The Forge Restaurant: Disappointing service  

My girlfriend, Nas, decided to take me to The Forge for Valentines dinner. We decided to do this early because I would be having surgery on the 14, and would obviously not be available for dinner. She wanted to take me there because I had never been and she had been several times. She raved of the restaurant and their wine cellar with a stock worth approximately 5 million dollars. Nas made reservations in advance and requested a tour of the wine cellar. Here’s an outline of the evening’s events…First there is very little parking in Miami Beach, so there is a valet service, but as we pulled up in front and stopped, we sat there and none of the valets came to open my girlfriend’s door. I finally said, I will get your door and got out of the vehicle. As I got out a valet came to me to get the keys to the car not to open Nas door, she got out of the car herself (no one opened her door). Then when we got to the front desk they did have our reservations, but, due to a private party being booked in the wine cellar, we were not given the tour that she specifically requested and was guaranteed when she made the reservation. Then they pointed us to the bar and said they would come and get us when our table was ready. After a while Nas went back to the front desk, at which time they immediately got us a table (we realized that they weren’t even looking for us, good thing Nas went up there or we might still be waiting). Then they sat us down at a very small table for two in a very crowded and noisy area. The tables were so packed in tight, to get in more customers, that the waiters had to turn sideways to pass by. While we waited, and service was not prompt, we noticed that our table had a little wobble to it. Little did we realize how bad the wobble was until I went to cut my steak and Nas literally had to hold the table still till I finished cutting. The table shook more then Los Angeles in an earthquake. Our drinks were about to spill and even the customers next to us noticed all the commotion. Now I will say, the food was good, not great, good. After eating, Nas decided to complain to the manager about the table. His position was, we should have notified the waiter as soon as we sat down and he would of fixed it. Nas’s position was, we couldn’t have been the first customers to notice the table and at approximately $50.00 a plate, ala-carte, the restaurant should have checked everything before opening. Needless to say the manager walked away as if he didn’t care. We would find out later that he didn’t because he never sent anyone over to fix it. We know this because we still stayed to have desert and coffee. We ordered our desert. I got a regular coffee and she got a Latte. I all came very nicely, very tasty. The coffee was very good, smelled great, tasted fantastic…until…...I took the last drink of my cup and got a mouth full of coffee grounds. Nas watched as I spit coffee grounds into a napkin. Then we asked for the bill. Considering that the waiters work in teams of 4 or 5 to a table, if you needed something it took a long time and numerous requests to get whatever you’re asking for….more water, the check, etc….....at one point we resorted to having to noticeably wave both arms to get a waiters attention (I don’t believe this is proper in a restaurant of such stature ). The only timely service was the removal of a empty plate when you finished. The teams seemed more disorganized then efficient. When she finally got the bill it totaled somewhere around $200.00 with tip, which was what she expected for the reputation this restaurant is suppose to have, but way too expensive for the food or service that we received. We then went back to the valet service. We had to pay a mandatory $5.00, for the service (I was going to voluntarily tip $10.00, but only tipped $5.00 after being charged the other $5.00). To my surprise this time they opened the door for Nas to get into the car. As we drove away we both decided that since I had never experienced The Forge, it was good that I did, but if you want a great steak may we suggest “Long Horns.” If you want to impress your date with a great meal, great service, great atmosphere, at a little over half the price, we suggest The River House in Fort Lauderdale.

The Forge Restaurant is located at 432 41st St., Miami Beach, FL 33140.

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