Appalling experience

   minhvu2003 - 02/24/2009

My friend and I had lunch at the Mei Wah for about the fifth time yesterday (we typically go there about once a month). After 30 minutes of being in the restaurant, we noticed that the waitress was walking by every 3 minutes and giving us dirty looks. Also, she and the bus people were overzealously trying to take our plates away even when we were not done. Finally, at 45 minutes into the lunch when the owner walked by to give us dirty looks the third time, I asked the owner if there was some kind of time limit on how long one can be in the restaurant, as it seemed that there was a rush to get us out. To our amazement, he said: We are trying to run a business here and there are people waiting. I pointed out to him that we had only been there 45 minutes and he said: I am not telling you to leave but you are taking a long time. With that remarkable rudeness, we got up to leave. On the way out, I told him we were never coming back here again and that we were appalled by the treatment. He said: You took a long time the last time you were here too! Wow, is all I can say. Mediocre food, and appalling service. The owner should consider putting a time limit on seating on the menu so customers are forwarned.

BADDDDDD

   jrahawkins - 01/02/2009

So, this is a chronology of my most recent (1/2/09) experience w/ what passes as Meiwah's customer service:
1.) pick up food, discover when at home, a 10 minute bike ride away, that i received the wrong food
2.) call meiwah to explain and inquire about a refund
3.) be told, 3 times (i wanted to be sure before i returned), a refund and the proper dish would be provided if i was to return the same night to the restaurant and the chef verified his mistake. alternatively, i could keep the food in my fridge, hope it doesn't slowly rot, and bring it back to the restaurant whenever it was that i ordered again. i inquired whether it was okay to return the food in 6 weeks. was told that that was fine.
4.) no apology.
5.) tell meiwah that i would return in 15 min for refund and food. told that food would be ready when i got there.
5.) arrive. wait for the "chef" to verify his mistake.
6.) wait 10 minutes for the food
7.) ask about the promised refund
8.) told that no refund was ever promised
9.) dispute as politely as possible. until...
10.) takeout manager takes the new food away and says that if i dont want the new food i can have the old food. tell her i dont understand why i would want the old food i just spent 40 minutes returning. she doesn't understand logic. explain that i just want what was promised.
11.) ask for restaurant manager. manger arrives and speaks to take-out manager in Chinese. i have no idea what they are saying but i presume the take-out manager is giving her version of the recent events. restaurant manager raises voice and denies refund.
12.) i then ask why would i have spent the time to come back to the restaurant just for an exchange. also, ask why the "chef" needs to verify his mistake just to make me the proper dish and not to provide a refund.
13.) promise never to return.
14.) manager says he doesn't care if i ever come back. wonder how many hospitality awards manager has earned. decide that it is less than a handful
15.) manager offers me 10% discount
16.) i ask for the 10% plus another 90% discount.
17.) restaurant manager threatens to call police
18.) i ask him to do so
19.) manager is bluffing. i'm not shocked.
20.) take home new food. examine for saliva.

From now on, instead of patronizing meiwah, i'm just gonna support a local, mom-and-pop chinese restaurant that will appreciate my business and deliver comparable food for a lower price. i hope you do the same.

MEIWAH IS ABSOLUTELY THE BEST DC HAS TO OFFER SINCE MR K...

   YummyScubaMan - 12/18/2008

Larry, his brother & staff have never ceased to surprise me with the most consistently courteous, pleasant & gracious service & exceptional Chinese cuisine designed for the American palate, since Mr K's departure from the DC Metro marketplace. In the many times I've dined there, I have always been impressed & yet to be dissatisfied. I wholeheartedly believe Meiwah would never refuse to replace a menu item at the request of a patron. I've never dined their with friends that had any dissatisfaction & I have seen many DC epicureans at Meiwah. Meiwah is relatively inexpensive & well worth the experience. Meiwah's wait staff is overly attendant but not over zealous to turn tables & it's fun.

   JustBritty10 - 10/03/2008

You Gotta Be Kidding ME!

   Kgadson8 - 09/15/2008

I went to Mewiah based on the fact that it had won City's Best...well they must have paid for the award...the combination fried rich was horribe! It was simply short grain rich with frozen vegtables the shrimp was mushy, the chicken almost non-existent, with too large slices of beef...no alpha sprouts...no egg...or any other seasonings...mostly rice and frozen vegatables...the pork and shrimp dumplings also bad...their the size of a finger nail...to much dough and very little filling...the crab and aspargus soap, i took one sip and sent the rest to the great garbage can in the sky...this resturant has a great location but is not worthy of being the City's Best.......especially if you like GOOD FOOD!

   WMichelleJ - 07/24/2008

By Far the Best

   Psllondon - 07/10/2008

I've eaten at a lot of restaurants in Washington and Meiwah is by far the best Chinese. In fact, it's one of the best restaurants overall. Few of its dishes are ordinary, and it's hard to make a mistake no matter what you order. Also a good value and good service.

   Sunbun 1991 - 06/11/2008

Famous Chinese

   amuseKevin - 06/10/2008

Very accessible by metro and great place to dine...I love their sushi bar.

Great Restaurant!

   DHO22101 - 05/22/2008

Everything is great at Meiwah, the service is outstanding and the food is unbelievable. You can taste the freshness in the food and the spices are mixed in just right so that they don't overpower the natural flavor of the food. You should also try sushi at Meiwah Chevy Chase, or ask them to bring ******** Meiwah DC. They really know how to make great sushi.