| rev:text
| - The staff needs an attitude check and their seating policy could use an element of discretion rather than black and white enforcement.
While I had been to Oddseoul before and enjoyed it well enough, my last experience will prevent me from EVER going back. In fact, it was maddening enough that I opened this yelp account for the Seoul purpose of spiting them.
Upon walking into an EMPTY restaurant 5 minutes before our friend, the staff was not only COLD and UNFRIENDLY, they would not let my girlfriend and I sit down, as it is their policy to have the entirety of a group present before allowing you to sit.
To begin with, the fact that there were at this point 7 people at the bar and none at tables due to their policy made grabbing a seat a significantly more logical choice as their bar is SMALL, CRAMPED, and at the front of the restaurant, resulting in it being extremely DRAFTY.
I am of the opinion that, due to their underlying insecurities, the restaurant prefers to keep people at the bar so it looks like they're busy, even when they're not. It is reminiscent of that awkward kid you went to grade school with who did everything in his power to run with the cool kids, despite the fact no one actually liked him. The only difference: you felt bad for that kid, Odd Seoul you shouldn't.
So, given the absurdity of their policy, we opted to sit down at a table and wait for our friend to arrive. Let me be explicit here, we know that we were acting in opposition of their policy, however, the context of the situation led us to believe this would be the easiest resolution as, once our friend got there (5 minutes later), we could simply pull up a third seat and all would be well. Keep in mind the fact that every table at the restaurant was completely and utterly EMPTY... in no way were we detracting from the use of any such table from any other patron.
As we sat down, the waiter said "are you actually just two?" to which we responded "for now, yes."
He proceeded to tell us that "There's no point in trying to trick us" and, upon me questioning the policy, given the situation, he replied "well we've been in business for THREE years***, so WE KNOW BETTER THAN YOU" in the rudest, smarmiest and most despicable tone you can imagine. He made no effort to be reasonable, nor did he have any time (which is ironic, given the fact there were no customers ordering anything yet) for my contention.
The utter disregard for the relationship with the customer was shocking.
He assured us that he would kick us out after an hour and a half, as that is their maximum allowable seat time.
We assured him that he wasn't going to get a cent from us, so we stood up, walked out and went to another restaurant, where our table spent just under $200.
If you're reading this review, you're like me. You care about not only food, but also experience, atmosphere, and being treated with respect. If Odd Seoul was too good for our $200 last night, I'm sure they're also too good for you.
Go somewhere else that might appreciate your business.
If you have any questions about this dining experience or would like clarification on anything I said above, please do not hesitate to message me as I am happy to respond completely and honestly.
*** Upon some research online, it appears as though Oddseoul opened in early-2013, which is less than TWO years ago, and surely not anywhere close to three. Further illustration of this guy's pomposity.
UPDATE (December 3, 2017): please see Curb Your Enthusiasm, Season 9 finale for an instance where this exact issue is encountered by Larry David. He really drives my point home nicely.
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