RYOMA Japanese BBQ — Restaurant in Sydney

Okay let's start with the first service coming in, we saw the menu and was introduced as buffet style. The prices stated Adults $49.00 and children $29.00. For buffet prices it looked okay so we decided to give it a try, as they stated sashimi included, we were intrigued. They'd welcomed us to the table, fair enough... and when we started to order our food, they'd informed us that no ordering will be taken after 90minutes. Fair go, we don't think we will be taking that long so it all seemed okay. We gave the waitress our order and eagerly awaited as the restaurant was crowded but there were still some tables not filled on a friday night. In our minds we thought this many people couldn't be wrong?

While waiting for the food we checked online and snapchated. The food took incrediblely long to come out and each time the portion was to small. Considering that we also had to cook the food before we could eat it, it was incredible slow. Half of our order didn't even come out as the staff lost our order and was looking through the list to find it when we'd asked. We were seated just right opposite the kitchen and we could clearly see the kitchen staff talking to the wait staff freely about personal conversations, so they weren't too concerned that their clients didn't get their order.

After a few dishes we were okay but not satisfied by the quality of the food nor the staffs service when we patiently waited for our food to come out (mind you most of the food is raw you don't need to cook it anyway)

Just before leaving, we wanted to try the dessert which was an option between green tea or sesame ice cream. My husband wasn't happy by this time and opted to pass. My daughter and myself though we might give it a try as we weren't that full, so we'd ordered one scoop of each, so we could try their ice cream. It was informed that they have ran out of green tea, okay we'd thought and was quiet readly to have two scoop of the sesame instead. I mean things happen and they could have not been ready, as clearly you can see with the way that the business was running.

I'd asked to use the restroom and it was informed that they don't have one, the nearest would be in the centre where you would need to borrow from the cafe store the key to access.

When I came back I had found the staff had finally followed through and brought out the remaining of our order but by this time it was close to the us finalizing so we returned the order in which they'd passed it on to another table. This was just an order of udon, rice, and four slice of sashimi salmon. We are always mindful and didn't wanted to over order nor waste any food especually when we go out to eat buffets. I'd notice the ice cream still haven't came out and I wasn't ready to wait another 15 to 20minutes to get my order of just scooping ice cream out of a tub.

At the register I'd found them to charge my daughter that was in year 6 this year, just 12yrs old at adult price. They'd informed that she was too tall and that they considered range by height not age. There was no sign to inform this nor any confirmation from the staff as we sat down or taking the order. She was wearing her high boots and normally she is just 1.33m. I didn't wanted to argue as I was already condoning how could they run a business like this and that we won't be returning. The staff then proceeded to ask how would I be paying, I'd informed "credit please". So he'd then informed that would be a surcharge of $2.00 extra on my mastercard. I laughed and said go ahead.

Final call... if your looking for a place that is ripping you off and purposely losing your orders to drag out your dinner time to a 90minutes session, with food that isn't that fresh nor serving size that is considered reasonable. So if you wanted an item, you'd needed to order at least 10 servings in order to fill you up. It was a waste of money and time, i would rather take my whole family to the city and have hurricane ribs with views of the harbour, and be charged with a reasonable price and a proper meal...

I am a semi-regular diner at this establishment, but no longer.

I have often overlooked the poor service and exorbitant wait times for ordered dishes (as well as the rather steep prices) because it has never quite been enough to detract from the food quality that I had come to love. Namely, the marbled wagyu. Though it wasn't thrilling, I was aware of and accepting of the dining tactics of the establishment; that they should promptly deliver side-dishes, rice and beverages, whilst being shrewd with the more costly wagyu beef, largely because, again, it wasn't quite infuriating enough that I should make a fuss over it. Often, I simply raised the issue with the ever-elusive waitstaff, and it would be, begrudgingly, rectified. As I say, I never responded in anger, because I did greatly enjoy the food, and was generally left satisfied.

However, on this occasion, I could no more overlook the many dishonest tactics employed by the venue and my disgust with the owners flagrant greed and disregard for the diner's experience. I understand, a business ultimately operates for profit, and the transaction is always mutual, but this is why I am writing this review now; to dissuade anyone from making the same mistake I have.

We received our side items promptly and our first plate of wagyu and so, our party was in high spirits, however, it was a short lived joy, as it took approximately 40 minutes for us to see another plate of wagyu. An uncooked plate of meat took significantly longer for us to receive, compared with a plate of karaage chicken, chicken katsu, edamame, rice and a couple rounds of beverages. It then took another 30mins for the next plates to arrive. As our ordering time neared its completion, we queried with the waitstaff where the rest of our order might be, to which she replied some plates were loaded with a larger portion of beef, to make up for the quantities we had ordered. Of course, had we known this to be the case, we would have ordered a greater quantity of food. By the end of the meal, our party of 5 had ultimately each consumed about 5-6 slices of beef as palate cleansers for what effectively became our main course; Rice.

We sought an audience with the manager to voice our disappointment over the experience (2hrs at the venue, without much consumed and a $430 bill waiting for us at the end) and asked for a discount. One of the party members asked for a $50 discount, which worked out to $10 off a head. The manager attempted to get us to resume our seats, offering for us to keep eating - which was all well and good - but after two hours of waiting to "keep eating" - we were understandably not interested in continuing our evening. We made our case, but he refused to budge. Frustrations bubbled and party members threatened to walk out without paying the bill, as the manager ignored our case, repeating his "You sit down, I give you more food" mantra to us. As we continued to press him, the manager acquiesced, much to his chagrin. When I had paid, I attempted to explain to the manager why we were disappointed, because, as mentioned previously, I was someone who enjoyed dining at this venue for all its flaws, but he somehow believed we were trying to screw him over. The irony is, even for this $10 a head discount, I realised later that evening, when I checked my statement, he only gave a $43 discount, even stooping to skim $7 off us as his last hurrah, to gain some sort of greedy edge over us.

So I write this simply as a warning to those considering to make Ryoma their dining experience, that they should perhaps think again, if the hassle, the wait times, the price, the ever-elusive staff, the gruelling grind for a small discount when you are dissatisfied, does not quite balance itself against the tasty food. I don't believe anything on this earth is delicious enough to overlook these countless sins which - judging by the plethora of similar reviews - appears to happen all too often. The scales have obviously...

We've dined here several times in the past. After a long break, we returned to be disappointed.

As to taste, the food is always splendid the chefs do a great job preparing and seasoning the meats.

As to service, dining experience and price, this place has really suffered. The 'buffet' price has increased exponentially. They're charging $59 per person for a buffet. Traditionally their prices use to be in the $35-45 per person range. The food quality and service has not changed to justify this increase in price.

The biggest and worst change is the placement of 'tablets' on every table. This replaces a waiter. You select on the table what you like. What food and drinks. This is good because it gives you full control and they're quick to respond. But they give you a limit of 60 minutes to place orders and 100 minutes at the table. This is an atrocious way to treat your clients. It is understandable on a Saturday evening to enforce these time restrictions. But i was shocked after having been approached by a waiter on a Wednesday night and asked to finalise my orders within 7 minutes (remaining until the 60 minute mark) when they were far from closing and not busy at all.

Even more shocking is the addition of a $1 charge for a replacement bbq grill plate. It's an insult to even suggest charge for this.

This, coupled with waiters constantly walking past our table to look glance at the 'clock' to see how long we have left made us feel very uncomfortable. They were walking by our table, ignoring the empty plates and soft drink cans, but checking the countdown timer on the tablet.

Other 'asian' bbq restaurants charge $25-45 per head for a buffet and provide just as much (if not more) of a range of foods and don't insult their clients with stupid restrictions and ridiculous pricing.

I would love to dine at Ryoma again, but let me know when you change your attitude towards pricing and service and I will then consider returning.

TL;DR - great food, ridiculous price, unreasonable restrictions and rules. Suggest alternative...