Mount & Bao - Seattle

I stopped in for a quick lunch and found really authentic, delicious flavors in the dumplings and noodles. The food was excellent, earning a perfect 5/5 rating. Service was good at a 4/5, and the atmosphere was decent at 3/5. The price per person was between $10–20, and there was no wait time.

My experience at this restaurant was incredibly disappointing. From start to finish, the food was awful and the service was shockingly bad. We should have known better, seeing the empty yet dirty tables on the patio. Inside, we faced a 10-minute wait to be seated despite few customers. Ordering was another 10-minute ordeal due to a glitching QR system that eventually locked us out. To worsen things, the menus had crossed-out items. Upon being seated, we were oddly given soup bowls and chopsticks but no water, plates, or napkins, leading to an hour of repeatedly trying to get these basics. We tried to flag down servers for our six dim sum dishes with no luck; other tables were also frustrated, with one sending back undercooked pork dumplings and another struggling to pay. Scallion pancakes arrived after 20 minutes, limp, greasy, and unpleasant, served without plates. We ate them leaning over the dish. More food arrived 10-15 minutes later: decent but overpriced pork shu mai (3 pieces for $7), bland and frozen-tasting xiao long bao ($13 for 10), and small, chewy, reheated steamed BBQ pork buns (grocery-store quality). The pork and shrimp dumplings were even worse, with hard, dry wrappers and poorly cooked filling. When we finally asked for plates, napkins, and water, we were initially given sauce bowls instead of plates. Eventually, we got plates but still no napkins or water. After another 20 minutes, we received a carafe of water and tea cups, unlike other tables' normal glasses. Our beef chow fun, ordered over an hour ago, finally arrived after another 20-minute wait, tasting terrible with cheap noodles, minimal beef, excessive onions, and a gloppy, overly salty sauce, worse than Panda Express. Paying was another ordeal, with the QR option unavailable and other tables also unable to close out. We ended up paying $70 for a meal that offered bad food and worse service, prompting us to leave no tip for the first time ever. At $35 per person, this experience is unacceptable, and we won't be back.

My experience at this restaurant was quite disappointing. We weren't provided with plates, napkins, or water, even after requesting them. The food quality was also a major issue; the dumplings were undercooked, and the scallion pancakes were both soggy and greasy. Our noodle dish was initially forgotten, and when it finally arrived, it was excessively salty. To add to the inconvenience, the table next to us lacked sauces and chili oil, forcing us to share ours. We also observed other diners waiting 10-15 minutes just to pay. Given these issues, I won't be returning.

My experience at this restaurant was largely average. While the portions were large and offered good value compared to other Seattle prices, the food itself didn't impress. I felt the dumplings were comparable to frozen store-bought options. Specifically, the xiaolongbao soup dumplings had very little soup, and the steamed pork & cabbage dumpling wrappers were a bit dry. I did, however, quite enjoy the scallion pancakes. The complimentary pickled radish was a nice touch, though its unusual sour and spicy flavor was not what I expected. The food safety rating was also just 'Okay, ' and I agreed, noting a soy sauce bottle that should have been refrigerated was left out. The meat in the dumplings didn't seem high quality, but I had no issues afterward. On the positive side, the service was good and quick, and the online QR code ordering system was convenient. Despite the value, I probably wouldn't return unless I had a strong craving for dumplings in the Greenlake area and no other options.

This place is a gem! We tried the xiao long bao and Sichuan boiled fish, both were delicious and left full. Definitely worth another trip.