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| - ARGHHH!
I feel like that's the most appropriate way to begin my review of Pirata. I've been wanting to try this place since it opened approximately 6 weeks ago. Unfortunately, after reading some of the prior reviews, I wanted to give the restaurant some time to work out the opening kinks before I went. Since opening, the Executive Chef has already been replaced, which I was told was a good thing, but not a strong start. So Pirata is a new Caribbean-themed Rum-Bar and Restaurant a stone's throw from Market Square on Forbes, and is co-owned and operated by the proprietor of Il Pizziaolo (Mt. Lebo, Warrendale, and Market Square) and Bob Wolfinger (formerly of Bravo! and Latitude 40). I used to work for Bob, and I know that when a man spends over 10K a week on CHEESE for his restaurants, my expectation for Pirata was high. Sadly, I was underwhelmed.
First let me say that if you try to make a reservation online, you will not be able to, because the software they use on their website isn't designated for the Pittsburgh market yet, so you must call in order to do so. I made a reservation for 7 on a Saturday night at 8PM. The fact that I was able to do so somewhat made me nervous, as newer restaurants tend to not have such open availability, but having saw the menu and newer reviews, we kept our reservation.
Our party was seated promptly, but that's perhaps the only thing that went well. I'm willing to forgo bad service for excellent food, but that just wasn't the case. Having worked in the restaurant industry for many years, I tend to be a bit more critical than the average person, however some things are inexcusable when it comes to service, and sadly we didn't have the best experience. Once our party completely arrived, we were greeted by our server, a 40-something woman who seemed quite friendly and knowledgeable about the menu. We ordered a plethora of different drinks from the cocktail menu, hoping to feel as if we were on a Bahamas vacation, sipping Daquari's and Pina Coladas. I ordered the frozen banana concoction and my friend ordered a Pina Colada. Honestly, even seated right next to the bar, it took 15 minutes to get our drinks. With 3 bartenders working, this seemed somewhat unacceptable. Making matters worse, we watched the frozen drinks sit at the service bar for 10 minutes, only to melt before our very eyes before the server was able to bring them to the table. Then, upon delivering my drink, the server doesn't know which drink is the banana beverage and which is the pina colada, so she LITERALLY puts the drink up to her nostrils to smell it. I've never seen anything so bizzare in my life. It was really disgusting, and then after she wasn't able to determine which drink it was, she placed it in front of my friend, claiming it was the Pina Colada. It wasn't. So, we signal over the server to alert her of the situation. She then goes to the bartender, returns to tell us that what she made us was indeed a Pina Colada. I'm not one to argue, but I know the difference between Banana and Coconut/Pineapple. Rather than challenging the intelligence of the guest, just remake the drink properly without question. So she agreed to. 15 MINUTES LATER, she stops to pass by the table to alert me that "I need to go get some Pineapple". So the bar doesn't have Pineapple. This strikes me as odd. A bar serving Pina Colada's doesn't have Pineapple. So basically, you knowingly gave the wrong drink to the table because you knew you ran out of an item and failed to tell the guests. 10 minutes later, "So I have some bad news, we're out of Pineapple". So my friend orders a Strawberry Daquari. 10 MORE min. pass, and a MGR. brings over another drink but guess what! It's the banana drink! So the olution to rectify the problem was to give my friend a random drink he didn't order? What if he didn't like Banana (not the point, but still). Amazingly, 5 minutes later, the Strawberry Daquiri shows up. Do the math. It took an hour to get one drink right. Also, I asked for a Rum Punch (or something similar, since they have over 200 Rums). Server replied, "Lots of people have been asking but we don't have a Rum Punch". Strange. Guess what the 2nd item on the late-night drink menu? Rum Punch.....
I will say the apps were INCREDIBLE. I highly recommend the Spicy Tuna Tacos and the Jamaican Beef Patties. Very authentic and fresh ingredients. At this point, I'm willing to forgive the lack of service because the food was that good. The entrees were excellent as well, as the Cuban sandwich was a hit. I did hear them say they ran out of rice at one point, which seems odd.
I feel that if we possibly had a different server, our experience would have been different. But for a semi casual restaurant dinner with 7 friends to take 3 hours seems ridiculous. I will return this Summer, but for now 3 STARS.
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