Sumo Niku — Restaurant in Pasay

⚠ WARNING: SUMO NIKO DAVAO PROMO MISLEADS & MANAGEMENT DENIES MISTAKES – READ BEFORE DINING! ⚠

We arrived at Sumo Niko Davao at 1:18 PM and saw a large banner advertising a 20% discount for groups of 4 or more dining in. Wanting to confirm the details, we approached a staff member named Karen. She stepped inside to check and returned with a clear answer:

“Promo starts at 2:00 PM, Ma’am.”

Trusting this information, we decided to wait. We even called five more relatives to join us, rearranging our schedules just so we could meet the promo requirements. At exactly 2:00 PM, we came back, placed our orders, and enjoyed our meal without asking again about the promo — because why would we? We had already been told it would start at 2:00 PM.

Then came the shock: When the bill arrived, we were informed that the promo had already ended at 2:00 PM and had actually started at 11:00 AM. This was the exact opposite of what Karen told us earlier.

Naturally, I asked to speak with the manager (wearing pink). Instead of apologizing or trying to resolve the issue, she flat-out denied that any staff had given us the wrong information. She questioned our credibility, making it seem as though we had invented the story.

I challenged her to check the CCTV footage. The footage clearly showed Karen assisting us at 1:18 PM and indeed telling us the wrong promo time. Only after being confronted with this evidence did Karen admit her mistake.

We then politely asked if the restaurant could still honor the promo as a gesture of goodwill, since the misunderstanding came from their own staff. The manager refused, saying:

“IF TAGAAN TAMO SA PROMO MAAM, MA KALTAS NA SA SWELDO SA STAFF.”

This statement was extremely upsetting. not only because it shifted the blame onto us, the customers, but also because it implied the staff would be punished financially for giving wrong information. That is an INTERNAL ISSUE and should never be used as an excuse to deny fair treatment to customers.

To make matters worse, the manager insisted that the promo guidelines stated the time. I reviewed the guidelines myself (photo attached) There was no time stated anywhere. If the details had been clear in the first place, we would not have had to ask at all.

⚠ WARNINGS FOR FUTURE CUSTOMERS: ✅Always get promo details in writing before ordering. ✅Do not rely solely on verbal confirmations from staff — even if they seem certain. ✅Be aware that management may deny responsibility even when mistakes are proven.

FEEDBACK FOR MANAGEMENT: ~Train staff to provide accurate, consistent information. ~When mistakes happen, acknowledge them immediately instead of denying or deflecting blame. ~Empower managers to make fair exceptions when customers are misled by the restaurant’s own team. ~Display all promo conditions clearly, including start and end times, to avoid confusion.

This review is not about the 20% discount anymore, it’s about honesty, accountability, and professionalism. Every business can make mistakes, but the way they are handled is what defines the customer’s experience. Unfortunately, this incident left us feeling disrespected, unheard, and treated as though our time and effort meant nothing.

We will not return to Sumo Niko Davao. If I could give -100,000,000...

To be honest, if there was a option for putting ZERO stars I would definitely choose it within a heartbeat. The food wasn't even that bad but it wasn't exactly a 'WOW OH EM GEE' experience, there were like 4 pieces of thinly sliced pork on the platter, and when we asked for lettuce there were 3 small pieces, and we were almost done eating when they served our lettuce! Wow! The service was awful, maybe the waiters have social anxiety or something but it's not that hard to at least pay attention to our table. There were people lining up outside to eat yet they didn't even seat them at a table so they just left, I asked for some chopsticks and they didn't even give me any? There weren't even that many people when I was seated, now I know the reason why!Not exactly rude but very unapproachable and inattentive, not even making eye contact as if their avoiding our table. The kimchi came right after when we were done, and the table behind us even complained that after they were done eating their LETTUCE still hasn't arrived? No shame to those who have social anxiety but it shouldn't be that hard to serve lettuce especially when it's 3 small pieces, the bathroom is a whole different story, the flush didn't even work, baby wipes taped to the wall, not dirty but not exactly sanitary either. Whenever we asked a question it would feel as if they were rushing and would walk away before we could clarify, we asked if there was ice and the waiter nodded and walked away before we could ask for some ice. Water tasted weird, some of the dishes were broken/chipped. I have a message for one of our waiters, Beth, along with your coworkers, you were all rushing us as if the restaurant was packed. At first I thought waiters in the food industry wouldn't need that much training but turns out after visiting this restaurant I now know that waiters actually need training, at least I learned two things when visiting this restaurant; number one is to never eat at this branch of Sumoniku ever again/ the restaurant and second is to appreciate every waiter I come across who has never rushed me and has actually made an effort to make us feel hospitable, overall I'd rate this a zero but I just wanted to let fellow customers know what they're signing up for. Hopefully one day your servers will be properly trained! God Bless! ♥️ (PS, while writing this review it asked me which dishes I'd recommend! Well actually there was no option for 'none' so I decided to add it here! Just saying! ♥️ Every other rating over one/two stars are probably paid! There should be more one...

COMPLAIN / SUMU NIKU MOA BRANCH

An expression of disappointment.

I’ve been writing good reviews and even promoting new food businesses or even old restaurant as long as they have an exceptional service. BUT TODAY, it was a different story.

This is to formally file a complain regarding our personal experience with your store at MOA. We are so EXCITED that our name was called and FINALLY TO BE seated on table NO. 19 BEFORE 9:00 in the evening ( 8:50pm I guess), the receptionist gave us the small PAPERS for the list of our orders and gave it right away to one of YOUR crews. We waited for our orders to come PATIENTLY but we noticed that 15 MINUTES AFTER the table beside us was SERVED FIRST where in fact we came at the store before them, SO WE FOLLOW UP AND WAIT AGAIN PATIENTLY. After 5 minutes, WE MAKE FOLLOW UP AGAIN BUT IT SEEMS THAT YOUR CREWS WERE BUSY ASSISTING OTHER CUSTOMERS SO WE WAITED AGAIN. IT WAS A MULTIPLE FOLLOW UP UNTIL ONE OF YOUR CREW TOLD US THAT OUR ORDER WAS MISSING AND WE WAITED FOR 30 MINUTES INSIDE THE STORE FOR NOTHING SO WE DECIDED TO LEFT THE TABLE WITH NO FOOD OR EVEN WATER. The EXCITEMENT was replaced by DISAPPOINTMENT AND FRUSTRATION. Imagine a person who are excited to TRY SOMETHING NEW WITH A HUNGRY STOMACH BUT ENDS UP TO NOTHING JUST BECAUSE THE ORDER SLIP WAS MISSING? AND THE SERIES OF FOLLOW UP WERE NOT ATTENDED!!! We asked to the receptionist who can we talk to regarding this incident but we find out that there’s no manager on duty. So WE WAITED AGAIN FOR THE OIC and told him everything that happened and HE EVEN TOLD US THAT BASED ON THE CCTV THE ORDER SLIP WAS WRONGLY PLACED. WE WERE ACTUALLY SEATED AT THE FRONT OF YOUR COUNTER YET NO ONE DARED TO ASK AGAIN OUR ORDER DURING THOSE MULTIPLE FOLLOW UP. Is that a CUSTOMER SERVICE that YOU HAVE???

This is HONESTLY the first time I AM WRITING A BAD REVIEW TO A RESTAURANT AND I HOPE THIS WILL BE ADDRESS...