Sake Sushi — Restaurant in Milnerton

Where Your Existence Is Optional and Oyster Sauce Is Mandatory

You want sushi that makes you question your life choices? You want Chinese food that tastes like frozen TV dinners with grocery store sauce poured over it after a lengthy microwave session? You want management that treats you like you're an inconvenience to their business model of serving food to humans? Well look no further.

Let's talk about features. Authentic Chinese flavor? Nope. Fresh tuna? Nope. Management that understands customer service? Nope. A menu that matches what they actually serve? Nope... but they've got koi fish and they're in Chinatown, so you foolishly believe it might be authentic.

Let me tell you a story. I ordered beef with ginger and spring onion. What arrived was a psychological experiment in how much oyster sauce a human can consume before developing Stockholm syndrome. I pointed this out. Not to be dramatic, but the manager who only made eye contact with my husband like I was participating in some weird invisibility challenge, explained that ALL beef dishes come with oyster sauce. Even the ones that don't say oyster sauce.

Even if the dish is called "ABSOLUTELY NO OYSTER SAUCE BEEF," it's still getting oyster sauce. Restaurant policy.

Eventually, after a negotiation that felt like trying to convince a cat not to knock things off tables, the manager agreed to remake it. Twenty-five minutes later, I received what was possibly the exact same plate, but now with a single slice of ginger thrown in like a sad participation trophy.

The sushi? The sushi? The tuna had all the flavor and visual appeal of a faded photograph of fish. It tasted like someone had whispered "ocean" near it once, from a distance.

Honestly, I could make a more authentic Chinese meal at home, as a white woman whose closest connection to China is owning a steamer basket from @home.

Final thoughts? The Korean barbecue actually looked decent…sizzling, lively, full of promise. Too bad we were never offered that menu. It was right there, visible, tantalizing, like watching your neighbors have a pool party while your sprinkler is broken. Maybe it's a locals only thing, or maybe you have to know a secret handshake. Or maybe management just decided we weren't worthy. Who knows? Life's full of mysteries.

One bright spot: our waitress was genuinely lovely, I could tell she wanted us to have a good experience, despite management's apparent mission to ensure nobody experiences joy in their establishment.

Would I go back? Only if I develop a deep nostalgia for oyster sauce and want to convince my toddler my invisibility cloak is real.

This review is brought to you by ten years of passive-aggressively critiquing meals...

Teresa manager of Sake Sushi Sable Square Century city, was so bluntly rude to me, my sister , my daughter & grandson of 6yrs was with .We ordered us all buffets and had brought in bottled waters from outside shops as we were shopping. She approached our table after the Waiter gas taken some of our orders and spoke in a loud and unmanned tone to us in a way that we felt so insulted & embarrassed . She asked us to leave the restaurant if we'd not put the 500ml bottled waters away. ( we are food gurus & eat oug at least once a month- going to One & Only Hotel example ,no one had a problem at restaurant with me/us having bottled waters as we carry it around in this scorching heat yo keep hydrated. We dine out for breakfast/ lunch/ supper so often and has never been approached like this re: water . Normally food bill & drinks for 3 would be approximately +-R1k ? & she'd rather lose 3 x500ml of R45 to +-R1000? Where's the logic?What did she try to achieve? If she had spoken to us in a respectable manner then we would have gladly put our water away and bought water, wine , cola etc but felt not like staying as it's a cold unwelcome atmosphere we have received and sworn to never ever go back to such hostile atmosphere. We then could take our orders ( buffet) for take away & tipped the poor Waiter generously , whom got into trouble for allowing us to bring in water. When we got home discovered our take out food was half portions & felt discussed. I saw Teresa guarding the kitchen staff as they've prepared our food , then I realized was probably for the portion sizes dished. Upsetting, disgust, embarrassed, I have no words other than " Worse Manager ever which put a very bad reputation on...

Help me with the below

WORST MANAGER IVE EVER CAME ACROSS! ( SAKE RESTAURANT)

We bought 4x 500ml water just before we got to the restaurant and had it on our table. 1 for each of us.my son, mom, aunt& me. After being seated, & ordered our buffet ( R249 pp) for about 10mins we notice the manager walking up and down watching our table like a hawk, Which made us all terribly uncomfortable . Shortly after she made her way letting to us & said in loud voice" no outside water is aloud in the restaurant" This we do understand as some restaurants don’t allow this. However we would have been okay with it if the manager hadn’t approached us in a rude and disrespectful manner by speaking loud almost shouting the other patrons of restaurant could hear & we all felt insulted.

She mentioned if we don’t put our water away we will need to leave.

We then said we will leave in that case as we won't tolerate her being disrespectful with no customer service nor hospitality service at all . It took us all by surprise & just wanted to leave.

We then received a bill of just under R600 .

We requested our order ( buffet) we placed & would pay full total of R750 including the cola my son had . This was agreed upon after she called the security. ( Teresa - manager) blamed the Waiter that he allowed us in with the water .we felt do sorry for him. This is a typical example of how their staff is being treated & pass it on to the patrons that brings them business . (See attached picture of what we were given to make up for our R750 buffet) It’s terrible!

We have never ever came across such bad service being well traveled & a foodie Never experienced such bad service. We'll never set foot in that place...