My fiancée and I went to the Teapot Restaurant in the Redmond/Bellevue area on December 15, 2007. This is the restaurant where we lost our engagement ring. The staff and the owner did not show any signs of sympathy and the owner shrugged off this traumatic incident by stating “this is not your home; you should not put your things anywhere you like.” We called the police and the officer came and reported the incident. But since there was no evidence of a crime having been committed, there is nothing the officer could do. Other than the restaurant’s reluctance to offer any kind of assistance to us, there are also other areas the restaurant should consider for improvement:

The restaurant’s atmosphere was nice. It’s very quiet and not a lot of customers, just the two of us and two other set of couples in the restaurant. It was so quiet that we could hear the wait staff talking amongst themselves in Chinese to each other, as clearly as if they were yelling.

The service could have been better. We came in, they acknowledged us, seated us; all this without any smile. They took our order. Another older lady delivered the food to us, but her facial expression seemed angry and annoyed. While we were eating, we noticed that the wait staff were staring at us and whispering. My fiancée and I thought this was very weird.

The food needs major improvement. All the dishes we ordered tasted either like a bowl of soy sauce or a bowl of salt. The Mongolian beef and broccoli has a fibrous texture not unlike carrots, and some tasted like rubber. The sauces tasted the same in all dishes… soy sauce! The color of the hot and sour soup was a dark black color and the taste… you guessed it: like soy sauce! The tofu and mushroom dish was a bowl of thick gelatinous gravy that tasted like a bowl of salt! Teapot is overpriced for this kind of food and service. For two people, our bill came out to be almost $50.00, which included a cup of hot and sour soup, the tofu and mushroom appetizer, the Mongolian beef entrée, and a bowl of shanghai noodles. I can drink soy sauce and eat salt at home for less than $1.00, but I don’t think I will.

Needless to say, this is the most expensive soy sauce and salt my fiancée and I ever ate. It cost us our engagement ring. We will never go back again!

One of my favorite restaurants, Teapot in Seattle is located on a second story shopping area. Try to get a table by the window to people/car watch on the streets below.