ASIATIC STREETFOOD & Noodle BAR — Restaurant in Tampa

My Boyfriend and I went there last night. The Service was unacceptable. The Food are not authentic made and cooked; but more like frozen package food. I ordered gyoza, BBQ pork wonton egg noodles. I traveled often and dined in a lot of nice authentic Oriental restaurants. This, by far, is the worst experience I ever had including the services and the food. So to speak, I am also an Oriental lady.

The server, I could understand she might be overwhelmed as she is the only server at that time. My boyfriend who is a gentle Jamaican is patient. Somehow, all other people who arrived later got their food prior our order. That was okay.

However, when we were ready to check out, my boyfriend patiently attempted to get her attention for 15 minutes. He raised his hands multiple times and said "Excuse me". The server just ignored him. And a few other tables got her attention immediately. And the table right next to ours, the man at that table who is right next to my boyfriend raised his hand to get the attention of server; he is a Caucasian man got her attention right away.

I would never say it's Racism. However, I felt that we are totally treated disrespectfully, at the very least, I felt the Service was not fair.

So what I did, after 15 minutes, my boyfriend attempted to get the server attention before everyone else, while she catered to everyone else not him. I got up from my table, walked to the front and assumed that's the owner at the cashier area and asked for the bill as calm as I could be.

Beyond that, I must say the server doesn't respect. On top of that, I watched her, as one table declined a drink "Thai Tea", she brought to their table. I ordered a Thai Tea. She took their Thai Tea back to the kitchen drinks area, waited for a little bit. She brought to my table. I don't have a problem to drink what was brought to the table of the others while if no one takes a sip. But I would expect if she could be honest and stated that "the other table refused a drink that was freshly made, would you be okay for me to bring that drink when if I have took it to their table and retrieved it". That's communication, at the very least, I would have given an option.

Most restaurants would not allow that, imagine if a table refused some food or drink, and the server took it back to the kitchen and served it fresh to another customer. That's quite not hygienic, nor acceptable for some people.

But thankfully, without me addressing the drink issue, it was not charged into my meal.

I paid, and left no tip. That's the first time I never left a tip dinning in.

Will never return. I understand my boyfriend is black gentleman; however, I wouldn't think he is invisible. The Treatment shall be equal. It was just very disturbing to me when the other tables who attempted to get her attention after us, she attended to them first. Not only so, our table is the first table she must pass by before the rest of the other tables in the restaurant.

It's very disappointing and disturbing. Do not recommend the server. Yet, the food could be better.

Who serve, makes a difference in the...

We chose to dine in at Asiatic Street Food & Noodle Bar on Memorial Day. Before arriving, we understood that we'd have to be extremely patient no matter where we decided to eat given both the holiday and the potential post-lockdown rush. When we arrived, the server hastily pointed us towards a table without seating us. This normally wouldn't be a big deal- we get that things get busy and we're fully capable of seating ourselves - but this left us without menus or any further acknowledgement for about 15 minutes. When we finally did get our menus, it took the server another 15 minutes just to get our drink orders. We asked to go ahead and put our entire order in (we also understood that they might be out of certain items, which they were). He obliged, but it still took him another 15 minutes just to get our non-alcoholic drinks.

It took nearly an hour to get our two appetizers. The serving sizes were small, which made the extra wait time even more perplexing. Then he returned to the table to inform us that one of the appetizers was not what we actually ordered, which we did not know and had already started eating. He then tried to charge us for the incorrect appetizer ON TOP of the appetizer we actually ordered, even though it was his mistake. Thankfully, he understood why we found that unacceptable.

By the time the actual meal was ready to be served, only half of it arrived. My food never came and by the time he came back to the table, my husband was already mostly finished with his meal. I asked our server to remove my order and give me the check, as I was so upset with the service that I was just ready to leave.

I should note here that the food we did receive was incredibly bland. My husband, who eats pho regularly, said that the meatballs were similar to frozen Italian meatballs that you get at the store, not the meatballs that typically come with the dish. The samosas had no flavor and the pork belly appetizer was essentially shavings. All of it was underwhelming.

To our server and the rest of the staff's credit, they were not rude. They were very nice, in fact, and apologetic, explaining that they were short staffed and had a rush of UberEats orders to fulfill. While we tried to remain understanding of that fact, it was still an incredibly frustrating experience because the restaurant itself was, at most, half full. And the rush of online orders still didn't account for some of the poor in-house service that had nothing to do with the kitchen (lack of menus, long waits for non-alcoholic drinks, etc).

They did offer to give me the missing food I ordered for free after I settled the bill. I took it, only to be given the incorrect order and a meal made of food I couldn't actually eat. I won't be returning and honestly, there are more attentive and much tastier places you can try instead...

Friday, 9 September 2022 at 2:00 PM Phad Bok Choy Chicken and fresh ginger slices fried in soy-and-ginger sauce with onion, carrot, bell pepper, green onion, and mushroom. $10.95

Food: 4/5 Very Good. The ginger was very aromatic but did not have a strong flavour presence. More smell than taste. Slightly disappointed in the underwhelming experience. Everything was fresh and hot. Chicken was juicy. Vegetables were crisp.

Service: 3/5 Good. Attentive in frequently refilling water cups. However, my appetizer, a Spring Roll, was clearly forgotten and I had to ask twice for it. It was served after the main entrée.

Ambience: 2/5 Fair. Several free-standing air conditioning units are placed throughout the dining floor with bulky ducts connected to the ceilings. It was not an elegant look. It felt very DIY.

Cleanliness: 5/5 Excellent. The dining area and the waitresses appeared clean, washed, and presentable.

Value: 3/5 Good. The entrée and appetizer were filling. However, because the plates are so massive and the portions are moderate, the mismatched proportions affect the presentation and the feeling of value. The food looked a little lost on the plate implying a false sense of inadequate serving size.

Overall: 3/5 Good. A decent Asian restaurant for a casual lunch in the central Ybor area. However, this is not a place I would intentionally drive to patron. I think it thrives due to a lack of strong competition in the immediate area, and not from a strong loyal...