I'm not quite sure what happened to this place. I have been coming here for 15 years and it seems to be on a steady decline. The one thing they have going for them is the ambiance. It is a comfortable old-world kind of setting. And when they have music, it becomes a lively place. My main problem is with the service. Tonight I ordered tea before dinner. I asked for lemon and honey. I was told they have no honey. When the tea came, there was no tea bag to accompany the hot water. A while later the tea bag came. Then the salad came and I asked for salt and pepper. My request was acknowledged but the server never returned with salt and pepper. Later, when the entree came, I asked for ketchup and tartar sauce. These things never came either. When I finally made a second request for all the things I neded, the server yelled and said, "I KNOW, I KNOW...I'M GETTING IT NOW!"
When she returned, I asked her to send the manager to my table. She replied, "There is no manager on duty now. And besides there is new management so it doesn't matter anyway."
I asked where the manager was; the server told me that he had to go to pick up supplies. I proceeded to the hostess stand to find the manager. I did manage to speak with the manager whose reaction was of a chronic nature; she's heard this story before. She gave me a discount and that was nice.
The food is OK. I don't think I can say more about it. The last few times has been...just OK. This coupled with lousy service, getting yelled at and lied to is certainly a dangerous combination in the quest to retain customers in a lively market.