Last Friday was pretty hot, but it was our experience at Sadelle’s that really had our blood boiling. It has been a while since I have been compelled to rant, and dining at Sadelle’s always hugs the line between enjoyable and infuriating, but it was none of the expected inconveniences (the prices, the noise, the pace) that pushed me over the edge, but rather good old- fashioned rudeness and incompetence.
I am 38 weeks pregnant, which is to say, VERY pregnant, and although I’m “carrying small”, there is no overlooking the giant bump protruding from my belly. My very pregnant self arrived promptly at Sadelle’s for my lunch reservation, on a hot Friday in the summer, and checked in the with the young hostess, who told me that I needed to wait for the rest of my party. The restaurant was not full, and no one else was waiting. At this point I could have drawn attention to the obvious and asked if I could possibly sit and wait, since the hostess could not connect the dots, but I decided to follow the rules and wait for Daryl to arrive. As my big belly and I were standing there uncomfortably shifting our weight, a party of two people and a baby came in, said they were waiting for one more, and asked to be seated, and were promptly shown to a table. WHAT THE FUCK?! I then went over to the hostess and said, “Hi, I couldn’t help but notice that incomplete party was seated, and I would also like to wait for my guest at a table.” I was told that I was only two people, and they were three, and I had to continue to wait. I said if you have a policy it should apply to everyone, not just some groups, and its not fair. She then told me that if I was prepared to immediately order for my guest I could be seated, but if I am not, I must stand and wait. Now, the odds of a server immediately taking my order in the three minutes it was going to take Daryl to walk through the door are slim to none, but I was so infuriated I just walked away. Daryl walked in at almost that exact moment, (there was no way I would have been seated and tended to) and we were shown to our table.
Now about that table. We were seated in the upstairs area, along the banquette, and the hostess pointed in the direction of the table and walked away, making no effort to help us pull out a chair or the table so the belly and I could slide in. I have worked as a hostess, I know the proper way to seat people. I was seated on the banquette and Daryl in the chair, and she was hit in the head by the waiter trying to navigate the dining room not once, but TWICE. Even after physically stumbling over her, he did not offer to take our order, but instead offered to possibly find us another table because he could not guarantee he would not hit her again. This never happened.
We paid $80 for two bagels and a salad, blows to the head and just general uninterested and incompetent service. Everyone I have told about the hostesses has shared my outrage- what do you think?? Is it reasonable to expect some general considerations to be made for pregnant people (as other restaurants have done), especially if the rules are bent at will?
