Ogetsu Hime — Restaurant in Mandaluyong

We had our teppan table reserved for more than 3 weeks and they asked us to pay a deposit because they said it is a big group and so we did. We were shocked at how the small counter of about 12x12 not more than 15 ft actually displays the food that are constantly missing from it because of delayed refills. Then, there is a small counter for a sushi bar. The waiters were ok, but one lady waiter was insisting my niece ordered sashimi when she doesn’t eat raw food. I personally had an unpleasant experience from the 2 men at the sushi bar when i asked if the tuna sushi they were offering is truly the only thing they have. The defensiveness and a bit of aggression is quite obvious in how they answered my question. It’s like telling you that you have you take it or leave it in an unpleasant manner. And the teppan table was a disaster because they let us sit there with no teppan dinner to experience but an empty, badly maintained skillet/stove. I counted the buffet dishes and it was about 2 soups, 3 all terriyaki dishes, 2 noodles, 2 fried tonkatsu looking dishes, 5 different tempura with shrimp tempura missing most of the time. They served 2 kinds of bite size tea cakes and the tea that taste like hot water. If i missed something, it will not be more than 2 items You could also select from a menu that also reflected the buffet choices. When a choice is not on the buffet, they will give it to you after about 20 minutes. I ordered 2 small things and they came at the end of my dinner when i just had to try finishing it because they kept telling us that they will add P500 if we have left overs. Maybe no one will have left overs if their food were served quickly.

I rarely give this much bad review on a restaurant but both food and experience were equally unpleasant. I am doing the restaurant a favor if they choose to listen. I am not sure if their kitchen staff is short but they have plenty of waiters moving about. The dining experience they are providing needs to level up from the food to the service. We passed by a line of restaurants and cafes in SM Megamall where they are located at, and they were all lined with people taking a chance to get in. We get there and no one was in line. Now, we know why. Show less Date of visit:...

I wanted to give them a 1 star but since I actually stayed and ate the food since it was ok I gave it 2 stars.

Horrible experience though! A far cry from the last time we ate there, albeit that was pre-pandemic. Here are the reasons why I strongly advise against eating there. By the way, this is for the buffet (all-you-can-eat) meals. I will not speak about their a la carte menu as I didn't order any.

The apparent loss of the Otoro from their menu. Not a lot of places serve fatty tuna and Ogetsu used to be one of them. But upon asking their waiters none of them even knew what I was talking about. Did they change management or something?

We arrived as the restaurant opened so we were one of the few people who were there first. As soon as we placed out orders we waited for them to arrive. Upon arrival of some of our orders I was surprised to find the tiniest cuts of sashimi you would ever see in any Japanese restaurant, what more in an expensive restaurant like Ogetsu Hime? Each order of salmon sashimi came with 4 slices and what arrived were 4 slices of what appears to be 2 slices from like a regular Japanese restaurant like, say Sambokujin, which is an all-you-can-eat restaurant as well. But at least their slices were a good size. Ogetsu served a slice measuring 1/2 inch x 1 1/2 inch long.

An order I placed for a Spicy Salmon salad miraculously turned into a Spicy Tuna salad. After I followed up on that particular order 3 times!

Service was so slow. I get prioritizing a la carte orders and all that but going so far as delaying buffet orders? I counted the number of people who came in and order after we placed our orders and some of them got their orders ahead of us. Including their second orders.

Their drinks were bottomless but we might as well have just ordered water they were so watered down.

Anyway, if you were thinking of eating here for their buffet I strongly advise you to just go to Dad's or Vikings or Sambokujin. We ate there thinking we were going to get much better quality of food and service from these well-known buffet restaurants only to be proven so wrong.

The a la carte orders seemed ok so I can't say...

Ogetsu opened several years back offering authentic Japanese dining experience that I found intriguing particularly because of the choiced beef cuts advertized. But it also came at a steep price. Back then, dining at Ogetsu could only be a dream. An aspiration.

Recently, they're offering a buffet experience guaranteeing servings of steak. We - I just had to grab that chance.

I expected melt-in-your-mouth beef, delicious sashimi that slides down throat, and delightfully tasteful and aesthetically pleasing Japanese dishes. Well, with most of the bites I took, I was left unimpressed and disappointed, even.

The sashimi were not the freshest, the ribeye steak was well-done and not melt-in-your-mouth, my favorite pickled ginger was absent, the sushi was not memorable. California maki looked sad. Refills took a time even when the restaurant was not at full capacity. Although I had my fill, I could not say that I was satisfied. The lack of choices for a buffet would've been fine if the few that were available were excellent. But they were not.

Some good points - free flowing drinks come with the buffet price. The batters of the tempura are good.

I kept thinking that if the food remains as is, if beef is served without asking the customer the desired level of doneness, if the sashimi remains unremarkable, then there are better alternatives to eating Japanese food which are not as pricey.

I was rather sad for this restaurant that it did not live up to its original hype. It's a 2.5 for me but since service was generally okay, it is more...