Jia Szechuan Food and Bar — Restaurant in Atlanta

Oh where do I begin.... The host was very pleasant and seated us at the one open table toward the back of the restaurant -- it was a full house so we were hoping that was a sign of what was to come. Our server was very lukewarm (but maybe she was shy or tired not sure) but she brought us a glass of water after leaving us with the menus. Let me point out that the menu is EXTREMELY hard to read because the print is like 6 or 8 font and printed onto a dark background with a dragon image that made finding items and reading descriptions near impossible. Even Meglin stated that she thought it was hard to read.

Then we ordered a Hot and Sour Soup which tasted more like broth, and I've had this soup MANY times before and have excellent versions to use as a comparison. Also we ordered for our appetizers, the steamed dumplings which were pretty nice but the dip they served with it was a little heavy on the vinegar. But worst of all were the spring rolls - they were soggy on the inside and that was starting to come through the wrap even after it was deep fried. We only ate half each which left an entire one on the plate.

For our main course we ordered Orange Chicken and Sesame Chicken which were Meh at best. The orange tasted authentic versus artificial but it didn't make my tongue go wild which is what I hope for when I go out to eat; I honestly like the frozen Orange Chicken from Trader Joe's better. But it looked great and was VERY hot and fresh - I just wished it was as tasty. The Sesame Chicken had a lot to be desired as well. The presentation was nice, but that's about it. The broccoli didn't have any seasoning and seemed like it was added for the sake of color.

Other things that kinda irked us... After the apps, we ordered a Sprite but it was brought to the table in the bottle which is fine, but how come it didn't occur to our server to bring a cup with ice to drink it out of?? We had to ask for that too. When we ordered the soup we had to ask for the wonton chips that are customarily served with the soup at other Chinese restaurants. We had to ask for soy sauce - it's not a resident of the table for some reason. Could be more sanitary, but ask us if we need it or put it down with the napkins and take it back to clean the bottle once patrons leave. And finally it seemed like our server was in a rush to clean up our plates and get us out of there. EVEN if that was intentional, when we asked what the rush was for she was caught off guard but didn't say that she didn't mean to make us feel that way.

I think in general customer service has declined and people are hired to represent a business but really don't have any idea nor are trained on how to respond in certain situations. I blame this on the owners and managers.

But even after all this, I didn't make a scene, nor would I have. I paid the bill, gave an 18% tip and kindly thanked her as we left which was met with an awkward look.

Honestly this isn't the first time one of the restaurants down at Ponce City Market have left a lot to be desired. After spending 20 minutes for parking (ridiculous), then walking a country mile to get inside, where it seems thousands were packed in, only to be followed by mediocre service and food, I can confidently say that I won't be back down there regardless of the rave reviews of any other restaurants. It's too much of a gamble... Will I find parking? Will I find a restaurant with seats? Will the servers be pleasant and helpful? Will the food be delightful? Coming from a native of this city, I'm so disappointed in how the southern charm, manners, and food have all gone down hill --- meanwhile prices continue to skyrocket. Jia really only has to put a little more effort into their service levels, mood, and food and it could get an extra star in a...

The service at this restaurant was one of the worst dining experiences I have ever had in my life. I would put 0 stars if I could but 1 star will have to do.

I came to Ponce City Market to try out a new restaurant for late lunch/early dinner today. Since I was a single seat at the time, I walked up and sat at the CENTER of the bar which only had one other patron on the side I was sitting on. The bar counter was covered with food which eventually got wiped away by the bar tender who watched me sit down. Then I sat there with two bartenders and a hostess working in front of me and no one spoke to me for 10-15 minutes. NOT ONE WORD. Another couple came and sat 2 seats down from me and were served their food before anyone even made eye contact with me. The only time I was acknowledged is because I raised my voice and asked for ANY kind of menu to the two men fumbling around the bar...

I then ordered my food and beverage at the same time, since no one ever took my drink order. I was handed a can of room temperature coke by the bartender in the plaid shirt. No straw, and no cup of ice for the warm coke, so I had to ask for them individually. My entree came out 5 minutes before my appetizer came out which did not make any sense. (Side note: The food was okay. Definitely the highlight of the experience.) No one ever checked on me to see if everything came out fine, they just dropped the food off and left without saying a word.

Right before my food came out my husband came to join me to grab some early dinner, so he sat with me at the bar. And again, NO ONE ACKNOWLEDGED HIM!!!! A completely different person. We were dead center at the front of the restaurant. We could not have been overlooked!! We watched other people being greeted and served. It was astounding. I wish the story got better but it doesn't. My husband was never spoken to in the 45 minutes he sat with me. So obviously he did not want to eat or drink there any longer. Since we were invisible to both of the bartenders and the rest of the staff we stacked my plates and pushed them to the edge of the bar since no one came back to check to see if we were done. The bartender noticed we had put our plates on the end of the bar and instead of clearing them, he printed our receipt and flicked it at me over the pile of plates. No words were said. He ran the payment and dropped the receipt on the counter with a pen and said nothing.

Let me clarify, I was not expecting 5 star service. But I was just hoping for anything at all. Getting a menu, ordering a drink, getting food in the proper order, checking to see if everything tastes okay, clearing plates...Any of the above? Base level, a HELLO and maybe a GOODBYE, HAVE A NICE DAY. I have gotten better service at a fast food restaurant. This was completely unacceptable. I don't write reviews often but c'mon, this warranted one due to just sheer neglect. My hope is that management will take a look at this and re-train their bartenders on common courtesy. If you have cameras in the restaurant please review the tapes so you can see these boys giving low quality service. If you want repeat business then staff your restaurant with workers who actually serve your patrons, because this was a huge...

IM A RESIDENT AT PONCE. IVE BEEN HERE TWICE IN THE 5 YEARS IVE LIVED HERE AND DIDNT CARE FOR IT. I DECIDED TO GIVE THIS PLACE ANOTHER CHANCE BECAUSE MY GUEST WANTED CHINESE FOOD. THE HORRIBLE REVIEWS ARE VERY TRUE. THE LUNCH MENU STATES WITH YOUR ORDER YOU GET A SOUP OR A SPRING ROLL. MY MOM ORDERED KUNG PAO CHICKEN. I INQUIRED ABOUT A MEAL WITH ALOT OF VEGGIES. I ORDERED THE BEEF AND VEGGIES WHICH IS A $2 UPCHARGE. SOMEHOW WE BOTH OVERLOOKED THAT WERE SUPPOSED GET A SPRING ROLL OR SOUP UNTIL WE SAW THE NEXT TABLE RECIEVE SOUP. WE CALLED THE WAITRESS OVER AND ASKED WAS IT SUPPOSED TO COME WITH OUR ORDER. SHE SAID YES. WE ASKED HER WHY DIDNT SHE ASK US OUR PREFERENCE WHEN TAKING OUR ORDER. SHE RUDELY STATED "ITS ON THE MENU". WE DIDNT REPLY JUST ADDED A SOUP FOR ME AND A SPRING ROLL FOR MY MOM. 5 MINS LATER THE BLACK WAITRESS COMES OVER AND STATES WE HAD TO PAY FOR A SPRING ROLL AND SOUP AND THAT IT DOESNT COME WITH IT EVEN THOUGH ITS CLEARLY ON THE MENU. SHE FURTHER EXPLAINED THAT THE PERSON WHO DOES THE MENUS THAT ENGLISH IS NOT THEIR FIRST LANGUAGE AND SHES SORRY. OK NO PROBLEM. FOOD COMES OUT FOR MY MOM FIRST. MY FOOD TOOK ANOTHER 7 MINS TO COME OUT AND WHEN IT DID IT WAS PILED UP WITH LOTS OF BEEF AND HARDLY ANY VEGGIES AND OVER WHELMED WITH GINGER SEASONING. ! I CALLED THE WAITESS BACK OVER. (AT THIS POINT IM FRUSTRATED BECAUSE MY MOM WAS ALMOST DONE WITH HER MEAL WHEN MINE CAME OUT). I ASKED FOR THE PLATE TO BE RECOOKED WITH MORE VEGGIES AND LESS MEAT AS IT WASNT WELL PORPORTIONED. SHE OFFERED TO BRING ME STEAMED VEGGIES. I TOLD HER NO I WANTED MY MEAL TO BE RECOOKED PROPERLY IN THE SAUCE AND NOT WITH A SIDE OF VEGGIES. SHE TOOK THE PLATE. 5 MINS LATER SHE TRIED TO COME BACK INSIDE WITH THAT SAME PLATE FROM "OUTSIDE" SAYING THEY WILL GIVE ME A SIDE OF VEGGIES. AT THAT POINT I REINTERATED MAM I DONT AND SAID ALREADY THAT I DONT WANT A SIDE OF VEGGIES. SHE TAKES THE PLATE BACK. ANOTHER 6 MINS GOES BY AND THE PLATE COMES OUT PERFECT. THE FOOD WASNT ANYTHING TO RAVE ABOUT EITHER. AT THAT POINT I JUST GOT IT TO GO. THEY MADE MY LUNCH DINING EXPERIENCE WITH MY MOM FROM OUT OF TOWN A HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE. AS A TENANT I REFUSE TO PATRONIZE THIS PLACE AGAIN. THERE ARE TOO MANY OPTIONS WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE THAT HAS BETTER CUSTOMER SERVICE, BETTER FOOD AND HONORS WHATS ON THE MENU. ILL SUGGEST CHIN CHIN NEXT DOOR TO ANYONE SEEKING A SLEEK...