V.I.P. Harbor Seafood

I went there on Saturday. It was not crowded or busy at all so that I could get a seat really quick. The manager didn't seem nice, he was definitely an angry person. He yelled at me when I tried to get the food server attention.
Also, the waiter Samson/Simon (I forgot his name, the handwriting on the "card" was so bad) was ridiculously RUDE. I first ordered a regular coke, but he mistakenly gave me a diet one. I asked him to change it for me. Instead of apologizing for his mistake, he showed a bad face and refused to change it for me. Later, he sent the busboy to serve me another coke. Also, when I tried to order something from the menu, he was IMPATIENT to explain the ingredients of the dish.
One more thing, I complained that the cup was dirty and requested a change. Guess what, he took the cup and whisper in Chinese, "HE IS TROUBLESOME" (Obviously, he didn't realize that I could understand Chinese). I believe lots of customers got the verbal abuse, but they just didn't know what he was speaking. Anyway, at that time, there were not many customers, he was not in rush, why did they treat a customer without manner.
Food is just ok, but the service is extremely BAD. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND if you want to eat comfortably and you want some respect as a customer. And I will never dine in there again. NEVER!

Pros: You don't need to wait too long to be seated

Cons: Dirty, Bad Service, Rude

Posted 11/04/09

if you guys see the kitchen ,then you would never come back here again.The food is just good..

Pros: dirty kitchen ,bad service...

Posted 09/03/09

I like this place and I truly enjoy the dim sum. Their service is decent. It's a great spot to go out for lunch and it gets pretty crowded especially on the weekends. I have had dinner there a few times and they are quite delicious. I love their Shrimp Walnut and Sizzling Mongolian Beef. Yum!!!!

Posted 02/06/09

I went to VIP for lunch over the Christmas holidays with two other people. The food was okay but the service was the worst I've ever received. The waiter acted like we were only there to bother him (not like the place was that busy, 85% of the tables were open), he overcharged us on on bill by almost ten dollars for extra soft drinks that we didn't order. When I brought it to his attention he acted mad that I scrutinized my bill. Once we got our food he never came back to the table to make sure that things were satisfactory. I definitely would not recommend this place for service, but do recommend it for decent food. Next time, I'll take my order to go.

Pros: Decent food

Cons: Worst service ever

Posted 01/07/09

We had a disgusting and disappointing experience with VIP today. Disgusting because one of the dim sum dishes we?d chosen had human hair in the sauce. Management opted not to charge us for the dish but wouldn?t take it from our table. Later, when we asked to check the bill to verify the non-charge, the waiter sarcastically thanked us for reminding him to include tea in the bill. He came back with a slightly increased bill, and we laughed it off. As we were getting up to leave, he dropped by our table and again unnervingly emphasized: ?Thank you for reminding me to charge you for tea!? We understand that VIP did not like our complaint about hair in its food and with all of its Sunday customers, had no interest in retaining new ones. This waiter?s attitude convinced us that management was indifferent to hygienic presentation and courteous delivery of the so-so food there.

Posted 11/09/08

I'm Chinese, and I've ordered both dine-in and take-out dim sum from VIP. It's quite good and the staff is helpful and friendly. They try to accomodate orders, even though weekend dim sum is a busy time. The variety could be better, but it's nevertheless a great alternative to driving an hour away, fighting traffic, etc. for eastside dim sum.

Pros: valet parking, helpful staff

Cons: not a great variety of dim sum

Posted 05/26/08

Hands down the worst dim sum I've ever had. I'm originally from Texas and the dim sum there is much better.

Posted 03/11/08

OK, so I did like the food. It was like a 3 and a half star place. Then I got raw chicken and I will never go back. They even charged me for the dish! never again!

Pros: Its pretty good

Cons: RAW CHICKEN!

Posted 07/11/07

If you're stuck on the west side and jonesing for some dim sum then this is the only place to go because I think THIS is literally the only place to go. But beware the dim sum is average at best and there isn't much variety either.

Pros: Valet parking

Cons: food

Posted 11/05/06

I think this place is popular, because that's the only Dim Sm place around. I have been there quite a few times. They have limited dim sum which are mostly overpriced. The quality of the food are not as good as expected. For instance, the chang fen ( BBQ pork wrapped in rice paper), you can bearly taste the BBQ pork, it feels like you are just eating the rice paper.

Pros: Still edible if you are craving for Dim Sum

Cons: a little bit overprice

Posted 10/25/06

Just to be clear, the food here is not "amazing", it's good to average. You can get better dim sum almost anywhere else in the city with a much wider selection, and much better pricing. They can get away with it because it's probably the only dim sum place anywhere near Santa Monica or Brentwood, and people in those areas seem to be willing to pay for it. Saying the food there is great would be stretching it. I go there for the lunch specials because they're well priced and close by, and the staff is attentive and pleasant. Dinner courses are not very impressive in taste however.

Pros: fast service, good wait staff, well priced lunches

Cons: limited dim sum, over-priced dim sum

Posted 04/17/06

If you have been searching for dim sum but don't want to drive for hours, visit this restaurant. The food is amazing. I also cannot believe hoe inexpensive it was. Great variety as well! There is a wait on weekends but it is worth it...

Posted 04/08/06

Before I say anything negative about VIP Harbor Seafood, I would like to say it's wonderful to have a real dim sum restaurant on the westside. They have the signature push carts carrying most of the items avialable in Monterey Park or Chinatown. The shu mai was delectable, not too fatty. The crab ball was also good, but smaller than you'd find elsewhere. The shrimp noodle was passable. The chicken feet, well, they're chicken feet, enough said. On our first visit I bit in to a spinach dumpling that was frozen in the middle, a rarity I'm sure. I saw only two ambulatory push carts during a weekday lunch hour. If you want good, affordable dim sum fast, try ABC in Chinatown. We live closer to VIP, but hopping on the 10 to Chinatown is no problem. However, Monterey Park still has the best places, hands down.

Pros: westside friendly, some good items

Cons: slow service if busy, pricey

Posted 04/08/06

This is the only dim sum I've found (though haven't looked actively) on the westside. Great, started by owners/managers of the famous NBC seafood in Monterey Park, I hear. It is overpriced, which I don't blame them for - clearly they won't get the same volume as in Monterey Park and the demographic here is willing to pay more. It's worth the added cost of a westsider like me not to have to have to go far for authentic dim sum. Shrimp dumplings and hau gau are great.

Posted 03/25/06

Everthing is over priced. BEFORE you order anything (dim sum) take a look at the pricing list on the table. The dim sum is EXPENSIVE!!! If you have been to Empress Pavilion then you will know what I mean. The sui mai were TINY! I know everyone has to agree with me on this...the bottom line is that this place serves good food...BUT it is too expensive and the portions are tooo small. I went with my girlfriend and spent $40 and wasnt even full. I usually go to Empress Pavilion, spend $25 and am stuffed!

Pros: dim sum in West LA

Cons: price, small portions

Posted 03/01/03

Having moved here from Toronto, where there's a MUCH larger Chinese population, I was happy to finally find a good dim sum restaurant. Authentic, fresh, tasty food, attentive service & decent prices.

Pros: validated valet pkg

Posted 11/16/02

If you want AUTHENTIC dim sum and Chinese food, this isn't the place to go. THe food is quite filling. This place is more of like a little bistro (e.g. PF CHANGS, etc) The food is ok, nothing too great if you've had dim sum before. I've had better, but if you haven't had dim sum before and are int he neighborhood, give this a try! The food isn't horrible, but it's not the best. It's just 'ok' more of in between. The service is great though, people are friendly, and the prices are VERY reasonable..cheap!!! There is also free valet parking if you get your ticket stub valedated

Pros: Cheap, Free Valet Parking

Posted 09/24/02