There have been quite a number of places over the years occupy the corner building where Royal Smushi currently resides. So many in fact, that it has raised a myriad of questions from curious observers: Is it too far from the Village? Is the rent too high? Is it cursed?

My experience left me with a new question: Is this the worst service in Beijing??

Seriously - why spend so much on the fitout and install such a prestige brand as GJ in the back, to then hire the lowest common denominator and fail to train them? Was there nothing left in the budget? Was everything seeming a bit too european so we needed to be reminded we were not in Denmark?

Food was poorly cooked (the protein for all the mains were hopelessly overcooked), took forever to come out and some dishes were cold, though the menu actually has potential (particularly the pork - clearly someone knows how to put together a menu though they don't seem to be able to run their staff).

For these sorts of prices it is surely reasonable to expect something is spent on the staff in both the kitchen and front of house in terms of sourcing better candidates and then providing guidance and training

Overall - underwhelming. Need to lift their game before they become yet another ghost.

Late lunch: it took 45 minutes to serve 2 salads, the service that started off pleasant suddenly disappeared after we ordered and there was no waitstaff in sight.

The Chicken Avocado Salad had dripping wet lettuce, dry and bland tasting chicken and a less than generous offering of avocado (going for 80RMB). The presentation of the salad was unimpressive for the type of restaurant they are positioning themselves to be.

45 minutes after ordering we had nothing but a glass of water on the table (the table was not even set! --no utensils, place mat, etc.). After complaining to the manager who apologetically explained that they are currently having their soft opening and that because of "the chefs in training" there was a delay in serving our salads (45 minutes! two courses could have been served in that time).

The decor and ambiance was nice and comfortable but for the service (or lack thereof) and prices of the food, there are much better options available in the area (Sanlitun).

I suggest waiting until they are more 'established' after their grand opening (apparently in Sept) before trying them out. If they are still around in 8 months to a year, I may give them a try again.