Zaffron
1 August 2004, terribly early in the morning
I returned to Zaffron today with a small group of my friends. Gary and I were the only two people who had been to the restaurant before. Both of us had Persian food for the first time at this restaurant, and both of us have had an obscene amount of Persian food at Shandiz in Waterloo since. Well, I should qualify. I have had an obscene amount of kebobs since my first experience with Persian food. Gary has actually made an effort to try all the dishes at Shandiz, and as such probably has a great appreciation for Persian cuisine.
The first time we were at Zaffron, I think my friends and I were all very pleased with the amiable attitude of our waiter. He explained what the different dishes were, made recommendations, and was generally quite courteous and friendly. Compared to our first visit to Zaffron, the service this second time there was quite disappointing.
The food however was quite good, much as it was the last time we went. I had the Koobideh Kebob, which is a ground beef kebob served with rice. It was quite tasty, and the rice was excellent. I have become a big fan of Persian rice since meeting Shima. I also ordered kashkeh bademjan, an egg plant dish that I love. The dish was great, not too oily, and not too salty.
Zaffron is definitely worth checking out if you are in the mood for Persian food.
What was wrong with the service this time?
by Dave on August 1 2004, 5:17 am #
if i had a gun, i’d fire into the air right now…. actually i guess i would only if i had a gun AND was outside
by Gary on August 1 2004, 5:36 am #
see, persian rice is sooooooo good! can’t believe you doubted me!
by sh!ma on August 1 2004, 5:40 am #
Well, the first lady that was supposed to be our waitress was a straight up bitch, as far as I could tell. The guy that ended up waiting our table was nice, but for the most part incompetent. The service was really slow, and he wasn’t so good at explaining what anything on the menu was. Part of it was probably his poor English, which I can’t knock him for. He was still a bad waiter though. I mean he seemed to struggle bringing us water in a timely fashion.
by ramanan on August 1 2004, 5:45 am #
I hope you reflected the poor service in the tip. That’s the best way to send the message, “Hey, you need to do some things a little better to get 15%.”
On a few occasions, I’ve called a restaurant and spoken to the manager about bad service. It’s merely to provide feedback about our experience and to give them an opportunity to fix the glaring problems (attitude, unreasonable wait times, cold food).
I let them know I enjoy the food, but I can get good food anywhere. I frequent favorite restaurants for the whole package. That includes the “dining experience.”
I call them (sometimes the following day) because providing that feedback in person makes it too easy for the wait staff to remember your face and add some “special sauce” to your food the next time you visit. ;-)
by Tim on August 1 2004, 2:57 pm #
Every time I’ve gone there (other than that one time that we actually got good service) I have or someone with me has made a point of telling the manager how much their servers SUCK!
All this time I thought it was because I’m just being anal but the truth finally comes out: Persians are all bitches! I can’t say that enough times.
But Zaffron is actually one of the better Persian restaurants, so I always manage to go back and end up complaining about it later. heh
You guys should try North or Friends. They’re both pretty good Persian restaurants minus the bitchy waitresses! =)
by the *friendly* persian :P on August 1 2004, 3:47 pm #
Shima, I’m curious. Why do you say Persian women are bitches?
Seriously, I’m totally curious, especially if it’s a cultural trend. I love studying (informally) cultural, social and demographic trends.
Here are some I’ve seen (at least here in Southern California…
– MANY more women than men talk on cell phones while driving.
– More men than women attend movies by themselves.
– Asian folks really DO drive poorly. My mom is Korean and she can’t drive worth shit. (She’s actually run a police officer off the road. He wasn’t amused.)
So, back to Persian women. Do tell… :-)
by Tim on August 1 2004, 6:15 pm #