Cafe & Dining Zelkova — Restaurant in Tokyo

We went to the café to celebrate a birthday. Everything was perfect,we booked the set in advance, the food and desserts were amazing, and you could really see how much effort was put into every detail. The place was beautiful, and the atmosphere felt dreamy. At first, there were two female servers who were sweet and kind, and we had such a great time.

At some point, a male waiter replaced them, and I don’t know if he dislikes foreigners or was just having a bad day. He came to explain something to us and tried to speak in English. He was clearly struggling, so we told him it was okay to speak in Japanese (we both speak Japanese), but he insisted on continuing in English. We didn’t completely understand what he said because his English wasn’t good, but we thought maybe he just wanted to practice with foreigners.

Then things continued to feel off, he suddenly threw the bill onto our table, which is something we’re not used to in Japan. Later, he came back and told us that we needed to pay now. We felt uncomfortable; we thought we were supposed to pay at the counter, but his tone and insistence on paying “right now” made us uneasy. Still, we tried to brush it off.

When we left the restaurant, we bowed slightly and thanked him, trying to be polite and nice, but he just motioned with his hand toward the exit as if to say, “That’s the way out, go.” It’s important to mention that the food was amazing, the drinks and desserts were excellent, the atmosphere was wonderful, and the female staff were all kind and lovely. The male waiter, however, ruined the experience for us by making us feel unwelcome, which really disappointed us and stayed with us even after we...

Like others have said; the only good things are location and decor. Although, for weekdays lunch, they only seat you on the side area, not the nice tables in the middle (even when they were empty throughout). Service is horrible. The person in the front had no smile and didn’t even allow us to wait inside (even in the foyer between outdoor and the indoor area!) when it was raining hard and windy outside! No kindness or omotenashi at all! I got way better service at McDonalds. After being seated in a crowded and noisy area, nobody came to serve us until I waived at one of them (and was even refused the first time as she said she was busy). I had pre-ordered the lunch set menu with sparkling wine online, but they brought the day’s à la carte menu. No notice at all at what I had ordered online. In fact, they looked confused. Then even after bringing in the appetizer, there was no oshibori or cutleries on our table! We had to catch their attention again. My friend went to the washroom and they served the sparkling wine before she came back! They should have waited for her so both of us could have been served the sparkling wine together, at the same time. Not recommended and would not return. There are soooo many places in the area...

Disappointing experience and will not consider the Zelkova in the future. Booked a terrace seat for a business meeting but even though it was cold and raining, was told we couldn't relocate even though there were plenty of open spaces. The table we were given was wet and cold and it was not a pleasant experience, especially considering how expensive it is for very generic tasting tea.

I could see that one waitress (who mixed in some English with Japanese) was trying but I can fully imagine she has to follow a strict manual and not actually be allowed to put the customer first. Thanks to her, but no thanks to the Zelkova.

Edit: The waitress explained to me that when booking a terrace seat it is written that you will not be able to move seat if the cafe is fully booked. However, booking through Google there is no such explanation given. Considering there were vacant seats inside (only used for weddings???) this is even more...