Laila Laila Hotpot — Restaurant in Saanich

Positives: -Nice decoration -Interesting waiting area with some stuffed animals -Decent amount of parking -Food itself was fresh and tasty -Good amount of sauces, if you pay for it -Beer is a decent price -Fried chicken wings are tasty, if cooked. -Had some kind of Chinese New Year promotion -The manager did comp us beer due to the negative experience

Now let's talk about the experience and negatives:

I called and made a reservation on Thursday for Friday at 8PM with a lady on the phone. She advised me to come at 8 otherwise I would lose my spot in line as they were busy. Fair enough.

My friends and I arrived at 7:50 PM and stated that I have a reservation for 8. Perfect, they let me know my table will be ready in a few minutes, as they are cleaning a table. We sit down in the waiting area and have some beer. This 'cleaning a table' is said to us by the manager? several times until 8:45 rolls around, my friends debating whether we should go, because people keep coming in and getting tables before us, and we're all starving. Finally, I think? The same manager comes by and and tells us that my name was never on the reservation list , so that's why we've been waiting. WHY NOT TELL US THIS FIRST THAT YOU DON'T SEE IT THERE, AND HAVE US WAIT FOR AN HOUR? - Anyway, he comps our beer we've had while waiting, (Thank you, that was nice.) and just after 9pm, we FINALLY get a table.

We order our food, and it comes out relatively quickly. Perhaps a little too quickly, as the cooked chicken wings (which usually are pretty good at other hot pot places) come out and we bite into them, only to figure out they are RAW/UNDERCOOKED inside. (Refer to picture) They are quickly taken inside after I mention it to the manager, and a second set is brought out, this one visibly poked into by a chopstick to EACH wing seeing if they are cooked or not (also refer to picture) .

Also, I have never been to a hot pot restaurant that has charged me for sauces (except some of the pricier sauces) . Do be aware, that if you want any sort of sauce to go with your hotpot, it is $3. PER PERSON to access the all you can sauce, sauce bar.

The rest of the meal that comes out is fresh, tasty and of good portion. The meat fest $49.99 is a decent deal.

Unfortunately , it does not seem like they have the in house plum juice like other hot pot places. (However, I did see some sort of plum drink on the menu for $10.) May be a good idea to have a cheaper in house alternative for hot pot.

Finally, they had some kind of New Year's promotion where we could pick a red packet stuck from the window. We got a 'free non premium meat' However, I don't know if we'll be back due to what happened. This was one of my friend's first time at a hot pot restaurant, and while he relatively enjoyed the food, was incredibly offput by the service and wait.

The pricing comes out to approximately $40 per person inclusive of the beer that we had while sitting down. This is comparative with...

I can't speak to the food here. Arrived here as a delivery driver for Uber eats. The server sort of shoo'd me towards a shelf with several orders waiting for pickup,

When I determined my order wasn't available I went to the counter to ask if there were more orders coming up, or if it was possible I didn't see my order on the shelf, she first behaved as though I wasn't there, then was very rude and dismissive in how she snapped at me about how it obviously wasn't ready.

I'd really like to be able to say better things about this place, but I haven't often been treated like dirt, and especially not by someone who should be a professional.

Looking at the other negative reviews I'm wondering if the person I experienced is the same woman they others have complained about. I'm guessing they don't have a restaraunt staffed with rude servers.

Edit: The restaraunt replied below. You'll notice that there is no apology or attempt to make things better. Instead they say that they might only provide a bad experience if someone is being rude or discourteous. You'll also see that that is effectively how I was saying they were treating me.

Additionally, for those who do not know, Uber eats doesn't say if an order is ready or not. It only says go to X and pick up your order. It's completely reasonable to ask if my order is ready and no other restaraunt I've asked at has had an...

One of the server was rude and had so much attitude towards our group. We asked for water and was only given the bottle. When we asked for cups, the server grabbed four cups with her fingers inside our cups—completely unsanitary—not to mention that the cups were dirty! We asked for a new cups and she gave us attitude and the service went completely downhill after that—mind you, we haven’t even received our food yet. We sat down not less than 10mins and the server already ruined our experience! She kept repeating that the restaurant closes at 11pm when we’re still eating at 10:25pm. Customer service is not a priority at this restaurant. She kept telling us that leftover food will be charged another portion, which is understandable but to tell us every time you come by our table is a bit excessive. I would NEVER go back here because of her. How do you expect people to tip you when the service was never there to begin with and the entire dining experience was unwelcoming. The sauce bar was lacking and they didn’t have any of the basic ingredients like green onions, cilantro, and garlic.

If you want decent food and mediocre or lackluster customer service, go here but I’m sure there are better restaurants to support and take your...