Café Zucchero

Posted by: jessisd77, 8/22/2008

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Cafe Zucchero is HORRENDOUS! The service, the coffee, the food, I probably had THE WORST experience I've ever had in a restaurant during the 18 years I've lived in San Diego. First of all, I get there and two of my friends were already seated in the outside terrace, and everything seemed nice. I brought a friend and my dog with me, and it was a busy night for a Thursday. Right away, the manager sees the dog and gives me look of shock and dread. I mean, I own an 8 pound dog, So whatever, I understand that each restaurant has its own policy on dogs, so i tied her up outside and that was that. Then the waiter comes and asks us what we want. I ordered an iced coffee, not a hard order. He comes back like 10 minutes later with a cup of light brown water. WATER! it tasted like he filled the cup with water from the sink and threw in a few drops of badly brewed coffee. When I told him that the iced coffee had no ice, he said it was because it had melted on the way to the table. WHAT!?!?! come on, that has got to be the stupidest excuse I have ever heard. But ok, my friend ordered a glass of wine and my other friends a salad and some coffee. Then the hostess starts staring at us, and impatiently comes up and says, "so are you planning on ordering any food? Because this table is for dinner only." My friends were never told it was dinner only, in fact the guy at the dessert area of the cafe had told them they could sit there and order coffee. She made us feel very uncomfortable. The waiter then kept hurrying us to get dessert, and before my friend had time to order another wine, he gave us the check. It was like saying, "you're taking up too much air and not paying enough for it, so you need to leave." I then went to the manager who was with the hostess and asked them if there was a problem with us being there, because everyone seemed to be rushing us to leave. The manager didn't even stay to answer the question, he went to the back and the hostess started telling me that we were asked if we were here for "dinner", and we didn't order dinner, we only ordered coffee and pastries. She said that we should know for next time because we were not supposed to have sat there. I then asked her if there was a sign or some sort of warning as to the fact that tables were only for "dining", and she said no, but that is was assumed when we arrived. First of all, a hostess, let alone anyone, does not have the right to talk back so rudely. I told her she was ruining our night, that we were still consuming expensive items, but she just kept reminding me about the "dinner" rule. And after I sat down, she went to towards the back and started LAUGHING at me. Her name was Christine, and she was probably the WORST hostess I have ever encountered, and i worked as a hostess, so I know what hospitality is. The biscotti i ordered were damp and humid, as if they had been there for days. I am not a picky person, and I always thank waiters and say please and everything, and I am almost always happy wherever I go. But this was the rudest and most shocking experience I have had recently. Our check was $40 dollars, which is more than even some couples spend on "dinner", so they should have laid off us. I am going to tell everyone I know how bad this is, and hopefully locals will stop going, because no one can live of the 4 months of tourism we get here.

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Posted by: , 10/14/2007

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Love the pastries; cream puffs are excellent, cookies authentic Italian, tiramisu is delicious! Other foods there also excellent as well!

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Posted by: Dillon, 9/10/2007

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Their gelato and Italian pastries are awesome! They're as good as they are in Italy!

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