MOMIJI Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in North Island

I frequent this restaurant at least once a week to three times a fortnight. I dine here only because, well, basically they're the only Japanese restaurant that serves a menu with sashimi. I heard there was another restaurant in town but the reviews weren't great and every time I attempted to go there, it was closed, so here I am.

I'll start with the pro's. Momiji's has a varied menu and it is moderately priced. The staff are adequate but with some initiative or slight changes, the service could improve. The recently hired staff are wonderful. The sushi and nigiri are a decent size meaning the rice to fish/meat/vege ratio is not disproportionate to the other. It's pretty bang on. They now offer recyclable takeaway dishes at 20c per container. The venue is beautiful with lots of potential.

The cons. The venue might appear impressive but the decor is bland, and the food and general service makes it feel no better than a food court. The disposable wooden chopsticks, and the stoic slaw salad with a star shaped carrot that comes with every dish, serves only as a warning to the naive and hopeful that an underwhelming 'hole in the wall', food court quality experience is about to unfold. The tables aren't set. Every single time I go there, I have to ask staff to bring plates, chopsticks, water, glasses, etc to the table. And every time, they bring one plate, two forks, two pairs of chopsticks and two napkins. Then I have to ask for another plate. This plays out like groundhog day every time! I just don't understand that! Portions have gotten smaller, including the accompanying sauces, yet prices are increasing! The dish comes with the sauce, it is not an extra, so to give a now diminishing 'dot' amount and expect it to last throughout the whole meal, is ridiculous. Expect to get eye rolls from some staff members if you have a request. Some of these things can be avoided, if they set the tables. The vege fritters in the bento boxes are very unpleasant. They're actually quite heavy and literally taste like dense vege flour bombs. That's the best way I can explain it. The servery and the reception area is a mish mash and unhygienic. When you buy sushi or nigiri from the cabinets, the staff will put soy sauce in a small dish with wasabi and pickled ginger. The plate of food moves from one side to the other side behind the counter to the till and depending on whoever else is at the servery, the food is an easy target for cross contamination. It is painful to watch my plate move around behind that counter. The till is a breeding ground for bacteria so when I see unclean hands touching money, then the eftpos machine and other customers hands, and then my plate of food, it makes me fully anxious. And there are no trays to ferry the plates back to the table.

Humble advice? Inject some excitement into your venue! Buy some reusable chopsticks and up your napkin game! Stop being stingy! Put wasabi, ginger and soy sauce on the tables for customers to use at their convenience! Set your tables! Put the menus on the tables! Serve water and glasses on arrival! Sort out that hideously cramped service/reception area! Encase the sushi and nigiri that sits on the counter under appropriately sized lids! Improve your hygiene practices!

Unfortunately, I am not a fan of your restaurant but in desperate times when I'm hungry for sashimi, I just have to deal. For me, Momiji is uninspiring and boring. And unfortunately, the standard across town isn't high, which means there is no real incentive for you to want to be more.

You are definitely no Kura Sake or Tanuki on Queen Street but it's not impossible to be on par with them given the foresight and innovation. I don't understand how their food is much cheaper, even with the more expensive overheads, but they can still offer better quality products and deliver and maintain a total WOW factor! Just because this is Whanganui, doesn't mean you can't do us a solid. Perhaps you lack incentive? I hope this lengthy review...

Disappointing Service Overshadows Food. We visited Momji on our last night in town, hoping for a relaxing and enjoyable experience. While we were seated promptly, getting service proved difficult. Refills for our drinks were never offered, and our entrees arrived slowly. Unfortunately, the wait staff neglected to provide us with cutlery and napkins until we specifically requested them. The table next to us encountered similar service issues, having to get up for napkins themselves. After finishing our main courses, our empty plates remained on the table for over 30 minutes, despite wait staff clearing tables around us. We eventually had to flag someone down to request the dessert menu, only to be informed the kitchen was closing shortly. Despite this, our dessert order wasn't taken, forcing us to ask again. The desserts arrived with our dirty dinner plates still on the table. Overall, the inattentive and inefficient service significantly impacted our experience. The staff seemed uninterested and disengaged, which is a shame as it likely cost the restaurant additional revenue from drinks and dessert orders. Unfortunately, we won't be returning

Edit. To answer your reply We were sitting as a party of 5 far side of the main room in the restaurant with a view of the kitchen. One younger uninterested blonde female server first then an older blonde lady and last a guy with black hair. Not sure it matters as nothing will probably be done and it’s too late now as first...

The food tastes okay. I can't tell if it's actually good or not though, because there's so much sauce on everything. Because of the excess sauces (well I hope it's because of that) the same flavour builds up with every mouthful, until it becomes too much and you lose your appitite. Also I ordered Karage but got Gyoza instead. I ordered through a delivery service (Food Runners, I highly recommended it) so I didn't get the opportunity to request less sauce or anything like that. But you shouldn't have to make a request like that in the first place, there should be less sauce in the first place or it should be an optional thing...