London’s Rudest Restaurant To Get Attitude Overhaul

The Wong Kei restaurant, a major UCL haunt off Leicester Square, is set to change hands in order to remedy their legendary staff rudeness — but not everyone’s happy about it. 

The Chinese in Soho, affectionately known as ‘Wonners’, became a beloved student eatery for its cheapness but soon garnered a reputation for the demeanor of their employees. Waiters were known to bark orders at customers, make them share tables and even dust ants off the food before serving it.

However, any student currently looking to sample a cut-price Chicken in Black Bean Sauce will now be greeted by a sign saying the multi-storey diner is ‘Opening at the beginning of March 2014. New management.’ Several newspapers have speculated that the re-vamp will only be in spirit, with the staff re-trained on polite customer service.

Many regulars however were disappointed at the news. Rachel Choy, a second-year anthropology student, lamented the loss of the surly waiters:

“Visiting the Wong Kei is like gambling, because the chance for you to get good service is one in a hundred, yet good and authentic Chinese food was always a promise. I’m not sure what it’d be like with good service, I’ll definitely miss it.”

“The rudeness of the staff has always been one of the Wong Kei’s main selling points,” agreed student Eddy Hare. “On one of my many visits there I shared a quarter duck with my pal Tommo and we found loads of ants crawling around on the pancakes. We told the waiter. He didn’t apologise, simply agreed that he ‘also wouldn’t eat that.’ We then saw him go over to the kitchen, carefully shake the pancakes over the bin, and the ants fell out, before returning the exact same pancakes to our table. It was perfect. It’s a real shame they that they won’t be as rude in the future. It made it what it was.”

Whatever the outcome, it’s unlikely that students will be able to keep away from the oriental emporium—it’s still one of the cheapest places around.