Ponga Ebisu

The good parts: the foie gras truffle rice was super fragrant and delicious. Private dining space. Friendly staff members. Easy to access location. The disappointing part: We made a reservation for two people for 9:30 pm and had to left in a rush at 11:40 pm. It was mainly just waiting for the food. There are not many actual dishes throughout the course but it took forever for each of them to come out. Not to mention that they don’t even provide water or tea. You can order bottled water or tea from the drinks menu at 600 yen. 10% service charge for the entire bill, including drinks. However, nobody checked on our water or need. Other than quickly delivering the food, nobody came in to our “private” dining room. For the grilling part, it was the most irritating part. We had the chateaubraid part, which was something we really looked forward to, and the person who helped cooking it just poached it right away. Without properly pre-oiling the grill pan, the meat sticks into the pan. The grilling service didn’t feel professional. The dessert didn’t match the expectation for a “Luxury Course” at all. They definitely didn’t make the desserts in house. The affogato has pieces of ice in the vanilla ice cream, which makes me think that it is either not stored properly or not fresh. The almond tofu looks like it was scooped out of a box from supermarket. All in all, I don’t recommend this place for someone who is very particular about Japanese grilled beef or who wants to experience actual service throughout their course. I booked this place for its high rating, but from my opinion, it doesn’t not deserve such high score.