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Thursday, October 16, 2008
Rumba
I must admit that working as a waitress for 7 years does not make me the easiest customer to please, however I would not say that I am a ‘difficult’ customer. However, as I was reminded during this dining experience, a waiter’s skills (or lack thereof) can either ‘make or break’ the dining experience. In this case, I’m sad to say that my relationship with Rumba is ‘broken.’
We headed to Rumba in hopes of a romantic evening out on the town to celebrate my birthday. I had long wanted to try out Rumba for its tapas and exotic cuisine offerings. I made a reservation on opentable.com (which is a website I love!) and gave special instructions for a table with ambience, lighting, mood—in other words, the works.
When we arrived at the restaurant however, we were seated outside on the patio with an uneven table (that was not completely clean) and next to a couple of smokers, not to speak of the lack of ‘mood.’ Although I had not expected ‘special treatment,’ I had hoped that since I made a note on my reservation that it was my birthday, it would in some way be acknowledged. Unfortunately, it was never mentioned.
Our waiter was by far the low point of the experience, followed in a close second by the food. The waiter was awkward, rarely available, and inefficient. When I needed a salt shaker brought to my table after the entree was presented, we looked for the waiter for 20 mins, and finally gave up and went walking around the restaurant to get one for ourselves. He would approach the table without saying anything, and then strangely stand and stare, leaving us to wonder whether he was going to offer us a refill or have a seizure. Finally, we needed to get to a concert, so we tried to flag him down several times to ask about desserts, only to have him reply, “yeah, we have desserts,” and then continue the awkward pause and lack of dessert menu…. Disappointment does not begin to describe the letdown I experienced.
In realize that I have yet to mention the actual food at the restaurant; well, let’s just say that it did not salvage the reputation left….
I had a portabello mushroom satay. It came with 3 beautiful sauces. (see picture) However the mushroom itself was marinated too long in an overbearing smoky-sweet-anise mixture. It was so overpowering I could not finish my 3 skewer serving. I also had a side item of couscous. It was very bland and almost tasteless, to compliment my overseasoned mushroom….I guess they balanced out.
Wes had shrimp curry that he was overall pleased with, but he felt that it was a pretty run-of-the-mill version. Definitely nothing to call home about.
Rumba
3009 West End Avenue
Nashville, TN 37203
(615) 321-1350
Hours:
Dinner: Sunday – Thursday: 4:00pm – 12:00am
Friday – Saturday: 4:00pm – 1:00am
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Ashley — October 17, 2008 @ 11:15 am
I think I know who your waiter was, and I am sorry. I went to college with that guy, and he might be the most awkward, strange person I’ve ever known. How he keeps a service job, I’ll never know.
I usually find the food at Rumba pretty good, but it’s been a while since I went. Things could have gone downhill.