IZAKAYA | High Japanese Cuisine — Restaurant in Palma

QR menu rant

I must state from the outset that the food at Izakaya is outstanding. I’m no Japanese cuisine connoisseur, but I am a fan and would say this is the best I have tasted anywhere (including Tokyo).

However, there are some issues. If, like me, you have an intense dislike for QR code menus, don’t dine here. Not only does Izakaya have zero printed menus to offer upon request, but the design and layout of the electronic menu are probably the worst I have encountered.

QR code menus are a hangover from the COVID era, and even then, they were a silly idea, designed to reduce the transfer of germs. Of course, they also reduced printing costs for restaurants and allowed proprietors to easily adjust menus and pricing.

For customers, however, they are a distinct inconvenience, where everyone has to get their mobile phone out (signal permitting) and scroll around a tiny bright screen, ruining the subtle low lighting in this beautiful dining room.

The joy of dining out with friends and family should begin with being seated and pouring over the menu together over a drink. That social interaction doesn’t happen with electronic menus and is a particular hindrance with Japanese dining, where many dishes are made to be shared.

The way the Izakaya menu is laid out is particularly hopeless (see for yourself here: https://izakaya.digimenu.es/inicio-carta-izakaya-mallorca-en/), in that all the dish types and drink types are on separate pages. There is no overview of everything on one page, so where to begin??

My wife was delayed, and while we waited, our guests and I decided we would leave and go elsewhere, with many other eateries in close proximity. I politely told the waiter that we would probably leave once my wife arrived, so the (Spanish) manager came over and sat down beside me to try to address the situation. I explained calmly that QR menus are a non-starter for me at restaurants of this calibre, to which he responded that their Japanese chefs frequently changed the menu, depending on availability of produce. He added that the restaurant had been going for eight years.

I asked him how they managed menus pre-COVID, which must have been impossible, then? Of course, they will have had printed menus like everyone else back then. Omakase has always been Omakase, while it is no problem listing specials on a blackboard or iPad in addition to an essential menu that rarely changes.

The manager, like many unqualified for the job, failed to persuade me of the merits of his QR menu instead of understanding this customer’s strong objection. The hero of the evening was our Argentine waiter, Gastón.

After the manager walked away, Gastón sat down and empathised with my issue, saying that many (MANY) customers make the same complaint and that he agreed with me. He then offered to go through the menu with us and help us with our selections. He also offered an apology by offering a round of complimentary cocktails (catalogued on the menu one-by-one, on individual pages!).

We accepted, and ten minutes later we completed our order. The food was delicious, though service ground to a halt whenever Gastón wasn’t around, as he was busy going through the same motions with other diners.

We were invisible to his colleague, who waited on neighbouring tables in the way that a waiter in a beach bar would. Y’know, super casual, tilted head, semi-whistling to himself; and particularly unsuited to a high-standard Japanese restaurant. We came to call him ‘Chiringuito guy’.

Later, both tables on either side of us also made their objections clear about QR menus, having overheard our conversations at the beginning.

I will add that as a superyacht agent in Palma, I maintain our list of recommended restaurants to which we send clients. Izakaya is on the list, but unless they can present a proper menu to diners next season, we will not be sending anyone here in the meantime.

Gastón’s gallant efforts were rewarded with a handsome tip, as he really did save the day. Food and ambience, 10/10....

Please stay well away from this place! Extremely bad value for money, rude staff and unsafe! It was a disappointment after another. We went in and before sitting we asked if they had any gluten free options, to which we were told they had many. We decided to sit and asked for the menu as their online one wasn't working properly and there were no clear descriptions of the food. After about a 10-15 minutes wait to get the menus we got told that there were only two items we could order from the whole menu and had to have no sauce on top for it to be gluten free. As we had already ordered drinks we decided to try those two items in the hope they would be outstanding as they were very expensive. That was the next disappointment as the quality was at best mediocre and presentation totally absent as they were just thrown onto the plate. At that point when we were almost done eating, one of the waiters, a curly haired man of which I didn't get the name, was incredibly disrespectful to us as he come close, not properly wearing a face-nose protection, which made us feel very unsafe and made us wonder about the hygiene standards of the whole place, as I later saw a chef in the kitchen not wearing a mask at all. At this point he corrected my wife out loud on how to supposedly eat her nigiri that was totally uncalled for and rude. We are well versed on the proper etiquette on how to eat sushi and that was an uncalled for gesture we did not understand but deeply upset us. With already a very bad experience had, the last drop came in with the bill that was higher than what stated on the menu. (we were actually ready for this one as we had already read in some review that might happen) At that point we got told that the paper menu was an old one and only used as "reference" and price were not correct, which we would have been happy to oblige if informed beforehand, and once we checked the online menu, price were different from what we got in our bill. So this was a clear attempt at overcharging us for an already oveverpriced meal. We asked politely to correct that, paid and left to never ever come back. Izakaya is the one place to stay away from in Palma...

I can’t unfortunately give less stars than that; I would say one of the worst services I have experienced in my life, food is ok-ish -Waiters are with attitude and they don’t even explained anything, basics like it could even be a plus for them: for example they do their own soya sauce (nobody told me that) I realized because its honestly tasteless and Ive thought they mixed with water so I asked for a new one: and one of the waiter came with a horrible attitude saying “we do it here” yes but if nobody tells me how would I know, maybe I would even have appreciated better if they would explain simple basics like that. SUPER UNHYGIENIC* and be careful with this: Ive asked for x3 plates and the third one came and they left it on the table with the cashier which was infront of mine so i could see ut, it was sitting there for a good 5 minutes, on top of that they put a microfiber cloth which they were using it to clean the tables next to my plate and another that wasn’t mine but I guess that client didn’t see it, waiters passed by and nobody even took the plate till I asked if that was my plate and waiter said “yes” I had to ask her to bring it, I rather have it on the table than sitting there with the dirty microfiber cloth 😅 and super rude she said : if it would have touch I wouldn’t have brought it to you 🫠🫠 TERRIBLE ANSWER AND AGAIN NOT HYGENIC AT ALL ! Don’t waste your...