Good Fortune Co. — Restaurant in Memphis

Food was good despite being overpriced for ramen. We had a party of 6 people. The only part I had an issue with was the 20% service fee that they do not disclose up front before they seat you. They have a small sign at the front that is not visible if people are standing there waiting which I noticed as I was leaving. I was taken by surprise as I was looking over my bill to find out that an additional 20% was added as a service fee. I am glad I caught it because if not I would have tipped an additional 20% on top of a 20% service fee. I asked the waitress how the 20% service fee was allocated. She informed me the that the waitstaff received 15%, the cooks receive 4%, and the hosts receive 1%. I don’t mind tipping; however, I like to be one to decide if my waiter or waitress deserved what I am tipping. I will not support any more restaurants that automatically apply a service fee. It is deceptive to even call it a service fee. It’s more like a forced tip whether or not the food was good or the waitstaff was satisfactory. They need to eliminate this automatic fee and allow the customer to decide if the experience was worth it.

Edit: After reading additional reviews they claim that the service charge is also listed on the menu, but it must have been very fine print because nobody in our party identified the 20% service charge on the menu. From looking at my receipt it appears that tax was calculated after the service charge was applied so I also had to pay a higher amount of tax because of the service charge. Hospitality establishments should not tax tips before being distributed to the waitstaff, cooks, and hosts because the government considers this as income for the restaurant employees. So the customer pays additional taxes based on a service charge which is really a tip then the employees are taxed again when the income is distributed among them. I question the legality of this type of business practice. At the bottom of the receipt it clearly states that the allocation of the service charge is as follows: 15% waitstaff, 4% cooks, and 1% hosts. Stop making customers pay additional tax because you choose to apply a service charge before tax. I may consider contacting an attorney to see if this...

To be honest, as an Asian man who has traveled to many Asian countries and has tried a variety of outstanding Asian dishes, I came here with high expectations. My experience overall was just okay.

The food was alright, nothing stood out. Wished a few things were different about the dishes:

Coco Curry: The dish was okay. I appreciate the fact that the curry was natural and that they did not use curry mix. I also appreciate that the noodles were handmade. I did, however, wished the curry flavor was stronger. This would had made the broth and the dish overall way better.

Pork Dumplings: I actually thought the dumplings were good. I would probably reorder that dish again, if I were to find myself again at the restaurant.

Matcha Taitaki with Cherry Sauce: I think the cherry sauce and the matcha was a bad match and did not complement each other. Also thought that the matcha flavor was weak… would’ve been a lot better with a stronger matcha taste.

Before I conclude this review, let me note that I do think that my server did a good job and was very attentive.

Furthermore, let me do note that they do charge an automatic 20% service charge and expect an “additional tip” afterwards. I honestly do disagree with this. Other people may have a different take on this. I did make an additional tip to show appreciation to my server. But an automatic 20% service charge is absurd and unethical in opinion.

To conclude, like I said in the beginning, my overall experience was just okay. You can get better value spending your money elsewhere. If you have high expectations and crave for traditional Asian food, look elsewhere. No disrespect to the Food Network and Chief Guy Fieri, but I CANNOT recommend this restaurant...

Wow, this was the best restaurant I've been to in a long time! We came here before seeing a show at the Orpheum because the reviews were incredible, and everyone was right (if you're doing the same as us, we arrived about 5:15p and were able to eat and walk over to the theater right as they were opening the doors at 6:30p for the 7:30p play).

Our server was incredibly friendly and helpful and walked us through the menu and items she'd recommend since we'd never been. She knew we had to leave by a certain time and made sure we left on time without feeling rushed.

The dumplings were fantastic. My pork bowl was the perfect mix of spicy and flavorful, while my partner's mushroom bowl was just as flavorful but with a much more mild spice level. The egg nog ice cream was amazing, and I'm not even an egg nog fan.

This was one of those meals where every bite of every course was top notch... the server told us that everything was made from scratch and that they could adjust any order to fit allergies or dietary restrictions, and the fresh ingredients really stood out.

The alcoholic drink selection was high quality if not large, and my partner said her martini was really good (I don't remember the name, but it had lychee in it). There were also plenty of hot and cold teas. I don't drink alcohol and I'm not a big fan of tea, so I stuck with water.

Add me to the list of people leaving an awesome review. I was so impressed with Good Fortune Co. and I will absolutely return when I can! The perfect...