Yakiniku Yokocho — Restaurant in Sydney

I arrived at 740pm on 2/6/2019, got a ticket (no. 49) and waited by the seats furthest away from the main entry and it was still a part of the waiting area (we had tables seated right behind us). We were to be greeted by a girl named Nana, and she had past us multiple times even after it was supposed to be our turn. Due to the noise in area we must have missed our turn so I decided to ask her about our turn. In that moment, she called out number 52 and we were in shock. Confused, we double checked our number, 49, in which she replied "mmm" with a blank stare. We decided to sit back down assuming she would let us in next, and a few minutes later, she let in another couple numbered 53, and that's where we got very upset. Anyway, food was good and atmosphere was a 0.5... why? We saw Nana sitting down and chit chatting literally RIGHT in front of our table with another male staff. She had her legs up on the stool where people are supposed to sit down while they wait. Along with the chit chatting, she was very loud with her gestures, such as laughing very loudly.

All in all, I'd like to direct this message at the boss of yakiniku yokocho. I understand the importance of "Omotenashi", or if you don't understand English well, "おもてなし". How? My partner is highly experienced in giving the best service to customers, based on the experiences she has had working at many high end Japanese restaurants. You on the other hand, cannot even train staff properly for the most basic level of "Omotenashi". I don't know if it's you that's the problem, "boss of yakiniku yokocho", but please, you yourself needs a change of direction in managing your restaurant. For food that is priced at a yakiniku so highly, the least you can provide other than good food, is your good service methods, which are currently in my eyes, at a 5/100. I hope that's enough for you to understand my disappointment towards you. I don't blame Nana, I blame you for hiring and not overseeing/managing your staff properly...

Ordered one serve of A5 wagyu beef which costs 60 bucks. Was told that the beef on both left and right hand side were all A5. We were like its obviously different class of beef. The one on right hand side was clearly the part that is lower quality and should be less expensive. The staff insisted they are the same class but just every cow is different like human body?!?!?! I mean yes.. every cow is different but not every part can call as A5 right?? And even she could tell they are different and double confirmed with the kitchen staff. The waitress refused to change it nor offer any alternative to solve this dispute. We havent asked to return nor change but she said that the beef were cut and not allowed to change by herself even before we asked for any settlement or solutions. I would say that was not the right attitude to serve customer. And how could you shut people out like this when you were not serving the right thing it was supposed to be? (Please refer to the picture on the menu and compare it with mine) So whatever you serve i should take it? What does it mean its not allowed to return? We were forced to take it and undoubtedly it tasted completely extremely different. The one on the right hand side could be barely chewed. Its not tender at all. After we finished the wagyu (cuz it was served first), the waitress came back and asked if it tasted fine. We were like NOO.. she was like feeling awkward and turned her back and left lolll i mean.. whats the point of asking if you couldnt offer any solution to cope with negative opinions?? I would say their customer service has a large room to improve. But to be fair, other than that ridiculous expensive "wagyu beef", their food was pretty nice especially the thick...

Food Good quality meat, generous serving, rice again good quality but a bit dry, soup and salad tasty but perhaps too salty for some. Salad seemed to have been dressed using one of the meat sauces. We’ve noticed that each cut of meat was rather inconsistent in thickness, making it difficult to cook evenly. Rengaya/Suminoya/Koh-ya does best at cutting their meats at an even thickness by partly freezing them first. Sauce consisted of processed lemon juice which ruined the taste of the ox tongue, giving it an artificial, detergent-like aftertaste. The other two sauces were spicy? Sweet? In other words, not so memorable. Soy-based marinade sweet but not much flavour otherwise, Miso marinade so sweet/strong that made my blood-sugar level go through the roof. I personally prefer the sauces/marinades of Kashiwa Yakiniku in Crows Nest and the tasty salt marinade of Nikaido Neutral bay.

Service Friendly and polite although it was very hard to catch the attention of the waitress as we were sitting on the far end of the restaurant, even though the place was relatively quiet during lunchtime. Perhaps invest in a calling buzzer? Waitresses should double check their order to minimise errors.

Ambience Lovely decor and clean interior. However, the music was a never-ending loop of a koto-arranged Ghibli soundtrack which irritated me a bit. Would’ve liked a bit more repertoire outside ghibli. There is more to like about traditional Japanese music.

Conclusion A satisfying lunch with a generous serving of excellent quality meat but I’d rather BYO my own Ebara...