Address: | 11820 Fountain Way, Newport News, VA 23606, USA |
Phone: | +1 757-597-9500 |
Site: | tucanos.com |
Rating: | 3.9 |
Working: | 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM Closed |
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Lorrie SJ
Bought my family gift certificates for Christmas and decided to use it last night....party of 11. They love trying new places to eat. We are from the Virginia Beach/Norfolk area so we had a bit of a drive. Weve been to this restaurant before and we love it but this would be the first time for my family. The night started out fun. We love family get togethers and of course its even better when everyone is hungry! Ten minutes into our dinner I noticed my iPhone was missing. I had taken some pictures of my family while they were eating and placed my phone inside my purse side pocket and hung it on the back of my chair. A couple servers were coming through our table slicing the different meats as this restaurant is known for that. I noticed that my purse was slightly open and my iPhone was missing. I was devastated. I had pictures/videos from my kids school parties, vacation and holiday pictures etc...I didnt really care about the iPhone. I was more crushed because of the memories that were stored in the phone. I reported that my phone was lost/stolen to our server, Gabriella, who was very sympathetic about the situation. The incident was also reported to the managers of the restaurant, George and Xavier. George stated that there were cameras that were directly above our table and he could possibly view the videos and find out how the iPhone was stolen. Meanwhile, a family of 4 sitting next to us, asked what we were looking for. They had noticed that one of the servers had picked up a phone from the floor near our table and placed it under the tray of the meat he was carving. They couldnt recall which server it was because there were so many coming through wearing the same red uniform and they looked alike! The "Find my iPhone" app on my husbands phone stated my phone was in somewhere in that restaurant. My husband sent a missing beep alert to track my phone. It was somewhere there but whoever took it turned my iPhone OFF so it could no longer be traced. George spoke to all the servers but no one wanted to confess that they stole the phone. He stated that no employees would be allowed to leave for night and the police would even be called at close of the restaurant. Our dinner was ruined and I didnt want to leave until I got my phone back since I knew it was there. A server had it and I just didnt know who!!! I was willing to stay until close to see if someone would confess to doing such a horrible thing....STEALING!!!! Gabriella was so nice to offer us beverages while we sat at our table for a couple hours. As soon as we decided to leave, George handed me the iPhone from his pocket! It was retrieved in the mens bathroom from the trash! I was so relieved and thankful that it was recovered! Ill be writing a letter to corporate regarding this matter. Im sure corporate videos will show who did this and the company will be one less an employee! I will be sharing this story with corporate since management handled the situation so well. Our dinner was comped and my family NEVER used their Christmas gift certificates but we are ALL hesitant to go back! It was an awful experience to have a server steal from a customer! Such an unfortunate situation. I truly believe in Karma and I hope they find the guy that did this and I pray that God will help guide him in making better decisions.
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Emily Coate
Disappointing experience from arriving at the restaurant to the end. Went on the early side of a Friday evening. Made reservations as we had tried to go months ago on a Friday but the wait times were out of control. When I called and made the reservations, the girl that answered took my name and phone number and asked if we were celebrating - we were, our engagement actually, which she congratulated us on and said she would record. The experience on the phone was positive, and I was looking forward to going. We arrived a few minutes early, had a couple moments of chaos but they us seated after a minute or so. And here was the first disappointment - they seated us in the table that was closest to the kitchen, and the number of waiters moving around in that area because of the churrasco thing is off the charts. It was chaotic and kind of stressful and we asked to switch - the waitress let us switch one table closer in, which we did appreciate. But I had made reservations and told them about our special occasion (which they made no mention of), and they seat us there? We tried the buffet, I mean "salad festival," it was acceptable buffet fair but we were anxious for the churrasco so we went ahead and got started with that. Food was okay and the experience of receiving it was interesting and different. Some meats were dry and/or overly salty. The bacon wrapped food items were good, but the bacon looked to be barely cooked to the acceptable point. Our favorite part was definitely the pineapple. The worst part of the night occurred when we were ready for the check. Their system was down, they had no way to calculate our check or take our credit cards. Things were a little crazy as they tried to reboot their system. Our waitress, who was nice and very apologetic about the whole thing, did not really know what was going on, nor did she have the power to make any decisions - I do not blame her at all for any of this. We ended up waiting a good half hour for the check. At one point the management sent down what our bills would be with a 10% discount, but with no way of paying for the check available. I asked if we could go next door to the bank and they would knock off the additional couple bucks that we paid in surcharge (not our bank), the waitress did not have the power to approve it and said she thought so but would run it by her manager. She eventually came back down with a square card reader, we paid and went. At no point during this experience did the manager come to talk to us or offer us anything. Just this poor waitress that was trying to keep her tables calm and from walking out while she had no knowledge of what was going on or any power to create solutions. If none of the bad things happened last night, if we got an average table and average experience with an average wait time for the check, I would have rated this three stars. If the manager had made an effort to come by and appease us, I also may have rated this three stars. But the food was mediocre and being held hostage while the credit card machines were down was frustrating. Even with the discount, it was not a $55 experience. We should have just gone for hibachi.
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Keith Hancock
As others have stated, the meat is very slow coming out and then only very small portions are served. That said, the salad bar is good. But the service is very spotty. Weve been there 4 or 5 times now. A couple times the service was only average, nothing to rave about. About our third time there, service was absolutely abysmal. We were seated and never saw our server. Another tables server finally asked us what drinks we wanted. We then helped ourselves to the salad bar, but nobody ever stopped to ask how the food was or refresh our drinks. We complained to the manager on duty, he apologized and gave us some vouchers to come back and give them another chance. Needless to say, our server got no tip that night, but the server from the other table did (with a stipulation to the manager that he was not to share it with any other servers). We did go back and upon doing so, had good service. We saw the same manager and made sure we let him know. Then came last night. We were seated, the server brought us our drinks and then disappeared, not again to be seen until the check came. When we were done with our meal, we couldnt even find the server. We finally saw one of the ladies from the front walking by. I said "excuse me", to which she replied, "What!". I asked if we could have our check and she replied, "Yeah!", and walked away. A few minutes later, our server showed up, gave us our check without a word and waited until I gave her the check back with my card. She came back a few minutes later , put the bill back on the table and walked away, again without a word. For her lack of service, I gave a 10% tip. For a salad bar that (with out any meat service and only water for drinks) comes to a $52.00 bill for two people, there better be two things. There better be a great salad bar and excellent service. This time I called to speak with the general manger, but have been told she will not be available to speak with me until tomorrow. I doubt I will ever go back. If I do, I will do as my dear, late grandmother used to do. I will carry with me one shiny, new penny. And if the service is as terrible as it has been those two times, that is all the tip the server will get.