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| - Honestly, even though I've eaten at Rouge before and enjoyed it, I was more than a little disappointed with my experience on Mother's Day. While I understand that a 2:00 pm seating is late for a Brunch, we had morning engagements and needed to book a later time. It's a set menu, and if seating someone at 2:00 pm is too late for a three-course meal, then don't seat people so late. We did not dally with making our choices, it was just how long the meal took.
Everything started off alright, but soon after we were seated I noticed that the staff seemed to be getting restless. We were seated right by the bar area, and the staff kept coming over to check in with whoever was tending the bar to ask who was being cut next, when it was their turn, what table they were waiting for so that they could cash out and go home. Numerous times there was a gathering of several employees chatting loudly right behind our table. There were also several occasions where they complained loudly about the manager on duty for seating people in places that didn't make sense to the staff. Then they began to tidy around us, moving the tables and chairs around us. I've been in the private room at Rouge before, which is where they were tidying, so I know that there are doors that close. It would have been nice if they had closed it so we didn't have to watch the staff sweeping and moving all the tables to go home.
Throughout the meal, the frequency with which our waiter came to the table decreased. He seemed really impatient with us every single time he came back to the table. I understand that it was a special occasion and that the staff just wanted to go home, but we chose to celebrate Mother's Day at Rouge, ended up with a large bill - which I knew we would because it's a set menu, but when you plan to spend $50 a person plus drinks plus gratuity, you expect a certain type of dining experience. I do not feel that we received that experience at Rouge on Mother's Day.
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