Well Season | Dim Sum Seafood — Restaurant in Elk Grove

We arrived after 1:15 pm as the big lunch crowd was starting to thin out on a Sunday. After a brief wait, they seated us at the corner table right next to the entrance as that was the first table that became available. As soon as we were seated, we were swamped by multiple servers pushing the dim-sum carts and we had to ask them to come back later as there was already too much food on our table (that was good). After that, there were only a couple more carts coming by our table afterwards and we ordered more dishes as we ate.

As the lunch crowd was thinning out while we’re eating, the staff were more focused on cleaning the tables rather than providing any service to the remaining 5-10 tables of customers (that was BAD customer service). I literally had to stand up and raised my hand with the teapot on my hand to get attention from the staff to refill our teapot with hot water. I also asked the staff for a couple of orders of the “sesame ball” dessert as the only remaining carts were only circling the few tables near the kitchen and they never came to our table.

About 20 minutes later, our order of dessert still didn’t come out yet and we couldn’t get anybody’s attention to inquire about the status. I had to walk up to the cashier counter and asked for assistance. One of the cashiers (a manager or a part-owner, I assume) walked up to our table and I told her about our order that never arrived and she “offered” us the dessert at “no charge” but we told her we wanted to cancel the order instead since we were just finishing up whatever food we had on the table and were ready to leave afterwards. A couple of minutes later, a server brought 2 plates of sesame balls to our table and insisted that we had placed the order when I told her we’d canceled the order. Not trying to argue with her, we just accepted the order and she marked 2 more stamps on the order slip at our table.

When we were ready for the check, the same cashier/manager came to our table and took our order slip to tally up the total bill. As I asked for a couple of containers to take home the leftover food, I also mentioned to her that the order of sesame balls finally came out. She didn’t say anything and when she brought the bill back, she conveniently “forgot” that she’d offered us the sesame balls “on the house” earlier but she still charged us for the order. We didn’t bother to remind her about her earlier (empty) promise and just paid the bill, including the 15% “service charge” that was added automatically for a table of 6 or more.

This place is by far one of the worst place I’d ever experienced in terms of their customer service, and yet they added the 15% “service charge” for their nonexistent customer service.

Bottom line: NOT recommended. There are other dim sum restaurants with better foods and service...

1-22-18 So the Husband and I came back to see if they have improved. There were maybe 10 -12 tables occupied with varied numbers of people per table. Service was efficient and trolley servers were coming back several times. The items that we did not get to see at all before were all out. We came at around 1pm this time around. I hope this holds true when they are busy. I updated my 2 stars to 3 stars.

I came here today with a Friend for lunch. They are open from 1030-2230 daily so we came at 1100. The establishment did listen to the previous customers and/or read the reviews. The food was not salty. The reason for the 2 stars is - compared to other dimsum restaurants I have been to, there was a lack in the constant flow of staff with their trolleys of food and staff offering to take anyone's a la cart order. 2 Families beside us left after just 1 or 2 trolleys coming by. Mind you, they told the ladies seating everyone that the staff "Had" to go around and offer "Everyone" their food. We were seated by the windows in the back of the restaurant. A lot of people were walking up to the trolleys to get their food which a customer, should not have to do. We came on a weekday but it was still packed. We stayed until 1300 and only then did the other seafood options start coming out. We both just eat seafood and vegetables. If they did a survey of Elk Grove before opening, they would have learned there are a bunch of Foodies in our neighborhood, Myself included. At the end of our meal, one lady started pulling our tablecloth. My Friend had to stop her and tell her we were still taking our teas. I was shocked. If they study their performance daily and listen to their community like other local establishments, they may have a shot in Elk Grove and then maybe I can update this review. The staff are dressed in well designed uniforms which was a plus. As far as just opening, I am well aware of that. There are several places that have opened in the last year and by the time their soft openings were done, they had their act down pat so that is no longer an excuse. Business 101-feasibility study of your target market. Price point is higher than most places. They are the only dimsum place in Elk Grove so they can demand, I guess. Let us not forget the place was vacant for a while. Rent must play a factor in this. Most locals of Elk Grove I know are willing to pay extra for quality food and service. Let us remember, part of the dining experience is no longer just the food,...

There is something to be said for eating at a restaurant outside of their normal busy schedule. We arrived at Well Season in Elk Grove around 7 PM on a Sunday evening. This place is designed for accommodating more than a hundred people during their normal dim sum brunch time where they push items on carts through a cavernous, noisy crowd of diners. The atmosphere at 7 PM is quite the contrast. We entered a nearly empty restaurant that was clearly overstaffed by servers with nothing to do but hover close to the couple of guests sparsely populating the dining area waiting for the slightest call for assistance.

In the evening, all dim sum is made to order for the few patrons that frequent the restaurant during the evening which guarantees that the food will be freshly cooked. We checked off a few items and ordered a couple of items on the main menu as well. First to arrive was the soup and a heaping plate of steamed Chinese broccoli. The broccoli was cooked just right and when dipped in the plum sauce sauce tasted delicious. The soup was supposedly some kind of fish ball mixture but as far as I was concerned, it tasted more like a type of seaweed mixed with a little bit of imitation crab. Not a bad taste but not quite matching the server's description.

Next came the dim sum one after the other. Everything tasted really good, including the shrimp balls, fried meatballs, pork bao, potstickers and sweet sesame balls. Last to arrive was the meat wrapped in rice and bamboo leaves aka zongzi ( 粽子). Unfortunately, they didn't steam it thoroughly and the meat in the center was partially frozen. The waitress apologized profusely and arranged for a replacement which didn't arrive until we had finished eating and asked for the check. Oh well, we took it home to be eaten as leftovers.

So if you get a craving for dim sum in the evening come to this place and give the army of servers and assistants something to do besides just...