R2L Restaurant

Reviews 3

PE

persephone rose

Me thinks NOT/NEVER AGAIN is the perfect way to describe my experience at R2L last night. I was so proud to take my bf to my (FORMERLY) favorite restaurant restaurant for his retirement dinner (20+ years in the United States Airforce---stationed in ALASKA). We ran late for sunset, so we ate dinner somewhere else but STILL opted to come to R2L for drinks, light apz, and dessert after dinner. That was a MISTAKE. They ALMOST KILLED HIM AND GAVE US A CHECK FOR IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ... Long story short, I was sitting next to him (at the bar) when he tapped me and motioned me to look at his mouth and the champagne glass he was drinking from. THE GLASS had BROKEN IN HIS MOUTH!!!! I was freaking out, but trying not to make a CRAZY scene. He spit out the glass and scurried off to the bathroom. I told the bartender, what happened and he started apologizing. A minute or so later (after consulting with some guy in the corner who looked important in a suit) the bartender asked me "did he (my bf) bite down on the glass and break it?" HUH? WTH? Who bites down on a glass and breaks it in their freaking MOUTH????? Have you ever drank out of a glass and broke it? What the hell kind of question is that? At this point Im TOTALLY disgusted AND HUMILIATED. Was it being suggested by him or the "important corner guy" that bf PURPOSEFULLY broke a damn glass in his own mouth? Are you FREAKING kidding me??? About 5 mins later my bf returned and said he thought he was ok and got all of the glass and HOPED he hadnt swallowed any. Finally, "Important corner guy" came over asked if he was okay. I had a funny feeling what was to follow. Yup...You guessed it...THE FREAKING CHECK!!!!!!!!!!!! I was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DISGUSTED by the fact that these people had the NERVE to #1 SUGGEST that the glass was broken on purpose (or even ask that stupid a$$ question) and #2 to give me a FREAKING CHECK for it? Granted they were "kind" enough to take off the "Broken GLASS" drink, but the other drink, dessert, and appetizer was STILL on the check. I was absolutely SEETHING MAD. I wanted to flip out, but I was ACTUALLY wayyyyy TOO HURT by the treatment of this seemingly classy establishment. It totally sucked. My bf was pissed and wanted to go, before he got upset by the check-gate incident. I was treating for the night because it was part of our celebration of his service and THIS was the way the night out ended? I am so ashamed that I have suggested this restaurant to sooo many people and was equally excited to share this "rare gem" with my bf. I could go on and on about what should have happened, BUT at the end of the day IT DOESNT MATTER. WE DONT MATTER. OUR PATRONAGE DOESNT/DIDNT MATTER. AND YOURS MAY NOT EITHER. If I can keep one person from going to this snooty, stuck up, MONEY HUNGRY establishment I will be fine with that. I am going to contact the owner (luckily I have some inside info) and certainly make a big fuss. If you are on the fence about going---DONT. This place totally let me down, but MORE importantly they just dont give a d*amn about their customers. At least some of their customers. I guess there are those who count and those who dont. I wont say anymore because its not even worth getting into. R2L you officially are THE WORST. I will make it my mission to let everyone know AND I GOT A BIGGGGGG MOUTH! Shame on you! SMH Dont go people.

AM

Amanda Shaw

I have eaten here several times during the four years I have lived in Philly, and have had happy hours or cocktail events here as well, as an employee of a company in the building; and I have had wonderful experiences. This is thanks completely to the **servers, bartenders, and kitchen staff**. On Valentines Day, however, we had a very different experience. I am confident that the servers and kitchen staff were amazing as always, but we never found out. We made our reservation about a month and a half early, to ensure a window seat. OpenTable asked for a credit card when booking--no problem; we provided it. Upon arrival, we were told that, since we did not place a deposit, there was not a table for us. Yes, they could see our reservation in the system, they said; they can see the date on which we placed the reservation, a month and a half prior. However, they claim to have called us (one time) to get a deposit from us, and since they were unsuccessful, they didnt hold us a table (again, they can see our reservation, they knew we were coming). ***No one had ever called to obtain a deposit from us.*** Further, had they needed a deposit, that should have been worked out between OpenTable and R2L--not our problem. OpenTable asked for a credit card and we provided one. Plus, how incredibly rude is it to require a deposit for a table reservation anyway? As a semi-regular at this place I find that greatly offensive. We werent speaking with hourly-waged youngsters either; we started with a manager and were escalated to "one of the owners". Neither woman made an attempt to be friendly, let alone apologetic or accommodating in any way. This lady who was "one of the owners" should definitely keep herself exclusively in the back of the house, away from any sort of paying customer. I have never, as a customer, been treated so poorly or talked to so terribly. And, no, I can assure you, we were not out of line or yelling or making a scene or rude for our part; we just arent the type. She was plain awful. Never so much as a shred of an inkling of a hint of an apology or any effort whatsoever. So, despite all of the rave verbal reviews I have given everyone I know about this place in the past, I will now make sure that everyone we know, meet, work with, or do business with--several of whom work in that building--does not ever drink or dine at R2L. And, clearly, we will never step foot into the place again either.

RI

Ritesh Shah

Views on views on views! This place is the epitome of the "dinner with a view" expression. Its on the 37th floor and it takes full advantage of this elevation. There is no bad seat in the house (see picture for visual)! We were seated in the semi private room towards the back. The wait staff was very attentive and asked for our drink orders right away. We were served from a selection of the red or white wine for the night (or if preferred, beer was also available). They also asked for any dietary restrictions and/or allergies and were attentive throughout the night of offering all options that catered to any identified specifications - so for myself it was all vegetarian friendly (bonus points fully awarded)! We started the night with a truffle flatbread topped with arugula and parmesan cheese. PHE-NOM-MIN-AL! I had to fight myself on reaching for fourths (since I went back for seconds and thirds haha)! It was fresh and light surprisingly - the pairing of the truffle oil with the arugula is a nice twist on an otherwise basic dish. Next was the root vegetable and kale salad. The bacon was held from my dish but I dont think I was missing anything. The salad was dressed with a pumpkin seed pesto (I know right? - mind blown)! It was exceptionally flavorful, and each ingredient was able to shine through avoiding any overpowering of one another. I had asked for the "dressing" on the side (in this case, it was the pesto) which came in handy as a spread for the bread being passed around for the table while we waited for our entrees. My entree order was the roasted cauliflower served with lentils over a cauliflower puree and black truffle. I thought the cauliflower was well roasted! I love a good charred effect and it was a decent chunk of cauliflower. I felt the puree and lentils were unnecessary and I ended up pushing those off to the side and continued with my cauliflower piece. For dessert, I was a served an assortment of sorbets. They were actually a nice sweet surprise, with small bits of fresh fruit located within the scoops - unexpected, but completely welcomed! This place is a definite must on your Philly food journeys. The location is spot on, the menu profile is flavorful and unique, and the staff is every bit hospitable and knowledgeable!

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