New York Restaurant Guide

Based on the great food and service ravings of my friend a group of us choose to spent our New Year's Eve $$$ at Meridiana - Italian restaurant. It's a shame and ironic that the recommending friend actually received the brunt of the insulting treatment. Our meal started out great ---- drinks, decent appetizers and really good foccacia bread (though we found the Spinach/mushroom dish a bit bland). The entrees were tasty . . . until my friend pulled this long blond hair from her pasta. Now, knowing just how queasy my stomach is, I forced myself to look elsewhere to calm my quickly churning stomach that could have disastrous imploding effect on the roomful of holiday diners. But that was not the worst. The server took the plate. After he and staff examined the offending matter "in our view", the manager came over and explained that it could not belong to any of the cook or wait staff because: - they all wear hats, and none have long hair and none have blond hair and . . . . In addition to the obvious implication, he said that we would be charged for a replacement dish. The manager’s tone was harsh and abrasive, even threatening. The owner, to his credit, did state that if any problems arise it is the restaurant’s policy to replace the meal at no charge. He even offered my friend a courtesy meal, because as he put it, one person’s mishap affects the whole party. BUT, this was after he, too offered insult by explained that the hair could not be their fault. In the end my friend did not receive a note/voucher/gift card of any kind so she could follow up on the offer of a courtesy meal. And after paying for uneaten food, our party left hungry, and disappointed. And if the ultimate judgement of a business is how it handles mistakes . . . This place gets a thumbs down.