Hoja Mongolian Grill — Restaurant in Kamloops

I have eaten multiple times at Hoja Kamloops in the past, but this might be my last time after this experience.

I brought my family out (total of about 6 people) for the dinner time buffet. Most of us only had two servings of the buffet, but my sister and I decided to go for a third and final serving with very little portions of noodles and meat. We placed our bowls on the counter area where the chef usually takes them. He gave us a look and took the bowls while conversing with his co-chef in what I presumed to be his native tongue. His co-chef would occasionally give me and my sister glances as they spoke. We did not understand so we thought they might just be talking about something general and not us specifically. While this happened, people from another table closer to the counter brought their servings to be cooked. The folks that brought their servings seemed to speak the same language as the chef. The chef and the other customers exchanged a few words while laughing a bit. My sister and I continued to wait on our servings. The chef served up the people that came after us (who had decently massive portions) before serving us. After waiting for about 10 minutes we got our servings and half of the noodles were burnt from being on the flat top grill for so long. I politely told the chef that half the noodles were burnt and he told us to go back to the line and get a new servings if we wanted while seeming uninterested in our complaints. The dude did not even apologize or acknowledge what was wrong. I told him it was fine and took the food to our table. I only ate the meat and informed the waitress that I'm not eating the serving as it was burnt. The waitress saw the food and apologised, confirming that it was burnt and that we didn't have to finish it. I paid for the group and only tipped at the end because the waitress had given great service while we were there. I don't usually leave bad reviews like this, but this was completely unprofessional. If you (the chef) don't like your job or are prejudiced towards people having more than two servings, maybe quit, as a buffet styled restaurant is not the place for you.

Edit: Hoja called me today. The waitress apologised for the service and said they had a meeting to discuss how to provide better customer service. I'll revisit and see how they do before deciding if things has changed or not, but that is a step in the right...

Could not be more angry, or feel more disrespected and humiliated. I went for lunch with my folks today, we found the price had gone up to $24 a person for Fri sat and sun, steep but not ridiculous. The food as always was good, we have been there together before. I was permanently disabled 18yrs ago , my disability was reacting and I was in pain and having a lot of trouble enjoying my meal. I had eaten most of my first and only plate and decided I had just had enough. The waitresses was clearing our table, my folks had finished their plates and wanted more, I put my napkin on my mostly eaten plate and told her I was finished too. She stops and tells me because I didn't finish my plate my meal will be $34 at the till. I told her I didn't want to take the little bit with me, she explained that it doesn't matter, there is a $10 charge because I didn't finish the plate I paid $24 for. I told her that I have a medical condition that is affecting my ability to finish , she looked at us and said, it doesn't matter. It will be $34. I made sure she understood it was my first plate, that I hadn't used the all i can eat option, I stopped at 1 plate. that it was less than 20% of a plate of food. I was clear with her that I stopped eating because of my disability. She said to me i needed to continue to eat mouthfulls untill i was told i ate enough to not be charged.i was left with forcing myself to eat what I didn't want while suffering a medical condition because I refused to pay extra for it . It was disgusting behavior from hoja. We will never be back....

As promised: a review.

Going for a bit of a redemption story here.

I'll begin with yesterday. My fiancee and I decided to order takeout for lunch. Now, to begin, my fiancee is autistic and hard of hearing. The stress of being outside along with the changes in the restaurant left them very overwhelmed by the situation. When we were ordering our meals, they were using sign language, I was trying to translate and pay attention to my order and theirs all at once. All in all we felt rushed and the situation became very stressful for my fiancee.

In all of this, I failed to notice my takeout order was only half full. After some back and forth on social media, the restaurant took accountability for their part of the miscommunication and offered me a free takeout order in recompense.

I returned tonight and found the staff to be much more receptive and apologetic for the experience we had. They took their time and we were able to proceed in a very orderly fashion.

As a whole, the restaurant has regained my respect and appreciation. A big thank you goes out to the Hoja team for being accountable and as always providing excellent food at a good price. (As an added bonus they also have a good range of gluten...