Sool Korean Kitchen — Restaurant in Vancouver

The food was fantastic and they were nice and all, but they missed the mark on service and I’m not sure exactly why. I know it was busy when I got there, but then it slowed down and they never really caught up. I asked for a hot tea and when they served me the glass. It was a little less than half full, which I suppose if that’s what they do it’s OK, but it was kind of underwhelming. I love toasted corn tea, it’s one of my favorite things, but that’s all I got. Never an offer to refill. I asked for water, and none was forthcoming. Then two more times the waitress came by and asked me if I wanted water and both times I said yes and both times she forgot… That makes three times. I finally had to ask a fourth, by which time I was a little bit miffed.

When I first arrived and found there was a check-in list, no one greeted me and after a long wait, I had to borrow a pen from someone to sign in. I understand they were busy, but I stood there for a long time unacknowledged. That felt a little strange. Is that a tradition? Just, fend for yourself? When I was ready to leave I had quite a bit of food left, and there were two different kinds, and when I signal, I needed to box it up one of the servers just dropped a box off on my table as he walked by. It meant that I had to stuff everything into one box which was really not very appealing. Not to mention it would’ve been nice if they had offered to help. The dishes are big and I’m getting a little old and unsteady. It just went along with the kind of yeah, you’re here on your own. So it’s true. The food is good and the place is packed, but I’m not sure that the service entices me to come back. Really, it seems like they are lovely people and I do wish them the absolute best. I think maybe they just haven’t done this before or they are inexperienced. Or maybe success has hit them too suddenly and they just need a little more help. It’s just a few small things. and...

First, let's talk about the food. Delicious. Absolutely delicious. If the review was only about the food, this would be a five star review without a doubt. With that said... The server was a young lady who obviously had no experience waiting tables. To be fair to her, she had 10 tables to attend to, which would be challenging for someone who has waited tables for a decade. However, it took almost 20 minutes for her to bring water, she forgot that we ordered sodas, she brought two sets of dining ware when there were three people, and she never once checked on us after we got our food. The food took almost 30 minutes to fully arrive, and what I mean by that is, one dish arrived within 15 minutes, the appetizer five minutes after that, the second dish another five minutes and the final dish arriving over 30 minutes after our order was taken.

The owner needs to realize that the first few weeks after opening a restaurant is crucial for customer first impressions. Management should be staffing at 150% of expected traffic. Typically you would assign between 4-6 table tops to a server depending on experience. They have 10 or 11 tables depending on party size, so at a minimum management should have staffed 3-4 servers, with adequate kitchen staff to handle the dinner rush. The kitchen was obviously understaffed. All food for a table should come out at the same time.

This is a new restaurant to the area, and I will be back, but unless the train the server(s) properly, I will probably...

We stopped in for dinner. The service although friendly was not very good, slow and meals were delivered oddly. I ordered the spicy squid which came well before the appetizers we ordered. Delivered with it were the traditional kimchi and other bits as well as rice for myself and my wife The squid was ok, but a bit rubbery and not very flavorful. Then came my brothers pork soup after about five minutes which was very spicy and yet not flavorful. Then after another five or so minutes came the seafood pancake appetizer and pot stickers.Both of those were tasty, but wish they can first as you would expect for an appetizer. Finally came my wife's mackerel after another several minutes. It smelled a bit fishy. It was dry and had bones throughout and was a bit overdone with little flavor. Overall not a great experience. Also the music playing was traditional kbop type music, but at way too high of volume making it an unenjoyable environment with people talking loud to be heard ever the music in an environment where noise is amplified due to the big open space. Not important, but there were also multiple typos on the menu. Not a place I would recommend or return to. There are much better Korean...