Sidelines — Restaurant in Chatan

Sidelines recently reopened, post Covid, and man you can tell they have been working!! From awesome stainless steel appointments inside, to a second female bathroom (which my wife enjoyed seeing) and a really cool feature in the men’s restroom (no spoilers, you need to pee to see) and nice table top are just some of the renovation improvements.

The food was amazing!! Burgers are super delicious! They are an interesting mixture of Wagyu beef and I think Chuck. I don’t remember because I had had quick a few drinks by the time I asked.

Go upstairs and check out the whole new upstairs Japanese bar with premium Japanese whiskeys Kirin on tap and you can still order food and beer from down below to. Upstairs you can avoid a lot of the loud noises, from the walk-in crowd and get the awesome view and enjoy a nice breeze.

The owner and bartenders did an amazing job during their closure. I’m so glad they’re open. Everything I’ve tried on the menu last weekend was delicious. I can’t wait to go again today and try something new. I heard that they have a new deep fryer so we’ll see how their wings taste. Hopefully the Gyoza filled chicken wings are back because there were definitely one of my favorites.

Congratulations Sidelines, I am so happy you are open, and I am loving all the...

I had a great time the first time I visited this bar with my husband, so I decided to bring a friend who doesn’t usually go out drinking. When we arrived, I asked a shorter woman with black hair, “Do you have a menu?” She didn’t respond at all—just walked off. My friend and I figured maybe there weren’t any menus, and as we were saying that, she suddenly slammed one down between us from behind without a single word.

My friend is American, and since this is supposed to be an American bar, I was speaking in English. But from that moment I felt something was off, so I asked “Do you speak Japanese?” She nodded upward with attitude and said “Aa” which is pretty rude to answer like this in Japan. Still, I asked if they had fruit beer. Again, she said nothing—just flipped through the menu, pointed at the beer section, and said, “Look here.” She made me so uncomfortable I didn’t want to ask her anything else, so I ended up asking a different bartender to recommend something I might like. He was helpful, and we left soon after that.

The next week, my husband wanted to go back to Sideline. I told him everything that happened before we went in, just to mentally prepare. Unfortunately, she was there again. We tried to avoid to talk to her, but when I went downstairs to use the restroom, she was standing on the stairs and on her phone. I politely said, “Excuse me,” and she just looked at my face, moved slightly to the right, and didn’t say a single word.

To top it off, we ended up having to deal with her again during checkout. When she asked about the tip, my husband said “¥100,” and she muttered, “That’s not even a dollar,” in a disgusted tone.

It’s honestly a shame. Every other bartender here has been friendly and professional, and the bar itself has a great atmosphere. We usually hand our tips directly to the staff we liked—this time, we gave it to the nice guy upstairs. But let’s be clear: this is Japan. Tips are not mandatory. If asking about tips is part of the job, fine. Don’t even complain when someone declines when you’ve given the bare minimum—your service wasn’t worth even ¥100.

I feel bad leaving such a review because the rest of the staff are great . I really hope this woman is gone soon, because I’d actually like to come back if she isn’t...

Went for the NCAA basketball Final Four game. Took twenty minutes to be greeted. Took another 30 minutes to order food and drinks. There were only two people sitting at the bar, it was not busy. Game stream stopped working and the waitresses stared at it and stared at us, staring at them. We eventually walked up to the bar to ask them to please fix the stream(which was laggy and froze often). They did so soon after that. I ordered the Eggs Benedict. Terrible. Mimosas were solid, heavy on the champagne with a splash of orange juice. Not how I like it but I understand a bar having heavy pours in a military area. Never saw our waitress again after the food came out until we flagged her down to get our checks. Don't think I will go back unless it's for the Super Bowl, which they did a good...