Jasmine T.
Yelp
We decided to stop by Kirin on our way back to Seattle from Whistler. The restaurant was aesthetically pleasing and quiet. Going into an Asian restaurant, I never set high expectations when it comes to service but this one tops it all.
We weren't familiar with the menu so took some time to look over it together. During the 5 min span, there were a couple waitresses that came over to check in if we were ready to order but we weren't. When we were ready to order, a waiter named Aaron came to take our order.
Aaron seemed frustrated while taking our order and at one point, he rudely asked, can you speak louder? As we continued to order, there were a couple instances when he would scrunch his eyebrows in confusion. For instance, when we ordered tripe, he asked "which one?!" in a demeaning undertone. When we ordered duck, he explained 3 different ways to cook the 2nd half of the duck. It was difficult to understand the different variations and when we asked for clarity, he seemed frustrated, again.
Towards the end of our order, we were just getting ready to finish and he would just slowly turn around and walk away. The whole ordering experience felt very rushed. It would have been great if the server was more engaging and suggested items that they specialize in and well, just be patient.
All of the food came out super fast and was delicious but we couldn't remember all the items we ordered as we felt rushed. When we asked Aaron what remaining items were left, he mentioned only 2 dishes. Which made us think that he didn't get the rest of our order so we asked for the menu again.
He rudely replies, "well can I drop this off first (as he was holding plates) ?!" We said yes and he came back and placed the menu. He came back a third time to refresh our plates and my mom asked, can we order some more dimsum. He then picks up something from the floor and walks away without taking our order. After 5 min we were able to grab his attention to order more. However, as time went on more items came out that he could not recall on.
When it came time to pay for the bill, Aaron handed us the card machine and we didn't tip through the machine as we like to just give cash. My mom grabbed her wallet and began to look for cash for tip but Aaron just stood there, awkwardly waiting.
When we handed him the cash he asked "was everything ok?" We looked at him with confusion and just said, it was just ok.
Overall, the food was great but unfortunately the service is just awful, hence the 2 star rating. If you set that as an expectation going into Kirin, you may have a better experience.