Yakitori House — Restaurant in Scotland

Waste of time and rubbish communication.

We had a table for two booked for 7pm and arrived 5 minutes before 7. Understandably we were told the table wasn’t quite ready yet and to have a seat in the waiting section.

It then got to 7:10pm and at this point multiple larger groups that had come in after us had been seated include a group of 4 with a reservation for 7:15pm. We had to go up and ask for an update which only then did they tell us someone was still at our table but they were sorting the bill.

By 20 past we were getting up to leave and the waiter told us our table was ready. We expressed that we were pretty disappointed. He just gave an insincere sorry and laughed it off, blaming the people before us for still being at the table.

I’d expect any other restaurant to have asked the people sitting at the table to finish up as the table is needed back for 7. It made me suspicious that the service might be slow and maybe that's why they were still at the table.

When we got to our table there weren't any menus so at that point we just decided it wasn’t worth it with the service we received so we got up and left.

A younger server came out after us (not a manager) to apologise. She offered us a free round of drinks and to make sure the kitchen rushed our order. She also claimed there wasn’t enough staff on so it was slowing down service.

Neither of us were planning on drinking alcoholic drinks so one round of drinks off wouldn’t make much of a dent in the bill. Also why only offer this when we’ve left, not while we’ve been sitting waiting.

Also a kitchen shouldn’t have to rush an order. You should be efficient enough that people don’t feel they are waiting long. We also talked to someone waiting on a take away order (while sitting waiting on our table) and they mentioned waiting an hour for food so that didn’t fill us with much hope.

If we’d been told when we first went in there might be a bit of a wait we’d have had more of an understanding and even gone away for a walk or drink and came back when the table was ready instead of having to sit and watch others get their tables before us.

Recommendations for management

Don’t over subscribe to your restaurant. You know what bookings you have and what staff you have available.

Also if you don’t have enough staff, stop taking phone orders for a bit during busy times and prioritize the customers you have in front of you. I saw multiple different staff pick up the phone to take orders. It just sounds like you’re taking on too much instead of giving people a decent service/experience.

Communicate better if there are issues. And if there are issues offering some form of freebie or discount should be offered while the customer is waiting.

Don’t play the blame game. It just felt like a lot of excuses instead of being honest and sincere.

We won’t be coming back and won’t be...

25 minute wait for table we booked and hair in my food

This was right up there with the worst dining experiences of my life. Arrived at 4.30 for the table we had booked and were told it wasn’t ready. Absolutely no communication during our wait, which turned out to be a not insubstantial 25 minutes. My brother in law had to ask the man at the front of house/bar area what was happening and was told that the people at the table we had booked were still at the table. I mentioned that we had waited 25 minutes and was told I can’t exactly chuck them out (or something similar) even though I never suggested chucking anyone out. I mentioned again that I thought 25 minutes was a very long time to wait and was then told in a defensive, completely unapologetic way “I can only apologise”.

Things only got worse from there though, as there was a hair in my main course. I got a replacement, but obviously didn’t really fancy it anymore.

Not one person from management apologised to me for the hair. They left it to their waiting staff to do this which is completely unfair on them.

Main take away for me is that management take absolutely no responsibility in this place. Obviously time management system should be in place to make sure you’re not allowing people to sit at tables way beyond their booking time. It is not acceptable to leave people waiting for 25 minutes. No excuse.

If something beyond your control happens that means customers do have to wait, actually communicate with them to let them know how long it will be and offer a genuine apology. Restaurants run with professionalism would usually provide a complimentary drink or something off the bill. Same goes for a hair being in someone’s meal.

Should mention that the waiting staff that served us were lovely. Obviously we couldn’t tip this restaurant as our experience was so shocking but it’s not a reflection on our...

Tucked away in a little quiet street just off the village in East Kilbride is the beautiful Yakitori House, offering Japanese X Chinese fusion. The only restaurant offering authentic Yakitori (skewers of meat, cooked on a grill with impoter charcoal from Japan)

The decor, first of all, is stunning, it is light, open, and serene. A lot of love and effort has gone into the transformation of the premises.

Now the main event......the food.

There was no way we were coming to Yakitori and not actually trying any Yakitori. We ordered lamb chop, beef, duck, and pork with a mix of some with teriyaki sauce and some in the salt. WoW WoW WoW these were so delicious, full of flavour and cooked to perfection, we had to stop ourselves ordering more.

We opted to dine more from the Japanese menu and ordered a collection of takoyaki, 20 piece sushi set, and the black pepper udon noodles with pork.

The takoyaki (octopus balls) were pretty spectacular, some of the best we have had, and a really good portion.

Sushi could not fault it, tasted fresh, the tuna and salmon just melted in your mouth. Great selection.

Now the black pepper udon noodles, we opted to have pork as our meat. These were INCREDIBLE noodles we soo long, the pork was perfect and that sauce, THAT SAUCE!!!! Stunning. Really tasty, nice heat to it and not overpowering. Would have licked the bowl clean if it was acceptable.

The staff, 5 star service. So friendly, so attentive. Absolutely faultless. The level of service we experienced was class.The staff are engaged with their customer, knowledgeable of menu and efficient.

This was such a well-balanced and rounded dining experience, and I would highly highly recommend a visit. I can't wait to go back for more!!!!

Our whole experience...