The Forge: Another disappointed customer  

We were in Miami for Super Bowl with customers who wanted a good steak house so we made a reservation for the Friday night before the game. As we arrived in Miami before our customers, we decided to scope out the restaurant before taking our guests there. So I’ve been there twice, and the 2 experiences couldn’t have been more different. First time, we were a group of 3 with no reservations, second time, we were a group of 9 with reservations (and a $100 per person deposit). The first time we went to The Forge was the Wednesday… no reservations and we walked up to the front desk and asked to eat. It was 8pm and the place was empty. The hostess immediately turned us down, but then the maitre D (or manager) made an exception and said that as long as we ate quickly, he could take us. No problem. We were seated in the back room, right beside the beautiful wine cellar. Our waiter, Wilson, was great. His recommendations were taken and after dinner we stayed at the outdoor bar and partied for the evening - a sexy crowd appeared around 10:30 or 11 and made it worth staying for… after the first visit, I was highly recommending the place.

Friday night, second visit, after raving about the place to customers, was a completely different story. We arrived on time for our reservation, only to be told to wait in the bar (and with 9 people in an already crowded bar, that wasn’t easy)... after waiting at least 30 minutes, we were finally seated at a round table in the corner of the room. The tables were so close together that getting in and out from the back side was very difficult. We waited another 20 minutes before they finally brought us menus (huge 2 feet x 1 foot menus that were totally unnecessary, especially given the close proximity to other tables). Finally we were able to order, and the group (which was pretty tired from a day of activity in South Beach) only wanted main courses and no appetizers. You would have thought that we had ordered and ate apps because the main courses didn’t arrive for about an hour after we ordered. The team of waiters that were taking care of us were completely disorganized, and (thru no fault of theirs) had to turn sideways to get around all the tables in the place. Finally, when it came time to get the bill, it was like pulling teeth to get it. We asked the head waiter for our section for it at least 5 times, and he kept saying “just one second”. Our entire group was fed up with waiting and ended up standing outside waiting while 2 of us settled the bill. For 9 guests, with a $900 deposit, the final bill still came out to about $300 (so $1200 for 9 people, with only 2 bottles of wine and no apps or cocktails). They were clearly trying to capitalize on the Super Bowl crowd, but they were not able to handle all the reservations they took. All in all, after a fantastic first dinner there, the second dinner left a very bad taste in my mouth. For the price, it is definitely not worth it.

The Forge is located at 432 41st St., Miami Beach, FL 33140.

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