Meat Up — Restaurant in Wanhua District

First of all, service staffs are obviously not trained in service at all! Basically all of them were clueless on how to use the reservation system that they’ve got to find our reservation, fumbled for a good 10 mins to no avail. Eventually they figured out how to use with the help of a slightly more senior staff. No apologies was given and we were then seated down. Thereafter, wrong explanation of physical menu was given. Told us that the physical dessert menu was the entire menu when in actual fact the full menu can only be accessed from the QR code. Thereafter, asked for some recommendations and the staffs were stunned and said everyone have different taste so that’s why they do not have any specialty dishes nor recommendations… at that point we were already very disappointed with the lack of service in such a nicely decorated, hyped up, highly rated google review restaurant. Have also asked the waitress what was the soup of the day and she told us it was corn soup which is fine. We proceeded to order via the QR code and made payment at the cashier and only then, the cashier told us that there wasn’t any more soup left… this was when we totally gave up on their service staffs. All young girls gathered at a corner talking amongst themselves, back facing their customers. What a disgrace to the typical warm hospitality that Taiwan is known for. Utter disgrace. Anyways the food came cold and way earlier than the drinks which was quite unheard of since there wasn’t many customers and the drinks we ordered were the standard soda drinks that didn’t need much preparation. Called the service staff to check on the drinks as we were already halfway eating and she said oh because you ordered it late so that’s why it’s processed late but… we ordered everything together?? We were super baffled at that moment and she didn’t even bother to check with the bartender. Lol. Then soon after my drink came but the other drinks didn’t. My husband finished his food and his drink didn’t even come. Asked the service staff again and she didn’t even apologise and said she will check. In about a span of 15 seconds, the remaining drink miraculously came?? So it’s obvious that they forgot our drinks, again, no apology nor empathy was given. Like as though the lateness was expected…anyways my pesto risotto chicken came cold and chicken wasn’t fully cooked, it came 3/4 raw - the audacity to not check and just serve raw chicken?? Feedback to the service staff and she just stand there looking stunned? Like she didn’t even flinch she was just staring at the chicken for a good 1-2 mins not knowing what to do next and then thereafter her response was “let me get the manager to check if the chicken is indeed raw” I’m like… it’s so obvious! The manager came shortly after and did some standard service recovery by apologising and asked to recook the dish which we obviously didn’t dare to stomach anymore. She proceeded to replace the dish with a pan fried squid and it tasted rubbery so we didn’t even finish it. We just gave a couple of pieces a try and decided to give up on their chefs. The price point isn’t even cheap btw and at such pricing, we would expect better quality of service as well as food quality. Soufflé was so freaking dry our mouth felt super duper dry after eating it. Strawberries were a tad sour and we just gave up on attempting to feedback about it. Saw the other google reviews that this lack of service is common as well as the quality of food doesn’t compensate well with the price point. Our advice is to AVOID THIS RESTAURANT AT ALL COST and the reviews are pretty much mostly fake (bribed by the restaurant or whatever according to other reviews here). With this price point you could’ve gotten a much better meal out there like hotpot or even opp with the hot star fried chicken and other...

Meat Up⠀ 新美式餐廳 New American Restaurant⠀ ⠀ Located in the heart of Ximending (one of the most happening places in Taipei City), this restaurant is extremely perfect for trying out fancy dishes. With fancy decoration and extremely spacious seating, Meat Up offers a unique dining experience to anyone that visits Ximending, especially for anyone looking for a great and stylish photo moment. Even the menu itself offers an extremely stylish experience. ⠀ ⠀ One thing to take note is the menu will be customized according to the fruit season (taro, strawberry, mango, etc.).⠀ For example, you can order the famous Strawberry Tower when it's strawberry season (was looking forward to this, but it's already off season for strawberry).⠀ ⠀ Ordered「狂歡派對」(Fried platter) - Served on the weighing scale, this carnival platter of fried stuff is the perfect starter before any meal. Friend calamari, fried bacon, popcorn chicken and fries fries, each to its own uniqueness, all combined within the carnival platter, on a weighing scale, ensuring it's really 1kilogram (was it?), haha. ⠀ ⠀ Ordered「辣味明太子花枝義大利麵」(Spicy Mentaiko Squid Pasta) - The size of the squid is mindblowing. The gigantic size of the squid, paired together with the pasta cooked with Mentaiko sauce, leaving you completely full without any doubt. The spiciness is just right, even though I've ordered the spiciest one. The tenderness of the squid definitely is the star of this dish. ⠀ ⠀ Ordered「日本賞櫻」(Cherry Blossom in Japan) - It lives up to its name, Cherry Blossom. Made of cotton candy supported with a plastic stand, it resembles the cotton candy, and it melts due to the heat at the bottom. The plastic stand is supported by red beans. There are 2 pieces of Souffle, covered with matcha topping, together with the colorful jelly cubes. The taste was not bad, I would say this is more of a food to the eyes. Indeed, it's extremely photogenic, and the uniqueness definitely...

Came for the smoothies, but left disappointed.

I stopped by after seeing some great photos online, and while the smoothies themselves lived up to the hype — tasty with excellent presentation — the customer service left a lot to be desired.

From the start, the woman taking our order was noticeably unfriendly and unwelcoming. What really soured the experience was her insisting that everyone at our table had to order something, even though we weren’t occupying any extra space and some of us simply didn’t want anything. After some back and forth, they finally allowed us to order just what we wanted.

Then came the bill — a mandatory 10% tip was added without warning. When I asked about it, the manager gave a dismissive explanation, saying it’s because they’re “a trending restaurant” and that “everyone does it.” They refused to remove the charge, and with no time to argue further, I reluctantly paid.

Between the poor service and the forced gratuity, I won’t be returning. Definitely not...