This is the first negative review I’ve ever written but I think it’s important to warn others. Mountain Standard didn’t honor our reservation on a busy Saturday night and left us going from restaurant-to-restaurant to find dinner elsewhere. This was challenging and stressful as everyplace...else in town was full too. What made matters worse was just how unhelpful and uncaring they were about the whole experience. I’m sure this attitude starts at the top with management so beware of what you’re walking in to before entrusting Mountain Standard with your evening.
Here’s the backstory. We stopped by the restaurant early on a Saturday afternoon and asked if there was any space available for two for dinner. I said we’d even take an early reservation at 6:30 or 6pm, if that worked better for them. The hostess said she had a 5:45pm available and asked if that would be ok with us. She also said they would likely be behind so I should expect to be seated closer to 6pm. I thought it was odd that I was already being told they’d be behind but could understand they’d likely be busy and thought maybe she’s just trying to appease me said ok. She asked for my cell number and said they’d text an update near my reservation time. After spending some more time walking around Vail Village we returned to our hotel. We were staying in Lionshead, about a 15 min walk away from the restaurant. We planned to head back over to Vail Village a bit before 5:30pm to be on time for our 5:45pm reservation. As we headed out the door, I saw a text that said our table was ready early and it would only be held for 10mins. I quickly responded back with, “we are on our way!” and we raced to get there. We arrived at 5:45pm and were told the text was sent at 5:20pm and it had been 25 mins and our table was given away. I asked “what happened to our 5;45pm reservation?” She said we were put on a waitlist and a table opened up earlier and they now had no room for us. I was shocked. Apparently, my 5:45pm reservation was no reservation at all. The person I spoke with earlier had simply put me on a waitlist but failed to explain this fact and merely gave me a time she estimated a table would be available that evening. I politely explained that we were told we had a set reservation time and asked when they could seat us next. She said it would be after 8:30pm, more than 2.5hrs after our original reservation and offered nothing else. When I asked if that was the best they could do she just said yes. Not sure what else to do or where else to go I said, “really? Are you sure there is nothing sooner?” This was her opportunity to apologize for the misunderstanding or say something like “let me check with the manager and see what we can do”. Instead, she said in a dismissing manner, “you could always check in the bar to see if anyone is leaving” and then just started talking to someone else. She was so very unhelpful, uncaring, and she took no responsibility for the poor communication on their end. I get that things happen but how they are resolved speaks volumes. I’m now glad we didn’t eat there as I suspect this attitude and culture permeates the restaurant and we would likely have been disappointed with the experience. Just sharing so others can know what they may encounter. There are many good restaurants in Vail. You may want to consider other choices before settling on this one.More
