We need to talk about Taki’s

I went to Taki’s Mad Greek in Crown Hill area in person for the first time and it was hands down the most bizarre and frustrating dining experience I’ve ever had in my life. At the same time, the food is SO GOOD!!!

I’ve been getting Taki’s through DoorDash since the pandemic, so I always knew the food was good and intended to go in person one day. It was a genuinely horrible dining experience, primarily due to the insane behavior of the sole waitress. Upon looking at Yelp I found reviews dating back 10+ years of the EXACT same experiences. People assume she must be part-owner at least, but I still cannot stop thinking about it and wondering HOW this place stays afloat and what the hell is wrong with that woman.

Reviews and my own experience are pretty consistent — she’s fucking rude the second you walk in and will make you wait for several minutes to seat you for no reason. She’s super prejudice to anyone who’s not authentically Greek and will continue to make you wait, refuse you items, and snap at you for nothing. Apparently if you’re actually Greek she’ll be showering your table with free wine and side dishes. The weirdest part of her behavior is hard to describe… she mutters incessantly under her breath, things at you and also nothing to do with you, but will also insult you and complain about you in this way right in front of you. We didn’t take her up on her recommendation to get potatoes instead of rice (I’ve had the potatoes and they’re nothing to write home about, but the rice pilaf is INCREDIBLE), and she rolled her eyes, grumbling and moaning about potatoes and treating us like absolute shit the rest of the night. It didn’t matter how many “please” and “thank you”s we showered her with, she was just nuts and rude.

Looking at Yelp it is a stark contrast of 5-star Greek diners who say “you just need to win her over” (not how customer service works!! And also, again, we couldn’t have been nicer to this woman from the beginning and she couldn’t have been meaner), to 1-star reviews exactly like mine, or worse. Apparently she’s also a nightmare and a half to work with, AND is horrid and bitchy about delivery apps. BUT WHO IS GOING TO WANT TO DINE HERE OR WORK HERE WITH THE WAY THIS WOMAN ACTS????

I’m just baffled, and dying to get more insights/experiences from other people who have dined at Taki’s. I will gladly annoy this woman and shell out $20 in stupid DoorDash fees just to get it delivered, and will never risk going in person again.