Using sites like Groupon or Savored is a great idea, especially if you like to go out a lot, experiment different food or if like me, you have food blog!
So, I purchased a coupon for Rino Trattoria in New York City. I acknowledge that we took our time before using it, thinking that with the nice days coming back, it could be a nice dinner after a walk in Central Park. Then came the perfect time and we were in the mood for an Italian dinner. We called the restaurant few times and they always wanted to know if we were coming with a Groupon before giving us some very early reservation time. What type of practice is that? At the end, we did not go and will use the Groupon voucher for something else.
Later, I went on Yelp and looked at the reviews: I am happy we did not go! Here are some quotes:
"This place is awful. The atmosphere is awful. The service is okay, but that doesn't make up for the fact that the food and atmosphere and pricing is AWFUL"
"As a lot of reviewers on this website, I went to Rino Trattoria with a Groupon, and they swapped out the full menu advertised in their Groupon description for a much, much smaller menu selection of lackluster choices. The food was horrible and the service was atrocious, and our waiter smelled like cigarette smoke. "
"Oh man, I read the reviews before going to this place and expected a bad meal, but they went beyond and really made some horrible food. Ahhhhh, I can't give this place two stars, I'm changing it back to one."
There are so many negative reviews (few positive) that it would take me too much time to go over them. Reading them, I am very happy that we finally did not go. Why would a restaurant associate itself with Groupon and serve some mediocre food? Isn't the principle to entice customers to try your restaurant and serve them a wonderful menu so they would come back? Apparently not for Rino Trattoria!
Enjoy (the post only)!
