Joe's Shanghai Reviews Summary

Food Quality

Pros:

• "Every single table has xiaolongbao, it’s that good!"
• "The soup dumplings were my favorite dish, I highly recommend getting an order of those for the table."
• "The soup dumplings are really flavorful and are a bit different from any I have tried before."
• "The crab and pork steamed buns were BEYOND AMAZING."
• "Delicious crab soup dumplings, the soup is very flavourful and fragrant!"
• "The pork and crab soup dumplings were really good and packed with soup."
• "The food was extraordinarily fantastic. Period."

Cons:

• "The soup dumplings were not special or spectacular. It was lacking a lot of flavors and the dough was really thick and dry at the top."
• "The crab flavor after the pork was overbearing."
• "The dumplings weren't all they were hyped up to be."
• "The soup dumplings here are worse than the frozen ones from the grocery stores."
• "The filling was tiny and dry, and the dough was so mushy and moist in the centre."
• "The crispy duck was kind of dry but had good flavor."
• "The soup dumpling was alright. There was a lot of batter and the soup didn’t have much flavor."

Service

Pros:

• "Quick service, generous portions, and unbelievable food."
• "Service us relatively fast and friendly."
• "The service was amazing! We never had an empty glass and our server was super helpful, and answered all our questions happily."
• "Service was prompt and efficient."
• "Service was pretty good. Everyone checked in on us regularly."
• "Service was quick but attentive."
• "Our serving staff were also very attentive."

Cons:

• "The service was really slow and my friend and I had to ask for our server on a couple of occasions."
• "The service isn't great. The servers are not engaged with you."
• "Food delicious. Service acceptable. Restaurant adds 18% gratuity tax. There is no incentive for outstanding service."
• "The wait time around 50 minutes to 1 hour on Wednesday."
• "It was loud and cramped in there."
• "Service is typical chinese...fast and efficient and not all that pleasantry stuff."
• "The service was incredible and they were very fast!!"

Payment and Pricing

Pros:

• "Pro: affordable."
• "The price is also probably one of the cheapest since they give 8 pieces instead of 6."
• "What a pleasant surprise, the prices are extremely reasonable!"
• "Price was affordable."
• "Food is tasty and hefty portion; making it a good value."
• "They serve insanely large quantities which actually justify the prices."
• "What a pleasant surprise, the prices are extremely reasonable!"

Cons:

• "Also it is CASH ONLY."
• "This restaurant is cash only."
• "It is a cash only spot and they have an atm in the lobby you can use to take out cash."
• "Also, they take CASH only so make sure you bring cash or use the ATM machine by their entrance."
• "Make sure you bring cash as they don't accept credit cards."
• "It's important to know that it's cash only, but they have an ATM there if you don't come prepared."
• "Food expensive."

Ambiance and Accessibility

Pros:

• "Joe’s gotten Gentrified! I dig the revamp of the interior and it’s getting the young crowd attention."
• "The place looks to be recently renovated since it looked much better than the older pics of the place. The decor is very modern."
• "The ambiance is relaxing, the attention is active, so it sure is worth a stop."
• "The atmosphere is posh casual."
• "The ambiance is clean and straightforward. It lacks distinctive coziness or style but focuses on what's important: the dining experience."
• "The environment is nice and washroom is clean."
• "Large venue and cute nice atmosphere (very clean/nice)."

Cons:

• "The bathroom is in the basement and does not look like it would be wheel chair accesible from what I saw. Lots of stairs!"
• "We didn’t see any access for strollers or wheelchairs for restrooms."
• "It was loud and cramped in there."
• "Community seating at big round tables."
• "But it's a loud, crowded restaurant with hustle bustle."
• "The atmosphere as very loud and busy."
• "Bathroom was ok clean, requires going down the stairs so not the most accessible."