Hakko — Restaurant in Porto

TERRIBLE!! SERVICE IS THE WORST I HAVE EXPERIENCED ANYWHERE.

Late morning, my partner and I walked 20 minutes to come here, and honestly, it was a complete disappointment. The staff were incredibly rude, and we ended up walking out, or I would argue actually pushed out.

Their toilets were out of order, and when I I asked about an alternative, I was told to use another café’s facilities. Desperate, I went next door to Rosi (a lovely place, by the way), and out of courtesy for using their bathroom, I bought a matcha there.

When I returned to Hakko to join my boyfriend—who was already seated—I had only drunk half of my matcha, so pretty much only had a few sips left. Almost immediately, a waitress came over and very rudely told me I couldn’t bring in a drink from elsewhere, claiming they could be fined by “security” (which sounds like a total lie). I usually wouldn’t bring in an outside drink, but given the situation, I explained why I had it and that I would have felt too rude not buying from the place I had to use their facilities.

We were fully intending to order two meals and additional drinks at Hakko, so it’s not like we weren’t going to be paying customers!! But instead of showing any understanding, the waitress was dismissive and told me I needed to stand outside to finish my drink (which she said in a really rude way). When I questioned why it was acceptable for their bathroom to be out of order but not reasonable to accommodate the situation, she kept making excuses, such as ‘security will fine us’. Eventually, I asked, “Do you want us to leave then?” and she just shrugged and basically said “yeah.”

So, we left. All over a matcha I had to buy because Hakko couldn’t provide basic restroom facilities. Absolutely awful service—would not recommend And INSTEAD - go to Rosi, the loveliest cafe!!

EDIT: The manager has now replied and offered us to come back, it is nice to feel heard and have such an understanding reply. We are no longer in Porto, however if i'm being honest, i'm still very shocked with how the interaction and conversation with the waitress went down. If we were still in Porto, we would not take the offer to return unfortunately, but again I appreciate the offer from the owner to try and rectify our previous experience. Treating people with respect and politeness is something I really value, and the way the staff made me and my partner feel, was not nice. There is a new review, just above mine, from a customer who appears to have been at Hakko at the same time - and witnessed our horrible experience. Their review also reiterates the unprofessionalism of the staff. Leaving a bad review is not a nice thing to do, and to reiterate I cannot comment on the food (as we had to leave...), so my feedback is purely based off customer / server interactions. I do hope the manager is able to review the situation, speak to the staff member and ensure the employees handle experiences like this better. It's not a nice feeling what...

I have been here dozens of times and is one of two places I go consistently, knowing I'll be delighted with both the food rotation and the coffee selection.

While I could type an essay on how this place has not only met and exceeded my expectations time and time again, but also of every single time I've recommended it directly or indirectly, I would prefer to add a bit of commentary on an egregious review left here by one named Miguel.

The author of that review is high up at a company that competes directly with the machinery used in-house at Hakko. The review, which seems to have been compiled by an early version of ChatGPT, is not only oddly obsessive, adding unnecessary edits, deleting the post, and then having it reappear a year later verbatim as if saved on one's phone, but it is also incredibly misguided and in bad taste. He insults a barista, calling her insolent. He attacks the coffee, which just shows his own inability to taste and appreciate the style of coffee served there. He acts as though the place is only accepting of foreigners, which is an odd critique, to say the least, as it could be said of any business downtown, but is also incoherent and wrong.

The man behind that review deserves no serious consideration in his oddly obsessive hit piece.

As someone who works in that same industry, I'm actively addressing this ridiculous situation coated in dubious attempts to put down a lovely cafe ran by a hard working crew.

That is all. Support...

I arrived at Hakko at 2:30pm and was asked if I was hungry. When I responded with an enthusiastic yes, I was informed they were no longer serving food and the kitchen was already closed (they only open at 10am). I had walked a fair way to get here after being told all about their French toast, so I was bitterly disappointed. I went down the road to Epoca who warmly welcomed me and were still taking food orders. Spend your money there instead!

Edit: Interesting that the owner has responded claiming I have “anger issues” and now mentioning they also ran out of food, which was never disclosed at the time. They have now edited their Instagram details to reflect kitchen closing time or “until sold out” so despite your defensive and rude reply, you have listened to my feedback. Ludicrous to suggest you message or call a cafe to see if they have food in advance. One star rating reflects your poor service, hospitality and business management. Also, please stop twisting the story - I simply got up from my table and walked out once you informed me you weren’t serving food. You had plenty of time to discuss matters further as there was no such “passive...