Molly Woo's Asian Bistro — Restaurant in Columbus

Um... is Molly Woo's under new management? I was low-key appalled with the service. Cameron Mitchell Restaurants supposedly prides themselves on focusing on hospitality.

My dad and I dined at Molly Woo's tonight after we left the Ohio State game. We arrived just before 5:00. The hosts greeted us when we walked in but were kind of short with us "we can't seats you right now, we have to wait for our reservations to get here. But go find a table in the bar area.... over there" (pointing but not really telling us to grab any table... OK. Not really hospitable, but whatever.)

And the gaggle of hosts (at least a half dozen staff) at the front kiosk weren't friendly, no problem. I get it; it was probably shift change, probably hectic getting ready for dinner on a Saturday night.

We made our way to the bar and sat at a dirty table. The male blonde bartender with glasses came over right away to clear off the table and give us menus. OK great, no problem. Cool. Didn't tell us his name. Ok, whatever. He came back to get our drink order, brought us water. Great. The two of us both ordered soft drinks which took about 10 minutes to arrive.... OK. Cool.

Then another male bartender with tons of tattoos came over, asked us if we were ready and took our order. Great. He was also short with us, not friendly, not smiling.... so here's where i start getting the vibe that the entire staff is miserable and hates their job.

Our food came out hot, the food was great! Fabulous food. I ordered firecracker chicken. He ordered a lomain combo. They brought our food to us with side plates; one plate was dirty, so the server got us a new plate. Gross but OK cool.

Here's where I got skeeved out big time with the vibes/attitudes of the bartenders (specifically Mr. Tattoos). After we were 1/2 done eating, Mr. Tattoos came over to do table checks on the 3 booths in the bar. And I heard him say to all 3 booths, "everything ok?" ...Which is weird for a bartender to say at a restaurant that prides itself on its hospitality. The vibe was just so weird. The way he said it was so annoyed, like it was a hassle to help us and he didn't care if "everything was actually ok". Mr. Tattoos comes over a little while later and asks if we need boxes. Both of us say yes.

Mr. Tattoos comes right back, sets our boxes on the table along with the check - without asking us if we needed anything else. He literally just dropped the boxes and check and bolted without saying a word. He came back a moment later, took the check, and our empty dishes. Came back right away with the check, sat it down in front of my dad and bolted again without saying a word.... weird, right? I mean, when was the last time you dined somewhere and the server didn't say "thank you, have a great night"?

I wanted a to go cup for my tea, so i flagged him down a moment later. He brought a to go cup for me like 5 minutes later. My dad and I both wanted to use the restroom, and since I felt unwelcome from the moment we walked in, I suggested to my dad that we take our jackets and vacate the booth right away.

The ladies restroom was kinda yucky, needed some attention. No toilet paper in my stall.

The hosts didn't say goodbye when we walked out the front door.

I mean... it was so weird. Maybe they were having a staffing issue or the boss yelled at everyone before their shift. I don't know. It just felt cold from start to finish.

The reason I'm harping on this dining experience is that customers like us could choose from literally thousands of restaurants in Columbus. And most people don't like taking their business to restaurants where the staff sucks. (I am one of those people.) It's really a shame - because Molly Woo's has literally the best Asian cuisine in the North Columbus area. But I probably won't be back because of the shifty...

My wife and I came here to celebrate our daughter's first birthday.

We started with the white tea with orange, which arrived in a lovely cast iron vessel piping hot and refreshing. Also very reasonable; under $4 for a kettle that served four tea cups

My wife ordered the beef lo mein, add heat, which she said was good but lacked the 'wow' factor you'd expect from a Cameron Mitchell restaurant. I'd have to agree it was good but pretty run of the mill, not something I'd come back for. (And pretty unsightly, not photogenic at all)

I ordered Molly's feast (pictured), sub rice for more veg, add heat. The veg and tofu were cooked immaculately, with great texture. The difference for me between Molly Woo's and a run of the mill cheap Chinese place is that the chef here clearly deliberately cooked each component for a different amount of time, rather than a Mark Pi Express short order cook where you get carrots that are still frozen and the broccoli is mush. Really the veg was excellent. I was only disappointed in the garlic sauce which tasted too strongly of soy, instead of being bright and tangy garlic and heat so that the tofu (light and crispy) and veg could sing and be the stars of the dish. Instead the sauce kind of ruined the experience of the otherwise excellent dish for me.

I had the milk tea for dessert, which wasn't overly sweet, and refreshing. My wife had the Creme Brulee which looked gorgeous. The sugar on top didn't fully caramelize, but had excellent custard, a bit zippy which paired well with the fruit. The creme brulee was better than that of the Refractory if that says anything. Best I've had in Columbus but have had better in Europe and Michigan (of all places).

Our waitress was very attentive, responsive, and polite; the customer experience was what you would expect at a Cameron Mitchell restaurant. Everything was clean, orderly, and professional. It was nice that they allowed for substitutions, but if you want something hot, you might want to ask for pepper flakes/chili oil, as both of ours arrived more medium than hot.

Overall outstanding experience save for the main courses, so I cannot in good conscience...

Saw this on the way to a conference at a nearby hotel and thought we would try it. We were seated promptly, and although they were somewhat busy, it was not overly so. Our waitress came to the table just as I opened my menu and took our drink order. The wife and I had waters, and my daughter tried the Pinapple Berry Lemonade. She loved it, it thought it was pretty good, reminded me of tart wedding punch. We tried the Kung Pao Calamari. It comes with peanuts, so beware if there are any allergy concerns. There were two sauces, a ginger soy plum type and something akin to a yum yum sauce. It also has fried broccoli. I really enjoyed this dish. The squid was cooked just right and seasoned very well. The wife had the Honey Chicken. She is not the biggest fan of Chinese food, but she really liked it. There was no mistaking that the honey was there at it was very sweet. But the chicken was tender and cooked well. My daughter had the Firecracker Chicken. She stated it was not spicy hot as she thought it would be and stated it was more to the mild side. But, overall, she really liked it. Again, the chicken was cooked through and was very tender. I had the Sesame Chicken. The sauce was more brown and not as sweet as I am accustomed to. But it still had a very enjoyable flavor. Chicken was just the right size for a big bite, but tender enough to cut smaller with a twist of your fork. The scallions were not overcooked and gave a nice bite to the dish. We all had the fried rice as a side, and it was so good! Bits of scrambled egg, onion, carrots, and peas were present, but you can get it without any of those, just ask. It was cooked just right, so it was not too firm and not soggy. It had a pleasent, moist texture that just spoke freshly made. There was a lot more on the menu that I would like to try, so we will probably be going back. Overall, if you like Chinese food, I highly recommend giving them a try. I don't think you will be...