Mongo's Grill — Restaurant in Winnipeg

Since Mongo's Grill reopened after the initial covid scare, my buddy and I decided to check out Mongo's on Regent realizing that they would have all the proper procedures in place to go forward in these unusual and challenging times that we are now facing... Before Covid-19 struck, my buddy and I were frequent guests at Mongo's. About a month or two after Mongo's opened up amidst the Covid-19 scenario, my buddy and I tried Mongo's again. We weren't sure what to expect? But to our surprise, we enjoyed the experience. It was quiet and the tables were spaced very well. Of course the situation has now changed where we can't fill up our bowls anymore but now have to leave it up to the serving staff to do such. All we have to do is fill out the sheets on what we would like in our bowl, give sheet to server of which he/she would prepare our bowl.... The first couple of times we went, we got an adequate filling of the bowl which we were pleased about. The next couple of times we went, we went we were less than satisfied on the portion amounts in our bowl. The last time we went, my buddy talked to the general manager Russ as to why the portions have lessened in our bowls as of late. Russ being the general manager of course gave us the spiel about food and labor costs which intern reduces profits. Of course my friend and I knew what he was talking about as we were both from the restaurant industry back in the dsy. Anyways what Russ doesn't realize is that once your accustom to having a certain portion size like we did on our first couple of visits, then we expect that same standard to still be maintained. When one pays $13.59 + tax + tip, then one should expect to get a decent size bowl portion to fill him/herself up... its bad enough that you have to now pay extra for cheese and you are only allowed 6oz of protein... just tired of getting gouged for extras not from only Mongo's but from a lot of restaurants these days... Restaurants such as Mongo's need to find that fine line to offer the customer the perks of the dining experience pre covid vs making the restaurant profitable at a sustainable margin. If Mongo's or other restaurants can't do that, then once the covid virus is over, the customer will be heartpressed to go back because he/she will remember the not so good experience they had at the restaurant through this time... I for one am willing to visit these restaurants because I like to eat out but restaurants will have to appreciate my business and do a little giving to make me feel appreciated and valued for...

So before anything else, I would like to say I love Mongos. We normally go to Ellice location since it is closer to where we are, and today was the first time we went here. When we get inside, we were seated right away, which I was so impressed. However, I was surprised we were put on the table with tall chairs considering I have a toddler. There were some other normal tables, but I didn’t make it a big deal or asked to be moved and just made it work on our end. When we got to the table, the person who sit us just stare at us not asking if we need anything, drinks or if we have allergies. It is not our first time in Mongo’s but it is our first time here in this location so I am not sure if that is how they do. I also noticed they’ve watered down our stir fry too much. It was sticking a lot in the grill because they don’t stir it often enough. My husband’s stir fry has been sitting in there for around 5 mins, already cooked just been waiting to be put in a plate. Back in Ellice, they ask those things and even ask if you need help on getting stuff ready. While we were waiting for our food to be cooked, I noticed how the cooks were all over the place and there’s stuff getting thrown at the floor, it is very untidy. After our food was cooked and we came back in our table, our server never really came back to check on us. I see her standing and walking around and talk to her coworkers but she didn’t come back in our table anymore. I had to go to the take out corner and ask a different server to help us such as take out boxes and our bill. We came around 7pm and they just probably coming out of the dinner rush, so I also take that into consideration. But seeing our server just standing around, while the other 2 servers running around to help customers was very...

Just had supper at this location. We usually go to the Kenaston location which is superb, this location is a disappointment. For the second time, my food had a lot of burnt specks in it and tasted burnt. I picked out some of them and put them on the side of the bowl so the waitress could easily see them. When I pointed it out she said "Oh yeah, that comes from the grill." She seemed to think it was perfectly fine and normal. I persisted a bit because the last time it happened, the waiter noticed it, got the manager, and they were appalled. They apologized, gave us free dessert and coffee, didn't make me pay for my meal, and gave me a generous gift card for the next visit. She finally said she'd adjust my bill. When the bill came, it was $43.49... for 2 meals and 2 waters. She had taken off a measly $3.15. She didn't talk to the manager, and I have no doubt this will not come up except as a complaint about a customer. We are good customers, we have supported Mongoes for probably 15 years. We drive an hour to enjoy it and are disappointed when it's burnt and the staff doesn't care. I'm posting this so the manager will hopefully see it and some training will be done to teach the staff how to deal with these situations. I don't need a free ride because of a mistake, but it would go a LONG way if you show your customer that you care and will deal with it. Next time we'll go to the...