Saku — Restaurant in Vancouver

This is a hard one…

What used to be one of our favourite places to go for lunch or dinner, we just can’t come here anymore. We’ve been here dozens and dozens of times (hundreds, maybe even thousands of dollars spent here + however many people we’ve mentioned it to) and the experience, both food and service, has always been some of the nicest in Vancouver. Our last visit will be today.

They don’t offer reservations, but you can join a Google wait list when you search their restaurant. This has always been good for us. We join the list as we’re walking there to avoid lineups and they give you a range of time that they’ll expect to seat you. We joined the wait list today with 16-29 minutes remaining and started walking. We arrived just as they called our phone to say our table was ready. We went inside and the host explained our table was being cleaned and it would be 2-3 minutes and for us to wait outside. We waited outside for 20 minutes, watching several tables of 2 walk in ahead of us. We asked the host and they explained that the table assigned to us prior to the other tables walking in had a group of guests who just wouldn’t leave, and once they were finished we could have their table. Couldn’t you just have given us one of the other tables before letting a bunch of other people in? I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt as they may have joined the wait list before us.

As we’re reaching the 20 minute mark, the same host came out and said the table is still not ready but do we know what we want to order? We hadn’t looked at the online menu and just assumed we’d get menus inside at the table (or QR code on the table) like we had in the past. He told us to scan the sign outside and pick what we wanted to order before going in, essentially asking us to place a counter service style order like as Subway, so we did.

We waited another 10 minutes outside after we ordered the food before we got seated. As soon as we sat at the table the food showed up. This made us feel like the food was prepared before we even sat down and it was just waiting in the kitchen. This is obviously a tactic to have higher turn over (like a ramen restaurant). But the issue I’m having is - the decor, atmosphere, ambiance and price don’t match this style of service. What if we wanted to enjoy our time there, order more food and have a good time with friends? We both paid $26.50 for our dishes (along with a $9 bowl of curry sauce, which is ridiculous when the price of a crispy prawn add on is $6?). I get that you have long lineups, but isn’t that because it’s such an amazing experience? It felt like we were being rushed the entire time, servers hovering over us as we wait to see how much time we had left.

And to top it all off, within 2 minutes of us paying for the bill and the server clearing our trays, another server or manager came lever and asked us to leave because their was a lineup waiting for our table. We get up, walk outside and see nobody standing at the door. We were there for 39 minutes, where the average time a guest sits at a table in a similar restaurant like this is 1 hour and 30 minutes.

What a shame Saku. Such an amazing spot over the years with some of the best hospitality that our family has enjoyed many many times. Won’t be...

The positive:

New location and new interior. It’s absolutely beautiful. Everything looks aesthetically pleasing.

Food is always amazing here, no doubt about that. They haven’t got the liquor license yet so drink option is very limited at this moment.

It’s way more spacious compared to the old location.

I would definitely rate it five stars but I had some negative experience this time.

The negative:

So we came on a Friday evening, arrived here around 6pm, and was told there might be 30min-40min wait, which was okay. We came back around 6:40pm and were told to just wait for their text message.

At this point, I looked inside the restaurant, half of the tables were empty. So I thought, maybe it’s because they want more space between tables, or maybe they have a low capacity limit for # of diners, or it’s a marketing gimmick where they deliberately want people to line up outside to show how popular this place is. I wasn’t sure which was true.

So we waited. Around 7pm, we went ask the host how much longer we would have to wait. She told us table was being cleaned and we would be seated in a moment. However another 10min passed by, we were still waiting. So we asked her again what’s going on because there were so many empty tables! Then she hesitated and looked around, finally asked us if it’s okay to seat us first but we might need to wait longer for service. Of course we said that’s totally fine. So it turned out that the reason they were operating half of the capacity was because they didn’t have enough servers. In total we waited for 70min just because they thought they couldn’t handle more customers.

This is where we got very confused. If you told people this reason when we first came in, then we would understand what’s going on and may have more patience. But you chose not to, and everyone waiting outside got confused because there’s clearly more empty tables than the groups waiting outside. I would rather sit in a comfy space and wait than waiting outside.

Anyway, I think it’s a mismanagement issue rather than...

I always pass this place and finally decided to try it. Despite arriving at 5:30pm there was already a 30min wait. I ordered the Tokujyo Rosu Katsu as well as the King Prawn. Food: 5/5. The deep fry on the katsu is superb. Light, crispy, but also rich and deeply satisfying. I may not have had better tempera in my life. The first few bites are heavenly. My only complaint is the katsu starts tasting too rich/fatty at the end of the meal but this is a personal preference and inherent to any deep fried dish for me. The side dishes complement the katsu well. The salad with sesame dressing is refreshing and a good palette cleanser between bites of katsu. The rice is unremarkable but a perfect match for the katsu. The pestor and mortar is a fun touch but honestly probably doesn't affect the taste of the sesame much. Like the rice, the sauce is also unremarkable but complements the katsu well. I couldn't figure out what the (miso?) wasabi was intended for but it was a nice addition to the katsu near the end of the meal when I felt the katsu was too rich. The King Prawn is a pass for me. Despite being one of their "specialties", the prawn tastes mushy (frozen?) and is overpowered by the deep fried breading. Definitely not worth 6.50. The presentation is excellent. Everything is served on a hot stone plate in a pretty bamboo box. The katsu is additionally on a metal-wired grill/grid thingy which has been warmed to keep the katsu warm. Ambiance: 5/5. Clean, modern decor with great lighting and a very enjoyable vibe. Service: 5/5. As with most japanese restaurants, exemplary service. Waitresses are friendly and sharp. My waitress checked on me 3-4 timed throughout the meal. I ordered a cup of green tea with ice intending to make iced tea and the waitress was intelligent enough to deduce one cup of ice wasn't enough. I was asked if I wanted more side dishes and was given a very large bowl of salad! In summary, once again japanese people have elevated the simplest dishes to new heights and provide...