BUBBYS — Restaurant in Yokohama

I walked by the Minato-Mirai Bubby’s on the way back from a late-afternoon client meeting in Landmark Tower after looking at the picture of the Hawaiian Pancakes.

I sat down and asked the waitress who was very sweet, but obviously in training if they offered a two-pancake option. She then brings over the specials menu (didn’t bring it with the initial menu, but she’s new so fine.) She reads the specials menu and asks the more seasoned waitress handling the front register. The answer was no. Okay, then it’s a little pricey for one pancake, so in for a penny in for a pound, I tell her I’ll take the chicken and pancakes and a black coffee.

She comes back very apologetic saying they sold out of that (sans coffee.) Fine, I’ll have the Banana Cream pie and a black coffee. She comes back saying they’re out of it. Now I’m laughing at the comedy of errors going on here. Okay then, a regular apple pie, but she tried to up-sell me on the Mocha cream pie, and I felt like trying it because I was in the mood for some kind of cream pie, so a mini one of those (this time I specify coffee before the meal so she knows to bring it.) She comes back with the coffee (with a spoon in it and a carafe of milk. Lol) but says they only have regular size pieces of the Mocha pie. I guess I’ll just have the Apple. Done, or so I think.

Time is going by and she mans the register; the other girl (with half-dyed-and-growing-out hair is talking to fellow employees as her priority task, and notice she is lazily mixing something in a mixing bowl. Could it be... whipped cream to go with the pie? She sneezes, not turning her head nor covering her face, and definitely not sneezing into the arm of the dopey flannel she was wearing. Thinking nothing of it, she doesn’t throw out the contents and start-over; she dishes the whipped-spit-cream next to a flattened piece of “mile high” apple pie and tries to serve it to me!

I asked her if she just sneezed, and she confirmed that yes, she had indeed sneezed and I told her to take it back. I got up and went to the register to pay-out and told the new girl I would pay for the coffee I had a few sips of, thinking’s she wouldn’t dare charge me; oh my friend, she dared and asked for 500 yen, maybe more.

I told them, if they’re going to charge me, I’ll just go back to my table and finish my coffee, on the way back, I see the table was cleared, which I informed the her of, then the apologetic guy who had bussed my table had the brilliant idea to let me go.

Being a man of science, I realize all of the factors that went into this single-worst-dining-experience-ever and can appreciate it for the comedy of errors that it was, but I also see this as a prime example of why when people don’t live on tips in Japan, service suffers. Also, I go to two other Bubby’s regularly and sure, the food comes out slow because the kids are talking in the kitchen, but I would never go back to the Minato-Mirai Bubby’s again because I’m frankly embarrassed that it got to the point I had to walk-out on them because the experience was just...

If you are hankering for a US style breakfast in Yokohama, this is one of the few choices where you can walk away ready for a post-breakfast nap. It’s not what it used to be and now feels much like a great, original restaurant with cool features transitioning either towards death or life as another terrible watered-down Japanese version of a great creative original. The once fluffy(ier) pancakes once came in many choices, including my favorite chocolate chip (no longer on the menu), and are now hard and heavy like a discus at a track meet or a frisbee filled with putty but you’ll get by cuz you get 2 and they feel like they weigh a good half pound each. The mile high apple pie used to actually be oversized but now is exactly the same height as the other standard sized Japanese pies, which is about 3/4 the height of a typical US pie. (Maybe it’s a “kilometer” high pie now?) For you breakfast eaters, I’m sorry, but Bubby sleeps in late every day and doesn’t get to work until 10:00 am. (I think he’s out at the sake bar until 3:00 in Noge at night with Bill and all the other breakfast chefs in Japan, who seem to only want to cook brunch.) All in all, it's an American-style breakfast, it's filling, and there ain't a lot of competition. If the pancakes were fluffier, there were more choices (including lighter choices), and if they served during breakfast hours, it would be...

There were a few unfortunate things in this place during our experience. First off, they have people sign in when there’s a line, but they don’t properly call out when it’s your turn despite not having much space in front of the restaurant to wait at. If they skip you, you’ll be forced to sign up again at the bottom of the list.

Food was not as good as expected at all. Fries were a bit too salty for me. But both burgers- the signature Bubby’s and the Pulled Pork were too dry. I know it’s supposed to be American burgers but I don’t remembers burgers in America being that dry.

Service was fast though, so that’s a plus!

Over all, I didn’t feel like it was worth the trouble and the high prices.

I wish I had ordered some desserts to try, as they looked like they had some...