Nagomiya — Restaurant in Atlanta

My experience with this restaurant has been absolutely dreadful, and I strongly urge potential customers to steer clear of it. The management not only cheated me out of my hours but also failed to pay me in full. Their behavior is beyond unacceptable—they even attempted to withhold my tips after I left, none of which was added to my final paycheck. I had to contact another waiter, who occasionally acts as the assistant manager, to retrieve my last cash tips, which is utterly disgraceful.

The restaurant’s health standards are appalling. The handwashing sink next to the dirty dish disposal is without working hand soap, creating significant hygiene concerns. Waitstaff are expected to simply wipe off food residue (rice, fish, dried seaweed) from utensils and rewrap them for service instead of properly washing them. This deeply unsanitary practice is a severe health risk.

A particularly alarming issue is the "eternal soy sauce." Soy sauce is collected weekly and dumped back into the same container, never fully cycled or replaced. This could potentially affect the entire supply with any contamination, posing a serious health risk to customers.

The management, led by Jonathan, despite being over 30, behaves with the pettiness and insecurity of high schoolers. I was frequently snapped at and berated over trivial matters, such as asking to leave at the scheduled time, only to be forced to stay longer because I asked at all. This immature behavior from Jonathan reflects overall incompetence. Certain waitstaff, whom he didn't favor, were constantly threatened with termination, only to be reassured by Christina and other staff that their positions were secure. This manipulative atmosphere creates an utterly toxic work environment.

While the front-of-house staff and kitchen try their best, the management has failed everyone—customers and employees alike. Waitstaff are expected to work for a mere $7.25/hour without tips for many shifts, which is far from a livable wage in metro Atlanta. Previously, they paid $12/hour for a dedicated host, but now they expect wait staff to take on these duties at the reduced rate. This blatant cost-cutting by Christina is not only immoral but also out of line with other restaurants in Midtown Atlanta.

The food, while decent, is not worth the price given the numerous issues caused by poor management. Customers should be aware of the complete lack of integrity, the shocking health code violations, and the hostile work environment perpetuated by an immature and vindictive management team. It’s smarter to choose any other Asian fusion restaurant in Midtown for better value and adherence to proper standards.

Additionally, the restaurant showcases a startling lack of originality in its menu offerings, which are nearly identical to those of Wagaya, a supposedly lower-end Japanese restaurant nearby, also owned by the same management. Despite the similar menu, this establishment prices its dishes significantly higher, demonstrating a clear case of greed and exploitation. This lazy approach not only undermines the authenticity and uniqueness expected of a higher-priced dining experience but also insults the intelligence of its patrons. The management's decision to recycle the same menu at inflated prices without enhancing quality or offering any new culinary experiences is a testament to their disregard for genuine hospitality and innovation. This lack of effort and creativity is another reason why potential customers should reconsider their dining choices and opt for places that offer originality and fair pricing.

Moreover, the management's deceit extends to constantly lying about staff conditions, creating an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty. Employees are treated with utter disrespect, and their well-being is blatantly disregarded. The sheer level of negligence and the toxic culture make this establishment one of the worst in the area. Avoid it...

Friendly servers! They validate parking for 2 hours. Most food items are priced reasonably. Overall, food and service are good.

Nagomiya does validate the parking for 2 hours! How it works is you park your car first (plenty of spaces in their garage behind the restaurant), follow the instructions posted everywhere on the walls in the parking area to go to a website and enter your license plate and payment info (yes, unfortunately, you will need to provide your credit card info). We chose 2 hrs, and it showed payment was $12 + $1.60 for a convenience fee (never seen a parking app/site with this high amount of convenience fee). You proceed to pay this, but it won’t be charged until your time is up. When you get to the restaurant, on the host stand, you will see they display the parking validation code (4 digits); enter that into your parking ticket, then it will show the $12 is covered/validated, and there is no convenience fee. By the end of our two hours parking period, we received an email notification showing our payment receipt and total amount of $0 (like below) Parking Fees: $12.00 Validation: ($12.00) Nagomiya Total Paid: $0.00

Now on to the other topics. :)

The decor of the restaurant was definitely cozy and trendy. The restaurant was 80% full by 7pm on a Saturday when we visited. The hostess let us pick our own table (only a few tables left). They also have some outdoor seats but they weren’t in use during the time we visited.

As of now, they don’t offer a paper menu, so guests would need to scan the QR code they have on their table to look at the digital version of the menu online. I feel it’s time to bring back paper/physical menus considering the current pandemic condition in the US. However, I can see that if a restaurant needs to frequently adjust the menu item prices to reflect the crazy inflation or rising food cost, it would be easier to not have a physical menu and just keep it digitally.

After being seated, it was a looong wait time until our server came to take our order (~15 min). One of the servers helped to deliver our water (which they offer to guests by default) and mentioned our server would be with us shortly (which unfortunately didn’t happen). I had to ask the hostess to get our server as we were (so) ready to place our order. Our server was busy serving other tables, but I wished that she would at least come by to acknowledge us and mention that she would be with us shortly.

Most food items seemed to be priced reasonably. A few combo meals have good values. The Shrimp Tempura ($10) came with 5 pieces and was served hot! We ordered a Nigiri Deluxe ($34) with uni (Sea Urchin) added on (Add $10), we felt the taste of the uni was average, we have had better uni somewhere else before. But it’s good they have an uni option as very few places offer this.

The $19 “Ramen + Two” combo we ordered came with 2 rolls (total of 12 pieces) and a reasonably sized ramen. The soup of the ramen was very thick (almost too thick) and creamy. That tasted good. The rolls were not formed “rolled” nicely, but we could definitely see some effort was made on plating it. We felt this combo meal was a good value.

Overall, all the staff (minus the stone faced manager who came to fill our water once) were smiling and friendly. We would recommend this place to anyone looking for good Japanese cuisine in the...

My boyfriend and i’s first time there was spectacular the food was so good (the traditional dinner plate with teriyaki salmon and the pork cutlet curry as well as had some sushi rolls) were to DIE FOR. I usually hate pork cutlet a lot of other restaurants do it in surrounding areas and it’s usually not my thing (doesn’t taste good at all I just would never order it. Bc of my bad experience trying it for the first time in one of the other restaurants in Suwannee for example) but my boyfriend got me to try it here and I was skeptical as all hell but that bite I had, OH MY GOD it was life changing for me. So much I ate half of my boyfriend’s pork and begged for more. It was so delicious and satisfying. Overall 100/10 no other restaurant competes with it. So much so I’m going again this week after being there for the first time last week. None of my fish or sushi rolls had bones in it or the seaweed wasn’t chewy like other Japanese restaurants have, everything was top quality and made with love. The staff were extremely friendly and insightful and did their jobs correctly and outstandingly. I loved my experience there so much. I’m moving into the area soon just so I can be nearby it. That’s how delicious it is and I’m not sponsored nor do I work there or am an affiliate of any kind or anything like that. I just am so beyond impressed, in love with this place I really think the other Japanese restaurants in the surrounding areas need to take note. For another example: The sushi was so fresh everything tasted so phenomenal and was presented perfect. Again, no chewy seaweed which has been my biggest concern for sushi and have dealt with it in the surrounding areas and it’s an instant turn off for me when you can’t chew your sushi roll but no- this place it melted in your mouth and they used the most freshest fish imaginable. It was such an unreal experience I thought I was in heaven. The salmon was tender and made to perfection. No issues or any problems with fish bones or fatty pieces like some of the restaurants you’d experience or expect in nearby cities in Georgia. No more getting tired or disappointed or upset with food quality or taste. They stick to their recipes and put love in every dish. Nagomiya is THE BEST restaurant by far. Literally letting everyone know how good it truly is and how unlike every other restaurant I’ve been to. Nagomiya does it right and how you’d like. ♥️ if I could rate it 1000 I would in a heartbeat. Also, I unfortunately don’t have any photos of my experience because I was too eager and excited to devour into my meal. I’m going again tonight and will upload another...