O Taipei Cafe Chinese Restaurant

Service and cleanliness were both atrocious. They charged us for food they did NOT even give us. They also kept saying we "weren't allowed" leave since they "started" the food, but after 2 hrs of being in the restaurant, they still had not finished delivering food that they said they had supposedly "started." We arrived at 6pm and had no one check up on us until we tried to leave at 6:30 so they begrudgingly took our order then to prevent us from leaving. They said they were prioritizing pick up orders over the current customers in the restaurant. By 7:30, we had received only one of our dishes, the omelet. Around the not full restaurant, the majority of the tables had also been waiting for any service for at least 45 min. An old couple had to get their own plates/bowls/cups and tea to bring to their table themselves because not once in 1 hr since they've sat down did anyone come by. People had to go to the counter to order because no one ever came by. There were a lot of big empty seated tables with no dishes 45+ min after ordering. The restaurant wasn't completely full either: <10 tables and only 2 parties had food they ordered by the time we left. We gave up at 8pm and they were only just finishing 2 more dishes so we told them to pack it to go because we were done with the terrible service. When they charged us, they included all the dishes they did not even give us, which we didn't notice until we left because we were so frustrated. They repeatedly kept saying our food was almost ready so we "weren't allowed" to leave. They even lied and said that a dish in their hands was ours so we "couldn't" leave, but it wasn't even our dish. The food we did receive was decent except the meatballs, which everyone agreed tasted questionable so we threw it out. As of their "cleanliness", I didn't ever see a health rating prominently displayed when I checked on my way out. When we arrived, we could smell the dirty bathrooms from the entrance. The table they seated us at was sticky and still had crumbs and a stem of some vegetable from the last meal on the table. The lamp by the table looked like it had never been dusted in years, see pic. Their utensils all had sticky handles and the teapot clearly had rust and hard water buildup still on it. Even with staffing issues on a busy night, this is unacceptable to lie to customers saying their food is "being prepared" and making them wait hours with no service. They never disclosed what issues they were having, but neither did they seem interested in trying to accommodate guests. I love authentic dingy Chinese places and didn't expect much of the service, but was still frustrated with my experience.

What ever happened to common courtesy? I pass by this place on a regular basis on my way to and from work. I love Chinese food, so this place was on my list of places to try in the area. Today I stopped in to give it a try, but I need to use the restroom first. When I asked the hostess to use the restroom, she said "customers only" and walked away before I could respond. So I walked out. Had she been courtious enough to allow me to use the restroom, she might have had a loyal customer. I was in work clothes, so I know that I didn't look like I was homeless. Next time try to have a little discernment and allow yourself to get to know people who might be future patrons. A little kindness can go a long way.