Makino Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Geziret al Zamalik, Jazirat al Zamalik

Before trying makino I had heard many mixed reviews. One day I saw (on Instagram) that they had just had a fresh tuna delivered, so I decided to go try it out. When we arrived there was no indoor seating and the “outdoor” area was poorly setup and not too hygienic/comfortable. We sat and a the waiter that served us was extremely welcoming and professional. We started the order with edamame - followed by an assortment of sashimis (salmon, tuna & sea bass). The edamame was good. The seabass sashimi was the freshest (7/10). The salmon sashimi was not bad but the cuts were extremely thick making it unenjoyable (5/10). The tuna sashimi was hard/chewy, thickly sliced and extremely unappetizing. When I relayed this message to the waiter - he told me that it was only like this because it’s “otoro” and that this is how otoro was supposed to taste. I responded by telling him that I’ve eaten otoro several times before and I am fairly certain it’s supposed to be the polar opposite of hard and chewy - he said that he’d worked there for 7 years and he must know more about sushi than I do. Safe to say the tuna sashimi was a (0/10). Then came the California roll (w salmon) and the shrimp tempura roll, and the spicy tuna roll. California roll was good (7/10) and the rice they use for their rolls is great. The shrimp tempura roll was the best I’ve had in Egypt so far, (8/10). The tuna in the spicy tuna roll was fishy (not fresh) and they add some sort of wasabi garnish to hide that. Spicy tuna roll (4/10). Finally, the salmon nigiri was also not great. Slices are cut way too thick and salmon could be much fresher (5/10). There were a few items we ordered that never arrived but at that point that seemed to be good news. To conclude, I do believe this place could serve a fantastic meal because there were sparks of positivity throughout the meal but overall I had a very poor experience. I’d give this place a 4/10 at most based on my experience. The waiter arguing about the tuna, the white wine being served warm and a bunch of other things contributed to a negative experience. I hope my next visit to Makino won’t be as...

Food was definitely good and no issues there. The issue was with the unprofessional and passive aggressive staff who rather than take care of a complaining customer and find solutions, chooses to mansplain to me.

When asked if an order comes with rice, the staff member replied, “yes and it also comes with miso soup.” Assuming this applies to every dish under the same category of dishes, I made four orders of two plates for takeout. On arrival back home, I don’t find the rice or miso soup, and it’s my fault I did not double-check the order before leaving the restaurant.

When I call to tell them there is no rice or miso soup (on a 1300EGP order), the person on the phone says he’ll check and get back to me. He then calls to tell me I am wrong and that I pointed at one specific item in the menu and not the entire page. I tell him well how would I know that only this item comes with miso and rice when the other staff member clearly said “yes all these dishes come with miso and rice.” He does not offer any solution and continues to argue about how I pointed at one item only.

1. Kind of ridiculous that this is the quality of service at a supposedly fine restaurant where it is really not cheap to dine at. Being in customer service myself, this is a textbook example of what not to do with a displeased customer.

2. Menu is old looking and unclear. Little mention of what is or isn’t included in your order.

3. Staff needs to be trained to deal with conflict resolution and to mention details such as “this specific dish does not come with rice/miso but this one does”.

Also the place reeks of...

The best Japanese restaurant in cairo because they have japanese chef who has long career with know-how of raw fish. I think hilton hotel would delegate hugh rights to him to make the restaurant more japanized style by whatever chef want such as varieties of food makeups which no other japanese restaurant have in cairo for sure!!

In addition, I felt like I was in japan with multiple evidences such as soba, donkatsu, etc, which made the restaurant more uniqueness here in the cairo.

eventhough all was perfect, too salty soba irritated me a little.

Anyway, I will visit again soon.

Today, I visit again again. Main Chef koma always take care of customer. We had deep conversation about Values or goals of his life. He told me that 1st value is to make customers are satisfied with foods and services and happy when visit. 2nd is to train junior to become good chef. and last is to take care of himself for his family.

I was deeply moved by his mind.

Thst is why Japanese chef is irreplaceable because of his great mind.

I had another beautiful dinner in cairo life.

Last day, I visited again and again. Still perfect in food and...