Lawrence W.
Yelp
I am not in a position to evaluate the food in this establishment, but I can definitely speak about its customer service. Since they take no reservations, our party of six arrived right at opening time. We had a small dog inside a pet carrier. The manager asked and ascertained that the dog does not bark. We asked for a table in back, away from the draft of the door (in February). He refused on the grounds that some guests may be allergic to dogs. We deliberated among ourselves over two tables by the door, decided on one of them, and most of our party took their seats. Thereupon the manager told us that we had too many demands (actually all the demands were his, and we had acceded to all of them), he expected we would be problematic and he said refused to serve us. There were many other restaurants nearby, and they would be happy to serve us, he said. I informed the rest of our already seated party to stand up and leave, and we left.
I cannot helped but think that racism may have played a role in our expulsion. I was the spokesman for the group: a male Caucasian, retired US diplomat who speaks fluent French and proficient Flemish from the time when I earned a masters degree from a francophone Belgian university. But the other fives guests were Chinese women. Our "motley crew" included a famous author of over 30 books who has won over 40 literary and film awards; a film actress and dancer who has won many awards and continues to do choreography in her 80s; a painter, naturalized German citizen, who just won a major award and has a painting hanging in the German Bundestag; a New York gallery owner and specialty coffee entrepreneur; and a retired Taiwan schoolteacher in her 80s. In short, we are people who know how to behave in polite society.
I suggest that you take his advice and find another restaurant, particularly if you have people who are not a European appearance in your party. There is no reason to frequent this place when others welcome you with open arms and these people, as one says in Chinese, 给你看冷屁股, show you their cold buttocks.