Zhao Star China Bistro — Restaurant in Frisco

Edited to address inaccurate owner response: You were no where to be seen when this happened...unless you were one of the two men talking to each other and walking in and out of the kitchen. And, if you were there, WHY WERE YOU NOT ANSWERING THE PHONE? So, please, do not infer that this review is less than honest. It is 100% accurate. I really wanted to come in and enjoy dining at your restaurant. Even considered ordering "to go" in the future until I read your response. Now? Never! You were not there. The phone order absolutely did go over 3 minutes. In fact, it was nearly 10 minutes after the other customer came in (I know because I was texting on my phone...and checked the time stamps). And the other customer? He was still standing there when I left, having declined the invitation to "just have a seat". I posted to let you know that YOU NEED MORE STAFF. One person to seat, answer phones, take care of carryout orders, and take dining room orders at NOON during lunch is not enough. Most people do not have that much time during the week to eat lunch; I had no reason to leave other than the fact that I spent far too long waiting for your staff to finish a phone order. They really need to hire more staff. I went there for lunch, with the usual limited amount of time. I asked if they were open for dine-in, as there were chairs on top of many tables. I was seated promptly. I excused myself briefly. When I returned, the hostess finished taking a phone order before arriving to take my drink order.

On the way to get my drink, she stopped to grab the phone and (rather than asking them to hold) proceeded to take a long and detailed carryout order At this point, I should mention that there were only four of us (that I saw) in the restaurant at noon: The hostess/server, two people in the kitchen, and me. While I was waiting, another customer walked in and waited...and waited... She said to him, while on the phone, "Just have a seat, I'm taking an order." He obviously was not a dine-in customer and he kept glancing at me. After he started getting frustrated, I did as well. She was still on the phone and 10-15 minutes had elapsed. No one came out to take care of customers. I got up and left, hoping I would have time to pick up lunch and head back to work (I should mention here that the other restaurants in this center were packed...as well as those one street over. I ended up getting fast food. But think of how busy they could/should be!).

I wanted to try and love this restaurant. I support local businesses, and I've tipped 50% plus for service since restaurants re-opened to keep our local favorites and their staff in business. But I cannot remember the last time I was ignored as a dine in customer to give preference to a phone in order after I was seated (and I expect that I will be put on hold when I call in an order if they have customers). That is...

If I could give zero stars, I would. I'm really shocked at how horrible the service was. I can understand that this is Chinese New Year, but they only had two people working tables and two cooks. We called ahead and made a reservation as well. When we arrived, the restaurant wasn't even full and we still waited for almost an hour for 2 of our 3 entrees to come out. After asking multiple times about the last dish after chasing the waiter around for chopsticks, we were told different things about the missing dish. After asking multiple times, they mentioned a shrimp dish which was not what we ordered. We continued waiting and were full off of the other dishes, so we ended up cancelling the third dish. Your younger male waiter also needs training. We also asked if the "fried rice" that came out was fried or brown rice, and he responds "I don't know, I didn't make it". The only thing that came fast tonight was the check - actually we were brought the check twice by both people. My husband, daughter, and I were sitting at one table and next thing you know the first check arrived and the waiter asked if we were splitting. To the guy next to us who snickered, you're about to get the same service lol. Pretty ridiculous after watching to go order after to go order come out in entirety.

It's disappointing because we really wanted to support this local business especially other Chinese in this community. The ma po tofu was good and the kung pow as well, but the service...

Zhao was a really good experience, from the time that I walked in until the time that I walked out, until I finished the meal.

-Atmosphere was wonderful nice and cozy inside. It’s not a large establishment but it has space and they have a little cute robot that helps bring the orders to the tables.

-Staff was AMAZING everyone had a smile and talked and created you. If one personal wasn’t available the other communicated about the order. So no one was confused or not aware of who was there and what they ordered (mine was to go). The young lady was very knowledgeable and helpful with the menu and made it easy for me to make a clear selection just by asking me a few questions.

-Food was very FRESH! I ordered the Kids chicken fried rice with extra spring onion, The combination Lo Mein with chicken and beef, Beef with broccoli and the small egg drop soup! Every dish was fresh made to order, seasoning was perfect balance. The combination Lo Mein was a little dry but I don’t think I requested any sauce so make sure you ask questions about that.

Final result…. I will be back.. again today.

Thank you for the...