Horrific Service, Good Food

The Bad

I arrived at the beginning of dinnertime, at around 5 pm, when the restaurant was almost completely empty. I hadn't made a reservation, and the bitchy, snotty hostess seated me at a table for 2 right next to the massive doors. This was during the dead of winter, so every time someone came in, a massive gust of frigid air would hit my back. I asked if I could be moved to any of the empty tables farther away from the door. The hostess/manager came back, and said, absolutely not, those tables have reservations, and hinted that I could leave if I didn't like it...

...SERIOUSLY? You're in customer service, and telling your customer that they can basically f*** off or freeze? I was too tired and hungry to go, so I sat during dinner with my winter parka on. It was ridiculous. Da Dong tries so hard to be one of Beijing's high-end restaurants, and its service fails so miserably. In what other premier restaurant would a customer have to put on a huge coat to eat? By the way, I kept a close eye on the tables farther away from the door, and there were definitely available spots. Also, I highly doubt that the people who made reservations asked for specific tables, so it should not have been a problem to move me somewhere warmer. Da Dong offers comment cards, and I wrote about my experience. Surprise, surprise, I didn't get a response, and there's no email listed to contact management.

The food itself was amazing. The basi (fried candied) apples were out-of-this-world: hot, crunchy, airy, fresh. The braised eggplant dish was an orgasmic: tender, creamy, a little bit sweet, the best eggplant dish I've had in my life. The chefs are obviously magnificent, and it's a shame the service was so vile.

If I ever go back, I'll have to specify ahead of time for specific tables.