Ever since opening, Soi Soi has been my favourite go-to restaurant in Helsinki. Their foods are amazing, there's no denying, and it's a great place for convincing people of the deliciousness of vegan food. Prices have gone up massively in three years but that's reasonable. However, I am genuinely confused about the level of customer service. During my countless visits to the restaurant, I have witnessed shouting and fights between the workers, loud complaining, and generally a very stressful atmosphere.
Last Friday it seemed like we ruined the day of the waitress immediately when we walked in. She didn't greet us and her facial expression literally looked like someone just died (I'm very sorry if this is the case but then, please, have a day off). The card machine did not work and we didn't want to ask her to try again - I paid with cash and she didn't have any change. Obviously, this is not her fault, but it seemed that she just hoped for us to leave. After the order, my partner went back to buy a drink but the waitress blatantly ignored him. All water jugs in the restaurant were standing empty on the counter and I had to ask for the waitress to fill one up which she seemed to get frustrated about. The orders were left on the counter and we had to go check every time which one was ours.
The food was delicious, as always, but the atmosphere was completely awful and the waitress seemed like she could burst into tears any minute. It seems I got the last set of cutlery as the next customers got told that they had to eat with their fingers. Some customer, a friend of the waitress it seems, was eating "behind" the kitchen, occasionally lurking in there. We thanked the waitress while leaving, but she did not respond at all. My partner was near to notify her that she might have the wrong job.
I have also read a lot of other people's bad experiences on Soi Soi's customer service. I think it's a shame, with food this great, that a perfectly good restaurant is ruined with horrible staff. It would be interesting to know what their hiring process is based on. read more