239 replies to this topic

[lisasellshouses]

Funny, Pachangas is one of my favorites here! Good quality food for the money.

I dont like to be negative but I just have to share a horrible experience we recently had at Pachangas on Sutter Street. We went out to dinner the other night for my birthday. Just my husband and myself. Their food is a little pricey but it was a special night, right?

Not so much.... They put a table of 7 or 8 women near us and they apparently thought they were in Powerhouse, all drinking like fish.

We are not talking 21 yr olds, I would say women in late 20's early 30's having a girl night out.

i am all for a girl's night out but this restaurant should have done something.

They were so loud I could not hear my husband talk. This went on for 45 mins, when I could not handle it anymore.

I said something to the hostess who told the manager. He came over but all I got was , yeah they are really loud ,were sorry.

We spent $120 and I will never go there again.

[ducky]

[quote name='lisasellshouses' date='Apr 12 2007, 08:11 PM' post='153596']
I dont like to be negative but I just have to share a horrible experience we recently had at Pachangas on Sutter Street. We went out to dinner the other night for my birthday. Just my husband and myself. Their food is a little pricey but it was a special night, right?

Not so much.... They put a table of 7 or 8 women near us and they apparently thought they were in Powerhouse, all drinking like fish.

We are not talking 21 yr olds, I would say women in late 20's early 30's having a girl night out.

i am all for a girl's night out but this restaurant should have done something.

They were so loud I could not hear my husband talk. This went on for 45 mins, when I could not handle it anymore.

I said something to the hostess who told the manager. He came over but all I got was , yeah they are really loud ,were sorry. We spent $120 and will never go there again[quote]


I would have been upset, too. Like you said, their food is great but expensive. If you are treating yourself to an expensive meal you deserve to have a nice atmosphere.

We had the same experience quite a while back at Visconti's. It was a table of guys acting like the restaurant was a bar and putting back a few too many beers and being loud and obnoxious. I'm not usually hypersensitive to large groups in casual restaurants being loud and having a good time, but they were getting pretty inappropriate and we had our little one with us. I don't understand why they didn't just go to a bar. I doubt they tasted the food anyway.

[folsom4us]

In response to Pachangas....I have never eaten dinner there. Just went in for a drink and apps once when it first opened.

Anyhow, So you expect the owner/manager to have paying customers leave because they are too loud and upsetting another party. I think that is a little much to ask, especially since it is a bar/restaurant and you can expect that kind of crowd. Also if the owner/manager were to confront the loud table having a great time and tell them they are disturbing the table next to them.... I wouldn't want to be around for that reaction!! Damned if you do and damned if you don't. Unfortunately you can't please anyone.

I had a similar experience at Qbolas.....we were having a family dinner and the people in the booth next to us were doing tequilas shots. ( there is a bar for that isn't there). Maybe a host/hostess needs to be trained better for that situation.

[Steve Heard]

I dont like to be negative but I just have to share a horrible experience we recently had at Pachangas on Sutter Street. We went out to dinner the other night for my birthday. Just my husband and myself. Their food is a little pricey but it was a special night, right?

Not so much.... They put a table of 7 or 8 women near us and they apparently thought they were in Powerhouse, all drinking like fish.

We are not talking 21 yr olds, I would say women in late 20's early 30's having a girl night out.

i am all for a girl's night out but this restaurant should have done something.

They were so loud I could not hear my husband talk. This went on for 45 mins, when I could not handle it anymore.

I said something to the hostess who told the manager. He came over but all I got was , yeah they are really loud ,were sorry.

We spent $120 and I will never go there again.

I want you to keep in mind the owner's perspective.

He has a couple at one table, and a group of 8 partying girls at another. Chances are, the 8 girls will spend more money than the couple, espcially since drinks cost about $8 each. If other folks walk by, looking for a place to have a good time, 8 partying girls would do more for business than a quiet couple. Should he walk over to the 8 paying customers and demand that they either keep quiet or leave?

Then, think about the 8 girls perspective. They go out to celebrate something. They spend good money, and want to have a good time. Should they be expected to sit quietly for the couple seated near them? Should they have to keep it down?

If I look at it from the perspective of a quiet couple, I'd ask to be moved. I wouldn't blame it on the owner of the restaurant. It isn't fair to them.

[Deb aka Resume Lady]

He has a couple at one table, and a group of 8 partying girls at another. Chances are, the 8 girls will spend more money than the couple, espcially since drinks cost about $8 each. If other folks walk by, looking for a place to have a good time, 8 partying girls would do more for business than a quiet couple. Should he walk over to the 8 paying customers and demand that they either keep quiet or leave?

The owner doesn't have to "demand that they keep quiet or leave," but he could politely point out that other customers have asked if they could try to tone it down a bit. While it's possible they'll ignore him it's also possible they'll feel badly that they've made a disturbance and may make an effort. I feel the manager is obligated to at least try.

[Steve Heard]

The owner doesn't have to "demand that they keep quiet or leave," but he could politely point out that other customers have asked if they could try to tone it down a bit. While it's possible they'll ignore him it's also possible they'll feel badly that they've made a disturbance and may make an effort. I feel the manager is obligated to at least try.

Perhaps, but I doubt it would work. Perhaps a better solution would be to move the couple to a quieter location.

[ducky]

I wouldn't blame the owners of the restaurant for the behavior of the group. I also wouldn't blame the owners if they had asked them to hold the noise down for the other patrons and it failed to have any effect. Offering to move the couple to a quieter table would be a good solution if it existed.

I also don't think it is acceptable to say that it's okay for a group of 21-year-olds or people of any age to treat an upscale restaurant like a frat house and throw manners out the window just because they have money to spend and they feel entitled to "have a good time," which includes obnoxious behavior. Maybe they can afford to eat somewhere like Pachangas three times a week. I guess too bad for the couple who are celebrating their wedding anniversary that can't normally afford that sort of thing and decided to splurge for the occasion.

The problem rests entirely with the sense of entitlement to "have a good time" at the expense of others. I myself have been part of one of those large noisy groups, but when asked to keep it down we immediately did so and apologized. If we wanted to keep having a good time, we would have finished up our meal and met at someone else's house. These girls could have done the same thing and moved it on down to Powerhouse.

[sat]

I wouldn't blame the owners of the restaurant for the behavior of the group. I also wouldn't blame the owners if they had asked them to hold the noise down for the other patronsand it failed to have any effect. Offering to move the couple to a quieter table would be a good solution if it existed.

I also don't think it is acceptable to say that it's okay for a group of 21-year-olds or people of any age to treat an upscale restaurant like a frat house and throw manners out the window just because they have money to spend and they feel entitled to "have a good time," which includes obnoxious behavior. Maybe they can afford to eat somewhere like Pachangas three times a week. I guess too bad for the couple who are celebrating their wedding anniversary that can't normally afford that sort of thing and decided to splurge for the occasion.

The problem rests entirely with the sense of entitlement to "have a good time" at the expense of others. I myself have been part of one of those large noisy groups, but when asked to keep it down we immediately did so and apologized. If we wanted to keep having a good time, we would have finished up our meal and met at someone else's house. These girls could have done the same thing and moved it on down to Powerhouse.

I think you nailed it with the sense of entitlement of having a good time, at the expense of others.

My sister's and my family went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant here in Folsom about a month ago. Since we had a party of 10, our seating options were limited. Next to us was another large party, probably 10 or so. They were celebrating something, and I was OK with that. However, within the course of the meal, and several drinks later, they became extremely vocal. They eventually just stood around their table, not sitting down at all, and became louder and louder. We asked to be moved, but the restaurant did not have another table to accomodate us. Finally, when the offending party offered up a few profanities, my husband stood up and told them we had children present. They did tone it down a bit, but were still loud and obnoxious, and it put a damper on our evening.

Getting back to the original post, Steve did a comparison of eight woman out having a good time versus the two diners, dollar for dollar. Of course, the eight woman will spend more money, but perhaps just that night. Who knows if they would ever come back. If the original poster had an enjoyable experience, she might of made this restaurant a favorite and returned often, and spread the good word.

[Steve Heard]

Getting back to the original post, Steve did a comparison of eight woman out having a good time versus the two diners, dollar for dollar. Of course, the eight woman will spend more money, but perhaps just that night. Who knows if they would ever come back. If the original poster had an enjoyable experience, she might of made this restaurant a favorite and returned often, and spread the good word.

Or, the eight women could have had such a good time that they became regulars and spread the word.

I can understand where Lisa is coming from, though. If I had hoped for a quiet romantic evening, I'd probably have been disappointed.

When I've heard complaints about Pachangas, one of them is that it is too noisy. They have a lot of hard surfaces and high ceilings, so noice bounces around in there.

I remember reading an article in the Chronicle years ago that restaurant consultants were even designing restaurants to be noisy, as people spend more money in noisy restaurants than quiet ones.

If I encountered a noisy group at Pachangas, I'd expect it. If, on the other hand, it was at Bidwell St. Bistro, I might get po'd.

[Deb aka Resume Lady]

The problem rests entirely with the sense of entitlement to "have a good time" at the expense of others. I myself have been part of one of those large noisy groups, but when asked to keep it down we immediately did so and apologized. If we wanted to keep having a good time, we would have finished up our meal and met at someone else's house. These girls could have done the same thing and moved it on down to Powerhouse.

That's exactly my point. I think most reasonable people will feel badly that they've disrupted others and will make an effort to tone it down. If they don't, at least the manager attempted to do something and can then try to move the other group to another table... but whatever next group is seated at that table probably won't be too happy, either.

Personally, I have a hard time letting people "get away with.... " By the manager's silence, he condoned the loud and intrusive behavior and sent a clear message to others in the restaurant (perhaps diners at many tables) that their dining pleasure wasn't as important as as that of a larger group that would line his pockets that night.

[LexHillsmom]

Lisa, next time go to Scott's. My husband and I enjoyed a wonderful, romantic meal there the other night...the place food was great, the service was wonderful and the atmosphere was interesting but not crazy loud like some places can be. I always forget about Scott's cuz it is on the other side of Folsom but I'm glad we remembered it the other night...

[wrabbit]

My wife and I went to eat breakfast last week at Mimi’s. I really like their breakfast but
we seldom get out to eat that meal.

We were sitting comfortably when a large family came in with small children. The family
sat down and were quite at first, then the adults got to talking and forgot about their
children. Looked like there was grandpa and grandma with them. The 3 children were about 3 to 4 years old.

They started to get out of their chairs and roam around, then run around. One fell and then there was 10 minutes of crying. At that point my breakfast begin to sour on my stomach and I was ready to leave.

Sadly for my wife, I’m not too fond of eating out, due to the poor behavior of the public
or the poor service of the waiters. Lately we do the Curb Side thing and have been
enjoying our dinner in front of a movie at home. And guess what? It’s cheater because
we don’t order drinks, which are way over priced. Gotta love that!

[nj78]

Mimi's is one of those places that can be a zoo. I tend to stay away from Mimi's due to the multiple bathroom trips needed after one eats there.

[Steve Heard]

That's exactly my point. I think most reasonable people will feel badly that they've disrupted others and will make an effort to tone it down. If they don't, at least the manager attempted to do something and can then try to move the other group to another table... but whatever next group is seated at that table probably won't be too happy, either.

Personally, I have a hard time letting people "get away with.... " By the manager's silence, he condoned the loud and intrusive behavior and sent a clear message to others in the restaurant (perhaps diners at many tables) that their dining pleasure wasn't as important as as that of a larger group that would line his pockets that night.

At the risk of beating a dead horse, I do think that paying customers should enjoy a sense of entitlement to have a good time. I don't think these girls were 'getting away' with anything. I think they were out enjoying themselves.

One person's 'loud and intrusive' is another's lively and engaging. Some in the restaurant may have felt they were too loud, while others may have felt they were behaving as large groups do. On some occasions I might wish to join such a group, while on others, wish to get away from them. It's all about how I feel on that night.

I can't imagine a group of 8 women sitting quietly as would a couple out for a romantic dinner.

[ducky]

And to think of all the time I've wasted trying to teach my children "restaurant" manners.