Souen USQ

First of all, I love their food. I can feel the life when I eat their food. If I didn't have to eat in, I would have given 4 or 5 star.

The sheer reason for 1 star is the horrendous service. It was so bad that I don't want to go back. If not for what happened this time, I would have gone back at least monthly and tried every single vegetarian menu.

I went there with my bf this time. It wasn't very busy, and there are lots of empty tables. Yet, they were so slow to acknowledge us. We waited for maybe 1 minute just for that. Then, it took them almost 10+ minutes to come take our order, and they came very reluctantly. The waitress didn't write our orders down. They were so busy chatting with each other.

We ordered tea and 2 entrees. Tea did not arrive after we get entrees and after we had to remind them. And my bf's drink order was wrong.

It took another 10 minutes after we finished eating before they come back to us for additional order or check. They are hanging out around cash register and too busy to make an eye contact. At that point, we were so sick of the service; or lack of service. We just wanted to get out.

The worst part was the checkout. Just when did a waittess given the audacity to tip themselves? We are usually generous with tips. Usually 20%+. Frankly, they deserve 0% tip, but we still gave them 10%. When we left, the waitress ran after us and told us she accidentally voided the transaction. "Accident"? What a coincidence. When she handed a new receipt, the total was more than the original tender. It's really shady. I hope my bf didn't get double dipped.

My bf was too nice to fight it. Maybe he was just too sick of it. I am willing to try the other Souen, but not this one.

Came here for brunch at noon on a Saturday. Ordered the coffee and tofu bacon scramble. I was a fan. Place started to get pretty busy by the time we left around 2pm.

Years back, Souen was an elegant, Japanese well-mannered place of ease and gentle grace. Today it has changed ownership and so has the quality. My dinner was served 45 minutes late, the food was cold and they never bothered to clear the table until called. The quality of food is not good; service worse, and table manners of the servers even more concerning. all of the table settings have been removed, the tamari, gomashio, etc.

Rude! I arrived with my dining partner 3 blocks away. Manager would not let me look at menu ripping it from my hand. I took another and asked to order wine and appetizer. She said I could not be seated without my friend. She would not let me sit at bar and move my food and drink to table when he arrived. Don't manage a restaurant if you cannot treat people with dignity.

This place is really good if you know what to get. The mixed tempura is light and delicious and the seaweed salad comes with four different varieties, all superb. Split a bottle or sake with a friend and you have the recipe for a great dinner that won't leave you feeling like crap.