Sapporo Japanese&Thai Restaurant — Restaurant in Hamilton

To start there was not enough parking space in the lot Sapporo is located in, making it troubling for non-locals to find parking. A group of four decided to dine here for dinner. We walked in, and were quickly seated, despite not having reservations. We requested a booth, and the host quickly seated us at a spacious booth. The service was quick, however slowly our experience started going down hill after being seated and our drinks served.

We asked for three sides of spicy mayo, and we were told by one server that they did not have spicy mayo! Later, we asked a different server, just to be sure they had no spicy mayo, and now we were told that they do have spicy mayo. We did not appreciate the disingenuousness of the initial server. Shortly after, we were provided with all three side orders of spicy mayo.

There were no dietary restrictions for the entire group with the exception of one person who is a vegetarian. Thus, there were many orders of vegetarian friendly food options and meat options. The group is familiar with an all you can eat style restaurant, and we have all eaten at sushi spots regularly outside of Hamilton. However, never have any of us been told by our host/hostess to "make sure you guys eat everything you order", and "do not order so much food". We are aware that on the rare occasion if food is wasted, guests maybe penalized with a cost. Besides the two chicken fried dishes we sent back, due to he intolerable flavour and smell, and the pork chops that had large amounts of fat, we consumed everything else we had ordered. As a group we were disgusted with the host and the comments that were made. Mind you it was not once, but on four different occasions through out our dinner.

We sent back the dishes we disliked, and we had kindly mentioned to the host we do not appreciate being spoken to in the manner we were being addressed in. The host gave no apology , no response, and instead nodded his head and left. He did however say okay "you do not like these dishes. . .okay!" in a grumpy tone.

I notice some other guests at Sapporo had similar experiences regarding the servers who were guarding the table. Unfortunately, we too shared that experience. We had someone by our table at all times staring over us as we ate. Every time our finished plates were taken we were greeted with displeased expressions on their faces, rolling of the eyes etc. At one point I was forced to look only at my food, as I did not want to further ruin my experience by locking eyes with the negative and unwelcoming stares being given off by the host/server.

Please, do yourselves a favour, go to another sushi spot. Experience matters! The cost with taxes came to about 30 dollars and some change. If you are wondering if we left a tip? Yes, we did! It is the customary thing to do.

Fortunately, we are able to share our honest reviews here. I hope that if management or store staff see this, they make an effort to remedy some things in order to better serve restaurant goers and improve their dining experiences.

Quality/Taste:...

I recently visited this Japanese restaurant's buffet, and I have to say the experience was extremely disappointing. First off, the variety of food was incredibly limited—nowhere near what you'd expect from a buffet. The sushi selection was basic and uninspired. For example, the salmon sushi had very thin slices of fish, which lacked freshness and had a slight fishy taste. The rice was poorly made—too wet and sticky, and it didn't have the proper flavor or texture. The sushi station also wasn’t replenished quickly enough, and once the fresh pieces were gone, there was no prompt replacement.

The sashimi was equally disappointing, with only three or four options, and the quality was subpar. The fish lacked the fresh, delicate flavor that you expect from good sashimi—it felt like it had been sitting out for too long and was a bit mushy.

As for the hot dishes, they were even worse. Many of them appeared to have been sitting out for a long time. The tempura, for example, looked golden and crispy at first glance, but when I bit into it, it was soggy and lacked any crispiness at all. The batter was overly thick, and the texture was just wrong. The fried chicken was equally disappointing—greasy and dry inside, with no crispness. Other dishes, like the eel rice and various stir-fries, were bland and unremarkable, and some of the food looked like it had been left out too long, losing its freshness and flavor.

The service was another major issue, especially with the front desk staff member named David. His attitude was unprofessional and quite off-putting. When we first arrived, he didn’t greet us with a smile or even acknowledge us warmly. He was preoccupied with his computer and barely looked up to check us in. The entire check-in process felt rushed and impersonal. Throughout the meal, whenever we had questions about the buffet or needed assistance, he was short with us and didn’t seem interested in helping at all. His responses were curt, and he came across as annoyed that we were even asking for help.

Additionally, the restaurant’s cleanliness left a lot to be desired. The tables were not cleaned properly, and there was food debris on the floor. The staff seemed indifferent to the mess, which made the overall atmosphere feel unkempt. The dining area didn’t look well-maintained, and it was uncomfortable to sit in a space that felt a little dirty.

Finally, the replenishment of food was extremely slow. A buffet should offer fresh food regularly, but here, the food stations were often empty or only partially filled. I had to wait for a long time for new items to be brought out, and some items, like sushi and hot dishes, were left to sit too long before being replaced.

Overall, this was a very disappointing buffet experience. The food quality was poor, the selection was limited, the service was lackluster, and the restaurant’s cleanliness was subpar. For the price, it was not worth it at all. If you're looking for a good Japanese buffet experience, I would strongly recommend...

I’ve been going to Sapporo for its convenient location and decent services for nearly a decade. Although the quality of food has declined over the years, it used to be always a pleasant experience. However, today was exceptionally worse compared to the previous times. I had gone for a casual lunch buffet with my brother. The place wasn’t even that busy (and I took it as a sign that service will be efficient). However, the items were slow to come and majority did not represent what was depicted on the menu pictures. The steak was very stale and you can tell it had gone dark and bad, yet they’ve dumped sauce and “cooked” it. Most items were packed with tons of rice (more so than usual). Majority of the food lacked flavor and looked unappealing. Most of our orders arrived and we still didn’t receive the sushi roll items that had been ordered in the beginning (and at this point 40 min has passed). Although the server was pleasant, I had called her over to ensure if all ordered items have come (knowing none of the 3 types of sushi rolls ordered had been served, and I did not want double orders to arrive). She said it was served and implied I was the idiot. I got her to “reorder” 2 of the items only. At this point, we were losing appetite as it was ridiculous to keep waiting for dishes with big gaps in arrival. Then 1 of the 2 items came, and I noticed the sushi rolls were made exceptionally large and stuffed with rice. At this point I was getting frustrated with the food served today. I wasn’t sure if it was intentional, but sure felt like it. Then another employee approached us (who I assume was the manager), and asked if we were “done” so he can take the ipad away. He acted surprised when I told him 1 pending item still hasn’t come……and he again “reordered” the item as if it had been served already. He made us feel like we were there “too long” (and it was only 50 minutes at this point, which we had to stay only because items took so long to come). He was very curt, took the ipad, and stormed away. The item arrived another 5 minutes later. At this point, I really didn’t feel like eating, but I am not one to waste food. This sushi also was made very large (with rice), and lacked taste. We forced the food down, paid the bill, and even tipped nicely just because the initial servers were pleasant. But, one thing is for sure. Will NEVER be coming back to this restaurant again after what we had to endure today. I am not one to complain, but this was the last straw for me...