Tempura Asakusa SAKURA — Restaurant in Tokyo

This was by far one of the least memorable, regrettable food experiences of our trip, let alone in my 4 visits to Japan or maybe even the 46 countries I’ve travelled too. Yes, it was that average.

WARNING!!! This place is clearly targeted at tourists as they are charging well above the average cost (western prices) you would usually come across in Japan and only providing the poorest quality.

I hope this review helps, you will be able to see that I don’t rate many places low and I have a few hundred reviews of mostly hospitality venues so should show I’m legit with this review as hospitality is my job and passion as well.

A shortened version: Below average quality and tasting food Poor and unorganised service WELL OVERPRICED (not even worth half the price when compared to other restaurants and quality of local Japanese cuisine)

A longer version: This restaurant looked like a good place based on research and google review score.

It was myself, my wife, my mum and sister who were also in Tokyo. When we arrived we saw the cost and I was hesitant but we decided the higher than average price should prove worth with the Wagyu inclusion.

NOPE!, not at all!

Firstly, not a local in site so shame on me for not pulling the plug and walking out. It didn’t help when people leaving said “that was amazing and you won’t regret it”.. I can now only imagine they like licking the soles of their shoes if they really enjoyed their meal here.

We all got the same set with my mum wanting her Wagyu cooked through more. When the sets came out, the Wagyu that were all ordered off the menu were all cooked completely different. Mine being ok but two others chewy and unenjoyable.

The prawns were tough and chewy. Most of the meal was barely warm. The batter was not the fluffy & crisp like tempura should be. It was too oily.

We all ordered a beer and they never came out until after we received our food as my wife had to remind the staff.

It was the most disappointing meal of the trip and would NOT RECOMMEND this place if you want to actually enjoy good Japanese cuisine, service and experience.

For the price, it’s not worth it at all as they are charging western prices and targeting western clientele. I am super disappointed in the price vs the quality of this place.

To top it off the staff who charged us for it wrong and as we were about to leave he called us back in to say he made a mistake and told the other wait staff which looked like he was angry about it but also kind of like it was in a joking way but all service he seemed friendly but abrupt in tone so really unsure. The amount we were charged still was at least double the worth of what we ate. I told him how disappointing the meal was and he only smiled and nodded. Not a care in the world.

Do not waste your money here as there are way too many great places to eat at a fair price locally.

Additional to the reply: Thank you to the owner or management for replying a very generic reply. I have seen your generic reply to many other reviews and I will never return to be “welcomed back” as I would not risk being ripped off again nor will I ever recommend anyone to...

TLDR: Tourist trap, go to an Udon shop down the street, they probably serve better tempura at a fraction of the cost.

Great for tourists and for a first time omakase experience but if you know what you should be getting for the price paid then this would be your most disappointing meal in Tokyo.

My alarm bells were ringing when there were no locals dining in. The google rating betrayed my expectations (4.8 really? REALLY? REALLYYY?????).

The good:

1. Chefs were engaging and made small talk with you and there is a smoke show for the squid tempura (not sure how this adds to the taste after deep frying it but its great for your videos!) Remember its about the smoke and mirrors guys!

2. I honestly can’t find anything good to say about the food but at least the chefs could all speak English to their intended audience. Food was decent at best but not mind blowing with any premium ingredients used (well there's the wagyu beef sirloin (??) but we will get into that later after we are very much WELL DONE with this section).

The awful:

1. Some parts of the service was extremely unprofessional, one of the chefs dropped a piece of tempura onto the table while serving it to another patron, plated it again and served it as if nothing happened.

2. I had a dispute with the quantity of the drinks served to me and was being doubted at first until they finally acknowledged their mistake and gave me a meager 1,000 yen discount.

3. Just look at my tempura steak in the pictures appended. It was overcooked and tough, and the batter was so poorly done. Its like they forgot about it and left it in the fryer for way too long, like how they forgot to serve my drink and even had the audacity to charge me for it. Also, proper wagyu would have tasted fatty even when well done because of its fat content (did they give me a random piece of beef and overcook it to mask its appearance, I wouldn't know!) Note that they don’t even ask you about your preferred doneness. I should have complained about it but didn’t want to create a scene, this shouldn’t even have made it out of the kitchen.

4. false advertising for name engraving service, only realized when we left the restaurant that we weren’t given these, when we made a reservation more than 24 hours in advance.

5. Ventilation wasn’t the best, jackets still smelled like oil after the meal.

Conclusion: It has been well over a week ago but this has still left a bad taste in my mouth and compelled me to write this. Should have done my due diligence and not relied on google reviews.

Abysmal and absolutely appalling stuff. Had to get a Lawson chicki to appease myself after and it tasted great! Hope the owner reads this because I have never been so disappointed with a...

I have such mixed feelings about this place. The food was okay. Solid cooking. I've had better, but I've had worse as well. But it was everything else that seemed to have ruined the overall experience for me.

It was one of the hotter days and extremely humid, so as we were heading up the elevator, I was hoping it would be cooler at the establishment. It was not. There were two fans going on, which didn't help much. I saw an AC unit on the ceiling, so I was a bit puzzled on how it was still warm since the space was not big. I asked for some ice water and expressed that it was hot in here. They gave us a semi cool water with no ice.

I decided to try to shake it off and just try to enjoy the experience since I was trying to treat my mother to a nicer dinner.

Overall, the food was okay. There were a lot of theatrics and parts where they were trying to get people to engage. As much as I appreciate the attempt, it wasn't for me. That is my personal opinion, so I'm not taking that part into consideration while I'm rating this, since I know some people would enjoy that.

What really got to me is how disorganized everyone seemed. My first sake pairing came out after I was done with my first course. Later, they poured me a glass right after they served the wagyu, saying it goes well with it. When the dessert came out, I asked if there was a pour for the dessert course. The person pointed at my glass and said, "That is for the dessert." I was so confused.

Pacing was a bit odd as well. We were scrambling to clear plates since they would bring the course before empty plates are taken away, so we're reaching over the food each time a new course comes out as someone else is explaining what the next course. Dessert also came out even before we were finished with the last course, which we couldn't let the dessert sit since it had a yuzi sorbet.

In the end, the feeling I got from this place was that they attract tourists since they can get away with lacking all of these details and cover it with the theatrics and interactions to make them feel like they are immersed in the culture. And yes, that makes me a chump, too, since I was also one of them that booked this place as well. Japan is very different when it comes to rating restaurants, which is why this place has a 4.9, and is also why I have not seen one japanese person eat there. I had keiten sushi at a mall for lunch and got better service there for...