Kirin Chinese Restaurant And Cocktail Bar — Restaurant in Berkeley

UPDATE: My wife ordered from here by mistake and the food quality has gone way done in our opinion. It was some of the worst Moo Shu Pork I have ever had.

I called in an order and asked for Chicken Chow-main, dumplings, garlic chicken & Rice W/Shrimp Snow Peas. I was not given a total price over the phone...I should have asked but it should also be given. When I arrived I was surprised and was shocked to see a bill for $68. The man at the front, a young guy, said that rice and snow peas were 2 different orders and the small box of shrimp I orders was $18! I was visibly upset and even said I was upset but he rang me up and still shocked and not wishing to make much of a scene, left. I got to my car and decided to call and tell them again I was pretty upset. Explained I was upset that I was not given the total over the phone, etc. he just range me up and I was still upset. He offered to credit me the $2.75 rice....Now I left a $6 tip....he told me he woudl remember for future customers to try and do this.... not helpful to me.

As a business owner myself, as soon as I knew there was confusion with the food in the restaurant I would have offered to remove the items, and if one of my guests had called me 1 minute after leaving my place of business I woudl have told them to come back and left figure it out. I never want a guest to leave unhappy or even angry. It's my commitment as a business owner to make sure my customers are happy.

This did not happen and I am still upset by it the next morning but that is on me to get over.

Also, the food is usually really good and tasty. We just ate here in December but the food seems to be more oily then before, granted it just might have been tainted due to my experience but the other member of my party that had no idea about the interaction made the same comment about the food.

I am giving 2 stars because the food and service in the past have been very good.

I will try a different restaurant in the future before I make another take or or pop in...

Too bad the service is so indifferent — the kitchen deserves better support, especially at Kirin’s premium prices. Our server overlooked us for the adjacent couple, who arrived after we did. My salad came before my (delicious gin basil) cocktail. My companion’s second beer was ordered but never delivered, yet it appeared on the bill. Their website says happy hour is 4:30 to 6:30, yet our server said the cutoff was 6 and charged me full price even after I politely pointed out the advertised timeframe. The food, as always, was great. (Garlic lamb had no spicy heat — maybe we have to ask for that?— but the chili oil on the table corrected it.) I had my favorite ceviche which is superb and unlike anywhere else, and the wonderful Chen’s chicken salad, another dish only at Kirin. Even so, it will be a long time before I return.

Given the poor service we experienced, it’s ironic that Kirin’s website discourages patrons from ordering carryout. In their house, I sure didn’t...

I was disappointed. I had not been there before. It looked like an elegant place, so I expected the food to be good. On the waiter's recommendation, I ordered the steamed scallops. And while the presentation was very nice, the dish lacked subtlety, and substance. There were six scallops served in six tiny glass bowls, each on a bed of vermicelli rice noodles. They were over-cooked and totally overwhelmed by garlic. The promised scallions showed up as one small piece in only one of the three that I ate. The cilantro garnish was fresh and really the best thing about the dish. For 19$, I recommend to go somewhere else, or order something else. This is not the thing to get if you want decent meal or like vegetables with...