A newly-opened upscale restaurant in the City of Pines acknowledged the challenges it faced during its first service run last December.
It extended apologies to the diners affected.
Joseph’s admitted that while they received “many pleasant and warm comments” on their food and ambiance, it was their execution and service “that needed a lot of work and attention.”
“We enraged and disappointed many of our clients and potential return customers,” the reservation-only restaurant said on December 27.
“We have no excuse for our faults and would like to extend our sincerest apologies to all our diners who left our restaurant dissatisfied,” it added.
“We at Joseph’s have taken all your comments and critiques to heart and strive to only become better and give everyone the best possible dining experience,” the restaurant further said.
The restaurant’s statement was well-received by some Filipinos who commended it for acknowledging the situation and taking responsibility.
“The acknowledgment and humility are commendable. Here’s looking at better days for you!” a Facebook user commented.
“Buti pa ‘to may acknowledgement sa mistakes kaya madaling mag-move forward. ‘Yung gobyerno, iga-gaslight pa ang mga tao ‘pag nag-reklamo. Dejoke,” another online user wrote.
“Punta pa rin kami,” entrepreneur Neri Naig commented with a hugging emoji.
Joseph’s initially opened its tables on December 26 in a full reservation basis, more than a week after passersby were given a preview of the Laperal White House‘s facelift.
However, some were not pleased with how the first service run had turned out.
“We waited for 2 [two] hours and counting last night until we decided to walk out! My daughter was already so hungry! This resto should not have opened if they are not ready for it,” a Facebook user wrote the day after the soft opening.
“They even nagged me to pre-order our food and made a deposit per person! They should not demand any of these services if they cannot give the service that we paid for! Super disappointing!!!” she added.
“Food was served late and incomplete, multiple follow-ups and promises, wrong billing etc, took us almost 2 [two] hours to get just our bill,” another online user commented.
Joseph’s first caught attention when passersby early in December noticed that the famed ancestral house in Baguio bore a new coat of paint and had a tarpaulin with the words “PLATING SOON.”
The restaurant, established in 2022, serves continental and contemporary French cuisine.
It said that its menu is crafted “by a young French chef who has been in the industry for 15 years and a decade at a Michelin-star restaurant.”
Joseph’s was initially the site of the Laperal White House famed for ghost sightings and spirit hauntings following the Second World War.
The structure underwent an adaptive reuse project to serve as the new restaurant’s site.
READ: Spotted: Upscale restaurant to resurrect Baguio’s Laperal White House