Matt
I work in the mall where this is located. I have walked by everyday watching it get built. Two days ago I went there for the 1st time, on my lunch break. I was greeted by several hostesses and welcomed in immediately. I asked for a to go menu, was provided one, and I asked where I would order. They instructed me that to go orders are at the bar. I sat at the bar and the only bartender there smugly looked me up-and-down and went back to his conversation with the only patron at the bar. A few minutes later he looked back at me again and said he would be right with me and left. 5 minutes go by and a very nice female bartender arrives and asked me how she can help. I tell her I'd like to order for to go and I asked about a specific beverage. She provides me an alternate suggestion, the lime-aid, which I am happy to say was delicious. From the menu, I ordered the Terryaki Quinoa Bowl, which is described as having broccoli, hierloom carrot, bok choy, mushroom, brown rice, avocado, and toasted sesame. There are 5 protein options, and I chose the salmon. 10 minutes later my food is ready and I receive the bill. It was $29.96. I was very surprised, as the Salmon bowl was $9, so I refer back to the to go menu. The "Bowls" section of the menu happens to be the only section where the prices are in different places for each item. The $9 for salmon was an add on cost to the $14 charge for a bowl. As confusing as it may be, let's call this my fault. Now as I'm about to leave I check my bag, there is no cutlery. So I go back to the bar and inform her, she immediately provides me cutlery and explains that it should have been in the bag. I arrived back at my place of work to find a small portion of food in the bag. Within a small plastic chinese food like Tupperware container, I was provided two small pieces of broccoli, two small pieces of bok choy, plenty of very crispy & under cooked snow peas?, and an underwhelming amount of rice. The salmon was in a separate container with a third of an avocado next to it. The salmon had a brick hard sear on both sides, and once inside it was moist, but contained large quantities of albumin, the milky white stuff. There is no separate price for to go, so I expected, A. a decent portion, and B. The dish to be delicious. Unfortunately, neither was the case. This was over priced & underwhelming Chinese food. I didn't have the luxury to return the food, as I was back at work, and we were busy.
I am giving this 2 stars for 2 reasons. The first is the way I was nicely treated by the 2nd bartender and hostess staff. They together saved my experience at the location. The 2nd reason is that the restaurant had been open for 6 days before I came in. One can, and should, argue that they should have a very strong focus on making the very best first impression to all patrons, especially during their opening week, and that shouldn't be excused. However, as a manager for over 10 years, I have seen first hand how difficult it is finding people willing to execute the training and direction you give them. And although I have walked by everyday watching their rigorous interviews and training, I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
All that said, I have no intentions of returning.