Mum Mum Restaurant — Restaurant in Virginia

High expectations, horrible experience. We called ahead to ask if they had dine in service. They told us they did; the kitchen was open until 7:45 PM and the restaurant would close at 8 PM. Plenty of time, we headed over. We should have known when we walked in the door how things were going to go. It was a ghost town. For several minutes we did not see a single individual, no customers, no employees. They have turned their bar into the food delivery pick up area and there was one bag sitting there waiting for the food delivery driver. Eventually a girl came out from the back and we asked if they were actually open for dine-in. She said yes. The atmosphere inside was nothing like it used to be. There was one table that had not been cleared, the interior lights were not on, even though the restaurant was in shadow, all clues of what was to come. We asked if we could be seated on the patio since it was a nice evening and the patio was Not in direct sun. The hostess/server grabbed one wrinkled printed “disposable” menu that had obviously previously used and headed towards the patio door. I asked if we could have more than one menu or if we were required to share. She actually had some smart thing to say about having to ration the menus so that they had enough for everyone, even though we were the only customers there. Clue number two that this was not going to go well. We were seated and requested water, then asked what beers were available. She started by telling us that they were “out of“ all draft beer and listed the cans and bottles available. I asked what wine they had by the glass and she said she’d bring me the wine menu. We ordered one can of Sapporo and she left. She was gone an extraordinarily long time, and when she came back with two waters and the can of beer she informed us she had dropped our original drinks and had to go back and get more. She did not bring a glass for the can of beer, so we asked for one. She went inside and never returned. Finally I got up and attempted to enter the restaurant from the patio to ask for a glass and the wine menu. I tried the right hand door of the double doors and it was apparently locked, so I tried the left-hand door and it felt like it started to move but then stopped. I pulled on both doors and realized we were locked out. The hostess/server came to the door and literally yelled at me to not pull on the doors. I told her we were looking for the glass, which she still didn’t have. I have never been locked out of a restaurant when seated on the patio before. Her yelling at me and claiming they were “so busy” she hadn’t been able to bring us a glass was the last straw and we left. The beer was unopened and untouched because we never got a glass. Her excuse was they were “so busy” was irrational, given that entire time we were there, only one pick up order went out and we were the only customers in the restaurant. Sadly they have lost a customer for life. This used to be a...

The service was below average. There was only one person taking orders at the tables and just one other person helping to serve, which clearly wasn’t enough for the number of customers. We came as a large office group and had specifically requested in advance how we wanted to split the bill. We even reminded two different staff members when we arrived but they still got it wrong.

Service was really slow overall. Even though we had a reservation, the tables weren’t set when we got there, so we had to wait even longer.

The food was okay - nothing amazing, but decent and the portion sizes were pretty standard. What really bothered me was that they automatically added an 18% gratuity before tax, and then also left space for an additional tip. We did end up tipping more, but honestly, if I had noticed that earlier, I probably wouldn’t have, since the service didn’t come close to justifying it.

One more thing that really needs attention: the women’s restroom door was so tight it actually felt like I was locked in. I didn’t have my phone with me and couldn’t contact anyone. I knocked loudly from inside, but with the music playing and the restroom being off to the side, no one heard me. I had to struggle to get the door open myself and it was a scary experience. I really hope the owner gets that fixed, because it’s not just inconvenient - it’s potentially dangerous.

Latest – In response to the owner’s reply:

Sir, we made a reservation specifically to avoid waiting (doesn’t matter if it’s a couple minutes!!). We also informed your staff of our billing preferences immediately after placing our order to give ample time for preparation.

Since you've referred to checking CCTV footage and timestamps, I’d request you to also review the part where one of our team members had to follow up at the register about the desserts after waiting nearly 8 minutes post-order.

Considering the scale of your restaurant, handling large groups shouldn’t be new. As working professionals on a lunch break, our expectation was simply timely service so we could wrap up efficiently. By the time we finished our meal and were ready to pay, the restaurant had mostly cleared out — so the rush wasn't an excuse.

Also, I’m unsure why there’s a need to defend the restroom door issue, when it clearly requires fixing.

It’s disappointing to see that instead of viewing the review as constructive feedback, you chose to scrutinize camera footage and respond with specifics in an attempt to prove that the customer is at fault — rather than acknowledging areas for...

5 stars for food. 0 stars for service. We are season ticket holders at Hylton PAC and eat at Mum Mum regularly. The food is always wonderful but as of late the service has been on a constant decline. Last Saturday was the WORST service I have ever had at any restaurant. It is clearly a lack of management both in properly staffing and training. We were seated quickly because we got there at 5:30. By 6 the place was full of patrons with what appeared to be 2 servers. Our dinners came out when we were 1/2 way through our appetizer. They loaded the table up and never came back to clear a dish! We waited almost 40 minutes after we finished dinner for her to take our dessert order Which we had to cancel because it took so long and the performance was starting in 15 minutes ( we were there for 2 hours and they could t get us dessert!). The waitress was at our table twice and never cleared a dish, even when asked. She said she would send somebody else. There were six of us at our table and we started counting how many times the waitresses served a dish to us and others and then walked back to the kitchen empty handed. When food at a restaurant isn’t good, it has no bearing on service and the wait staff always receives a handsome tip. When service is this poor we are hard pressed to leave any tip. Sadly, poor management results in the wait staff having less tips at the end of the night. Come on; it was Saturday night, Hylton was sold out. Put a few more people on your payroll. Keep this up and you’ll be shutting your doors for good. And they don’t serve decaf coffee or...