Ce La Vi Sandton

The food and overall vibe at this restaurant were genuinely nice. The ambiance was beautiful and I would honestly give that part a 10/10. Unfortunately, the service really took away from the experience. When I arrived, the hostess immediately told me that I only had 3 hours at the restaurant and proceeded to explain the menu before I had even had a chance to sit down. I tried to pull out the chair to sit, but she was standing directly behind it, which made the whole arrival feel quite uncomfortable and unwelcoming. The table I was initially seated at was also in a very busy area. At one point, a waiter dropped a drink and it spilled on me. I asked if I could please have a different hostess and be moved to another table because I was already uncomfortable with where I was seated. A waiter eventually came to take my order, but then 30 minutes passed and my drink still hadn’t arrived. Considering I had already been reminded that I only had 3 hours, this was frustrating because time was being wasted waiting for basic service. I eventually had to call another waiter to assist me. What made it worse was that once the 3 hours were up, I was reminded that I needed to leave while I was still enjoying my drink and hubbly. I completely understand that restaurants may have time limits on tables, but when the service itself causes delays, it feels unfair to then rush the customer out based on that same time limit. It was also surprising because the restaurant was relatively quiet at the time, so it did not appear that there was an immediate need to free up tables for other reservations. The food was nice, the ambiance was lovely, and the overall vibe was really good. Unfortunately, the service was a major letdown. I would give the food and vibe a 10/10, but the service gets 1 star from me. Hopefully management can work on the customer service because the restaurant itself has so much potential.

Had a good time