Xi'an Gourmet House (Midtown) — Restaurant in Atlanta

I know this place is mostly a takeout/to go restaurant, but if you’re going to offer dine-in, then it has to be at a minimum standard. I’m not kidding when I say this was the WORST dine in experience I’ve ever had anywhere. I’ll list my reasons why I think so below:

The wait times are around 45 min to 1 hour to get your food. Once we sat down at our table, it took them 10 minutes to finally come around and clean up the previous group’s bowls and utensils. It then took them another 20 minutes to come back and wipe down the dirty table. We also had to ask someone to wipe down our table, or else they wouldn’t have done it. When they were wiping down the table, they used an already dirty cloth with no cleaning solution. It literally takes an extra 10 seconds to spray cleaning solution on a table before wiping it down, in order to properly sanitize. Everything was plastic. I know that it’s meant for takeout, but once again, if you offer dine in, then it has to be at a minimum standard (actual bowls and quality utensils). I also saw a burger served wrapped in aluminum foil. Even at fast food restaurants, they serve it to you on a plate/tray. If I’m paying $15+ for a burger and dining in, I’d expect it to at least be on a plate. There was no water provided. It takes 30 seconds to get everyone a glass of water, which makes your eating experience 10x more enjoyable, especially when half the menu items are spicy. This is a bit pickier, but there was literally nothing on the tables. When half the menu are soups, you’d expect there to be some condiments, utensils, napkins, etc are your table. All your server does is bring your food and utensils, (you order from a kiosk at the front), which is the bare minimum, and they have the audacity to ask for a minimum 18% suggested tip.

The vibes and the actual food is top tier, but the dining experience brings this place down. You feel like you’re eating at a fast food place, but with no benefits of a fast food experience. At least with fast food, you have little waiting time, clean tables, and complementary water. The food is well priced, but I feel like it would be better if they increased prices in order improve their dine in experience and wait times. The quality and portion size of the food is good enough so that I think people would still pay even if it was $5-$6 more expensive, especially if it came with a better dine in experience. I had high expectations for this place, but the dine in experience and waiting times was too much for...

We originally came here because of the high reviews, coupled with the fact that it was featured on an Instagram account and the food looked amazing. However, the experience wasn't the greatest. When we first walked in, we were greeted with multiple stacks of chairs that blocked the entrance walkway. Since people were waiting for different reasons, it was hard to distinguish who was waiting to order from those waiting for food. When we ordered on the tablet, we were told there would be a 30 to 45-minute wait, which we understood because the place was busy. We left and came back since there wasn't really anywhere to wait. Upon returning, they mentioned they were waiting on one more item for our meal. After waiting an additional 15 minutes, we inquired about the delay, and they said they were waiting on the cucumber salad. We waited another 15 minutes, totaling almost an hour since ordering, and they stated they were still waiting on that same cucumber salad. I don't understand why vegetables would take that long. Meanwhile, our hot food was just sitting on the counter getting cold while waiting for one small item.

A family of four who arrived after us had somehow been seated and was leaving by the time we inquired about our order for the second time. We asked them to cancel the cucumber salad and for a refund, but they said they couldn't process it back to the card. The refund had to be in cash, and they didn't have the exact change, asking us if we had any. This especially made no sense given that they promote a contactless purchasing experience with their tablet ordering method.

Lastly, upon arriving back at the restaurant to wait for our food, the employee behind the counter was eating his own noodle dish, constantly wiping his mouth while packaging other people's food and serving those eating in the restaurant. I don't find that to be very sanitary, and I didn't once see him sanitize his hands. I probably won't return. The food wasn't good enough to endure...

Dined-in on a Sunday. Finding parking is difficult. Their phone number is disconnected so you can’t reach them. There was a line to the door upon arrival- confusing as we didn’t know whether people were waiting for their orders or waiting to be seated. We were not greeted and things are chaotic and disorganized. When we realized people were just standing around blocking the doorway we finally approached the self-service register to enter our order. The wait time quoted to us was 50 minutes for food (not seating). The front counter boy told us to let him know if we had any questions about the menu but he was extremely busy and visibly overwhelmed and unable to fully serve customers.

Appetizers came out before we were seated so we had to stand and hold our food until a table opened up. A couple of people who arrived after us and had not ordered yet took the first table that opened. Service should be first come first serve, and not on a seat yourself basis in this case. Employee saw what happened and let us stand and wait with our food anyway.

The establishment is very small with limited seating. We saw several customers turned away due to the long wait time and no available seating. The front counter boy advised us along with others to visit on a weekday when they aren’t busy.

The wait time for food was long and appetizers did not come out in order.

Now for the food: -The scallion pancake was underwhelming. -Spring rolls lacked flavor/salt- would not order again. -Cucumber salad was cold, crunchy, savory, and delicious. Highly recommend! -Beef noodle soup was savory and flavorful, definitely recommend!

To be fair they seemed short staffed in front of house and the front counter boy came out to check on tables once things slowed down. He was attentive when he was able to be.

Hoping this location gets their priorities in line to accommodate the demand and fulfill customer satisfaction. Otherwise, I do not care to re-visit this location to...