urbanSTL

The wife and I had fondue at a bed and breakfast in Hermann not too long ago and I had the same reaction. It was ~$50/person and was bring-your-own drinks. It seems very authentic, but ouch. There are many, many fantastic restaurants in the city and it seems to be getting more and more competitive all the time. We may try SF, but there are a lot of places we'd like to try.

^Which Bed & Breakfast? If it was the Alpenhorn, my parents are good friends with the owners! (I think most Swiss in STL know one another).

^ Indeed it was - great, great place. We've sent a few of our friends there already. My only gripe (and it's a small one) is that we spent two nights there, spending $400+ with food and we left behind a small item. They agreed to mail it to us, but only after receiving a $5 check.

mophipsi wrote:


Trent...I can tell you that we will absolutely be back for drinks...the martini list was great!



I agree that the Lobster Extravaganza is a great deal price wise...no complaints at all about that. My complaint is that it took so long to get it sorted out and we were told several different things about what wine was included before the issue got resolved.



I am not vindictive toward SF at all and as a neighbor I want it to succeed, but it is expensive, upscale and when paying that kind of money you expect a better experience...that was my only point. I am sure we will try it again, its just too convenient being right across the street.



Regardless we will be in for drinks...oh and just a suggestion, print up some drink menus other than the one the bartender uses...

The drink menus have been printed up. You must have been in pretty early, as all that has been resolved for a couple weeks now, I think. And please don't think that I was excusing the problems you had. I was just making a suggestion for the next time you came in. There is no excuse for poor service. All you can do is apologize, and fix the problem.



And paying that price, I expect (as an employee) to give you a better experience. I like to think that part of the reason the price is high, is that you are not only getting great food, but a great experience, including great service. I've had to tell a customer 'I don't know' a few times, but I always make it a point to find out as soon as possible.



I know that you had a bad experience, but trust me, as an employee, I know that we have vastly higher standards than what you were subjected to. And I'm sure that Dave would say the same thing.

My wife and I went to Simply Fondue last night. I have to say, it was absolutely fantastic. The service was spot on, the food was delicious, and the management (Hi Dave) was attentive and engrossing with conversation.



As far as the price, I challenge you to go have a 4 course meal with a bottle of wine at ANY nice restaurant in the city of St. Louis and pay less than 40-50 a person. Honestly, that's a joke. I'm sure such restaurants exist, but I'm not sure about the quality of the food. You don't have to have all 4 courses at Simply Fondue if you don't want to. Go for the cheese course and some dessert. Or go for a salad and one of the main course choices on the back of the menu. But you're talking 40 bucks a person for an absolutely delicious FOUR COURSE MEAL. Or 49 a head for the same meal, plus wine and 2 lobster tails.



I understand it's not cheap, but it's a fantastic price for what you're getting. And when you have great food, really solid service, and management who cares about each customer's experience - lets just say I'll be telling all my friends without the slightest worry that they'll be disappointed.

^ good to hear... see you (dave and trent) on saturday night at 7... I can't wait..

Just thought I'd point out that Pyramid's Leather Trades Loft website has a nice little picture of Simply Fondue in its most recent progress pictures update page as a "Neighborhood Update."



http://www.leathertradeslofts.com/rende ... temId=1855

Last night, Monica Adams came in with a few friends. I had the pleasure of waiting on her and her party, and had a good time. Monica invited Dave, Tim and I on her radio show tomorrow between 12-2 pm. I think we'll be going on in the second hour.



Just thought some of you might want to know.

My girlfriend and I eat out a lot. We go to most all the nice restaurants in St Louis, new and old. Recently we tried Simply Fondue in St Louis city and it was simply the worst restaurant experience we have had in a loooong time! First of all, I never complain about food, unless it is extreme circumstances. I definitely have never taken the time to write about it. In this case…I will make the exceptions.

We ordered what was recommended, the Dinner for two with the oil for cooking the main course. The cheese course was okay. The Greek salad had too much dressing and in the Gorgonzola salad they forgot to add the crushed walnuts and the croutons. (They brought them out separately about ten minutes later, after I inquired). The main course was awful. Forgot an entire chicken selection then brought the wrong one. The five pepper beef was inedible. The oil turned everything into mush whether it was cooked for 1 minute or 5 minutes (it didn’t matter). The shrimp tasted like old fish. Oil splattered everywhere at first then was cold for a while then hot again etc….When politely told the manger/owner about the forgotten food and the overly greasy meal…he blamed us for ordering the recommended oil for cooking.

The check arrived quickly and promptly with no apology for our bad experience from anyone. WE WILL NEVER GO BACK. I recommend anywhere else for dinner in St Louis; it will be better…(Sorry for the bad review, but it was that disappointing)

ckc,



When were you in? Please send me a PM with your contact info. I would like to discuss these issues with you as soon as possible. Or you may call me at the restaurant at 314-335-7377.



Dave

Took the lady to SF on Saturday. The food was great as was the service. The space looks amazing. Dave and Trent - it was nice to meet you guys.



I suggest splurging for the lobster... MMMMMmmm...

bpe,



It was nice to meet you and your girlfriend. Don't tell her I said this, but you definitely stepped into the major leagues with her, just don't let her know you're a AA relief pitcher. It really was nice to meet you though, its always good to put a face with the name, and I'm glad you had a great time. Hopefully we'll see you back there soon...or at the next (ever?) forum meet.



I'll let Dave handle the complaint. Since I have a feeling I know what it's about.

What are the prices for the four-course dinner for two? Didn't see the prices on the website.

$40 per person. $49 per person for the Lobster Extravaganza. With that you get a salad, a choice of cheese appetizer, 6 choices (3 pieces each) from the meats menu (there's about 18 to choose from), and a choice of chocolate.

trent wrote:$40 per person. $49 per person for the Lobster Extravaganza. With that you get a salad, a choice of cheese appetizer, 6 choices (3 pieces each) from the meats menu (there's about 18 to choose from), and a choice of chocolate.

Go for the lobster! My goodness, go for the lobster.



And don't you get an $18 bottle of wine with that? So basically, you get the normal 4 course meal, $18 toward a bottle of wine, AND FREE LOBSTER!



So tasty.

I recommend upgrading your wine. The house wine is so-so. And you're having lobster, which I think requires better drinking. But that's just me.

We were walking past last night and decided to stop in for a drink. Trent makes a great martini, he took very good care of us. There were so many to pick from. My personal sampling is up to 6 now I believe. The service has always been outstanding. I can't wait to stop back in to try some food. See you guys next Saturday for GIRL'S NIGHT OUT!

So, I went to SF this past weekend with the GF and we had a great time. Of course we did the dinner for two, which ended up feeling like dinner for a small country. Plenty of food in the beginning course, very good and healthy sized salad, awesome meat selection, and then phenomenal desert.



The only thing I saw that they could change is to not bring out so much dipping sauce for the meat. It seemed as if we had 5 gallons worth of sauce, yet only used a small fraction of it. The honey mustard was very good, as was the teriayki, but we didn't touch a few of the others. A good cost cutting measure would be to ask which sauces the customers would like and then to only bring about 1/2 of the normal size. I'm sure the sauces aren't cheap.



Anyway, really cool place. Kind of hard to find but we got there and enjoyed it.

Amy,



It was great to see you again. Glad that you're bringing in friends also.



SL-UAB (you'll never be TB1000 to me),



I agree with you. We do waste a lot of sauce. When I eat, I rarely even use the sauces at all. But I do like the mild and creamy horseradish. Glad you had a good time, though. Next time you're in, ask and see if I'm around.

Trent,

It was good talking to you at the bar Friday night while you were working. I'm sure I'll be back again sometime soon. That martini selection is quite large. I'll be sure to spread the word.

trent wrote:bpe,



It was nice to meet you and your girlfriend. Don't tell her I said this, but you definitely stepped into the major leagues with her, just don't let her know you're a AA relief pitcher. It really was nice to meet you though, its always good to put a face with the name, and I'm glad you had a great time. Hopefully we'll see you back there soon...or at the next (ever?) forum meet.



I'll let Dave handle the complaint. Since I have a feeling I know what it's about.

So true, she is totally out of my league.



I suggest SF put up some kind of signage on the south side.

I cannot stand Blow Me St. Louis on KSDK, but my wife told me about their dining deal, and I just nabbed a $50 Simply Fondue gift certificate for $25.



I guess I'll have to check this place out soon, and I'll make sure to look for the "severely part-time" bartender that posts here.

ThreeOneFour wrote:...Blow Me St. Louis on KSDK...

Between you and bprop, I'm going to have to start copyrighting some of my best lines.

bpe,



We've discussed the no signage on Locust, usually every time somebody tugs on that locked door.