The service reminded me of something I'd experience at my neighborhood Chengdu xiaochi, where no one seems to care. The servers -- at least the Friday night I went -- could not have looked unhappier.
As a former waiter, I'm sympathetic -- I can't imagine the toils of working in the service industry in China -- and I'm willing to chalk up my experience to bad luck, i.e. a bad day at the office for some fine, hard-working folk. But the reality is, Mosto is supposed to be among the finest restaurants in Beijing -- it simply can't make that claim when it allows its wait staff to have an off-day on a Friday night. Poor service is excusable for mid-priced diners, but not for establishments that charge 250+ for entrees. It seems unacceptable to me that, when I ask for non-60-kuai water, a waitress would half-roll her eyes. Or that the "full" glass of wine we ordered would look an awfully lot like a half-glass. Or that NO ONE seemed to be "smiley," as a previous reviewer put it.
Like I said, I'm willing to believe I just got unlucky. Still, for a restaurant that aims to be among the city's best -- with prices that reflect that ambition -- I was disappointed.
HOWEVER, with that bit of unpleasantness out of the way, I'll admit the food was first-rate. I'll even go so far as to say that the mango-flavored tuna ceviche was the finest appetizer I've ever eaten. You'll certainly find unique tastes at Mosto, which is, I suppose, what people pay to get. What shortcomings Mosto suffers is correctable, and here's to hoping they get corrected.
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