# Are Restaurants Where The Staff Is Deliberately Rude To You, But In A "Fun" Way, A Thing Outside US? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 20, 2018, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-is-deliberately-rude-to-you-but-in-a-fun-way-a-thing-outside-us/824856 "2018-11-20T17:21:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2018, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-is-deliberately-rude-to-you-but-in-a-fun-way-a-thing-outside-us/824856/21 "2018-11-21T00:49:40Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I don’t think it would work in Canada. true, y’all haven’t been rude ever since the geese decided to stay down here all year. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2018, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-is-deliberately-rude-to-you-but-in-a-fun-way-a-thing-outside-us/824856/22 "2018-11-21T04:48:39Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > UK- Teasing regulars at a casual place, sure, but not being rude as a general thing. I remember reading about a Chinese restaurant in London that was famous for its rude staff. Googling around, it looks like it was called Wong Kei, but it reopened under new management. > **[Goodbye to the rudest restaurant in London - Wong Kei is finally ditching the...](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2014/feb/24/rudest-restaurant-london-wong-kei)** > > Zoe Williams: The London restaurant has long been known for its grouchy staff, but I never found it amusing. Rudeness ruins more than just lunch > **[Wong Kei](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wong_Kei)** > > Wong Kei (Chinese: 旺記; pinyin: wàng jì; Jyutping: wong6 gei4) is a Chinese restaurant in London's Chinatown, once described as "the rudest restaurant in London". It is one of the largest Chinese restaurants in the UK with seating for around 500 diners. > Wong Kei was once known for the rudeness of its staff, who would shout "Sit down with them!" or "Go upstairs!" to arriving patrons, insult customers who asked for a knife and fork, and chase those who failed to leave a sufficient tip. This aspec... ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2018, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-is-deliberately-rude-to-you-but-in-a-fun-way-a-thing-outside-us/824856/23 "2018-11-21T05:11:51Z")
Exceptional service should not be noticeable at all, meaning not in a way that interferes with your fine dining experience. I would be very surprised to see “rude service” in a description of an acclaimed world-class restaurant. I haven’t run into it personally- on the contrary I have witnessed staff courteously and professionally deal with even somewhat demanding customers. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2018, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-is-deliberately-rude-to-you-but-in-a-fun-way-a-thing-outside-us/824856/24 "2018-11-21T12:06:48Z")
> [@Royal\_Nonesutch](#): > > Not particularly unusual in many places in Europe, depending on the type of establishment. Sometimes Americans in particular seem offput by the custom, but it can lead to a fun night of random conversation with strangers from other cultures on occasion. I don’t know if this is an American attitude, but I don’t want to meet people or talk to anyone when i go out to eat. I barely want to talk with the people I know. It sounds like the opposite of fun. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2018, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-is-deliberately-rude-to-you-but-in-a-fun-way-a-thing-outside-us/824856/25 "2018-11-21T12:20:45Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > UK- Teasing regulars at a casual place, sure, but not being rude as a general thing. > > For one thing here, tips are optional and often pooled, and even at pretty nice places you often won’t get one person as ‘your waiter/waitress’, you’ll get whoever’s not busy, and that might be a different person for the initial order to dessert, and a third gets the bill. More efficient (in theory), less chatty than what I’ve heard as the US norm, so there’s less opportunity or incentive to get a rapport going. > > Certainly when I’ve been waitressing and have had holidaymaking US customers, they seem to expect a lot more personal attention than the locals. > > If you get someone surly here, that’s not policy, they’re just sick of the job… Actually there’s was well known chinese restaurant in London called Wong Kei which was notorious for its rude waiters. Its new owners have apparently ditched the rude staff, which seems a shame! ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2018, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-is-deliberately-rude-to-you-but-in-a-fun-way-a-thing-outside-us/824856/26 "2018-11-21T12:35:59Z")
I’ve always heard the stereotype that French waiters are naturally rude, to the point people from cultures that are naturally polite literally are incapable of handling it. ---
**Author:** ![Royal\_Nonesutch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecb155/32.png) [@Royal\_Nonesutch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Royal_Nonesutch)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2018, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-is-deliberately-rude-to-you-but-in-a-fun-way-a-thing-outside-us/824856/27 "2018-11-21T12:36:23Z")
> [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](#): > > I don’t know if this is an American attitude, but I don’t want to meet people or talk to anyone when i go out to eat. I barely want to talk with the people I know. It sounds like the opposite of fun. I guess I wasn’t too clear, but I meant that the reason I think that I have noticed Americans in particular sometimes seem uneasy at being seated at a table with strangers is because it is an almost totally unknown practice in the U.S. at least from my experience. I am no way trying to denigrate Americans who travel abroad as standoffish or aloof, as that is not the way that I feel at all, in fact the vast majority of the time it is just the opposite. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2018, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-is-deliberately-rude-to-you-but-in-a-fun-way-a-thing-outside-us/824856/28 "2018-11-21T12:48:06Z")
In Spain I know of a place where the owner picks people’s meals for them, but it’s famous for the superb food, the bossy owner and the fact that so far nobody has been unhappy with the guy’s choice. > [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](#): > > I don’t know if this is an American attitude, but I don’t want to meet people or talk to anyone when i go out to eat. I barely want to talk with the people I know. It sounds like the opposite of fun. You don’t have to. I’ve shared tables with people with whom there was conversation (sometimes despite language barriers), others where it was like the cafeteria at school where just being elbow to elbow with someone didn’t mean you had to admit to their existence. And very often when there was conversation it was started by a little child: those are perfectly likely to do that from another table, if they feel like it. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2018, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-is-deliberately-rude-to-you-but-in-a-fun-way-a-thing-outside-us/824856/29 "2018-11-22T10:06:29Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I remember reading about a Chinese restaurant in London that was famous for its rude staff. > > Googling around, it looks like it was called Wong Kei, but it reopened under new management. > [Goodbye to the rudest restaurant in London - Wong Kei is finally ditching the bad attitude | Restaurants | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2014/feb/24/rudest-restaurant-london-wong-kei) > [Wong Kei - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wong_Kei) Do you know it from QI? [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9PSg0sQyfs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9PSg0sQyfs) @ 1.10 j ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2018, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-is-deliberately-rude-to-you-but-in-a-fun-way-a-thing-outside-us/824856/30 "2018-11-22T10:08:08Z")
PS: is it just me or… Wong Kei is a homophone of Wonky? Joke name too? j ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2018, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-is-deliberately-rude-to-you-but-in-a-fun-way-a-thing-outside-us/824856/31 "2018-11-22T10:27:49Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Are places like that a thing outside of the US? I can honestly say I’ve never been to a place like that in South Africa. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2018, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-is-deliberately-rude-to-you-but-in-a-fun-way-a-thing-outside-us/824856/32 "2018-11-22T13:27:19Z")
> [@Royal\_Nonesutch](#): > > I guess I wasn’t too clear, but I meant that the reason I think that I have noticed Americans in particular sometimes seem uneasy at being seated at a table with strangers is because it is an almost totally unknown practice in the U.S. at least from my experience. > > I am no way trying to denigrate Americans who travel abroad as standoffish or aloof, as that is not the way that I feel at all, in fact the vast majority of the time it is just the opposite. It’s out of the ordinary for most “traditional” restaurants, but not unusual for teppanyaki places. Unless you’re there with a large-ish party, chances are you’ll be seated with people you don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2018, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-is-deliberately-rude-to-you-but-in-a-fun-way-a-thing-outside-us/824856/33 "2018-11-22T14:16:46Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I don’t think it would work in Canada. They tried it with Crabby Joe’s, and people liked it as a novelty, but the gimmick wears thin. Eventually people just want to order their food. You don’t go to a restaurant to have fun with the waiter. > [@Asuka](#): > > I’ve always heard the stereotype that French waiters are naturally rude, to the point people from cultures that are naturally polite literally are incapable of handling it. The French reputation for rudeness is historically deserved but it’s not what it once was; they’re as polite as anyone else now. Interestingly, I have heard it theorized that this may be because, among other things, of there being a lot of immigration from North and West Africa, from cultures where politeness to guests is expected behaviour. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2018, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-is-deliberately-rude-to-you-but-in-a-fun-way-a-thing-outside-us/824856/34 "2018-11-22T14:32:25Z")
I doubt that I’d go to a place like that. When I go out to eat, I want my servers to be attentive and invisible, if that makes sense. I’m not at the restaurant to make new friends with the workers. I want a nice meal with my dining companion(s) and I don’t want to have to flag down someone for drink refills or whatever. Ages ago, when I was hugely pregnant, my husband and I went to JoAnn’s Chili Bordello in Jacksonville. The waitresses all wore old-timey undergarments in keeping with the theme. I had no problem with that, but when one looked at my belly, then looked at my husband and said “Oh, you naughty boy!!” I thought that was a tad out of line. Maybe I was hormonal, but I wasn’t amused. I’m not a snob - I just want to be pampered a bit without feeling like I need to socialize with a stranger who wants a big tip. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2018, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-is-deliberately-rude-to-you-but-in-a-fun-way-a-thing-outside-us/824856/35 "2018-11-22T22:35:09Z")
> [@Periwinkle](#): > > One of the most fun evenings I’ve ever spent was at Welser Kuche, when it was in Augsburg, Bavaria (it has since moved to Munich). This is a medieval themed restaurant, and you are “chastised” if you don’t adhere to the customs of those times. They have a number of punishments they impose, and it is all in fun. We went with a good friend’s family who live in the area, and it was so much fun. I should go in my 14th century German dress =) [medieval and renn recreationist, I have clothing from ancient celt, Roman, Byzantine, Hun, German non-wench, Elizabethan English, classic Hollywood film type bar wench …] I even have my own knife, fork, spoon, napkin and salt cellar … Working on Saami next, need some reindeer hides - have the boots already, mrAru bought me a pair last time he was in Tromso Norway =) ---
**Author:** ![Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petrobey_Mavromihalis)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2018, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-is-deliberately-rude-to-you-but-in-a-fun-way-a-thing-outside-us/824856/36 "2018-11-22T23:57:14Z")
I can vouch for the Wong Kei in Soho. Used to go there as a teenager in the late 1980s. Exactly as Phil Jupitus described it on QI. Good food, communal tables, free tea and hugely rude waiters. ---
**Author:** ![Periwinkle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Periwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Periwinkle)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2018, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-is-deliberately-rude-to-you-but-in-a-fun-way-a-thing-outside-us/824856/37 "2018-11-23T01:58:09Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > I should go in my 14th century German dress =) [medieval and renn recreationist, I have clothing from ancient celt, Roman, Byzantine, Hun, German non-wench, Elizabethan English, classic Hollywood film type bar wench …] I even have my own knife, fork, spoon, napkin and salt cellar … > > Working on Saami next, need some reindeer hides - have the boots already, mrAru bought me a pair last time he was in Tromso Norway =) They would definitely love you there! I hope you are able to go one day, it’s a hoot. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2018, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-is-deliberately-rude-to-you-but-in-a-fun-way-a-thing-outside-us/824856/38 "2018-11-23T02:10:58Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > I’ve always heard the stereotype that French waiters are naturally rude, to the point people from cultures that are naturally polite literally are incapable of handling it. Yeah, I said “Paris” to myself and sniggered. I have been there though in the eighties and as we were broke we ate at Vietnamese restaurants where the staff were fairly nice. I believe what RickJay says about things having changed. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2018, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-is-deliberately-rude-to-you-but-in-a-fun-way-a-thing-outside-us/824856/39 "2018-11-23T02:16:02Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I don’t think it would work in Canada. Yeah, no, I’d have no interest in that. The communal tables in Europe, though, are a lot of fun. Mrs P and I had a great meal once at Caen where it was a big table and we could all talk. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2018, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-is-deliberately-rude-to-you-but-in-a-fun-way-a-thing-outside-us/824856/40 "2018-11-23T04:54:43Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Ages ago, when I was hugely pregnant, my husband and I went to JoAnn’s Chili Bordello in Jacksonville. The waitresses all wore old-timey undergarments in keeping with the theme. I had no problem with that, but when one looked at my belly, then looked at my husband and said “Oh, you naughty boy!!” I thought that was a tad out of line. Maybe I was hormonal, but I wasn’t amused. Back in the early ‘90s, when Ed Debevic’s was a big thing here in Chicago, several of my colleagues and I would go to lunch there from time to time (it was very close to our office). One day, I was there at lunch with three female colleagues, and we had the typical sassy Ed’s waitress. Most of their wait staff wore lots of buttons (flair 😉 ) on their uniforms, and she had a button that read “Eat More Π” (the Greek letter "pi’). As she was taking our order, I noticed the button, and commented, “Eat More Pi, that’s cute!” She gave me a playful smack on the shoulder, and replied, “Dirty old thing!” I blushed furiously, given that I was with three women. Yup, that was Ed’s. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-is-deliberately-rude-to-you-but-in-a-fun-way-a-thing-outside-us/824856.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-is-deliberately-rude-to-you-but-in-a-fun-way-a-thing-outside-us/824856.md?page=3)