Haiku — Restaurant in Melbourne

Went there yesterday - against my will because I was aware they implement a weekend surcharge of 10% and a public hol surcharge of 15%(!), but I relented because my family wanted to go there. (Note that surcharges are on their menu as per regulation)

The place was packed - clearly the surcharges are not having a negative effect and fair play to them. Ultimately the market decides if it is an acceptable thing, but personally I do not agree with it and don't frequent places that do this. Disclaimer: I am not saying the industry should not be charging what they think is fair, nor am I saying people should not be paid what they deserve. I am only saying that I prefer seeing the exact price on the menu rather than surcharging the entire menu on certain days. Raise your prices to accommodate for weekends and pub hols, or even have a different menu for the weekend - I think that's more honest and I prefer that than being hit at the till. That's just my opinion.

Now that disclaimer is out of the way...

Service: Below average. After a wait to be seated, we had to flag down a server to put in our order after 10 minutes of no-one coming to take our order. After that, had to wait more than 30 minutes for food. At some point in the meal we asked if we could be moved to a recently vacated table and they never got back to us and that table was left vacant and uncleaned for at least 15 minutes. The servers were nice and pleasant when you interacted with them though.

Setting: Good. Was on a longer communal table which was absolutely fine. I was in the sun which I didn't like, but I knew that when I sat down and it's no fault of the restaurant. Some people may find it a little cramped/cosy. Place was clean and staff managed to keep it that way so well done on that front.

Food: Let's be honest I'm not a food critic but there was very little that lived up to the hype. The food was good, don't get me wrong. I had the Japanese Curry. My wife and son had the Popcorn Chicken and the Teishoku. Again, won't complain about the food but at the same time it wasn't great - I've had better Japanese food at this price.

This place is obviously very popular and there's no reason to change a working formula. My views on surcharges are not specific to this restaurant obviously but my rating takes that into account and also the fact that the food is simply not as great as what it is hyped up to be. From what I experienced, in my opinion they were under prepared for the holiday weekend; probably shouldn't have had as many tables as they fit into that place for the number of staff that they had on; and yet there's a surcharge.

I don't want to sound too harsh, my afternoon was not ruined, they didn't do anything wrong - it was just not my cup of tea but it's clearly hitting all the right spots to get a lot of great reviews and I hope it...

I recently visited Haiku with high expectations for a delightful culinary experience. Unfortunately, my evening took an unexpected turn, leaving me dissatisfied with the overall service.

Upon perusing the menu, I decided to opt for a variety of small dishes to sample the diverse flavors offered by the restaurant. I ordered eight different items, envisioning a leisurely dining experience where each dish would be brought to the table one at a time, allowing me to savor and appreciate each flavor individually.

Regrettably, my expectations were shattered when the waiter, without prior warning, brought all eight dishes to the table simultaneously. This unexpected delivery disrupted the anticipated rhythm of the meal, and I found myself overwhelmed with a table crowded by multiple plates.

In an attempt to rectify the situation, I politely requested that some of the dishes be taken back to the kitchen and brought out gradually. The waiter flatly refused to accommodate my request, asserting that the kitchen had a policy of serving all dishes together.

This refusal to address a reasonable customer request significantly impacted my dining experience and left me feeling frustrated and dissatisfied. The lack of flexibility in adapting to customer preferences detracted from what could have been an enjoyable evening.

While the quality of the food at Haiku may be commendable, the inflexible approach to service delivery has left a lasting negative impression. I hope the management takes this feedback constructively, recognizing the importance of accommodating customer preferences to ensure a more pleasant dining experience for all patrons.

In conclusion, my visit to Haiku was marred by a disappointing service experience, overshadowing the potential enjoyment of the diverse small dishes on offer. I hope that future patrons receive more considerate treatment and that the restaurant takes steps to improve its customer...

Maybe we just had a wrong choice of food. Heard about this place for a while but the food and service actually disappoint me.

I ordered tuna corn 'jaffle' and specially asked for no onion (even through the description on the menu did not mention onion, experience taught me I have triple check :). I also prepared another dish option if the tuna turn out to have onion. But the waitress just checked with me "onion is not my allergy" and assured that to tell the chef 'no onion'. When the food comes, the tuna obviously has lots of onions in it. I have to swap food with my partner. And I had to have beef benedict instead. We both agreed that hollandaise sauce and gravy sauce is not a good combination for the beef benedict. And the sauce is too much, the whole dish is quite salty, the rice become too soggy and salty. When eating, I wish there should have been less sauce, then the dish will be more tolerant. I always love innovative and unique combination in cooking but I think this beef benedict is not for me.

At least the matcha latte has strong favour and not diluted. However, my partner order specialty coffee but he didn't taste the complexity and layer of flavours, different 'notes' like described in the menu.

I always appreciate other place where the staff asked me alternative options if my choose one might have onion. And the staff will come at the end of the meal to ask if everything ok. I know this practice is normally at high-end place but recently I found other casual place like Haiku adapt this approach as well.

I know my experience with the food and the encounter with one waitress don't represent whole Haiku restaurant. I just hope the place can improve the services. Just spare a few second to note down my alternative 'safe' choice if my first one has onion in it when taking order in the...