Intoku (Reading) — Restaurant in Reading

I went with my family, which consists of three kids and thirteen adults. No one asked whether we had a reservation or not when we arrived at around 6pm. After a few minutes of waiting, we were asked to go upstairs and there were no other customers there.

The manager, Elena, came over and instructed us to take a seat on one side. She didn't even greet us or at least smiled. We were very looking forward to our dinner because it was my niece's birthday. We believed that everything was fine until the manager approached us once more and instructed us to sit downstairs.

I later learnt that she was upset and complained to your off-duty chef who was with us about bringing such a large party. She even asked him to assist with serving. That chef went to your restaurant as a paying customer so she should have treated him like one! We remained silent and still stayed even though she was rude and didn't even make us feel welcomed (really obvious by her gestures and facial expressions towards us).

This manager clearly has poor customer service as she doesn't know how to handle this kind of situation. If we needed to have a reservation, then she could have told us to make a booking immediately. If they could not accommodate us at all, then she could have just told us, and we would leave, END OF STORY.

However, treating us like we were not paying customers or did something bad and embarrassing your off-duty chef for bringing customers was totally unacceptable! Little did you know that there were people coming from far to your restaurant because that chef has been recommending it since he started working. The manager does not just need proper training regarding customer service but also needs to have employment law knowledge. Asking someone to work when he/she is off duty is a violation of employment rights as per the Employment Rights Act 1996.

She passed in front of us and left without apologising or at least saying something (like other managers do). Although she ruined our night, we still had an amazing dinner because of the delicious food. Also, one of the chefs apologised, and all the other staff were very friendly and...

Went in on a Tuesday night the floor I was at wasn’t busy at all and unfortunately the restaurant disappointed massively. Was sat for over 15 minutes before someone came up to take my order There was a table with dishes that hadn’t been collected after customers had left (the table was located right at the wrong of the restaurant so not a good first impression from the get go. There was 1 waitress running the whole service including the floor upstairs which seem to have a been a big party, for that reason someone in the kitchen had to come out to take the order/ help with taking dishes back to the kitchen etc. I was sat right at the front of the kitchen and unfortunately it did not seem to be particularly especially adding the fact all 3 cooks kept going in and out of it to help with front house. Ordered karaage kitchen and I literally saw one of the cooks go back to the what I can assume is the stock room, walk past me with the tray of chicken thighs to make my dish (the same person then proceeded to start prepping the rest of the kitchen but at some point he left the raw chicken on the chopping board unattended for a good 10-15 minutes?) It took a good 40-45 minutes to get my order karaage chicken was ok, bland taste, the salmon roll was just fine (rice was soggy). Sat there for another 10-15 min after until I managed to get someone’s attention to ask for my bill.

As much as I love supporting small businesses, I won’t be returning anytime soon. That being said, I do not blame the employees in this situation as it seemed as thought they were severely under staffed and all of them had to wear different hats to keep the show going. I would suggest that management looks into this as it will affect your business in...

Food - 4* Service - 3.5* Atmosphere - 3*

The food was to a very good standard. They were out of Habachi Sashimi, but the Tuna Sashimi was very good. As was the Salmon Uramaki. However the Wasabi was a horseradish blend, the only let down on the food.

Service wise, the staff were friendly but could sometimes seem inattentive. Upstairs was busy, but downstairs was more quiet. I'll put it down to the busy upstairs but downstairs it felt a while between check ins (for placing our order). The other disappointment was when we ordered the Habachi Sashimi, it was only just before our meal arrived they informed us there was no Habachi (a good 10-15 minutes after ordering) and asked if we'd like a replacement. Fortunately we wanted the Tuna Sashimi, as if we'd wanted a hot dish it would have caused a further delay to the order. The staff were, as before, friendly and knowledgeable about the food and the drinks, even recommending us some.

Atmosphere wise, it was a mix. We were originally seated upstairs, which was extremely loud (screaming children at almost 9 at night) however when we approached the staff they already knew we wanted to leave because of the noise, the staff suggested we sit downstairs and were really helpful in doing so. I believe there may have been new staff, as the chef was directing a few of them on the handling of certain dishes. He was direct, but also clearly very passionate about what he does. The only downside to the atmosphere, as mentioned previously, was the slow service and a few minor bits of dust (nothing unexpected/out of the ordinary, mainly light fittings).

Overall, I'd give Intoku a 3.5 out of 5. It has huge potential, great food and a good team - just needs refining to really...