Grrrrr.....calling about the corkage policy only to be told.....

[Scott_Brunson]

@Matthew King

Restaurant art is usually like museum food… mediocre!

We ate at Picasso in Vegas and found the food to be better than most museum food (but still a let down).

[Arv_R]

@Loren Sonkin

We went to a place a few years ago. We called ahead. They said yes to corkage for $10 per bottle so I reserved a table. It was a special wine night with a few first growths. We opened ahead of time to breathe. When we got there we looked at the wine list. We told our server we would be buying a bottle of white, but had brought our own reds. They said they don’t do corkage at all. I said that a) they had in the past and b) I double checked a couple of days prior when I made the reservation. They said yes that was all true, but they had a meeting earlier that day and changed their policy. I asked if they might have called me to let me know. The manager came over and I expected her to say it would be ok but moving forward it was not allowed. Nope. She said that was the new policy and asked if we wanted a wine list. It was a Saturday night at 8:00 but we walked out. We went to a regular haunt of ours. They presumably had an empty table and sold no wine.

That’s pretty bad conduct by the venue – those need to be outed on Yelp with details. In the absence signing contacts with venues for dinners there’s really no other way to ensure this.

[johngonzales]

@Bob Davis

@Scott Everson

Should you be able to bring in your own food if a restaurant isn’t serving what you want to eat that night?

What utter nonsense.

And so novel as well.

Go Steelers!

My most anger-producing corkage episode was similar to Bruce’s at Il Grano where they not only told me the wrong thing on the phone and admitted they had, but then refused to compromise at all, and reminded me and my group that they “reserve the right to refuse service to anyone”. All in a totally dead restaurant.

[Robert_Johnston]

In general I have never had much problem with corkage in restaurants in the DC area. I wouldn’t go as far as Neal does to say that virtually all of the restaurants in the DC area allow corkage, but there are certainly over 100 that do. Some of them are very up front with their corkage policies (especially if they offer free corkage on certain nights) but most don’t say anything. One thing I do notice however, is that OpenTable often says “personal wines welcome” if the restaurant offers corkage.

The biggest irritant I have had recently was a restaurant in Montgomery County MD (which used to be one of my favorites) where I brought a nice bottle only to be told that the restaurant does not permit corkage. When I pulled up the County ABC site with the list of restaurants that had been given corkage permits (which the restaurant has to ask for) and showed the list to the host, he still argued that the restaurant did not have a license. A couple of weeks later I went back, after calling first to confirm corkage, and was told that the fee is $40. Haven’t been back.

[andy_velebil]

Here’s some great customer service. Had a reservation at a Palm Springs restaurant, called 849, recently where I had called about corkage. Was told $15 per bottle. About 5 minutes later I get a call from the person I talked to apologizing that he forgot they had recently raised it to $20. Very nice of him to call me back to let me know instead of waiting for me to arrive and a possible scene. (BTW, $20 is still a good deal IMO)

[johngonzales]

@Brian G r a f s t r o m

@Philip N. Jones

With respect to the stories being told, keep in mind that we have only one side of the story. I know nothing about these particular incidents, but it is remotely possible that maybe perhaps the customer might possibly perhaps have been rude to the staff. Yes, the restaurant screwed up in their communicating regarding their corkage policy. But the customer still has a duty to keep his/her cool. After all, we are talking about only five or ten dollars. Being a wine geek does not give the customer the right to get huffy.
Phil Jones

Knowing Bruce, I can say with confidence the answer to this is a definite “No.” Classy post.

+1. I’ve known Bruce for about 20 years and have dined with him very frequently.
Phil is making a poor speculation and not a winning one.

[CFu]

@Bruce Leiser_owitz

@Michael S. Monie

I’ve told this story here before so I’ll give the shorter version. I had a reservation at a high end place where a good friend of mine was a regular. He offered to make a call to set me up but I declined saying I knew the corkage was $25 with which I didn’t have a problem. I brought an older first growth knowing it would not be on the list. Our butts weren’t in the chairs when the server was informing me of the corkage. I told him that I was aware and requested the Somm to open the wine. She arrived at the table and her indifference was clear. Never said a word, broke the cork due to rough handling, and I realized later left far more wine in the bottle than was necessary when decanting. Nevertheless, I tipped her $20 after she provided the service but she never once returned. Bought a sparkler off the list, paid the corkage, tipped 20% on the bottom line of the check, and never returned.

A similar situation here. As soon as we sat down and the waiter saw my wine bag, he told about the corkage policy in a manner that wasn’t very friendly. After our discussion of that topic, we ended up just ordering cocktails, and he kind of abandoned us for much of the meal. In fact, the birthday boy had difficulty getting someone to take his order for another cocktail, and it never did arrive. I had other issues with the service, but I didn’t want to go off on that tangent.

Bruce

Welcome to life as a young wine collector. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard “I’m not sure if you’ve been made aware of the corkage policy” or "“please be aware we have a corkage policy” before they say a single other word to us.

[johnbonds]

Yah Bruce. Can’t count the number of times this has happened to us. I really hate the bottle limits. Just charge corkage or have bottles priced reasonably. No thanks on that $500 bottle of Krug GC.

[Ian_Sutton]

@Bruce Leiser_owitz

A similar situation here. As soon as we sat down and the waiter saw my wine bag, he told about the corkage policy in a manner that wasn’t very friendly. After our discussion of that topic, we ended up just ordering cocktails, and he kind of abandoned us for much of the meal. In fact, the birthday boy had difficulty getting someone to take his order for another cocktail, and it never did arrive. I had other issues with the service, but I didn’t want to go off on that tangent.

Bruce

Thinking about this, I wonder if the waiter thought you were trying to sneak drinks in under the table. I know bars and night clubs have this problem, with rum. vodka etc. concealed in hip flasks, so only mixers need to be bought inside. I’ve not heard of it being a problem in restaurants before.

[David_Glasser]

Walking in with a wine bag out in the open seems an unlikely MO for someone trying to sneak in drinks. The waiter would have to be pretty suspicious and dull. I put the odds on a bad attitude. As long as we’re speculating, maybe he’d been chewed out by his boss earlier in the evening.

[Alan_Rath]

@c fu

Welcome to life as a young wine collector. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard “I’m not sure if you’ve been made aware of the corkage policy” or "“please be aware we have a corkage policy” before they say a single other word to us.

They do that to old guys too.

[Ian_Sutton]

@David Glasser

Walking in with a wine bag out in the open seems an unlikely MO for someone trying to sneak in drinks. The waiter would have to be pretty suspicious and dull. I put the odds on a bad attitude. As long as we’re speculating, maybe he’d been chewed out by his boss earlier in the evening.

and indeed plenty of similar possibilities.

[MattBerto]

@c fu

Welcome to life as a young wine collector. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard “I’m not sure if you’ve been made aware of the corkage policy” or "“please be aware we have a corkage policy” before they say a single other word to us.

Ha - ah yes, I walked in with this obscure Cote Rotie that’s twice as old and three times as expensive as anything on your list but yes this is the first time I’ve ever heard of corkage.

[Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m]

@c fu

@Bruce Leiser_owitz

@Michael S. Monie

I’ve told this story here before so I’ll give the shorter version. I had a reservation at a high end place where a good friend of mine was a regular. He offered to make a call to set me up but I declined saying I knew the corkage was $25 with which I didn’t have a problem. I brought an older first growth knowing it would not be on the list. Our butts weren’t in the chairs when the server was informing me of the corkage. I told him that I was aware and requested the Somm to open the wine. She arrived at the table and her indifference was clear. Never said a word, broke the cork due to rough handling, and I realized later left far more wine in the bottle than was necessary when decanting. Nevertheless, I tipped her $20 after she provided the service but she never once returned. Bought a sparkler off the list, paid the corkage, tipped 20% on the bottom line of the check, and never returned.

A similar situation here. As soon as we sat down and the waiter saw my wine bag, he told about the corkage policy in a manner that wasn’t very friendly. After our discussion of that topic, we ended up just ordering cocktails, and he kind of abandoned us for much of the meal. In fact, the birthday boy had difficulty getting someone to take his order for another cocktail, and it never did arrive. I had other issues with the service, but I didn’t want to go off on that tangent.

Bruce

Welcome to life as a young wine collector. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard “I’m not sure if you’ve been made aware of the corkage policy” or "“please be aware we have a corkage policy” before they say a single other word to us.

'tis nothing compared to the regular condescension at the wineries, with wine stores running a close second.

[Robert_Johnston]

On the other side of the coin, some friends and I recently had a dinner at Charlie Palmer’s in DC. Since the restaurant is just around the corner from my office, I called and asked if I could drop off a bottle at lunch time and have them decant it at about 5 (our reservation was for 6). The said that they would be glad to and when I got there, the bottle was decanted, sitting on our table with the bottle next to it, and my wine bag on my chair.

[Merrill_Lindquist]

So I have a lunch reservation this Sunday at a top restaurant in Napa Valley. My 23 year old daughter and her 26 year old gentleman friend will be joining me to celebrate my birthday. I perused a very extensive online wine list for the restaurant, and did not see the wine I had in mind from my cellar, which is a bottle of 2004 Dom Perignon. I paid $128 for it.

I called yesterday to ask about their corkage policy, as it was not listed where I could see it online. I was greeted warmly on the phone and told that corkage is $40/bottle, with that fee waived with the purchase of a bottle from the list. My young lady is pretty wine-savvy, as is her chef-trained gentleman (who is back in school after figuring out a chef’s life is not for him). I told the woman on the phone exactly which bottle I am bringing, and I believe she made note of it. I think the kids are both aware of the cache of Dom, which for kids in their 20s will come with bragging rights.

So I will report back here. If it is anything but what I am understanding…if anything is different from what I just reported, I will give them an opportunity to fix it. And when all is said and done, I will happily give the name of the restaurant here.

They did have me in their database, but if I get to this restaurant once per year, I am fortunate. Let’s see how corkage goes, here.

[S_Stevenson]

@Merrill Lindquist

So I have a lunch reservation this Sunday at a top restaurant in Napa Valley. My 23 year old daughter and her 26 year old gentleman friend will be joining me to celebrate my birthday. I perused a very extensive online wine list for the restaurant, and did not see the wine I had in mind from my cellar, which is a bottle of 2004 Dom Perignon. I paid $128 for it.

I called yesterday to ask about their corkage policy, as it was not listed where I could see it online. I was greeted warmly on the phone and told that corkage is $40/bottle, with that fee waived with the purchase of a bottle from the list. My young lady is pretty wine-savvy, as is her chef-trained gentleman (who is back in school after figuring out a chef’s life is not for him). I told the woman on the phone exactly which bottle I am bringing, and I believe she made note of it. I think the kids are both aware of the cache of Dom, which for kids in their 20s will come with bragging rights.

So I will report back here. If it is anything but what I am understanding…if anything is different from what I just reported, I will give them an opportunity to fix it. And when all is said and done, I will happily give the name of the restaurant here.

They did have me in their database, but if I get to this restaurant once per year, I am fortunate. Let’s see how corkage goes, here.

With that type of corkage policy I doubt you will have any trouble. I am surprised they didn’t have the ‘Dom’ though which is a staple of any decent upscale list…

[Merrill_Lindquist]

@S. Stevenson

@Merrill Lindquist

So I have a lunch reservation this Sunday at a top restaurant in Napa Valley. My 23 year old daughter and her 26 year old gentleman friend will be joining me to celebrate my birthday. I perused a very extensive online wine list for the restaurant, and did not see the wine I had in mind from my cellar, which is a bottle of 2004 Dom Perignon. I paid $128 for it.

I called yesterday to ask about their corkage policy, as it was not listed where I could see it online. I was greeted warmly on the phone and told that corkage is $40/bottle, with that fee waived with the purchase of a bottle from the list. My young lady is pretty wine-savvy, as is her chef-trained gentleman (who is back in school after figuring out a chef’s life is not for him). I told the woman on the phone exactly which bottle I am bringing, and I believe she made note of it. I think the kids are both aware of the cache of Dom, which for kids in their 20s will come with bragging rights.

So I will report back here. If it is anything but what I am understanding…if anything is different from what I just reported, I will give them an opportunity to fix it. And when all is said and done, I will happily give the name of the restaurant here.

They did have me in their database, but if I get to this restaurant once per year, I am fortunate. Let’s see how corkage goes, here.

I am going to call them and explain - I can take something else.
With that type of corkage policy I doubt you will have any trouble. I am surprised they didn’t have the ‘Dom’ though which is a staple of any decent upscale list…

Oh good god, I just re-checked their 54 page list, and found the 2004 Dom there. $470. Calling them right away. I have other choices, but wanted the Dom for the kids.

[CFu]

@Brian G r a f s t r o m

@c fu

Welcome to life as a young wine collector. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard “I’m not sure if you’ve been made aware of the corkage policy” or "“please be aware we have a corkage policy” before they say a single other word to us.

'tis nothing compared to the regular condescension at the wineries, with wine stores running a close second.

to retaliate at restaurants I like to ask the somms if they’ve had the wine I’ve brought.

[Merrill_Lindquist]

@c fu

@Brian G r a f s t r o m

@c fu

Bruce

Welcome to life as a young wine collector. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard “I’m not sure if you’ve been made aware of the corkage policy” or "“please be aware we have a corkage policy” before they say a single other word to us.

'tis nothing compared to the regular condescension at the wineries, with wine stores running a close second.

to retaliate at restaurants I like to ask the somms if they’ve had the wine I’ve brought. [/quote]

That seems like taking a shovel and digging a deeper hole. Retaliation seems like an extreme measure. Show your class, your knowledge (quietly), and remember that a sip is not a tip. I never rely on a sommelier to appreciate a wine I have brought. Not even here in Napa Valley. They have wine to sell, and customers who rely on them for guidance, not approval. If you find a staff member who actually is interested, then that is fun. But rare.