Kitchen18 — Restaurant in Scottsdale

My family and I had the most overtly racist experience yesterday at this restaurant we have ever experienced.

We walked in and was asked if we had a reservation. There was no greeting no smile from the hostess just the question. She walks to the checkout counter and the man says to seat them. There were two families in the whole place. She seats us at the table directly in front of the door next to her table where we could hear her greet every customer and not ask one of them for a reservation, and seat all of them comfortably in booths outside of the traffic of the restaurant and the draft from the outside air.

We were brought 4 glasses of water for a table of 5, and Snapple bottles. I watched her bring juice with ice filled glasses to other customers. 1/2 of our food was brought out at least 10 minutes before the rest. There were no refills on glasses, condiments placed on table, we were not asked if we needed anything, and most menu items were not available such as all the Chinese food.

We paid $123 dollars for a family of 2 adults and 3 small children. The service was not only comparable to a fast food restaurant the experience was just heartbreaking. My family guards the Torah with our life, and would love to be welcomed at kosher establishments in the area but this unfortunately has been the case and the mistreatment from these places. My honest opinion whatever you’re planning to spend here go to the grocery and cook your family your own clean meal that can be served with love, respect and integrity. Where you uphold the commands of יהוה.

“And you shall love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your might. ‭‭Deḇarim (Deuteronomy)‬ ‭6‬:‭5‬‬

There is 1 Torah!!

One Torah and one right-ruling is for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you.’ ” ‭‭Bemiḏbar (Numbers)‬ ‭15‬:‭16‬‬

For him who does whatever by mistake there is one Torah, both for him who is native among the children of Yisra’ĕl and for the stranger who sojourns in their midst. ‭‭Bemiḏbar (Numbers)‬ ‭15‬:‭29

Response to the Owner: There is no need for a refund. We chose to eat there and will pay for the food we have eaten. Upon looking at your reviews I can see that this same thing happened 4 days prior to our visit to another party of 5. That review has 3 thumbs up meaning, 3 separate people have read and agreed with this treatment from your establishment. ‬‬There are two witnesses, and the matter has been established. This issue must be addressed, and workers held accountable for their actions towards...

Scary. I've never left a restaurant a one star review, or cared that much if the service is bad, but here the service was worse than "bad." It was mean and kind of shady.

My friend and I were in the middle of our lunch, when the server came up and told us we'd have to pay in cash because their card machine stopped working. We quickly inspected our wallets-- only $10 between us. I work two minutes away, and so I asked if I could pay later, or perhaps write a check. No. One of us needed to go to an ATM, they said. Not both of us, they explained, but just one. They told us we could walk across the big parking lot (...in AZ summer) and find one in the supermarket, or drive to a bank.

I would understand if this was a big tab, but it was two plates and a soda.

They said they could take pictures of my ID and the credit card instead. This, as I'm sure you can understand, was even less appealing than breaking up our work lunch for one of us to drive to a nearby Chase bank. I asked if I could talk to the manager and find a solution (maybe leave a business card?) They asked me if I knew the manager, and I replied "No," so they said the manager wouldn't speak to us directly.

?

Finally, they agreed to take my business card and that I would come back after work to pay. This was a long bargaining session, oddly enough They were suspicious of my business card too, testing me on the name when I gave it to them.

Suddenly, as we got ready to go, their machine started working and they could take card. We thanked them for letting us know. The server seemed angry, and said "At least you don't have to walk all the way across a parking lot" and dismissively chucked our bill on the table.

I asked for my business card back and they told me they'd keep it. Why?

Holy cow. I don't even remember what the food tasted like (I think it was okay?) because it was such a weird experience. Just be warned and at least take some cash with...

I went out with my family to Kitchen 18. As it is a very busy season for the restaurant, in order to cut down on wait time, they offered a choice of an all you can eat buffet or the regular menu. We opted for the buffet, for which they charged only around $2-$5 more than a single lower end main dish on the menu with children's meals costing approximately half of the cost for an adult's meal (drinks and dessert were additional). The buffet offered a great selection of popular main dishes (such as pulled beef on pretzel buns, sesame chicken, poppers, shnitzel, lo mein, burgers on pretzel buns, etc.), side dishes (garlic string bean, roasted peppers, rice, crispy French fries, curly spiced fries, etc.) and salads (Israeli, green with numerous dressings, chummus), and there was plenty of everything. The food was all very delicious, and would rival the offerings in any similar good restaurant located in major Jewish markets. They even accommodated my child's gluten free diet requirements and made her special food - at no extra charge, as part of the buffet!!! The staff was very attentive, and the wonderful owner (with whom I had no previous acquaintance) was most generous and gracious and it was an honor and a pleasure to meet such a special person. The cost of our family's buffet dinner would be considered a bargain even in a market with lots of competition - but was astoundingly reasonable when considering that the restaurant is located in Arizona, where the cost of kosher food is considerably higher than back on the East Coast, where I live. I would love to go back again. I highly recommend the restaurant any time, and especially if you are in the area now, take advantage and visit while they are running their buffet special. You will, I believe, enjoy it a lot (as we all did) and will be happy that you went (as...