than Stellar so I hoped that Moxie's would make her night a lot better. When we walked in we were greeted and seated right away. We were given menus right away and our drink order was taken. Her Bellini arrived within 5 min. of walking in the door. I ordered ice tea and before I even finished the ice tea there was another one on the table. I didn't ask for another one but I assume they just provide free refills so she wanted to be on top of it when she brought my friend a second Bellini. My friend was there recently and the people she was with ordered chicken wings and the waitress was very patient trying to figure out which ones they were. We got honey garlic wings with a little hot sauce and some regular fries. They both arrived promptly. The chicken wings were delicious and crispy with a great flavoured sauce. The waitress was lovely and very efficient and a pleasure to have served us. It put my friend in a much better mood and she felt satisfied. She never did get her cake but luckily as her gift I tucked in a Sweets from the Earth dessert so I hope she enjoyed that later.
We got to the Moxie's through an underground tunnel from the subway station but unfortunately it closed at 10pm so we had to walk back outside in the pouring rain. My friend hopped on the bus instead of the subway and headed home. Hopefully a little happier than her planned restaurant girls night.
You know a restaurant is bad when you have to go to another one afterward and order food again.
On their website the place and the menu looked great. In person the place was a lot smaller looking but ok but not as beautiful as it appeared on the website. It was quite dissappointing and it's interesting that they have multiple locations.
I am sure that the Spin Dessert Cafe didn't know that there was a food blogger at that table that night. So my advice is to hire proper staff and treat everyone as though they were a VIP and your business will be around a long time. My prediction is that Spin Dessert Cafe will be closed within a year.
So skip Spin and go to Moxie's or even the Keg, Pickle Barrel or Milestone's if you want proper food and proper service on a consistent basis.
There are a lot of bad/sad restaurants in the city so skip those and spend your money at the places that want you and your business.
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