Eliza Restaurant

07/26/09

Great food, inflexible and rude service

by CustomerServicePE

Being new to the area, I was pleased to find this clean and attractive dining facility. Usually, Chinese cuisine service is highly adaptable to special diets because many dishes are made from scratch and substitutions of ingredients can easily be made, especially if it is not a buffet. Looking for this adaptation was pointless at Eliza's. When I tried to select an item that sounded good with a minor adjustment, take off the soy sauce and add tofu, it could not be done. The waiter told me that the only thing on the item I could have was this: Buddha's Delight. I asked him if they serve tofu at the restaurant and if there was some way to get some tofu to go with that particular dish so that I could have protein with the meal. He stiffened and got real curt with me and in reprimand tones told me that if I wanted tofu, I'd have to pay for it (like I wouldn't have if they added it to the dish itself). Something about his thinking was not getting the point--customer service, what the outcome could be to accomodate. No, the tofu had to be on the side, a whole order of tofu, way more than needed for one meal for one. Of course, I paid for the whole separate order of tofu, not a side. It was plain, steamed tofu with no seasoning. I had wanted it to blend in with the dish. But, so have you! I adjusted. Lots of control issues, feelings of punity, I'm not sure how they achieved the Zagat rating with such interactive skills. I'm not sure they have people working there who really enjoy their job and serving people.

I did observe the same waiter waiting on other people and he was slow to warm up, offer anything beyond what was required to make the order. But, he seemed on edge and defensive, like he might be asked to do something extra for which there would be no acknowledgement or payment.

• Pros: Excellent food, lovely environment
• Cons: Inflexibility with menu items, poor customer relations

04/10/09

total disappointment

by lindyr

ordered take-out from Eliza's and the only good thing was the brown rice. Potstickers were soggy, mushy and bland, Spicy chicken was mostly batter and skin - hardly any meat. The place is cheap, but quality is horrible.

03/15/09

Best Chinese in SF

by 4who

I have been going here for years. The food is always wonderful. The staff is very pleasant. I have never been disappointed. It's my favorite restaurant by far.

• Pros: Delicious, delicate and delightful atmosphere
• Cons: no delivery, tough street parking