Yep Kitchen （AYCE Sushi & Hotpot ）源记茶餐厅 — Restaurant in Chicago

Worst. Service. EVER. Last night was our first time here and had high hopes. We regularly eat Asian food and go to Chinatown so we knew what to expect. The restaurant was large and the atmosphere was ok. I would say it was about 1/4 full on a Friday night so not that busy especially towards the end. Food was good and came out fast, albeit oily so they get one star.

HOWEVER, the service was one of the worst we had from the moment we sat down. We sat in the booth right next to the front desk, so waiters were always passing by and had multiple opportunities to at least give standard service. Our waitress barely interacted with us the whole time even though it wasn’t even that busy and she was constantly passing by us.

First indicator that the service was going to be bad: There were four plates/napkin sets and it was just the two of us so we were waiting for the waitress to take away two of the plates but she never did.

Food came out relatively fast but we were not given water nor our Diet Coke until a while after the food came and only because we had to ask our waitress directly. She asked if we both wanted water and we said yes and the Diet Coke we ordered. She goes to the front desk that’s right next to us and came back with one water and the Diet Coke. We were like O.K… whatever it’s just water.

We started eating and she never checked on us throughout the whole meal unless we flagged her down and even then she was short with us. We had four dishes including fried rice so we should have received at least three small white rice bowls. We decided to be patient since we had fried rice but by halfway through the meal, we still did not receive white rice and asked her if the meals came with rice bowls and she said yes, do you want some? I’m thinking, uh yes? Why wouldn’t we want the food we’re supposed to have? Then she asked one or two bowls and we said two even though we knew we were supposed to get three. Guess what? She didn’t even give us any white rice! So it went from the expected 3 bowls down to 2 and finally 0.

She tried to quickly take away one of dishes that clearly still had food in it and we had to quickly stop her. The other dishes still had a good amount of food so it didn’t even look like we close to being done.

We had to flag down someone else to get the check. We still gave more than 10% tip even though the service deserved less. After we left, we remembered about the parking validation and went back to get it valid. Same waitress “validates” our ticket but actually didn’t, which we found out AFTER we got into our car and were already at the exit and had to pay.

We wished we could have gone back and given $0 tip instead. Instead, I’m leaving this bad review and will not come here again for a long time. Why should we be regular customers here when there are so many other better restaurants...

‼️ SCAMMERS, dishonest and unprofessional ‼️ I normally don’t leave reviews because this internet stuff is confusing to me, but this experience really stuck with me. While the food was decent, the service was uncomfortable and unprofessional. Everything was going fine until, I noticed a taller Asian male employee with medium length black hair, glasses, and a goatee pressuring a younger couple at another table to leave their change after paying in cash. I could clearly see how awkward it made them feel, and it was honestly both uncomfortable and infuriating to watch. The only way to describe this kind of behavior is entitled. This grown man was definitely old enough to know better, and it didn’t seem like he knew the customers personally either.

Then when it was my turn to pay, the exact same thing happened. I paid in cash, and he asked me to leave the change. When I said no, he had the audacity to say, “Well, when dining in, isn’t tipping normal?” The whole interaction felt pushy, inappropriate, and disrespectful. I just wanted to pay and leave without causing a scene.

Later, I checked Google reviews and realized I wasn’t the only one who had experienced this kind of behavior. I even saw a complaint stating that when paying by card, employees here would ADD A 15% TIP TO THE CHECK WITHOUT THE CUSTOMERS KNOWLEDGE. And instead of denying that accusation, the restaurant’s only response was, “We have taken note of customer feedback, but isn't it normal to tip when dining in? And we only charge 15% which is lower than normal.” That is appalling. Admitting to adding tips without consent no matter the amount it isn’t just unethical, it’s ILLEGAL.

To make matters worse, in another review from a customer who complained about the exact same employee who served me, the owner responded by saying, “Our restaurant don’t have the service with long black hair. Our restaurant is Yep Kitchen. You review wrong place?” That level of dishonesty is unbelievable. I was served by that exact same individual a taller Asian male with medium-length black hair, glasses, and a goatee and I experienced the same uncomfortable, entitled behavior.

They don’t even care enough to use a translator or make a real effort to respond in proper English to customer complaints, despite us being the ones keeping their restaurant running. That’s truly appalling.

The denial, lack of accountability, and outright shady attitude from ownership are more than enough reason for me never to return or recommend this place to anyone. If this is how they treat paying customers and handle legitimate concerns, it’s definitely not a business worth supporting. I wish I could say I would give this place another chance, but after everything,...

Yep Kitchen is a recently new establishment at the time of writing this review and they cater a good mix of traditional Chinese cuisine across a fine selection of Chinese regions. From piping hot Szechuan dishes to classic meat and rice dishes along with a decent selection of congee and small selection of Rice noodle rolls. The moment you sit down at a numbered table you are given a tablet to skim through a wide selection of appetizers, entrees, & drinks to add it to your cart. Once you are done, you will have to request a server to come over and verify your order send it to the kitchen as the customers are unable to do so, to which they will then attach a receipt on your table and mark items off as it come; a very semi-modern way of catering as it's coinvent and somewhat efficient but reasonable as they have a huge seating area with many tables. The ambiance is very open and lively from shiny led lights to fine arts all around. I will say that most of their dishes are quite small and are designed for individual size portions instead of sharing. Pricing wise, for a group of 3 doing lunch, we spent around $120 and came out very full. When it comes to flavor, it tastes just as the restaurant is called: yep. Very average, not much of a kick to most dishes. They don't overdo the spice, the salt, the sugar, just about right to hit some spots. The drinks are also just okay, as the Passion Fruit and milk tea I got was sweet enough to enjoy, but nothing makes it stand out from norm. I can recommend this place for those that don't really know what they want to eat in Chinatown, those that does not have a specific craving and want a huge selection of items to choose from, or are looking for something small and filling to get...