Bambu — Restaurant in Boston

I regret not going to my usual spot (Coco Leaf) in Dorchester for Vietnamese desserts. After our Sunday brunch, so we needed something to sweet for ourselves, so my friends and I drove 30 min. from the North Shore area afterwards. My girlfriend ordered a mango tea with boba, and another friend of ours ordered as listed on the menu Coconut waffle.

We got our orders, my girlfriend didn't get her boba in her mango tea drink, and our friend got a pandan waffle. So my friend went to the cashier, to see if they can make the coconut waffle for her. She returns with another pandan waffle. I went up to the cashier to myself to see what was going on, so I told the cashier that this was not the coconut waffle that she ordered, and they told me that the coconut waffle is the pandan waffle with coconut shavings on top. So I told them, that's very poor advertisement on the menu board as it only lists as "Coconut waffle", not "Coconut shaving waffle".

I just simply asked for a refund on the waffle, simply because our friend didn't get what was advertised. They said they would have to speak to the manager. The manager came out, and I told the manager the same thing I told the cashier. So she refused to refund us for the waffle.

I asked her, "So, just to make sure, you're saying your are not going to refund us for something my friend didn't order?" Now this is where I'm baffled at her response of, "I already made two waffles for you."

My thinking was that the manager wouldn't have to have made the other waffle had the cashier told my friend in the first place that the coconut waffle was the pandan waffle with coconut shavings in the first place.

I've worked in the retail and restaurant industry for a long time (Spoilers: I still work in the restaurant industry), so I'd be the first ones to fault ourselves and to try to be very understanding and make sure I'd never miss the fine print, because I can see that people do overlook it some times.

In this case, the manager and perhaps owner, missed the mark on advertising things properly, they messed up one of our drinks, and lastly the interactions with the customers when it comes to accommodations, because what we asked for was NOT a big request. We were first time customers, no way can customers know that a coconut waffle would be a pandan waffle with coconut shavings on it, there is no other description on what the coconut waffle entails. If we wanted coconut shavings on our pandan waffle, why not just list it as a topping?

The manager was really going to die over $5 instead of honestly trying to correct their mistake. We simply didn't care for the $5 enough, I just simply told her, "Forget it. Don't worry about it. I'll just leave the waffle here." She had a dumbfounded look on her face as if we left money on the table. So she attempts to fix the situation by offering a drink. At that point, it's no point of return for us, so I simply told her no, as I was afraid she'd mess up that up too. I hope this doesn't reflect on other Bambu businesses as I know this is a franchise. Perhaps I'll have better luck at the one in Randolph if I ever go to another Bambu in...

The manager called police on me, my 12-year-old son and 10-year-old son for her staff's mistakes. Her staff ordered the wrong 5 drinks of #10, when we have always ordered #1 for years. We have never tried #10 ever in our life. We also have been ordering 8 times for the past one month (per our text reciept). She refused to refund and accused us liars because she claimed her staff has confirmed the order at the time of ordering in person.

Over the years, the size of the drink has reduced, especially compared to the regular size on the west coast. This store has never allowed any redemption of rewards. However, we let these things go because we cherished the unique Vietnamese drink in Boston.

In the vedio, other customers were ok with us reaching resolution for the dispute (voices in the background). The police showed up and decided to mark this as a wrong report. I expressed my wish to report this business since police officer is here. Then the police officer asked us to discuss this outside. We did.

All of the above should be enough evidence to support how you trust what you put in your mouth. Who knows what kind of other things they were doing at the place...

I was so excited that this location existed after visiting the location in Lowell but this location was a HUGE disappointment. The lack of customers going in on a saturday should have been my red flag. The aesthetics of the place was pretty in comparison to its sister location. However, the che was so bland...we got a bean combo, avocado smash, and jackfruit and all three had no flavor. For its price, it was not worth it at all, especially since there was no flavor to anything, not even the jackfruit. The toppings were minimal. The waffle was also blank and rubbery. Spend your money somewhere else where you'll get something to taste and eat. Would not recommend this place to anyone to get...