Daruma 4・4 Branch — Restaurant in Sapporo

Big disappointment.

Service is bad - once you sat down, nobody tells you what you need to do. Staff used gesture to ask if we want greens - onions and spring onions - before showing us the menu. Minimum communication from staff. We later ordered by pointing at the menu plus simple English - one, one and one.

Food is expensive - literally 3 pieces each plate - 1680 yen for quality meat 1280 yen for Mongolian barbecue (there are only three meat items on the menu, and the staff didn’t understand what I said when I tried to order an extra “Mongolian barbecue” in English)

Quality of food is just so so! Really don’t understand why it is so popular.

Space: crowded - as you eat, there will be a queue of people sitting almost right behind you watching you back; basically single & narrow lane of seating - lack of space in winter for guests to take off / out on clothes

Back to service: please check your bill and changes you get. Normally I wouldn’t bother to check the changes, but since the service is dissatisfactory and the staff seems careless, I checked the receipt, and the change was short.

Notes:

There’s a sign at the entrance telling guests to refrain from taking pics of the their facility, staff and customer.

The greens they put on the hot plate once your sat down are also charged.

I would rather go for soup curry or ramen instead for...

tldr

ymmv, but we were treated poorlw and rushed to eat. tasted good.

Been living in Sapporo for over a decade. Heard good things about Daruma from friends. It's the only place my wife will eat Jingiskan at. I've had Jingis at other places. I love it. In my exp., the vast majority of stores and restaurants in Japan have good, if not excellent, customer service (specifically compared to USA).

Customers can be selfish, impatient, and otherwise a pain to serve; even Japanese customers...

Despite that, the employees almost always (like 98% of the time) are extremely polite. The average table server in Japan, imo, would be deserving of top-grade tips in the states.

For about 8 years I've been going to Rafila (the building this Daruma is nestled in). I see long lines outside frequently, even in the middle of winter. This place must be good, I thought.

Went here with my Japanese wife. and a mutual friend.

Maybe she was having a bad day, but we were greeted in monotone. My foot was stepped on while we waited. We were rushed to order - as if we were foregn, no, hostile regulars.

We were all humble and nice af, despite the fact we were the paying customer, and were...

From my research this local chain is by far the most recommended to try Genghis Khan. I agree the lamb is not gamey at all, very clean . You should try it as it’s one of Hokkaido’s specialities, though keep expectations in check . It’s a good but simple dish. Lamb you grill yourself , a dipping sauce , surrounded by onions .

We did the premium options which were 1700 each. Each portion is tiny , I’d estimate maybe 1/8th of a pound (50 grams) . If you come hungry this can turn into one of your more expensive meals in Japan.

We did not try it but a lot recommended the Sapporo brewery beer garden restaurant which offers ayce Khan for starting...