Mekong - 6004 West Broad Street Henrico, VA 23230

Well, this will be one short review. Last Thursday night we decided to cast aside leftovers and grab a bite (or a slurp, since we were in the mood for Pho Soup) at Mekong. My husband and I had dinner there one of the first nights we moved to Richmond, but were far too tired to focus much on the meal. We were excited to go back and actually be able to concentrate on the food and have a relaxing dinner. We gave up one weekend night due to the crowd, but this was Thursday night... how bad could it be?

We pulled into the parking lot a little after 8:00, only to find the same packed lot. We did find a parking space and walked in to give it a try. After looking around for a minute, the host sat us at a table in their front room. A few minutes later he came to give us place settings... and that was the last time we saw anyone at our table for a good 15 minutes. There was one clearly frazzled waiter who rushed in and out of the room, careful not to make eye contact with anyone but the particular table he was serving. As time ticked by, we tried to get his attention with a polite "excuse me." He paused and continued on his way out of the room. It was unclear if he heard us (and ignored us), so we waited a little longer. A woman bussing one of the tables next to us saw us looking around and got us glasses of water. By now we had been sitting at the table for at least 20 minutes. We told her how long we had been waiting and she went to talk with the waiter. We saw him rudely ignore her as well and that was our cue to leave. The waiter certainly was unfazed as he did see us get up and walk out.

It sure seemed like an overwhelming, and most likely understaffed, night. However, I know from restaurant and customer service experience of my own that there are better ways to treat your patrons and coworkers. I'm sure we will try Mekong again (as I know it is a Richmond favorite), but it probably won't be for a while.