Sim Sim Restaurant — Restaurant in North Miami Beach

Title: Extremely Disappointed with The Guest: Unprofessional and Unacceptable Mother's Day Experience

Review:

I am writing this review to express my outrage and extreme disappointment with The Guest restaurant in Miami. My husband made reservations for Mother's Day, and to our surprise, it cost us a whopping $105 just to secure the reservation. Little did we know that this would be the start of a disastrous evening.

On May 14th, 2023, we arrived at the restaurant promptly for our 6:30 pm reservation. However, upon arrival, the server appeared confused and didn't even bother asking for our name. Instead, she informed us that the restaurant was hosting a trivia night and gave us the option to sit outside until it was over or endure the noise inside. This immediately left us feeling perplexed and frustrated.

I asked if we could cancel our reservation altogether, but the server assured us that the trivia night would be concluding soon and we could be seated inside. Reluctantly, we followed her to a table pushed up against the back wall, barely visible in the dim lighting. To make matters worse, the noise level was deafening, and my baby started crying due to the overwhelming ambiance. At this point, my disappointment knew no bounds.

To add insult to injury, a woman, who didn't bother introducing herself, approached our table and questioned the time of our reservation. By then, it was already 6:40 pm. She audaciously asked if we could "sit outside for just another 20 minutes" so they could wrap up their trivia night. This was beyond comprehension.

My first question is, why would The Guest accept a reservation for 6:30 pm when they were well aware of hosting a trivia night at the exact same time? It is simply unacceptable and a gross lack of consideration for their patrons.

This woman didn’t apologize for the inconvenience caused on such a special occasion as Mother's Day. The overall atmosphere of the restaurant was unwelcoming, leaving us feeling like an afterthought.

To make matters worse, when I requested a refund for the $105 we paid for the initial reservation, I was informed that Sunday is not considered a business day, and I would have to wait until the following week to receive a refund. The lack of professionalism and customer service exhibited in handling this matter was appalling.

In the end, we chose to leave this joke of a restaurant and headed to Smith and Webster down the street. Thankfully, they graciously accommodated us without a reservation, and we had a lovely evening there.

My experience at The Guest was nothing short of a disaster, and I can confidently say that I will never return to such an establishment. The way they handled this entire situation was utterly unacceptable. I am still waiting for my refund, and the complete lack of urgency in resolving the matter only compounds my dissatisfaction.

I strongly advise anyone considering dining at The Guest to think twice. They clearly prioritize events over their customers, and their unprofessionalism ruins what should have been a memorable dining experience. Save yourself the disappointment and frustration; there are far better options...

I've eaten at the "the quest" a couple years back and it was very good. All though the place looks the same there's a new owner and I was eager to see if it was as good as it was before? I was very disappointed. Everything I asked for the waiter wasn't sure they had any left but I navigated through the caveats and all my food was brought to me at the same time! The salad the main dish and one side all at one time. I tried the Cesar salad and within two or three bites I realized it was the worst Cesar that I have ever tasted. Then the main which was Beef Kabob, Lamb Kabob & Sweet Bread Kabob only the sweet bread wasn't sweet bread but chicken. The mistakes didn't stop there I ordered a sangria and they gave me clear which tasted like water. I again asked for the red sangria this time they brought out a red looking sangria drink that again tasted like nothing but water. The best thing there were the garlic French fries which tells you how disappointed I was. When the bill came they show up with those mini all-in-one printer credit card machine I couldn't see anything and then he pointed out to the tip screen which I gave 15%. The reciept was all wet so I couldn't read but when 192$ popped up on my phone I became very upset. I would have left and not said anything but David the owner came by and asked "how everything was?" and I responded with "do your really want to know?" and then I told him "it was the worse food I ever ate out in recent memory!" The place was horrible and I feel stupid for paying 200$ for food that tasted so insipidly. When I did get another receipt that was legible I saw that they charged me 22% gratuity under the guise of a "service charge" and then pretended that I needed to tip again when the waiter pointed to the tip screen! what a...

Booked this restaurant based on the menu pictures and the good Google rating. I should have read the reviews first because the rude way the owner replies on bad reviews should have been a big red flag. I honestly do not understand the high score. We ordered burger with fries, grilled octopus and for the children the pasta with meatballs. The burger was ok, the fries were disgusting. Unbelievable they actually were served. Visually it was already very clear they were not the quality a restaurant should have. They were extremely long, brown but soggy and not at all crunchy. The burger was not medium as requested but that can happen. The octopus was overall cooked well. The accompanying pumpkin purée was not good. Did not taste pumpkin in it, was very acid and watery. Gave a very unpleasant taste on the pallet. No way this was prepared fresh. The pasta for the kids was good with a good sauce but the meatballs were dry. Overall not a good sign if there is something seriously wrong in every dish. That is why we did not accept the offer of the staff to compensate the crappy fries with dessert. I have read some one star reviews based on the fact the staff tried to inflate the bill. I have a similar idea based on this dinner experience. When we asked some water the waiter wanted to bring us bottled instead of tap. We really had to specify the part tap. And when I went to pay the service was put on 20% automatically. Only after some discussion the staff let me choose the percentage I wanted to give. No place for qualitative and honest food. I really fail to understand their good rating. A mystery how they managed to achieve this score based on their food...