The great food at Carnegie’s puts many full-time restaurants in this city to shame. However, they could definitely use more staff at lunch time, both on week days and weekends.
Thanks. Point on staffing levels noted.
Bob
Right, where to begin… How about on the day and time in question, May 1st at around 3:00 p.m. However, before I begin my mini-rant, let me preface by saying that my husband and I have eaten at Carnegies more than once and food is not really the issue. It is service. More to the point, table wait staff. I have always found the “bouncers” to be an excellent lot and professional, but the wait staff are quite another issue.
This is the second time we have entered Carnegies only to be grunted at begrudgingly (this time the guy was carrying beer cases so I could understand his plight) to go get our table. It took him about 10 minutes to get over to us for the drink order. Now my only complaint on “food”. The Bloody Mary’s were what we call “Shadow Bloody Mary’s”. What gives? The tomato juice was watered down, no spice, awful. I have enough experience in hospitality and bartending, specifically to know a good “Mary”-this wasn’t.
The service didn’t improve through the 1.5 hours. So, I don’t want to overstep boundaries, but why is the service so mediocre? I have had worse, but why should poor service be tolerated because Carnegies has a niche market? I reckon that if it isn’t management trouble then it is the numbers-night time is the right time to make money?
Now, regarding a name for the bloke, before it is asked, he wouldn’t say clearly, just mumbled it…
Sign me,
A faithful devotee to bar dancing @ Carnegies, but not the service.
P.S. Hooters , Jukes and The Patio followed-see another post!
Moto-Monkey. Please accept my apologies. The two staff in question will have their respective responsibilities reviewed. I am a big fan of Bloody Mary’s myself and am also quite picky about them. You should have been asked how spicy you wanted it and the drink should have been made accordingly.
The waiter should have been MUCH quicker in attending to your needs and I don’t need the name of the person to know who the ‘mumbler’ is 
Nonetheless. customers first, cases of beer second.
It is not true that the night time business takes precedent over day time business; they are two different animals. It has been my aim and remains my aim to provide excellent service during the day as well as night. Daytime should be an opportunity for us to provide prompt, courteous service as the work load on the individual staff at that time should not inhibit them from doing this. Night time service, I am sure you will agree is very good under the circumstances when the pressure on staff is such that lesser able people would buckle under the strain.
My aim is to provide quality of service at all times with no area of business taking precedence over another.
Please PM me so that we can arrange a mutually convenient time for me to provide recompense and apologise in person.
Lastly, I regard your post not as a rant but constructive criticism as you have provided me with information which can be acted upon and pin-pointed areas where failings can be rectified. Thank you.
Cheers,
Bob Marshall
General Manager
Carnegie’s Taipei
Went here for lunch today and had the shephards pie . I haven’t been there before so l’m not sure whether or not the manager took up Hexuan’s comment on bigger portions of pie, but with the crunchy vegetable it filled me up an more. Pretty damn good pie although l missed the pastry. Nice meal. Amos.
It was He Who Posts as “dog” who commented on the stature of the shepherd.
I was there when Bob went through three pies and kept sending them back to the kitchen because there wasn’t enough meat.
I had lunch there yesterday and the lamb shank was mighty. Especially with the Guinness.
I’m shocked about the Bloody Marys. I too am very fussy about that and ideally it should be made at your table, the waiter bringing all the stuff with him. It sounds a bit OTT but really I have to say Saints & Sinners have you on that one. (Shock Horror!) I’ll be down today straight after work to get thish shorted out.
Mustard Powder
I had some fantastic lamb at Carnegie’s the other night. For anyone who is disappointed in the new rack of lamb recipe at Dan Ryan’s, Carnegie’s is the place to go. Price is about the same too.
I did go down and check out the bloody mary, but it led to a weekend of mad drinking which only finished yesterday. The bloody mary is fine - but I think NT180 is a bit much so I’ll stick to the wine and beer.
Had a chicken kebab - not bad at all, very good packing for a late night snack and spicy enough.
Great lamb chops… had a few of them, tender, sweet, and tasty. And so are the lamb chops.
Ate at Carnegie’s recently. Haven’t been there to eat in over a year. The “Big One,” that Maoman describes has really improved. Very tasty. I couldn’t finish it, so couples may want to dig into it together.
The selection of beers is quite good.
Bob is quite attentive to service needs. Hard to get some local folks to react quickly and properly, but he does a good job of riding herd over the waitstaff.
Highly recommend the place for a nice Saturday or Sunday afternoon chat with food.
Don’t forget that on Sundays the balcony stays open all night.
The wife and I had a wonderful pub meal there last Sunday night, outside on the terrace. I had the monstrous Steak and kidney pie, which was all that it should be. The wife had the liver and onions, also a portion suitable for a British Columbian logger, but equally delicious.
After closing last night, the wife and I went and spent a few hours in the company of Bob, whom I might add is the consumate host. A friendly, generous and fair man.
I must also point out that nowadays there seems to be fewer and fewer pot-bellied old men chasing after nubile xiao jies and vise versa.
Carnegies, through Bob’s excellent work, is now a place where one can brunch, lunch, dine, drink, and carouse.
Hats off to Bob.
I had the steak and kidney pie on Friday noon, and it was fantastic. (And huge!). The accompanying mashed potatoes and vegetables were also very well done. I’m going back for more - SOON! 
:uhhuh:
Over at Carnegie’s on a relaxing Sat afternoon. Bob was a generous and funny host. the lunch portions were huge, even by American standards. I enjoyed the beer selection too.
Looking forward to the wine event.
Had my first chance to try dining at Carnegie’s last night. Normally I’m not the Anho Rd. type but I had wanted to try this place based on so many positive comments about it on this board and because I was impressed with the manager’s postings in response to criticism. Also because of the outdoor seating I read about, a rarity in Taipei. I chose last night because the weather was almost ideal for dining outside, nice and cool and breezy. When I got there I was happy to see that their patio is removed from the street and raised up high so you are not breathing the exhaust fumes from the traffic. Normally when you eat outside in Taipei you choke on scooter exhaust.
I was happy to see that they are a good source for late night bar food as, if I read the menu correctly, you can order snacks until 2 a.m. We started with the spicy chicken wings, which were cooked very well, nice and juicy and tender and just spicy enough. I had a glass of the house red with them, which was of very good quality, I only wish they would take a page out of Alleycat’s book and increase the portion as it went down in a couple of swallows.
Next I tried the steak sandwich and was braced for the usual Taiwanese version of it but was really pleasantly surprised. The steak was good quality, very tender, juicy and tasty. I lived in Philadelphia and ate the world famous Philly steak sandwiches and this was easily on par with those and the accompanying curly fries were good and unusual in Taipei. It came with a tasty salad too and I washed it down with a few Bottingtons. My friend had a burger that looked to be ample. As for the service, we had the usual tag team of waitresses that I wouldn’t describe as overly attentive but they were friendly and spoke English well and the service was better than most you find in Taipei. I asked to meet the manager Bob who posts here frequently but he was not in last night. I really enjoyed the chance to eat outside on a pleasant night and will surely return to try more of the menu in the future.
In the “What do you drink, How much do you drink” thread in the Open Forum, I mentioned that I love a good Manhattan and added that Carnegie’s and Q Bar both make pretty good ones. After visiting Carnegie’s Saturday evening for dinner, however, I feel I must edit my comment to state that “Carnegie’s sometimes makes a pretty good one.”
Consistency is a valued trait of any cocktail drinker. On previous visits, I received a better than average Manhattan at Carnegie’s. Last Saturday, the drink I received was a glass of ice with not much else. I can only hope that this latest drink was a one-time mishap, especially at that price. I would hate to think that Q Bar is the only place I can go to get my favorite drink.
BTW, the food was yummy. 
Well, I just popped into Carnegie’s for dinner tonight, having heard so many good things (and being impressed by Bob’s attitude toward criticism). My God those servings of fish & chips are big. Well, maybe not that big, but damned filling, and tasty. Had no trouble with the service either. All round, bloody great.
Must admit though, I was a bit taken aback by the price at first, but once I saw the meal that soon changed. Only suggestion I could make is maybe drop a wedge of lemon on for the fish. Oh, and what’s the dressing used on the salad? Normally I hate salad dressings, but that was a really nice one.
We finally made it there yesterday to try the liver and onion. Yummmiiiiieeee!!! 
. And such a big serving, too (I successfully defended it against the cute Lab from the next table who tail-waggingly asked for a share 
). I’ll certainly be back again in two weeks to have a sunday brunch when my sister and Mum are here.
Iris
P.S.: What’s wrong with the emoticons? Or is it my computer?
Never been to Carnegie’s for booze and babes.
Not really my scene.
I’m more the "I’d really like some English pub food"or a “I’d kill for a decent Sunday brunch” kind of guy.
So maybe I’m not exactly the kind of client Carnegies is looking for.
I have been there for lunch a few times on a Saturday afternoon. Each time there was not another soul in the place – apart from the other person at my table and the staff. Each time the waitresses were friendly and spoke good English.
The prices for the pub grub seemed a bit steep – more than I would usually spend on lunch – but I was ready to pay if Carnegie’s could provide me with a taste of home.
BUT (and this is a big but) the service did seem to be rather slow, esp. since there was no one else to serve.
In fact, it seemed like once the waitresses had taken the orders, they disappeared into the vastness of Carnegie’s.
I couldn’t even get another cup of coffee.
I once ordered the Shepherd’s Pie, once the steak and kidney pie. I got them some time later and I have to say that it was an awfully long wait.
And when I finally got the meals, the entrees were OK, but nothing special. And the chips tasted like they were recycled. This might have been OK if I hadn’t had to wait so long. But I DID have to wait so long. And it took almost as long again to get condiments I would have thought standard with such an order (does no-one else expect vinegar for their chips of HP for their pie?)
In truth, I expected better. And I felt angry about waiting so long for pre-fab food that was only OK, and then having to pay that much for it.
(inaccurate and therefore misleading comment recanted and deleted by author)
OK, so I’m cheap. And as I said, maybe I’m not exactly the kind of client Carnegies is looking for.
But I’d be willing to go to a place every week and pay those prices if I knew for sure I was going to get a really decent meal without having to wait all afternoon for it.
Don’t you have random children scattered all over Asia? I know I wish I did.
Anyway, came in with my lady early on Weds evening and elected to sit outside, upwind of the fat Aussie bastard who seemed to resent being asked to move so that people could get backwards and forwards.
Possibly his attitude intimidated the waitress because after leaving menus she completely ignored us for about fifteen minutes. After hallo-ing and waving to what I believe is an excess I was not gratified to have her duck back inside for the fourth time and had to resort to banging repeatedly on the window - very loudly and very rudely until the three of them that were standing talking deigned to look around. The problem was not lack of staff, it was inattentiveness.
She had to request free passage from the FAB to take our orders, again to bring the food, and again to bring the condiments which she had not thought to bring the first time. I’m talking salt and pepper here, asking her to go back and get HP seemed like more trouble than it was worth. Never have this kind of problem with the fabulous Rebecca, but she was hiding until she saw I was leaving. (And who can blame her?)
Two management issues here:
- The staff can be bloody inattentive when it’s not busy. They do a great job when the place is full, but when it’s quiet they seem to forget that anyone is there at all.
- Someone needs to be able to go up to difficult customers and politely ask them to permanently reposition themselves so that the place can function. Not very Taiwanese, but very necessary.
Anyway, once my food arrived a new waiter appeared. Young guy, and I can’t fault him in the slightest. He came out onto the balcony and made a point of catching my eye every few minutes, with the result that I ended up buying more drinks than I had planned. He had to resort to jumping onto the footpath, and climbing back over those long-suffering bushes to provide service, which went a long way to restore my good humour. A+ on his report card, D- for the young lady.
Food was good too. No complaints there, except for the massiveness of the portions. Don’t forget you owe me a ‘proper’ size S&K pie, and I’ll be at the happy hour on Tuesday.
Off topic, how do you pronounce the name of the place? All the Taiwanesers I know emphasise the first syllable and hardly acknowledge the ‘e’ at all. I always though the ‘e’ was the strongest syllable.
CARn’gis or carNEEgie’s ?
Carnegie’s is the place for a great steak’n’kidney pie with mashed potatoes.
Went for a brunch yesterday. It was pretty crowded and it seemed the staff had difficulties to cope as service was slow, as well they didn’t get one order exactly right (bread was supposed to be toasted but it wasn’t when served). However the food and drinks were good as expected and the brunch menues are reasonably priced.
Maybe I can make a suggestion at this point: include some real toast on the menu, that is toasted bread, with some butter and jam. It would probably be sufficient to half the current bread slices which are extremely thick.