Soi 4 Bangkok Eatery — Restaurant in Oakland

I would have really liked to have enjoyed a nice dinner here on the rainy night my boyfriend and I chose to try out this highly rated restaurant last week. However the treatment we received from the owner & the hostess prevented us from ever even sitting down. I'm not sure if it was racism, classism, or a desire to impress another client over us, but I've never been made to feel the way I did there before.

We had barely opened the door and walked in when the owner looked up at us from the hostess table and said, "It'll be 30 minutes". We said we'd go next door for a drink and be back. 25 minutes later we returned and a younger hostess pointed to a table of 4 that they were clearing for us and said, "Your table is almost ready." We sat in the only 2 chairs available 5 feet from the hostess table and patiently waited.

Here is the disturbing part. The hostess had walked away and the owner was now standing at the hostess table. We watched 2 older white men come down from a private party upstairs and ask if there was a table for 2 available for dinner. Right in front of us, the owner led the 2 gentlemen to the table the hostess said was being prepared for us. When we asked the hostess what happened to our table, she began fumbling and saying excuses like, "oh... we're now getting your table ready upstairs" and "well, those gentlemen are slightly bigger so we seated them there".

It just didn't make sense, considering they were no bigger than my boyfriend & she had specifically said that table was being cleared for us.

I asked to speak to the owner. The owner walked up to me and claimed it was a miscommunication between her and the hostess in regards to that table. This did not make sense because she was the one that told us from the beginning it would be a 30 minute wait, and we were still sitting in front of her 25 minutes later when she gave the table away to the 2 gentlemen that walked downstairs & casually asked if there were any tables available for dinner. When I gently confronted her, she had no explanation addressing what I was really asking.

I'm Persian, my boyfriend is half-Phillipino & Scottish. We were dressed casual-comfortable & were polite & relaxed the entire time we were there. At the end, I simply addressed the issue, and watched the owner & the hostess run circles around the obvious & disrespectful decision that was made in front of us. We said we were no longer comfortable eating dinner there...

Is there a zero star option?

I had high hopes for this place.

I just had the worst restaurant experience of my life, based only on cruel service clearly intended to tell me they didn't see me, much less intend to feed me.

I came at about 6:30 on a Teusday as a singletop, asked to be seated at the bar.

I ordered a beer. A few minutes later they were changing a keg.

There stood the pint glass that showed the blown keg, about 40% full with a huge head nearly to the rim. That to me is stale beer.

Several minutes later, the new keg was up and running.

The original pour still sat on the bar back with the huge head unchanged.

To my astonishment, the barkeep spent several more minutes trying to top the original pint with fresh, taking several, maybe five or six attempts, before presenting me a glass which was still about 25% foam.

I politely asked for a fresh pour, as the old glass looked like stale beer.

She obliged.

I then overheard her saying to the maitre de, "That guy ...."

For half an hour, none of the staff so much as made eye contact, let alone asked about an order.

At that point I walked to the maitre de, said that after being ignored for half an hour I'd pay for the beer and leave. No tip.

She said she was sorry.

I wish I could believe her.

Not knowing their minds, it's still pretty clear the staff collectively meant to send a message that there are people they like and others. That hurt.

All over maybe a dollar's worth of their cost which, if they were intent on product quality served, should not have happened to begin with.

I hope they read this, know and fully understand what they did, apparently out of pettiness, to ruin someone's day, and then make a choice not to be hurtful jerks.

There's no way they can claim otherwise. One other party came in after me and were served attentively, and everyone ahead of me...

Five stars are not enough! If you’re looking for a place where food excellence and outstanding service come together, this is it! My girlfriend and I decided to visit after we admired the beautiful setting a month ago. Fast forward to today, and we finally got to experience the food.

The teamwork at this restaurant is a well-orchestrated effort. We were greeted and seated promptly, and our drinks were ready in no time. I had the Numi Tea, while my date ordered the Thai Tea. Although the tea was wonderful, it was just a prelude to the amazing meal that followed.

I ordered Miang Kum with tofu substituted for shrimp, but I can’t imagine it could have been any more flavorful. We sat there, amazed, trying to savor every bite. We’re already looking forward to coming back for the Chicken Satay, Choo Chee Salmon, Gai Gra Prow, and...