Feedback on our restaurants

Ali Sadik-Ogli

EXPECTED A MODERN ITALIAN RESTAURANT,BUT ENCOUNTERED A SOVIET TIME EXPERIENCE. First the background. I visited the Soviet Union for the first in 1972, and after that I returned to the country a minimum of 1-2 times on each year. I remember so well the way the restaurants used to work under Soviet rules, and after living permanently in Russia for 25 years, I also know even better, how good, modern, well managed, 21st century Russian restaurants have started to operate, and should be operating. So how did my visit to Mama Roma go? I had made a reservation a day before. I visited the restaurant and pointed out the table I wanted for my party, a corner table next to a window facing Nevski Prospekt. It was confirmed. When I arrived with my party, I was told: "Your table had just been given to another party." After I insisted on getting it, the staff asked the other people to move, which they did. The delay was disappointing but swiftly taken care of. After we had been seated, I wanted to order a bottle of sparkling wine. There were three choices of Prosecco. I ordered the middle priced one, and I was instantly told: "We are out of it!" This used to be a standard answer in the old Soviet restaurants. So, I had no choice but to order the most expensive. A natural question remains: A) Is this a game the restaurant plays in order to jack up the customer`s bill?B) Is this a proof of an unprofessional restaurant manager, who cannot keep up the stock with the speed of the consumption? As to the bottle I had two requests: 1) The bottle must be chilled. To this our waitress answered that she will bring an ice bucket. I said that it is not enough, because we cannot wait until the bottle gets cool, if it is not already chilled. It must be prechilled and straight from the refrigerator. 2) It must be "Brut". Our waitress couldn`t confirm either one of these two requests, but promised to check. She surprised us by bringing us a chilled bottle, which was also brut. We were pleased. However, when I enquired about the ice bucket she had promised, she replied that they had run out of them, and she will bring one, as soon as other tables will vacate them. Again - an old, most familiar, standard, nostalgic moment from the Soviet times. Not enough restaurant equipment. So, next the main course. I decided to go easy, and ordered just a pizza. My two guests placed pasta orders. Again, one of the past orders was instantly rejected: "Not available!" Again, a familiar reminder of the Soviet restaurants. To our big surprise and satisfaction all three dishes were delivered at the same time, rather than having been brought to the table one at the time. One of my guests had also ordered a Caecar`s salad. To her disappointment it did not include sprinkled Parmesan cheese, as it should be. However, the cheese was requested and brough in in a separate small cup. We naturally expected it to be part of the dish and included in the price, as it should be, however, it was charged separately as an extra. (!) As to my pizza: I couldn`t find any oregano among the salt and pepper selection on the table, so I had to request it. It was brought to me in a small separate cup, just as the Parmesan cheese had been brought, but to our surprise it was not charged. Perhaps it was forgotten? As to the final bill, one of my guests told me that she has a Mama Roma discount card. We presented it to our waitress who confirmed that it will give 10% discount. However, the bill showed a discount of about 3%, so we naturally wanted an explanation. Our patient server, Anastasia, explained that unfortunately the discount does not apply to alcohol (universally an item with the highest markup of all the menu items), and in addition to this she also explained, that the discount would only apply to selected menu items. Well, so much about the value of the 10% loyalty discount card. This was my first and last time I visited Mama Roma. Judge yourself! Our only joy was the beautiful, patient and most pleasant Anastasia. Ali Sadik-Ogli