Tatami Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Hawalli

Pricey but not bad.

Most places that have English-speaking staff will have that tourist-friendly "upcharge" and Tatami is no exception. This spot is actually rather small, but it is still aesthetically cozy. Easy to get to, plenty of parking nearby. Not much to do before or afterward, as it is surrounded by other restaurants. (You actually pass by a handful of shopping areas and other restaurants on your way over to Tatami's.)

I lucked out with seating later in the evening (2100ish), so I got a table immediately. They sat me... right at the front. As in a spot right in front of the door. It felt like they crammed extra tables into the room to accommodate more guests, but it felt a little cramped. Not that big of a deal for me, but might affect others, especially with guests. (To give you an idea, I could reach over and tap other tables' people on the shoulder.)

Started out with a large mug of ginger lemon tea (which was an amazing balance of spicy and sweet... and it should be at 1.5KWD). Miso soup came a little later, which was good as well with plenty of seaweed and a few small blocks of tofu.

I ordered the waygu sando and for the price, it's not bad. Price not considered, it is a pretty yummy selection of very tender bites of steak sandwiched between a slightly crispy sort of tempura batter and a touch of balsamic and onion to glue the pieces together. It came with a few dipping sauces: creamy dijon sauce, some kind of barbecue, and some kind of ground mustard. Definitely enjoyable, but not as juicy or savory as the actual Australian waygu I had at Al Boom.

The fried and battered green beans were surprisingly cold when I got them. Some of them also had a slimy sort of texture... I was not impressed with that. No additional flavor.

Service was easy to flag down, and I was checked on once during my entire stay. Total bill was about 13 KWD.

All in all, Tatami's a good spot to hit up if you want to give...

Bit of a disappointment during my last visit. It was around 12 degrees outside and the door to the outside seating was propped open letting the cold air into the restaurant. All guests sat indoors where wearing their jackets. We asked the staff to close the door and they grumbled:" but we have guests outside" and reluctantly closed the door. We decided to go somewhere else, despite the great food they usually serve, as it was simply too cold to enjoy a dinner and we didn't feel like "inconveniencing" the staff any further..

So I went again today. Food is great... service was slightly...

It was great before but they changed the management staff. They'd ignore phone calls to take only Whatsapp reservations only to call you through the same phone number they didn't answer prior. Then when you go in to check on the waiting list they ignore you even more without even a word of acknowledgement. I used to come here all the time and the change in staff changed the whole experience. When we were finally seated no one gave us the menu code.

A good manager can make or break the experience. Miss you manager Zeena you were...