| rev:text
| - If there were an option for negative stars, DESTIHL Champaign would have a rating of -5 stars. What a complete failure this restaurant is. This place reminds me too much of the Jim Gould success failure story. It's a tale of how a restaurant owner and chef become to sure of themselves and stop trying only to discover complete failure.
I pride myself in knowing good food and good restaurants. I have studied cullinary technique and have a passion for fresh, quality ingredients that produces a meal that leaves you longing for more. I write this review, having visited DESTIHL three times spread out over the course of a year. I sent my food back two out of the three times. The second time, I ordered the veggie burger which was hands down the WORST veggie burger I've ever sampled. I did not send this back because it was not the way the burger was cooked, it was a pure and simple failure on the design.
My first experience I ordered swordfish. It was overcooked, returned and cooked perfectly. My husband ordered the Bison burger, medium rare and it came out well done. While waiting for the food to return, the manager apologized and brought us free appetizers. The meal ticket was reduced due to the error in the kitchen. I was optimistic about this restaurant and the situation was handled perfectly.
Last night, I returned for what I was hoping to be a perfect swordfish. My husband's and I's order was the same. Bison burger and swordfish. First try at our order lended the same results. Both dishes overcooked and returned. Second try at our order, my husbands burger was cooked perfectly, my swordfish was raw. Third try at the swordfish, still raw! I changed my order to salmon at the waiter's recommendation. Finally a manager appears and delivers the Salmon stating "this is cooked to the chef's perfection." The manager slither's off like a snake before I even touch the salmon. Without cutting into the salmon, It was obvious that this fish was too raw.
My family had finished eating and after an hour and a half wait with no food, no appetizers, and a chef that I was now convinced can not cook at all, I ordered a Greek Salad. This salad looked like someone threw the ingredients on my plate. No order, presentation was horrible. The dressing was red oil. This dressing did not taste like greek dressing at all. I ate the salad in disbelief that this place can not even prepare a good salad. Our ticket was once again adjusted but this experience left a sour taste in my mouth. I e-mailed the general manager and COO for the company and am awaiting a reply.
I would recommend no one go to this restaurant. Seated across the street is Ko Fusion, an amazing restaurant. This restaurant is too close for comfort for DESTIHL as this is where I will be seated watching DESTIHL's doors close for good if they do not find a chef that can cook the menu that was created.
EDIT: Less than 12 hours after my e-mail, I received a phone call from the general manager. He was very kind and appologized. More than this he listened. He was kind and acknowledged that my concerns were valid. He stated over and over again that there are no good excuses. Humiliy allows for growth and I hope that this general managers humility induces change that produces solid growth.
In March 2013, My husband and I used compensation cards to return. The following is my email to the manager of destihl.
I e-mailed back in October regarding a disappointing dinner and service that my family I experienced at Destihl Champaign. We received compensation cards and returned tonight in order to assess if the service and food improved. Our server was once again phenomenal, but the food was less than stellar. My husband and I both ordered the swordfish, which were once again not cooked properly. The swordfish were dry and over cooked, even upon reorder. I guessed by the drying of the fish that a meat thermometer was used to assess if they were cooked properly, which in my opinion is an amateur error. I then ordered a small portion Greek salad due to my hunger, my husband did not order one and we were charged for both. I then ordered a gluten free Mediterranean pizza and my husband, a bone in ribeye. My pizza could not possibly have been gluten free because within seconds, I felt sick and bloated and my husband's ribeye was cooked unevenly and dried out! Most likely another piece of meat fallen victim to the meat thermometer. With a history in restaurant service and cooking, I was appalled that we were charged for the salads and the pizza and were virtually comped nothing for the less than stellar food that we received. Please do not send us any more compensation cards as we will not be returning, but I wanted to let you know that we are completely dissatisfied with ALL of our experiences at Destihl Champaign.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)