Swensens

Here's the edited review: We had laksa pasta. It was nasty. The pasta had no taste, and the prawns were not fully cooked (close to raw). My photos show the prawn heads were still grey! I prefer the burger without all the nacho cheese drizzled all over it. The mushroom soup bread bowl was nice; the bread was warm and toasted.

I visited Swensen’s at Plantation Plaza recently and found the food quality to be decent, but the service left a lot to be desired. When our waitress brought my wife’s burger, she tilted the plate too much and sent half the fries tumbling onto the table—not once, but twice (the second time with our fish & chips). It was awkward having to pick them up myself, and she never offered to help or replace them. To make matters worse, the BBQ sauce cup that came with the fries was dripping down the side, as if it had been carelessly filled and not wiped clean before serving. Small details like that really add up. The ice cream and overall menu selection are still what draw me here, so I’d give them another shot if service improves. Right now, though, it’s more of a “food over experience” kind of place. Three stars. Add-on: Overheard one of the waiters telling their colleague to hurry with cleaning the table because the couple queuing outside looked like they've not eaten for 10 years. Snarky comments should be private and away from the dining floor. This outlet really has a problem with service.

Service was really poor. When we arrived, we stood outside for about 5 minutes even though there were available seats. No one acknowledged us. When a staff member finally came over, we requested to sit in the air-conditioned area, as we could see the table just needed a quick cleanup. Instead of a quick wait, however, we were left standing outside for another 15 minutes while two staff members very slowly cleaned the table. When we were finally seated, the table was still wet, and there were water droplets on one side of the sofa. It was a very bad start. Once the soup arrived, we wanted to request chilli and pepper, so we raised our hands multiple times. No one came. Two staff members walked past us, including the manager, and completely ignored us. Later, when our mains arrived, I asked for chilli, pepper, and cheese. The manager only brought chilli and pepper. At that point, I was too tired of their bad service to even chase after the missing item. As for the food: I had the dry laksa. It was okay, edible, but nothing special. Even the lime wasn’t cut, so I had to do it myself. My husband had the crispy chicken chop. It looked huge at first glance, but it was extremely thin. There was barely any meat in the middle; it was just skin and flour. Extremely disappointing. I know I can’t expect much from a budget restaurant (their prices are more affordable compared to many other places), but that doesn’t mean they should allow such bad service. Astons, for example, is similarly priced, and yet their service is so much better. Overall, the experience was underwhelming. Definitely not what I expected from Swensen’s. Honestly, I’d rather see Astons take over this space.

Zero customer service, similar to other reviews. We were told we couldn't enter by the side door. If that's not allowed, why don't they lock the side door or put up a sign indicating entry only by the main door? The manager asked us to go out and re-enter by the main door, even though the place was quite empty and there was no queue. If you are a manager who places more importance on procedure than on managing customers, be prepared to lose them. Service is equally important as the food.