La Terrazza — Restaurant in Hakone

Extremely Disappointing Customer Service Experience

I have never experienced such poor customer service from beginning to end. From the moment we were seated, the lack of courtesy was evident. It felt as though we were being treated with indifference, perhaps because it was assumed we didn’t understand the language or Japanese customs.

We politely requested a larger table due to the number of dishes and drinks we planned to order. The manager responded that we could not be moved and told us we had to manage with the current table, stating that larger tables were reserved for bigger groups. I would like to point out that the restaurant was not full , had empty tables around the restaurant at the time, and the larger table next to us had previously seated only four people.

We asked if we could be moved to that now-vacant table — which was slightly larger and had just been used by a group of four — and were again told it was not possible. The manager said that if we wanted to eat there, it had to be at that table. We had already ordered one starter, wine, a pizza, two pastas, and two or three main dishes.

We had brought friends who had traveled a long way to enjoy a special day in Hakone. I never imagined we would be treated like this in Japan. We canceled our entire order and left, deeply disappointed.

I sincerely hope the owner reconsiders how the staff is handling both foreign and local customers. I felt ashamed — for the way the staff behaved, and for having brought my friends such a long distance to experience such poor hospitality.

Occurred on July 15th at around...

Cannot say I agree with the reviews regarding the food. Perhaps I am a harsh critic as an Italian- How I end up here, as I always try to avoid Italian food while travelling? It was Sunday, and the only other option was 7/11. We thought the pizza would be a safe choice and it was probably one of the worst pizza I ate in my life. And I had lots, lots of pizza and worked in a pizzeria growing up. Dough under proved, too much sauce, low quality toppings. The pizza was burned on the edges and tasted quite bitter, while it was undercooked in the centre. This is due to the enormous amount of tomato sauce and lots of topping which makes the pizza to be cooked unevenly. The restaurant is in a fantastic location on the lake, and given the early closing times of other restaurants and the amount of tourists this is an easy choice for dinner. Service was just okay- they accommodated to ensure we were seated however, there was limited English and ordering was difficult. The atmosphere might have been better during the day time with the lake at a glance. Best thing in this place was...

Most of the places were closed, so we picked this one based on good reviews. The food itself was tasty, but the staff behaved quite oddly. At the entrance, the host offered us a choice: sit inside or on the terrace. We chose the terrace. After some time it got really cold, so we asked to move inside. The waiter said there were no free tables indoors — but since we were sitting right by the entrance, we saw that no one had actually come in. They also didn’t offer us blankets. Because it was chilly, we ordered tea along with the food. They serve it in a 500–600 ml teapot, but only brought one cup. When we asked for another, the waiter told us: “One drink, one cup.” So we had to order another tea just to get a second cup — and of course we didn’t drink a whole liter of tea. What’s the point of serving tea in a teapot if you can’t share it? The whole time it felt like the waiter was being difficult on purpose and just didn’t want to make any extra effort. I honestly don’t understand where all the positive reviews are coming from — our impression was...