A diner from Columbia, SC
Feb 16, 2010
Tombo Grille was a great disappointment to say the least. The problems started with reservations; my party’s 5:00 pm reservation for Valentine’s Day was changed to 6:30 pm with very short notice. This could have been a much bigger problem if I had to book another restaurant due to the schedule change. The next issue was the presentation of a special limited menu which meant that regular menu items were not available that evening. No mention of this was made when reservations were called in; when asked if this information was made available to diners the snooty reply was “It was posted on our web site.” I’ve checked a cached Google web page for Tombo dated 2/5/2010 and this does not seem to be the case. At any rate, the attitude presented was unsatisfactory. And when I say the menu was “limited” I mean it. One member of our party had the audacity to ask for bread to be brought to the table which once again elicited a huffy reply that the only items available were on the menu. No bread in the kitchen. Seriously?
Food: The fixed menu price for the five-course dinner was $45 per person. For this price we were basically offered five light tapas courses with the portions being small even for a tapas presentation (the scallop appetizer consisted of one medium-sized scallop). None of the food offered was served in sufficient quantity to be considered a main course. The overall quality of the offerings was good…the lamb tartare and flourless chocolate torte were very good, everything else being average for this style of eatery. The price did not include tax and gratuity, a glass of house wine…nothing extra other than the food. My wife and I ended up paying $175.00 total for what amounted to five hors d'oeuvres each, two mixed drinks and bottle of cheap merlot. Gervais & Vine is much better on any regular day at about half the cost.
Service: Generally the server was friendly and attentive, however you could tell that he was tired of answering questions about the limited menu and lack of extras (such as bread? Still puzzling over that…). In all fairness, even excellent service would have been overshadowed by the meager offerings and the attendant prices.
Based on our Valentine’s Day dining experience I will wholeheartedly dissuade anyone from dining at Tombo Grille. Make no mistake, the friends we were dining with have NO problem spending money on good food and drink, but they were frankly shocked at the mediocre dining experience in light of the prices. To date this is the biggest rip-off we have encountered at any restaurant regardless of price. Not recommended under any circumstances.
Food: The fixed menu price for the five-course dinner was $45 per person. For this price we were basically offered five light tapas courses with the portions being small even for a tapas presentation (the scallop appetizer consisted of one medium-sized scallop). None of the food offered was served in sufficient quantity to be considered a main course. The overall quality of the offerings was good…the lamb tartare and flourless chocolate torte were very good, everything else being average for this style of eatery. The price did not include tax and gratuity, a glass of house wine…nothing extra other than the food. My wife and I ended up paying $175.00 total for what amounted to five hors d'oeuvres each, two mixed drinks and bottle of cheap merlot. Gervais & Vine is much better on any regular day at about half the cost.
Service: Generally the server was friendly and attentive, however you could tell that he was tired of answering questions about the limited menu and lack of extras (such as bread? Still puzzling over that…). In all fairness, even excellent service would have been overshadowed by the meager offerings and the attendant prices.
Based on our Valentine’s Day dining experience I will wholeheartedly dissuade anyone from dining at Tombo Grille. Make no mistake, the friends we were dining with have NO problem spending money on good food and drink, but they were frankly shocked at the mediocre dining experience in light of the prices. To date this is the biggest rip-off we have encountered at any restaurant regardless of price. Not recommended under any circumstances.
