Beijing’s High-End Restaurants Get Sneaky
Posted: October 30th, 2010 | Author: LumDimSum | Filed under: Foodies & Dining Scene, Hot Tips | Tags: Capital M, Dining, Maison Boulud, Service | 12 Comments »
I have recently witnessed some serious customer complaints regarding two of Beijing’s finest dining establishments: Maison Boulud and Capital M.
Both restaurants are not only famed in Beijing for serving quality cuisine and having exceptionally beautiful design, both establishments are regularly praised for having the highest standards of service and most capable waitstaff in town. Until recently, I have had nothing but good things to say about the food, atmosphere and service at both restaurant venues.
But as we all know, a strong reputation is not unshakable in this city’s dining scene that seems to run most comparatively to a roller coaster.
Last weekend, two big groups gathered for Sunday Brunch – one at Maison Boulud and one at Capital M and both groups left feeling both dissatisfied and cheated.
The brunch at Maison Boulud started out very promising. As soon as people arrived, staff started serving champagne and the executive chef even came out to introduce himself and a special tasting brunch menu provided especially for our group. The appetizers were all very tasty, but the portions were small to share between so many people and the mains included a lot of omelette and pasta dishes, which was not exactly up to par with what I would expect Maison Boulud to showcase. But overall, the food was the least of our complaints.
The staff was clumsy, unfriendly, forgetful and not only did it take people an hour to get an orange juice, a cup of coffee, or pot of tea, the bill in the end was a massive mess.
Maison Boulud charged RMB 140 per glass of champagne – the same champagne that they readily brought out and refilled throughout brunch, so no one knew how much they each had consumed. And even those who weren’t drinking at brunch, still paid a hefty price for non-alcoholic drinks. Each orange juice was RMB 55 and a pot of tea came out to be RMB 400 (they charge per cup instead of per pot).
I understand that Maison Boulud is a high-end establishment, but in the case that drink prices add up to more than the price for the meal, either the group was dying of thirst that day or more likely, they were overcharged. That’s fine if they want to charge RMB 140 per glass of champagne, but then they should not bring it out without anyone first ordering it and refilling without asking. And if you charge RMB 400 for a pot of tea, then you should first explain the charge rather than leave it all a surprise in the end.
In the end, I threw down RMB 450 for the meal and two glasses of OJ and for those who chose to accept a glass of champagne or two threw down around RMB 900 per person. It was a rough start to the day, leaving us all feeling quite dissatisfied with the entire brunch experience as a whole and definitely not something I would like to experience again.
On the same day, another group of ten dined at Capital M for their lovely weekend brunch, and in this group, no one was drinking any alcoholic drinks and was shocked to find a charge of RMB 800 just for water.
No one had asked for bottled water or refills, but Capital M’s staff continued to refill all glasses throughout the brunch and in the end, they charged a pretty penny leaving each person to throw down another RMB 80 just for water consumption alone.
Again, at the end of the day, it’s not about the bill, but rather the entire dining experience from start to finish and if the end leaves a sour taste in your mouth, you’re sure to remember that much more than the positive side of things.
So let this be a warning to you all:
Beware of unexpected drink charges the next time you are dining out. Unless the restaurant specifically tells you it’s complimentary, chances are anything you are served (even if it was never ordered to begin with) will most likely be tacked on to your bill.
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