千兵衛燒肉/鍋物吃到飽 新竹店 — Restaurant in Hsinchu

This was a pricy experience that was less than satisfying. First, I was charged an extra "service charge" of about 100 NTD over the stated price because I was just one guest instead of two, which was really counter-intuitive. Shouldn't I have received a lower price than two people instead? Then, one of the rice bowls was not clean (dried bits of rice or whatever it was were still sticking to the inside of the bowl). I asked a waitress to exchange it for a clean one, and she never returned. I probably overcooked the beef steak and rib. They came unseasoned except for a few sesame seeds and after cooking, turned out dry, tough, really hard to chew, and rather on the tasteless side even with the dipping sauces. Pretty much ditto for the unseasoned mackerel 鯖, which retained an unpleasant fishy taste even after grilling.The small scallops from Hokkaido were disappointing as well. They were very small in size and hardly enough for a bite each, definitely not as juicy and tasty as some large scallops I had tasted before. Maybe it's my lack of cooking ability. I probably should have chosen instead a full-service place with a better chef than myself. A person with more experience in seasoning, marinading, and cooking probably would have enjoyed dining here more. I just found it pricy and troublesome to boot that I had to cook my own food. I spent over 800 NTD, which is about 4 times the price of a typical Taiwanese dinner with side dish and soup in some less fancy places that offer more satifying meals overall. The written warnings about extra charges for staying over the time limit or wasting food just added anxiety to an already less than stellar dining experience. The servers were perfunctorily helpful and friendly enough, but did not go over the top to make you feel welcomed and valued as they do in Japan. I had to ask for help each time to figure out problems, like how to turn on the grill. No one anticipated my need or volunteered to find out. And no one apologized or took responsibility for the dirty dining ware. The facility was clean and neat, to be sure and offered toothpicks with dental floss at the counter, which I appreciated. It tried to imitate Japanese decor and atmosphere in the furnishings but does not quite make it in spirit. There was braised meat sauce or broth in Taiwanese and Japanese styles to pour over hot steamed rice, plus French fries, desserts, ice cream, and various drinks that you could help yourself to, though I did not see any beer as suggested in the advertisement given out with the napkins at the counter. I also did not see any miso soup, which is just odd for a Japanese-style restaurant. No one, too, volunteered to show me where things were. When I left, no one was at the counter to thank me for the patronage and bid me farewell. For the price, I would have liked better-quality food, cleaner dining ware, and just a little bit more attentive or at least helpful...

I was surprised by how spacious and clean this Japanese BBQ restaurant was. I visited here on a Monday so it was not crowded but even with a full house I imagine it should be easy to navigate without squeezing around with other people.

The food was great! They have three different cost tiers, we did the middle one which I believe was 799 NTD. You order the meat you want off a tablet they give you and they bring the food to your table shortly. There is also a Hotpot at your table, you can grab some hotpot ingredients freely from their fridge. They have a variety of drinks, ice cream, and small desserts (like creme brulee or some kind of cake, I didn't check) for you to choose freely as well. Ice cream was no Hagen Daz but was still pretty good, I think I got a blueberry and a cappuccino flavor. The sauces they provided for the BBQ was pretty good too.

Service was fast and efficient. Used plates were cleaned off pretty quickly for what must have been only 2-3 servers. They also change the grill regularly so you won't have to ask or eat super charred meat The only thing I think could be improved was the lettuce used to wrap the BBQ meat. It was really wet and must have been sitting for some time because the leaves were soggy and black.

I would recommend trying the restaurant out. You can enjoy the delicious food with your company with minimal interruption and...

Such a bad experience. They give so much misleading information. They told us we would all sit together at one table but it ended up being three different tables in a separate booth area. Also, they said the free beer was included in all the prices. But then said it’s only included in the most expensive one. Even they mixed up our reservation. They didn’t remind us when our time was up so we couldn’t order dessert. You can find better barbecue for less...