Wild Onion - rudeness.

vkid

sioda wrote:

Everyone who eats in there knows Bob by name. I still adore the place. Defo one of the best eateries in town

I wouldnt go that far. To me its a greasy spoon that sells large portions of American type food and only opens for a few hours every day. Add to that the strange way of dealing with customers....(i really don't want to have my breakfast with strangers for example..)
Have had far fresher and tastier food in other places..but each to their own I suppose.

Unique - yes...
Best - not even close

grasscutter

pasta- coleslaw.......... greasy!!!!!

So what would be your recommendation then for a decent lunchtime meal round by the cornmarket?

sioda

Greasy spoon no way. To me a greasy spoon is Golden Grill O Connell grill. I dont see any bridgestone plaques in those.

vkid

well maybe greasy spoon might be a bit strong but wouldnt consider it to be very good food. My opinion. For lunch Id go for Sage cafe or Azur on O'Connel Street,

talkingclock

sioda, ellenmelon: granted. but still sounds to me like someone is defending a mate...

grasscutter

I would just like to add that it's not that we are friends but that i have had many an enjoyable lunch there.

Henry Ford III

grasscutter wrote:

I would just like my 2 cents on this.

I have been going in the Wild Onion for 4-5 years and feel the food produced by Bob and his crew is some of the best you could find on a lunchtime menu in Limerick city. The menu is well priced (<10 euro for most things), freshly prepared and the portions you get are massive. The odd time I have had cause to complain they have always been courteous and listened to what I have suggested. Ruth has a unique style about serving but that just adds to the magic of the place and she always welcomes you the minute you walk through the door. Compare this to when you go into other places were you are lucky to get 2 words out of the staff.

On the subject of the undercooked toast my guess is you were probably less than courteous asking for the toast to be replaced. I bet if I asked Bob about it he would probably give a completely different version of events. In 4 or 5 years I have never heard Bob loose the head over anything.

Get over it and stop sl*gging them off on an internet board.

Sorry but you weren't there. Your guess at what happened is therefore valueless.

My post is accurate in every detail.

I too had been going there for a few years.

I'm not slagging anyone off, just giving an accurate account of something that really happened.

Zoney

Surely if you feel aggrieved you should ask for an apology (probably write or email). Probably best to keep your letter simple and point out that it was embarrassing. It would be so for most people I am sure, imagine if you had invited friends or family there for the first time and this happened - I would certainly find it very awkward, regular or not. It may have been embarrassing, but it's only fair to accept it as a momentary outburst of frustration. You should wait and see do you get a response before coming here mouthing off.

As some others have pointed out, it's a decent establishment with friendly service and good food at a good price (may not be to all tastes but many people like it and it has the awards to boot).

bucks73

He has every right to come on here and telling others what happened. TBH I think what happened is way out of order.

If you bought a pair of jeans and went back to the shop to change them and the assistant called you the same thing, I can guarantee you that person would get the sack. If a member of his staff did the same thing Im sure he would be showing them the door. Why is it different for him?

Just because some people on here think this guy is ok and that its all part of the "athmosphere" does not make it all right.

What would have happened if there had been a local journo or restaurant critic in there at the same time? (Long shot I know). A lot more people would know about it thats for sure and the idiot would be feeling it where it hurts. His pocket.

Arathorn

Hey no publicity is bad publicity, never even heard of the place and kinda curious now,who knows maybe it was his sense of humour, the OP should have shot back with "you call yourself a chef? you cant even toast bread you big fat smelly bollix" he would have loved that with his personality and all.

Raiser

Zoney wrote:

Surely if you feel aggrieved you should ask for an apology (probably write or email). Probably best to keep your letter simple and point out that it was embarrassing. It would be so for most people I am sure, imagine if you had invited friends or family there for the first time and this happened - I would certainly find it very awkward, regular or not. It may have been embarrassing, but it's only fair to accept it as a momentary outburst of frustration. You should wait and see do you get a response before coming here mouthing off.

As some others have pointed out, it's a decent establishment with friendly service and good food at a good price (may not be to all tastes but many people like it and it has the awards to boot).

Nah - cussin' Chef man guy was well out of order.

- Thanks are due to the OP - who has saved lots us from having to experience this crap themselves.

Theres plenty of establishments that don't fcuk their patrons out of it before charging them €'s..........

klong

Slightly OT, but whats happening to Javas?

Henry Ford III

Zoney wrote:

Surely if you feel aggrieved you should ask for an apology (probably write or email). Probably best to keep your letter simple and point out that it was embarrassing. It would be so for most people I am sure, imagine if you had invited friends or family there for the first time and this happened - I would certainly find it very awkward, regular or not. It may have been embarrassing, but it's only fair to accept it as a momentary outburst of frustration. You should wait and see do you get a response before coming here mouthing off.

As some others have pointed out, it's a decent establishment with friendly service and good food at a good price (may not be to all tastes but many people like it and it has the awards to boot).

I don't feel aggrieved tbh. I don't wish to contact them nor go back there either. I was merely pointing out that one of the owners had been rude in the extreme. Please read the original post.

The management and staff had plenty of opportunity to apologise at the time. They chose not to. Their loss.

As I said earlier, it's a good place with decent and different food.

The issue was that the chef abused good and regular customers. I feel I'm quite entitled to point this out here.

Trouble

This place is ok but management and staff should look into customer service training. Once I was in there and a really old man came in and asked for a ham sandwich and a cup of tea. The waitress told him that ham sandwiches are not on the menu (very rudely) and to choose something off the menu. I was a bit shocked, surely the kitchen would have the capacity to russel up 2 slices of bread and a bit of ham for a elderly man. He left really confused looking. Another time my parents in law were in limerick and they went there for breakfast. They asked for 'irish breakfasts' and were basically told 'For gods sake will you read the menu, we don't do irish breakfasts'

Needless to say they left the place without ordering cause they felt the staff were so rude, so I don't think that the OP was the 1st to experience ther rudeness.

Doodlebug

I think the OP did us all a service by posting here.

The internet is a great leveller for customer opinions. If more people posted their experiences (i.e. on the Consumer Issues forum, etc.) businesses would be much more careful of how they treat their customers. Anyone can have a bad day - but if your livelihood depends on being professional, its not too much to ask to keep a lid on it.

After the comments by the OP (and Trouble) I will take my custom elsewhere.

old boy

ive done that 12 months ago dat ole american guy would win a prize for rudeness, smoking outside the both both of them,coming in with the smell of tobacco of them, they would not make a plain sambo because they would not be able to charge enough for it,

goingpostal

I agree 100% with Henry Ford 111. My experiences of that place closely mirror his. I stopped going in there because of the rude and ignorant service. Some may call it sassy and American style service, but i prefer to be able to go into a place, sit down, mind my own business, eat my meal, pay and leave. That is not too much to ask and most other restaurants manage that not too difficult feat. I used to be a regular at the Wild Onion, great food, lots of it, good value. I stopped going in there because Ruth was consistently rude to me, I tried to ignore her and mind my own business, but she would let me be. She would make smart remarks to me in front of other customers like "Need help with any big words?" while i would be reading the paper. I would be tracing the line i was reading with my finger, because I sometimes have trouble with my vision, but that doesn't give her the right to call me illiterate. Illiteracy isn't a funny subject anyway. The other customers seemed as embarrassed as me. She also found out which job i work at, so she started making smart unfunny comments about my profession. There were too many other niggly little incidents that happened for me to bother listing here, but eventually i decided that i couldn't be bothered with the aggravation any more. I know two other guys who have boycotted the place too for similar reasons (although one of them went back again, coz he is a hungry b**tard).

vkid

its funny, but if this happened in the States people would jus not stand for it in the least so to use that as an excuse for them is just wrong. People expect an exceptionally high standard of service in the ol USA and usually get it as Americans are not shy of complaining when they service/food is anyway below par..

yankinlk

Funny that. I was always told it was the yanks that had no sense of humour and couldnt take a slaggin.

Last time i checked you needed a reservation to be assured a seat in that place at lunchtime - i assume thats still the case.

Jumpy

yankinlk wrote:

Funny that. I was always told it was the yanks that had no sense of humour and couldnt take a slaggin.

Last time i checked you needed a reservation to be assured a seat in that place at lunchtime - i assume thats still the case.

Its always been empty whever I have walked past it at that time.

irishproduce

Well they certainly got some publicity here.
Im gonna go in there this week and wait for a smart comment and then i'll let loose with my tongue. Then i'll just start roaring laughing.

In fact, I cant wait!! You have just created some custom for them, i'm intrigued now as to what kind of food joint this is.

yankinlk

DO! Report back as well please. I find it hard to believe that place could be empty at lunch time.
I used always get a slagging in there - thought it was part of the charm myself.

Jumpy

yankinlk wrote:

DO! Report back as well please. I find it hard to believe that place could be empty at lunch time.
I used always get a slagging in there - thought it was part of the charm myself.

Because its a hole. Dark, no atmosphere, bad food and what the OP posted.

sioda

You still need a reservation to get a seat in here at lunch time most days especially thursdays.

If its a hole i would love to see a real hole. A hole to me is a dingy dirty lifeless spot. The wild onion is most surely not one of these.

As for bad food as I and the many other regulars in there will tell you the food is simple, good, filling and delicious.

If you want a sandwich and a coffee and want to be on your own go to the many soulless sandwich bars all over this town.

MarkR

I ate there the other day and enjoyed it. Ruth asked me why I was reading a tom clancy book, told her I needed something to pass the time in the maternity hospital (baby Dylan - yay!), congratulated me and asked for pics etc.

Got free coffee and orange juice too.

While I'm sure some people have a problem, I haven't personally.

hobie

I keep promising myself a visit to the place and then forget .....

That's it !!!!!! ......

this week I'm going in for a coffee and see what all the fuss is about ....

Henry Ford III

Be careful if you order toast medium rare!

Jumpy

sioda wrote:

If its a hole i would love to see a real hole. A hole to me is a dingy dirty lifeless spot. The wild onion is most surely not one of these.

Well it isnt dirty.

Henry Ford III

Sorry guys this entire thread wasn't about the quality or lack of it of this place.

As I said earlier, it's a good clean place, with good food, and it's "different".

The abusive reaction/attitude of the cook was the problem. Nothing else.

grasscutter

Henry Ford III wrote:

Sorry guys this entire thread wasn't about the quality or lack of it of this place.

As I said earlier, it's a good clean place, with good food, and it's "different".

The abusive reaction/attitude of the cook was the problem. Nothing else.

so are you coming back to the darkside and will we see you chomping on some undercooked toast with your Denver Omelette or perhaps a Reuben.

btw you are right about the toast. Its always rare to medium and never well done.