Peter Luger Steak House Tokyo

This was my second time visiting Peter Luger after the first visit in the last May and I couldn’t help but tell that it came quite mediocre in contrast to the first amusing and startling visit. My second visit largely owes to the main server exemplifying exceptional professionalism and servicing attitude that I sincerely appreciated during my last visit. As there are a few points I would like to share with you I’ll break down them into pieces in order to improve clarity.

1. Ambiance: As I stepped inside, the hostesses promptly seated me at a table to the main floor where the familiar utensils and tablewares had already been set up before arrival. The house remained as charming as the fine touch of top notched marvels and wooden floor of the house. Toilet was perfectly maintained, tables were spaciously arranged and staffs were attentive enough to accommodate visitors’ needs without making them waiting. You could easily tell this restaurant was well aware of what their customers expect during visiting.

2. Main dish: I’ve got not much to say. Just like the last month I ordered a lunch hamburger topped with bacon, grilled onions and tomatoes. A juicy patty in the bun, warm and fluffy breads and their signature sauce were all satisfying. I would be surprised if there was anyone on the same day complained those. The foods were self-explanatory to their descriptions on the menu.

3. Dessert: I ordered a bowl of sliced mango sided with another bowl of whipped cream. Surprisingly, it was literally just everyday mango where you can get any grocery store near you. There is nothing to be regretted unless this was the main reason you came back to the restaurant. Its scent, texture, juice and looks felt like a totally different menu. Maybe the mango bowl I tried was well ripened last time whereas this time it lacked the same level of post-process before serving. If my friends want to visit this restaurant in any time soon this bowl would unlikely be my suggestion. Simply to put, it didn’t live up to my expectations.

4. Servicing: as I mentioned earlier, overall experience was satisfactory, yet not very impressive in relation to their price scale. Maybe it was my expectations set too high during the first visit. But aside from foods, I must emphasize that the house should practice rigorous calibration particularly in their staffing and servicing, as there is some degree, if not evident discrepancies in qualities among staffs. Unlike the last visit, communication was not smooth enough to convey my requests and receive timely responses to my inquiries. Such discomfort is very much understandable as there was language barrier between us. But it is important to note that the restaurant is not located in a random residential area where they only cater to locals, instead, they are situated at the venue constantly interacting with non-Japanese speaking visitors. Given that the neighbourhood is the district where a number of esteemed gourmet house rivalling each other I believe such consideration would help entrust visitors to their business, eliminating chances of trying-out to competitors.

*pictures following respectively representing this time vs the previous experience: you can easily find denoting difference on the first one lacking post processing seen on the second