Secret Kitchen-Chinatown

food is wayyy over price! the taste is not even right. rude and bad customer service, grumpy and without a single smile taking an order. the review by this restaurant are eitheir paid actors or family member review! came once and never come again! Show details

Unfair to customers – Dinner on 07 Dec 2023, at Secret Kitchen, Melbourne CBD. This could be the worst Chinese Restaurant that I have visited so far. First, the restaurant would charge a No-Show fee of $20/pax when a booking is made. In fact we were fine with that as we were told upfront before confirmation of booking. Second, there's a minimum charge of $40/pax as… Read more

per the menu cards in the restaurant which we were not informed when the reservation was made.

Third, a male staff indicated that we ought to read the online menu before deciding to dine at the restaurant as the minimum charge is stated in the online menu. The waiter was annoyed when unable to answer our questions satisfactorily and he subsequently told us to get someone else to serve us and he just walked away. We were left unattended for a while and eventually we had to approach another waiter who then referred us to the restaurant manager.

Fourth, the restaurant manager was very unprofessional and needs to improve her hospitality skills. She spoke loudly where her voice could possibly be heard by at least 50% of the people in the restaurant at that time. We explained again to her that during the booking process, we were informed about the No-Show charge but nothing was mentioned on the minimum spending per pax. When asked about the inconsistency, the manager blamed it on the outsourced reservation system, which I think she was referring to OpenTable. Obviously she lied as we did the booking by calling the restaurant directly and spoke with one of the staff over the phone. The manager had also refused to answer our question of whether we would still be charged for the No-Show fee of $20/pax if we decided to leave the restaurant without dining. Instead, she insisted for us to order 4 dishes regardless of the price. Though she managed to provide a solution where there's a compromise from both parties, she sarcastically suggested for us to order cheaper items so to meet the 4-dish requirement. Her attitude had made us felt uncomfortable in that situation and we believe the same for other customers who heard our conversations.

Fifth, before we left the restaurant after paying, the manager explained to us outside the restaurant on why the restaurant implemented such policy and charges. She then apologized for what had happened earlier. However, what's done can't be undone. No one likes to be slapped in the face in the public and later apologized in private.

Last but not least, as consumers, we should have the right to information but apparently some important details were withheld by the restaurant during the booking process.

Overall it was not a pleasant experience with the restaurant.