Oreno Yakiniku ginza9 — Restaurant in Tokyo

Wife and I absolutely loved, loved, loved this place. After being turned away by the (overhyped, snooty) Ginza Steak next doors for not having reservations eventhough they were emptied, we were so happy we found this treasure. Hungry and tired from our navigation from Shimbuya station, the Oreno staff welcomed us in with opened arms and fanfare. The place erupted with all the chefs and waiters screaming 'welcome' in Japanese. It was like stepping into a Chuck E Cheese or Hooters (for the all American readers out there). As part of the eating here, we had to agreed to a 330 yen/person seating charge, 110 minutes max consumption time, and a minimum purchase of 2 drinks. Seating charges and time limits are common practices by restaurants here. No issues for us as we're hungry and thirsty. We seated around 6:20pm when there were probably only 6 other patrons in the place, but once we left, the place was packed and there was a line forming. Glad we came when we did. The atmosphere was rocking and lively for a Monday night. Having had a very subdued (but excellent) 5 stars Kobe beef experience in Kobe, it was refreshing to be in an environment where you didn't feel like you were in a library. Don't get me wrong, we enjoyed our Kobe experience as it was our splurge for the trip. We would have also enjoyed Ginza Steak had they seated us (and would have gladly spent a lot of money there too). Oreno is a 'you grill your own foods at the table' establishment similar to the Korean BBQ or VN Bo Ne experience. This is not a teppanyaki experience like we had in Kobe. We preferred this over a private teppanyaki chef as we can eat leisurely at our own pace without worrying that someone is watching over us to be sure he has our next portion ready. We ordered the Ultimate 12 Steps A5 Wagyu Platter for 2-3 persons. It was plenty. We barely finished (and to think I was going to get the 4 persons portion). Wagyu is something I feel that can be overwhelming if you get too much of it. Remember, if you're eating good Wagyu, you're eating mostly fat with some beef sprinkled in. We also ordered a side of rice and kimchi to balance things out. Oh, the meats were so heavenly; melting in your mouth with every bite. They provided sauces for dipping, but we found just a touch of wasabi and salt is all that is needed to bring out the true flavor of the beef. We got 2 Sapporo beers and a shot of their best sake. I introduced our waiter to the concept of the sake bomb. He was impressed and will mentioned to his manager to include this as part of their celebration. LOL, there was birthday cake made of beef at a table next to us while the staff all sang happy birthday. I'm shocked that they haven't discover the sake bomb yet. We left this place filled and very happy. 16,800 yen for the step platter and add drinks/sake, we spent only a small fraction of what we set out to spend at Ginza Steak. So do yourself a favor and go here for you Wagyu experience....

My family and I decided to come to this place (a group of 3 people, including a 3 years old kid). Despite the food was good the overall experience was disappointing. Prior to enter,at 18:45h, we were warned by a friendly waiter informed us that we needed to leave before 20:00 due to a reserved table. We agreed, as we had ample time before our airport departure, as we do not live there. So, no time to hesitate At 19.20h, during a pleasent dinner, we were told by a tall Japanese man with a earpieceon his left heat, who I assume was the manager, it was the last order for us. Fine, but a bit early in my opinion During all our dinner, the manager repeatdly, passed by our table watching us, making evident he was in a rush we had to leave, and making our experience a bit uncomfortable, as looked like we were not welcome (once they received us). Unexpectedly, at 19.30h, the bill arrived without us requesting it. When I addressed the discrepancy with the manager, he claimed the reservation time for other clients was at 19.50h, which still suited us. But I disagre his way as still had some time ahead to finish my drink and soup. However, finished them hastily. To me, the lack of clarity and rushed service were unacceptable, especially in a place where Japanese hospitality is typically exceptional. Obviously, my family and I leaved the place in a rushed, as requested by the manager, who did not stop to watching us during all the diner and spolied my last hours in Japan. Understand it is a busy restaurant in a very well known area, and had a previous reservation, but again, this is not the way. I would not recommend this restaurant because of thementioned issues and do not plan to return. Tokyo offers numerous restaurants with better service. Unfortunately, this one doesn't meet...

Totally disappointed by their poor service:

1. The waiters were extremely pushy in trying to get us to order a drink. They set a requirement that each customer MUST order at least one drink. Once we were seated, one of the waiters came to us and asked us to order a drink WITHOUT even giving us time to read the menu. When we required more time to read the menu before placing an order, the waiter gave us an unfriendly look.

2. The same waiter insisted on talking with us in mandarin even though it is NOT our preferred language. To begin with, we come from Hong Kong and we speak Cantonese instead of Mandarin as our first language. Starting from the very first moment after we were seated, the waiters communicated with us in Mandarin assuming that we speak fluent Mandarin. We therefore immediately made it clear to them that our mandarin is bad and that we prefer speaking in English. HOWEVER, the waiter went on to talk with us WHOLLY in Mandarin even though we talked to him wholly in English.

In short, despite their pretty good food quality, we will never come back again solely because of their poor service which renders our experience extremely bad. Would have given 0 out of 5 stars but for the lowest possible rating that Goggle allows us to give...