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Clyde's

Discussion in 'Area Restaurants, Dining and Food' started by Bear, Dec 1, 2006.

  1. T8erman

    T8erman Well-Known Member

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    At least there IS a non-smoking bar! :)
     
  2. clwjl5

    clwjl5 New Member

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    Husband and I went there for dinner last night. Food was wonderful but the restaurant itself is amazing! They did a spectacular job on the interior of the restaurant.
     
  3. mdcrim

    mdcrim Member

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    Went last night for the second time. Food was excellent but the service was AWFUL! I think there was only one server in the entire room (the George Washington themed room). We left a 10% tip-I never do that. I think we're only going to go on Friday or Saturday nights for awhile and let them figure out the staffing. But, like I said, the food was great and the ambiance can't be beat.
     
  4. clwjl5

    clwjl5 New Member

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    We were in the same room - we were the second table occupied when we arrived. The room filled up very quickly - maybe they aren't quite ready for it. However, our dinner and service was awesome!
     
  5. vacliff

    vacliff "You shouldn't say that."

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    I was also there yesterday. Got there about 5pm, left at 6:30pm. I was amazed how full the restaurant was. Open less than a week and no advertising.Wait until the rest of Loudoun discovers this place!
    I was at the non-smoking bar. Service was great there! Three bartenders for an average-sized bar.
     
  6. DAD4

    DAD4 New Member

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    I actually saw an artical in Leesburg Today about the Clydes opening last week.
    www.leesburg2day.com/articles/2006/12/07/loudoun_business/biz19clyde12106.txt
     
  7. vacliff

    vacliff "You shouldn't say that."

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  8. SML Branding

    SML Branding New Member

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    As a native to the Washington area, I have grown up with a Clyde's nearbye almost every place I have lived. As a result I have been to every Clyde's (except Gallery Place) many times over the years. I would have to say that Clyde's always feels a bit like home to me, no matter which one I go to.

    As a marketing consultant, I believe they have accomplished a lot by building each one with a different theme (and sometimes look) while maintaining the Clyde's brand.

    So, as a fairly new resident to the Broadlands, I have been to the new Clyde's now four times since it has opened. I agree that it is a beautiful restaurant and that it is a very welcome addition to the Broadlands.

    All of my/our meals have been great except for my brunch this past Sunday. I ordered the French toast and it was brought out quite blackened. It was a good bit overdone and I have never seen it prepared blackened like that. I did mention this to our waitperson and they took it back right away and soon brought out a less burnt version which was fine.

    But the real surprise was when we got the check and found that they had taken the French toast off the bill entirely. Since they had nicely replaced the original one I did not expect that. A very classy move for any restaurant.

    My wife and I are very pleased that Clyde's has finally opened.
     
  9. ExRIGuy

    ExRIGuy New Member

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    Went for the second time last night: food a bit better and more consistent, BUT THE SERVICE WAS HORRID. We waited 15 minutes for our first greet, everything was slow subsequently. I will not go back for a while . . .
     
  10. kenmissy

    kenmissy New Member

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    Went to Clydes last night. The food was great but the service from the check in station was terrible.
     
  11. SML Branding

    SML Branding New Member

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    Wife and I have been back a couple of times since my last post and we had great food and service. I am not sure why others have experienced service problems. Maybe we've been lucky. Maybe we are a bit more easygoing. Not sure.

    I'm still a big fan of Clyde's and plan to continue to frequent the new one in the Broadlands.
     
  12. hdscltlsca

    hdscltlsca New Member

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    I find it quite frightening that you are so self-absorbed. You realize that the restaurant is under-staffed and yet still choose to punish your waiter or waitress for something out of their control. Why not just mention something to management about being under-staffed? Are you trying to prove a point to the restaurant by leaving 10%? Because all you're really doing is punishing a person who has tried, (maybe not successfully, but tried nonetheless) to provide you with an outstanding dining experience. How selfish. Next time cook at home and save yourself the 10%.
     
  13. mdcrim

    mdcrim Member

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    Last time I checked, a tip was an amount of money given voluntarily as a token of appreciation for a service rendered. According to Webster's Dictionary, the word "tip" is also considered by many to be an acronym: T.I.P. - "To Insure Promptness" or "To Insure Prompt" service.

    A tip is something you provide to someone for performing a service. This service was not performed to an acceptable level in this case, therefore resulting in a reduced tip. I usually tip 20% for good service. Should I stop that, too? Last time I checked, a tip is not mandatory, guaranteed fee for a server just for them showing up to work. Maybe I'm out of the loop and old fashioned. So, 10% was MORE than generous in this case. And in response to the server trying to provide me with an outstanding dining experience, I don't think so. We saw the bus boy more than our server, and he kept us refilled with water/ bread, etc (now that I think of it, we should have tipped HIM). Unless you were there (maybe YOU were the server...) I don't think that you can really comment on how the evening went, but thanks for trying.
     
  14. SchwarzFamily

    SchwarzFamily New Member

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    Tipping issues aside, I think they opened a bit too fast. Don't get me wrong, the place is great. My wife and I went there with friends a couple weeks ago and loved it. I've since gone back to the bar to watch football a couple of times too. The problem is that they've been under-staffed and under-trained. Our waitress had no idea what she was doing. She was so overworked that night, we had to ask for things twice before she accomodated our requests. The bartender couldn't even mix a gin n' tonic (i think mine was made from club soda). If I were judging the place on its food and service, it would be another run of the mill suburban restaurant. Fortunately the venue is great - I'm sure they'll work out the service issues over time as the operations mature.
     
  15. vacliff

    vacliff "You shouldn't say that."

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    In my humble opinion Clyde's made two mistakes:
    1) Underestimated how tight the job market is here in Loudoun. We all know it, but this is their first restaurant here. They waited way to long to start hiring. The fact that 5 other eateries in the Safeway Center opened less than a month before them made things even tighter.
    2) Underestimated how fast we find new places to eat and will beat down the doors once they open. I think they planned to open "quietly" with little fanfare and slowly built up the clientele. Little did they realize we'd be stampeding the doors the minute they opened!
     
  16. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    How do you know the lack of staffing was their reason for bad service? Maybe the waiter/ess was just bad? Honestly your post comes across as defensive and then going to attack the other person for responding with their dollar. Sounds like a clyde's waiter to me..
     
  17. Show_hunters

    Show_hunters New Member

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    WOW WOW WOW WOW, Great food!!! :clap: I could not get over how many people this restaurant could seat! I loved the "jacket required area" I thought it added a nice classy touch. Service was so, so but hey it's a new place and large popular restaurant. Service will come in time, but the MGR did stop by our table to see how the dinner was going. (which I thought was nice)

    So YES! We will be back!!!!! :cheers:
     
  18. Show_hunters

    Show_hunters New Member

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    When my husband and I went there for dinner, our waiter had just about every table in that whole room. So, Cylde's is in need of more Service staff. I think that if our waiter had less tables then he would've been better.
     
  19. hdscltlsca

    hdscltlsca New Member

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    Not defensive. He said in his original post that the waitress was the only one in one room-- obviously this is a staffing issue. Simply wanted to point out the fact that you should never punish a person who relies on tips as their main source of income because of something that was not their fault. He claimed the food was excellent so why leave 10% instead of the usual 20%? I mean there are other issues that may be involved of course; was it the right food, how long it took...etc. Why not just point out to the manager that another server in the room would be very beneficial to the level of service like I said? I've been in the service industry for a number of years and have trouble understanding m's reasoning. Maybe if the server were rude on top of the service issues I would better understand leaving a lower tip; but as far as service at restaurants in this area is concerned, I feel you were lucky to receive the correct food in a restaurant that may be severely understaffed. Bottom line, if you yourself were working based on tips would you want someone to punish you because your management couldn't find enough people to work?
     
  20. NoVa Barfly

    NoVa Barfly New Member

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    Threads like these are quite humorous. I don't work at Clyde's and it's not my first choice for simple reasons like poor bottled beer selections and fake bartenders, but the management at Clyde's has forgotten more about the restaurant business than 95% of the food joints in Ashburn and everyone on this message board (myself included) has ever learned.

    Every single restaurant in America has issues when it first opens, especially ones that seat 500 people. Get over it. And every restaurant out there gets a bad server or two. It's just the law of averages.

    However, unlike other places in Ashburn that don't care, I'm willing to bet Clyde's will get all the kinks out -- along with the bad help -- in the coming months. Even so, some of you will still find something to complain about. That's a fact of life on this board.

    As far as tipping goes, Loudoun County may have the highest per capita income in the U.S. (or one of the highest), but you wouldn't know it from reading this forum or talking to servers and bartenders in the area. In fact, a lot of you are downright cheap. Due to the cost of living , the standard food tip here is 20 percent. Minimum. Bartenders are in the 30 percent range. If they do a good job, they should get even more. Trust me -- and this is especially true at the bar -- it will benefit you in the long run.

    Unfortunately, some of you (and you know who you are) regularly give 10 or even five percent. Bartenders and servers do have memories and if you pull that thing regularly -- especially in the small ethnic restaurants in the area -- it will not go unnoticed. I'll leave it at that.
     

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