Lotus Lounge — Restaurant in Flagstaff

Came here on a whim with my mom my sister and my niece who were in town on a visit. We were walking around downtown looking for a place to have dinner and we saw on the window that they have ramen. My family is from South Korea so they know good Asian food. We were planning on getting Korean food at a place down the street, but they were closed that day. We had gone to the Grand Canyon earlier that day and were pretty hungry. While it was hot at the canyon, it was a little chilly and wet that evening and my mom thought a nice bowl of noodles would be good to fill and warm her up.

The restaurant itself looked hip and cool from the outside, with an Asian bistro vibe. It was early, so we were seated right away. The interior was classy and well designed. We had a nice table by the window. The service was good. We took awhile to figure out what we wanted and the waitress came over several times to check and see if we were ready to order. They had a pretty good variety on their menu, appetizers, specialty rolls, sushi, classic rolls, Chinese dishes and noodle bowls. I got the Kung pao chicken, my sister got the Hawaiian fried rice, which she likes to try at new restaurants, my mom the chicken udon bowl and my niece the beef ramen.

For appetizers, we got the edamame and mixed vegetable tempura. Appetizers came out quickly. The side of edamame was small and good for just one person. The tempura was large enough to share. The flavor was good, but was very oily rather than light and crunchy.

Unfortunately, the main dishes were all disappointing. First, the portions there were very small. This is coming from someone with a very small appetite and eats very slow. I was hoping to have some leftovers to take my husband, so I ate only a tiny bit of my dish. Second, the flavor was extremely bland. Typically, with Kung pao chicken, you have the chicken main dish with a side of rice. This was all mixed together. The meat was dark, which I expect for Chinese fast food, but would expect higher quality for the upscale atmosphere and the upscale price. I don’t like spicy dishes and even for me, this dish had no flavor that was familiar to Kung pao, which usually has a bit of a kick. The chicken was diced into very tiny pieces, as were the minimal veggies that were in the dish and there was no peanut flavor in the even though there were some crushed peanuts. Honestly, I like the Chinese food better at Panda Express. This tasted like something I would make at home for a quick lunch.

My family didn’t have any better luck. My sister’s fried rice literally looked like a side bowl of rice. Nothing like an entree size. Basically the same rice as my dish with pineapples. My sister can make much better on her own. My mother’s chicken udon was very very bland, no flavor or spice and also had dark meat which she doesn’t eat. I didn’t try the beef ramen, but my niece wasn’t thrilled with it. I’m used to seeing large, satisfying bowls of noodles, with plenty of broth, but these bowls were either small or very shallow. And even though they were small, neither of them were excited about finishing the dish. To be truthful, they liked the instant ramen bowls I got for them fry’s for $3 bucks better.

It was disappointing since my mom my sister and my niece came out from Dayton, OH for a special girls visit, and since I had paid for them to come out, my mom wanted to treat us all to a nice dinner. I hate to leave an unsatisfactory review, but I was disappointed enough in the food where I wouldn’t go back and it was expensive for what we ordered and the small portions. One glass of house wine, an appetizer, two noodle bowls, an order of fried rice and a Kung pao chicken came almost to $100. But it was a very nicely designed place and we did have good service, but that’s the only nice thing I can say.

I would say go for the ambience, and order off the drinks and sushi menu and maybe you’ll have...

Lotus Lounge Flagstaff, AZ

We traveled to Flagstaff on a Sunday on a holiday weekend. We walked in and recognized that it was almost closing time, asked if the kitchen was still open, they said yes and we were seated. All was well and the environment was quirky. While sitting we decided our meal, we ordered two rolls of sushi (California Roll and Chupacabra roll), and two bowls of beef ramen. The wait was not terribly bad -- we got our meal 25 minutes after ordering. We weren't bothered by the wait because we had fantastic customer service. When our meals arrived, there were obvious signs of low quality food. At a glance, the salmon in the Chupacabra roll was browning- an obvious sign that the fish had been out all day. Not only was this disgusting to witness, but this would be dangerous if we consumed it. Moreover, the avocados were rotten, and were definitely cut at the beginning of the morning and given to us at night.

Furthermore, our ramen was by far the worst ramen I've had in my life. Not only was it flavorless, but the tap water that was used in the ramen had more flavor than the dish itself. Well actually, maybe the rotten tomato inside gave it some sort of kick. Quality control was notably fumbled when they sent out noodles that were hardened together and clearly scraped off the bottom of the pot. In addition, you would think the kitchen would notice a rotten sliced tomato garnished on the dish. In order for us to stomach this we were given a bottle of bubbly water, note we did not ask for mineral water, this was in fact foam from the city tap water. We declined to drink the water and asked for the check.

By the outward look of this establishment, I believe that it has potential to be a thriving restaurant. Unfortunately, under both stress and pressure, this restaurant crumbled. My overall assessment of this restaurant is a stern 2/10. The only saving grace of this restaurant is the environment. The quirkiness of Lotus Lounge fostered an energy that can be shared by many.

One could come here after a long day of work for a beer, not food, and have a great time -- fitting for the name "lounge." I left this restaurant feeling sick about the food I just had but with a smile that I got to share some time with some people that I love.

What a 2/10 means is the following: You wouldn't recommend to a friend and if anyone were to recommend to have a meal at this restaurant; and you would encourage them not to go and suggest another option.

If you do find yourself here, order something that would be considered simple and safe and avoid...

Wouldn’t serve us because they thought they closed an hour earlier than they do close and said “yeah I don’t know why the hotel keeps telling everyone we are open til 10 they need to stop.” Well, Hope, it’s because those are the hours of the restaurant you work at according to the hotel staff, yes, but also the menu that was in our hotel room, and the restaurant’s website.. because those are the the hours of the restaurant.. that you work at. Later the “manager” clarified that it was because Hope is new but also that because her and I, the manager, were talking while Hope rolled her eyes from her safe space (the bar), it was after 9:15 so she also would be unable to seat my partner and I. Totally. Totally makes sense. Not to me but by their logic probably definitely. Totally. Although I was told I could get complimentary room service until 10, Hope made sure I knew I could not be more wrong. I’m not sure how this place makes money since they don’t let people sit down to eat or take food to eat it. Go here if you are really really hungry like we were and if you have been looking over that menu in your room that uses words that make you have to google translate pickle and if you ultimately want to get turned away because time is hard when business hours are posted on the window gosh dang it in a state that doesn’t use...