Golden Dim Sum — Restaurant in Houston

It pains me to write this review, but our once beloved Golden Dimsum has clearly lost the standards it once upheld. After this recent visit, we won’t be returning.

From the moment we were seated and all throughout our meal, we were ignored despite calling for assistance at least five times. Items from our order were missing until the very end. When I tried to review the menu and receipt to confirm what we had received, a waitress abruptly came up behind me and snatched it out of my hands without saying a word. Two different waitresses came to our table during the meal to rearrange the steamer baskets—presumably to check on our orders—but they did so abruptly, reaching over our faces and plates while we were eating. It felt invasive and careless. Additionally, my water, along with one friend’s, remained barely a quarter full the entire time, with no refills offered.

I paid the bill for our party of four, unaware that an automatic 18% gratuity had already been included. Not realizing this at the time—and given the poor service—I chose not to leave an additional tip on the receipt. As we were preparing to leave, the staff cornered us at our table to question us about the lack of tips. Shockingly, they then FOLLOWED us out to our cars, continuing to pressure and guilt us. One staff member claimed they deserved the tips for giving my friend a fork and refilling their water—completely ignoring the broader issues we experienced. They even singled me out in front of my friends, saying, “This is the kind of person you’re friends with,” in an effort to shame me.

Having worked in the restaurant industry myself, I know that not every shift is perfect. But if your team can’t meet the basic standard of service, tips should not be expected. And if a customer chooses not to tip, following them into the parking lot to insult them is absolutely unacceptable.

Tips are not guaranteed—they are earned. The behavior of the staff during this visit was unprofessional, inappropriate, and...

Thought I finally found a good dimsum place to frequent after Fung’s kitchen closed down. The food is ok, I only come because the shumai here is the best out of the other places I’ve tried while their other options are just average. However, due to the service we received today I will not come back and would tell my family and friends to stay away. When we came in we were the only ones in the restaurant. No other customers whatsoever but the waitress was in a rush for some reason. She made mistakes with our very simple order, almost didn’t bring the rest of the food we ordered out until we reminded her. Didn’t pay attention to us the entire time until the last dish was brought out and she already rushed us to pay at the front. We packed our own togo and went to pay, and this lady was basically throwing out every subtle hints for us to tip her. I DO tip. I used to be a server so when I go out to eat at any establishment I try to tip 20%-25. But this waitress despite making mistakes with our order, rushed us when no one else was in the restaurant, did not make us feel welcome whatsoever, made us pack our own togo, and CHARGED MY CARD FOR THE WRONG ORDER, was breathing down our necks for tips. Also, even though she said tips were not included, based on the reviews here how they are sneaky with that and the fact that we did not get an itemized receipt (just wanted to leave at that point), after coming home and adding up everything, I do believe we double tipped because the math ain’t mathing. These people are out here scamming their customers. That’s not right. I am extremely angry as I never experienced anything like this. What kind of business out here scamming their customers who come to support them??? Please everyone, do not give this business your hard earned money when they are actively trying to SCAM you. This...

STAY AWAY!

I don't like to leave bad reviews for businesses because I know it's hard these days and everyone is trying to make a living. But sorry, I couldn't let this one go. I just hope that I could save a few people from having the same terrible experience we had.

We usually go to Crown Seafood for dim sum. This weekend we wanted to give Golden Dim Sum another chance since it has been a while. Last time we went was a horrifying experience. They were super rude. It was very crowded while we waited in line. One of the servers wanted to get through so she shoved my kid and yelled "Get out of my way!". Forget the food, we immediately walked out. This time around, there was no wait. I am guessing everyone got the same treatment and knows there are many options elsewhere.

It was half empty, but the servers were still rude and frustrated. Pretty bad even for Chinatown standards. It's something we would tolerate if the food was decent, but it wasn't. A couple of the dishes were fine, but most were just bad. Two of them did not come even after we were done eating. The whole joint is just poorly managed. Worst of all, they automatically added an 18% tip at the end even though we had less than 5 people. We asked the server about it. She came up with some crazy excuse and yelled, "Just PAY!" What a joke. For that kind of experience they should be happy if they get a 10% tip.

Needless to say, we are never going back there. We will be going back to Crown Seafood in the future for better and cheaper dim sum, better service...