by piper b. on the only reason this place is getting three stars is because of the patio, which features an awesome indoor/outdoor set up that makes me really happy. beyond that, though, i just don't get it. i really wanted the food to be delicious (after all, how often does one get to eat salvadorian food?), but it's just bleh. the first time i went (lunch for a business meeting), i had pupusas, mainly because of the name. they were ok - greasy, understuffed, underwhelming. the bean mash and rice stuff was ok. the chips are good, salsa is just so-so. the second time i went (dinner for a business meeting - we really need to branch out), i had the camarones a la plancha. these were hella disappointing. i was promised "jumbo shrimp seasoned and grilled to perfection". what i got was giant shrimp doused in dijon mustard, cooked in some way (i cannot verify that a grill was used), and then held until lukewarm before serving. the veggies on that plate were undercooked and also lukewarm. annoying. i can forgive crappy food when an experience is awesome. i've had the same waiter both times, and he is terrible. he seems completely disinterested in my dining and eating experience and is absent for about 90% of the meal, including when everyone's ready to head out and we haven't even gotten the check yet. so frustrating. i just learned that this place is a chain, so it seems like they should be able to get their acts together pretty quickly. otherwise, i don't know how you can sustain that number of restaurants when this is the experience you're offering. oh yeah, just remembered i had some queso at dinner and it was velveeta. dudes, this is austin.
by Becky S. on I have mixed feelings about Dolce... Here's my story: We went to Dolce because Alicia Keys was supposed to be "performing"/showing up. We got there early- 11pm, and nothing was set up. The ropes weren't set up and no one who worked there could even tell us where the line was supposed to be. After switching back and forth about 3 times! We were FINALLY were standing in the right spot but still had to wait. We got in after about 25-30 minutes. The club was pretty cool looking. Waterfalls and clear plexiglass stairs. The VIP area was huge and we decided that we wanted to get bottle service. I asked one of the hosts and he had me go back outside and downstairs to talk to the girls at the entrance. They gave me huge attitude and were reluctant to give me the price list. They also claimed that no more than 2 people could share a bottle! I said forget it and went back upstairs to get back in and meet my friends. I had to wait in line- again and barely got back in because I didn't have my ticket but luckily the host waved me back through. I talked to the host to complain about the 2 people per bottle situation and he said that the girl didn't explain it well and that since it was a special night it was a 4 bottle minimum. We said forget it until our guy friends got there and they insisted on it. The guy talked to the shot girl and got us into VIP immediately and we only had to buy 3 bottles (we went with Bacardi- the cheapest on the list for $250 per bottle). The waitress in VIP let us pick from a few different booths and then brought us the list of bacardi flavors. We spent a few minutes deciding and let her know. The waitress left and came back and said they only had 3 of the flavors. Argh! Once we got out bottles the night went pretty smooth and we ended up having a great time! We saw Serena Williams, some NFL players, and Fat Joe sat at the booth right in front of us. Alicia Keys finally came out said like 2 words and left. This was irritating and I'm sure the club didn't care bc everyone had already paid to see her so what can you do? Overall, I enjoyed my night but customer service (except for the extremely tall host guy, was beyond horrible!)
