Nihon Ryori Ensui — Restaurant in Tokyo

"Racist Restaurant Experience 🤯‼️ Tokyo Ensui** Steer clear of this Michelin-starred kaiseki place in Tokyo. I booked a month in advance from Toronto based on Ins recommendations. Party of three.

We arrived 10 minutes early, were polite, and spoke English (their English was poor but manageable). Staff were initially okay, but once seated, the chef didn’t even look up at us 🙃. I assumed he was busy/preoccupied. When ordering drinks, things felt awkward since we were quiet—until the remaining seats filled with all Japanese guests.

Then came the wild part: The chef gave a 90-degree bow and beaming smile to every Japanese customer... yet when he finally acknowledged us, it was just a stiff nod. Whatever—we thought we’d focus on the food.

But the worst? When leaving, our taxi arrived first. We were literally about to get in when the chef sprinted over, whispered to the driver, and the car sped off 😱. Turns out, their Japanese guests’ taxi had arrived—and they had to board right at the entrance!

As for the food? Mediocre at best. Not even close to Goryukyu (Tokyo). We ate at Hakuun the day before—service was better (no blatant discrimination), and both supposedly descend from Ryugin. Save your money—this...

This was the worst experience I have ever had. Throughout the entire meal, the chef didn't say a word to us, as if we were unwelcome. Yet, they were very polite and provided excellent service to the Japanese guests next to us. Since we are foreigners , I assume this restaurant does not welcome foreigners. What was even more sad was what happened after dinner. We called an Uber and were waiting outside when our driver arrived. The chef quickly ran up to the driver, whispered something in their ear, and our driver left the entrance to make way for another Uber driver picking up guests behind us. I was shocked and deeply saddened by why we were treated this way, I wish I could speak Japanese and able to ask why the chef treated us like this and such a heartbreaking...

被要求在门外等候，而本地客人却能被提前接待、落座。整个用餐过程我们没有收到任何菜品介绍，分量也和邻桌明显不同。花的是一样的钱，为什么待遇却如此不同？

尤其是离开时，我母亲已踏上车，主厨却出来和司机说了几句，我们被要求让车给后面的本地客人。这种细节让我们感到被区别对待，甚至被忽视。

我们真心希望餐厅能对待每一位客人一视同仁，而不是根据语言或国籍来决定服务质量。美食不该有界限，尊重也不该缺席

We were asked to wait outside while local guests were welcomed in and seated early. During the entire meal, we received no explanation of any dishes, and the portion sizes were clearly smaller than those served to nearby local diners. We paid the same price—why were we treated so differently?

What upset us most was at the end: my mother had already stepped into the car when the chef came out and spoke to our driver, asking us to move so a local guest behind us could board their car first. These small details made us feel singled out and disrespected.

We sincerely hope the restaurant will treat every guest equally, regardless of language or nationality. Good food should have no borders—and neither should...