Hitomebore Nanba — Restaurant in Osaka

TLDR: Do not be fooled by the high ratings, it could be purchased reviews. This establishment charges a cover charge of 836 yen per person, without you ordering anything.

Felt attracted by the high star rating, however it was an utter mistake. Service was generally extremely bad. We were dining with a toddler, and they assigned us a smoking area table. After finding out it was a smoking area, we requested to change to a non smoking area. The service guy at Level 3 was very courteous and helpful, however, the rest of the ladies at Level 1 felt disinterested to serve and we felt discriminated and not welcomed. Most importantly, do note that that is a "cover charge" of 836 yen per person, and that is on top on whatever you are ordering. We were only given one piece of chicken wing each for that, meaning each piece is a whopping 836 yen! Unbelievable! Also, our table didn't have any chopsticks, when requested for it, the service staff just continued to do what she was doing and made us wait for quite some time. We were having a sashimi dish where time is of the essence. Unfortunately, a saucer was also not given for our shoyu. When we requested for saucers, and went to the service staff by ourselves, they were unfriendly and were talking behind our backs. Very unpleasant experience, quite a rarity to have such an...

Be aware, we were charged a table fee as soon as we sat down. The staff explained that it was a set fee to be charge because they serve a dish - otoshi (so called a must-have dish) for every customer as soon as they sit down regardless. It costs 1672 yen, so called a must pay dish (4 chicken wings), additional to your menu selections. It is not fair and ridiculous, seeing this is even happening in Japan a country of democracy and capitalism. We can’t recommend this place to anyone from anywhere.

According to the consumer protection law, customers have rights: 1, to be informed before any transactions 2, to make choice of purchase 3, to not be forced to make purchase without the above conditions being met.

At this restaurant, it appeared that none of above was present. Highly recommending the local authority to investigate to protect customers and...

zakayas are supposed to be lively and enjoyable, but this place was a complete letdown. The food quality was terrible—the umi (sea urchin) was not fresh, with a strange smell and an unpleasant texture. The meat was tough and low quality, clearly not what you’d expect for the price.

To make things worse, people were smoking inside, creating an unbearable atmosphere for anyone who just wanted to enjoy their meal. The ventilation was poor, so the smoke lingered, making the experience even more unpleasant.

If you care about good food and a comfortable dining environment, I strongly recommend avoiding this place. There are so many better izakayas in Japan—don’t waste...