La Cocina de Dona Luz 807 st clair west

El Duro · Foro Master

RE: La Cocina de Dona Luz 807 st clair west

El Duro · Foro Master

Baina wrote:

What is it with Peruvian restaurants?!?!?

The worst service I've ever had was at the place on Bathurst...just south of St. Clair.....the name escapes me.....but that place was brutal!!!! There were a few foro members there....so they can attest to it. The other one was on the restaurant in a plaza on Weston just south of Finch....again....who remembers the names of these places....and actually a few foro member were there too....so they can attest as well.

Sorry....I know it's not just a Peruvian thing.....many of the latin restaurants seem to lack the customer service you learn to expect in this country.....

Oh well....Sucks for their business.

i remenber that.. That was the worst service in the world... That is why if I want any food I can get my wife or my mom to make it

-- Edited by El Duro at 20:43, 2008-04-28

Chilenita · Comandante

been there.....hated it

X4v13r · Comandante

jlastra wrote:

El Plebeyo is still operating, i passed by it just last week...they have a menu posted on their outdoor patio, their dishes seem wayyyy overpriced.

The peruvian restaurant in the plaza @ Weston & Finch that you mentioned is most likely El Rinconcito Criollo

yup very overpriced, i been there before can't really remember how i ended up there but i was like WTF and the service was not the greatest.

~X

JOKER_ESCO · Foro Master

Because of this reason I hardly go 2 any hispanis restaurants is like u are lucky 2 be there the service is most of the time poor n everything is so expensive.. I am lucky that my mom loves 2 cook n makes all types of comida tipica from my country but the few times I have gone I have had not such a good experience... I am not saying every place is the same but most are n I did have that en la cocina de dona luz this was back in 96 ever since have never set food in that place so

jlastra · Regular

El Plebeyo is still operating, i passed by it just last week...they have a menu posted on their outdoor patio, their dishes seem wayyyy overpriced.

The peruvian restaurant in the plaza @ Weston & Finch that you mentioned is most likely El Rinconcito Criollo

LGigolo · Comandante

Baina wrote:

What is it with Peruvian restaurants?!?!?

The worst service I've ever had was at the place on Bathurst...just south of St. Clair.....the name escapes me.....but that place was brutal!!!! There were a few foro members there....so they can attest to it. The other one was on the restaurant in a plaza on Weston just south of Finch....again....who remembers the names of these places....and actually a few foro member were there too....so they can attest as well.

Sorry....I know it's not just a Peruvian thing.....many of the latin restaurants seem to lack the customer service you learn to expect in this country.....

Oh well....Sucks for their business.

I think you are referring to El Plebeyo - I think I heard that they've since closed down that joint...

However, the owners have cince opened something new on St. Clair West, between Oakwood and Dufferin - Tapas or something like that.

jlastra · Regular

the one right at bathurst & st clair is el plebeyo...ive avoided it cuz i havent heard the best reviews regarding their food or service!

Baina · Guru

What is it with Peruvian restaurants?!?!?

The worst service I've ever had was at the place on Bathurst...just south of St. Clair.....the name escapes me.....but that place was brutal!!!! There were a few foro members there....so they can attest to it. The other one was on the restaurant in a plaza on Weston just south of Finch....again....who remembers the names of these places....and actually a few foro member were there too....so they can attest as well.

Sorry....I know it's not just a Peruvian thing.....many of the latin restaurants seem to lack the customer service you learn to expect in this country.....

Oh well....Sucks for their business.

miguel · TOP Guru

God wrote:

You get what you pay for,,,stop being a cheap a$$ and collecting cupons ..maybe that will give ya better service.

He should give ya a Cupon for Good Service.

-- Edited by God at 09:27, 2008-04-28

although i've never presented a coupon myself.. i agree with the guy, it has nothing to do with the coupon, the service at that place just sucks balls.

God · Foro Master

jlastra wrote:

I gave him a coupon and at the end of the "meal"

You get what you pay for,,,stop being a cheap a$$ and collecting cupons ..maybe that will give ya better service.

He should give ya a Cupon for Good Service.

-- Edited by God at 09:27, 2008-04-28

PlayDead · Guru

HORRIBLE SERVICE, HORRIBLE FOOD

miguel · TOP Guru

i actually agree. the service at la cocina de dona luz is friggin' horrible. the _only_ time i go there is the once or twice a year that they have that all you can eat buffet with pisco sour for 20 or 25 bucks.

i would never go there otherwise. horrible, horrible service.

Daeveed · Foro Master

Dogo wrote:

I don't believe Daeveed

just shut up and buy a cd fool!

biggrin

Daeveed · Foro Master

I checked a lot of restaurant review sites, and it looks like you've been posting the same thing in all of them.

The strange thing is that in most of them, there was a positive review apparently posted by the owners of Dona Luz just two days before....it seems strange that none of this action happened until they posted good reviews of their restaurant...

just saying.

Dogo · Comandante

What restaurant gives you your pop in a can??

Dogo · Comandante

I don't believe Daeveed

Daeveed · Foro Master

When did you go to this restaurant jlastra?

jlastra · Regular

And besides the problem with the price, what paying customer should EVER EVER be subjected to insulting, derogatory comments??

the answer is simple: NOONE
I'm not stepping foot in there again.

jlastra · Regular

Daeveed, i'm simply expressing my experience That's what this forum is for, no? I want to see what everybody has to say about this matter, since not everybody always feels the same way about each situation. If you disagree, that's your opinion, you were not there to see what happened.

X4v13r · Comandante

PRINCESSA wrote:

@ jlastra - LOL I'm :lauaghing: at the fact that u got the cupon from TH & they didn't honour it to u.

Something is wrong with this. Althou in ur defence I've put myself on guest list thru this site too & gone to the place & it's never been honoured. Pist me off. I hate when ppl don't come thru or false advertising.

I mean why lie.....

same thing has happen to me, i hate when people do that

~X

Daeveed · Foro Master

That's cool.

But I still don't believe you.

PRINCESSA · TOP Guru

@ jlastra - LOL I'm :lauaghing: at the fact that u got the cupon from TH & they didn't honour it to u.

Something is wrong with this. Althou in ur defence I've put myself on guest list thru this site too & gone to the place & it's never been honoured. Pist me off. I hate when ppl don't come thru or false advertising.

I mean why lie.....

jlastra · Regular

Daeveed, I'm new to the TO hispano forum, but that doesn't mean that I've never used a forum in my life. It doesn't take a genius to figure out how to use it! I have better things to do with my time than bash a business for no good reason. I came here to express my opinions, and see what others have to say, as I feel that nobody should be treated that way. I have a few favourite spots for Latin food. Dona Luz is one of my top choices. I've been there, maybe, 6 times I would say, it's not like I go every week or anything like that. I have seen him in the place each time, but never exchanged words with him before this, as I mentioned there is normally a waitress who seats you and brings you the food. Since she wasn't there yet he was "in charge" of that. Therefore he would go into the kitchen and bring the food to the table, since he was the acting waiter, however he plunked himself down at a table and was busy watching his TV show with his back to us. I never entered the kitchen, nor would have any reason too. And nope, he either didn't recognize me, or just plain didn't care. I haven't been there for a few months since it's a piece away, however I was in the mood for Peruvian, and this place was near the top of my list. It was lunch time and there was one other family eating as well. They even had to approach him to pay and he made them wait because he was talking on the phone. They left before us, and we were the only ones left in there at that time. The restaurant can get quite busy at times, they just had a buffet potato festival there recently. That guy I said was serving, he wasn't cooking. Dona Luz, the mother cooks. Go ahead and call him, read my post carefully and you'll see that I wrote that the incident occurred yesterday, which was Thursday, April 24.

You'll find the coupon on the main page of the restaurant's website. It is from torontohispano!

I understand you being skeptical Daeveed, however you have to understand that I am not filling out a police report here, therefore I didn't include specifics, just the main points. Also, the fact that I am new to the TO Hispano forum doesn't mean that I am trying to defame a restaurant. Entering here allows me to express my opinion and read what others who have dined here have to say, and hope that this behaviour does not repeat as it is completely and utterly inacceptable.

Daeveed · Foro Master

lorenita wrote:

yo trate el restaurant Mi Tierra y la verdad no me senti muy bien despues que comi ahi
asi que no recomendaria 100% solo 50%
y si escuchado del fogon es muy bueno mucho mejor acomparacion de dona luz

See what I mean!!!

two first time posters advertising el fogon...

I call bull****.

I bet you these two ppl have the same IP address.

X4v13r · Comandante

lorenita wrote:

yo trate el restaurant Mi Tierra y la verdad no me senti muy bien despues que comi ahi
asi que no recomendaria 100% solo 50%
y si escuchado del fogon es muy bueno mucho mejor acomparacion de dona luz

hey lorenita did u join foro just to post this?

~X

X4v13r · Comandante

I've been to dona luz and didn't like the service as well, it wasn't as bad as this posters experience but it was bad enough for me to never go back.......

Anyways, I'm down with mi tierra and el bodegon..... i recommend them

~X

lorenita · Nuevo

yo trate el restaurant Mi Tierra y la verdad no me senti muy bien despues que comi ahi
asi que no recomendaria 100% solo 50%
y si escuchado del fogon es muy bueno mucho mejor acomparacion de dona luz

Daeveed · Foro Master

PRINCESSA wrote:

@ Daeveed - LOL

BTW Congratz in ur CD!

Thanks, wanna buy one? wink

The story seems so unreal now that I read it back... and there are things that don't make sense to me.

If it was his favorite spot, and if he had been there "many times" why all of the sudden this guy would yell at him if he's a frequent customer? He must have at least recognized him.

If there were other workers there, why and how did they go into the kitchen to get the owner? how did they even know he was the one serving if he was in the kitchen all the time??

Was this dinner time? lunch time?? there is no mention of other customers in the place. Is this restaurant always empty?

Which day was this? Can we call the owner and confirm he had a problem with a customer that day?

Where was the coupon from? What was the offer?

-- Edited by Daeveed at 16:02, 2008-04-25

PRINCESSA · TOP Guru

@ Daeveed - LOL

BTW Congratz in ur CD!

Daeveed · Foro Master

Plus, for a first time poster, jlastra sure knows his ways here in the forum.

Daeveed · Foro Master

Chale Tanga wrote:
why would it not sound right?

First time posters who come bashing a business, mentioning names, and then suggesting other places raise big red flags with me.

I haven't been to any of those places, so I can't comment on their service. But I have seen people just trying to discredit a business (or a public person) too many times hare, so I can comment on that.

Sorry if I sound antagonistic, but that is just the way I feel....the situation just looks too familiar.

PRINCESSA · TOP Guru

Is the Bodegon on College???

i may have the wrong name. LOL

PRINCESSA · TOP Guru

@ Chale - Yes I agree 100% @ Mi Tierra. (de ley saca la cara de los restaurantes, el bodegon)

Althou it's Good food, service is good, but in reality it's not over the top a nice restaurant.

It's nicely put together, it's very traditional, but it's not OMG so elegant. It's just average.

Chale Tanga · TOP Guru

jlastra wrote:

El Fogon is great too. Great food, excellent service. That's where I'll be sticking too from now on. I'll have to give mi tierra a try!

you'll love it... its sooooooooooooooooooooooo good.

mmmmmmmmmm :drool:

jlastra · Regular

El Fogon is great too. Great food, excellent service. That's where I'll be sticking too from now on. I'll have to give mi tierra a try!

Chale Tanga · TOP Guru

PRINCESSA wrote:

Ok - It was horrible service, but wat can u expect from a regular place like that.

I wouldn't be surprised with the owners attitud, reason why Toronto barely has recognizable Latin restaurants that can make us proud.

Most Spanish restaurant are like dumps, with a few very, very, very to call ok/nice for not a better word.

You know which one is awesome?
Mi Tierra... mmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmm
And their service is awesome as well. I love that place.

PRINCESSA · TOP Guru

Ok - It was horrible service, but wat can u expect from a regular place like that.

I wouldn't be surprised with the owners attitud, reason why Toronto barely has recognizable Latin restaurants that can make us proud.

Most Spanish restaurant are like dumps, with a few very, very, very to call ok/nice for not a better word.

Chale Tanga · TOP Guru

Daeveed wrote:

What did you order?
How do you know the name of this person?

something doesn't sound right to me here....

why would it not sound right? confused

jlastra · Regular

Daeveed, go to www.donaluz.ca, you'll see them pictured there. I know their names because they are the owners.

It's a family run restaurant owned by Luz Barreto and Luis, who is the guy you'll see in the picture, with whom I had the problem.

We ordered Arroz con pollo, anticuchos & beverages.

PS:
Here's a link I just found: http://www.torontohispano.com/entretenimiento/restaurantes/donaluz_oct05/main.shtml
"preparado por Luis Barreto, hijo de Doña Luz"

That's the guy. I spoke to Dona Luz herself too. Alll she kept repeating was "mi hijo tiene razon"

-- Edited by jlastra at 14:57, 2008-04-25

-- Edited by jlastra at 15:01, 2008-04-25

jlastra · Regular

You're absolutely right. no one should EVER deal with that. I would put the word "SERVICE" in quotation marks, as you can't even call that service. Barreto didn't deserve a cent of my money, and no paying customer should ever deal with such treatment, however to avoid further aggravation after a 20+ minute long argument with him and his colleagues who don't even listen (you could get more of a rational response talking to a wall!) I angrily withdrew the cash from the ATM machine. He should have bowed down to me for even leaving him the correct amount, of course with 0 tip (Of course after I made him recalculate the bill since he was trying to play me for a fool). Many people are customers of Dona Luz, as this is a well-established restaurant who advertises frequently on to hispano & TLN. I would like to see what other ppl have to say about this. His behaviour was absolutely disgusting. Not to mention the waitress who missed the whole thing, showed up for the tail end and took his side...what ever happened to the customer is right... WTF?

Disgusting, simple disgusting... Family run businesses succeed or fail due to return customers...He should think long & hard about that before acting like a complete and ignorant jerk!

Daeveed · Foro Master

What did you order?
How do you know the name of this person?

something doesn't sound right to me here....

Chale Tanga · TOP Guru

so the real question here is.....

WHY DID YOU PAY IF THE SERVICE WAS CRAPTACULOR?

No one should EVER yell at a paying customer, EVER. And you as the paying customer shouldnt have to put up with an abusive waiter/staff/owner/whatever.

You shouldve left without paying. What a jerkface!

jlastra · Regular

You know, i used to love this place. great food friendly environment, and I have been there many times before without any problem whatsoever... UNTIL YESTERDAY! The owner luis barreto was a real piece of work. First of all, since the waitress must have been late, he was "serving", if you can even call it that. We had to find him in the kitchen as he didn't even greet us when we walked into the restaurant. He was busy checking his mail and talking on the phone. He didn't even come once to our table after we had ordered see how we were doing or if we needed anything. he gave me a dented can of pop, and instead of attending us, he was too busy eating his lunch with his back to us while he watched TV. I gave him a coupon and at the end of the "meal" he overcharged me and refused to honour it, even though I gave it to him before I even ordered. When i was looking at the bill which was incorrect, he had the nerve to ask me "What is your delay?" Excuse me? I'm the customer, I do not deserve to be spoken to like that. Then when i told him the math was wrong he yelled in my face and said i dont understand and i was wrong. Who treats a customer like that? I told him to tone his voice down and that he better stop yelling. Talking to him was like talking to a wall, and no customer deserves treatment like that. Naturally, the other workers took his side, oh my, what an experience. This former favourite restaurant of mine will never be visited by me again. EVER. On top of it all, at the end without previous notice he mentions...oh yeah..cash only, debit is broken...excellent. Why would you not mention that to the customers in the first place? The place where he sent me to go take cash from an ATM didn't even have an ATM in it. When I paid, he never said thank you, he never even attempted to rectify the own problems that he caused. He finished his whole spectacle by yelling insults at us...LOL. I don't care if he was in a bad mood or anything, no customer should be the subject of that. His rudeness and lack of any decorum tarnished the rep.utation of the restaurant in my opinion, and sadly, I will never step foot in there again. He ruined the day.

-- Edited by jlastra at 13:57, 2008-04-25

-- Edited by jlastra at 13:57, 2008-04-25