Why Islands at Paradise Valley Mall Sucks

Islands is basically an "Island" themed restaurant in our area. Burgers, salads, taco's, etc. The burgers and ambiance are pretty good, it's reasonably priced, and very kid-friendly. Last night we had some errands to run so Dan and I figured we'd take Noah over there for dinner. He likes the hot dogs.

A little background. I wasn't exactly svelte before I got pregnant, but when I go to restaurants I like to sit in booths. And I have never, EVER, had a problem sitting in them. Now that I am 8.5 months pregnant with twins, it's getting harder to sit in booths when we go out. Usually the table or the booth itself moves and even a quarter of in inch in the other direction can make a huge difference.

So we get to the restaurant, a nice girl writes down that we're a party of three (for the moment), and some 16 year old kid/host (young man) with ZERO personality escorts us to a table. We get there, and I tell Dan and the kid that I am not sure if I will fit (bear in mind, I'm noticeably pregnant). I can't sit comfortably, the table/booth won't move, and I tell Dan that we need to move. The kid/host tells us that we can pull a chair up to the end of the table. However, having working in a restaurant before and having used strollers, I know that doing that is also a fire hazard. Not to mention embarrassing to be the pregnant lady sitting like that. Then the kid/host suggests that we sit at the bar. Not ideal, but whatever.

As we're walking to the bar, Dan (not the kid/host) suggests that we try another booth. Which, SURPRISE (!) doesn't work either. So then we make our way to the bar area. Which consists of two-top tables. Also a problem since we're a party of three. I'm now mortified that we can't find a place to sit and when I turned around to tell the kid/host that at the very least we would need an extra chair I realized that he was gone! The kid/host LEFT US standing there and was back at the host stand chit-chatting with the girl who took our name.

Are you kidding me?

We walked out. I was pissed. And embarrassed. I think a manger tried to talk to Dan as we were on the way out the door but I was having none of it. There was not a snowballs chance in hell that I was spending money in that restaurant after what just happened. And now Noah's pissed because all he wanted for dinner was a hot dog.

So we ended up at Chompie's. We spent a little more than we wanted BUT Noah got a hot dog and I was able to sit comfortably at a table and enjoy dinner with my family. And the staff was unusually pleasant, welcoming, and genuinely pleased that we were patronizing their establishment.

NO ONE messes with me, pregnant or otherwise. And to prove that, I called Islands this afternoon and told them exactly what happened and how I was made to feel. The manager (a woman) was extremely apologetic and wanted a description of the kid/host. She also told me that the staff knows better (??) and that they have tables in the restaurant that would have discreetly accommodated us. She's also sending us a gift card.

You better believe we WON'T be using it at the Paradise Valley location.