Tenkyu — Restaurant in Champaign

I don't usually leave reviews, but this place has generally good reviews so I feel I need to share my experience so others don't make the same mistake I did.

I saw the good reviews for this spot along with the pictures of the food which looked really great, so I booked this for a Valentines date. There was a line of people waiting to be seated, but luckily I had a reservation so we were sat quickly. We were very excited, the ambiance was very nice and the interior design of the restaurant is exquisite.

We waited a normal amount of time for our server to take our drink order. My girlfriend ordered a glass of wine and I ordered a beer. We already had time to look at the menu so we knew what we wanted for food so we put that order in at the same time as the drinks. We both ordered Ramen, I ordered the spicy pork and she ordered the seafood ramen and we also ordered the spicy edamame as an appetizer.

5 minutes go by and I was surprised that my entree came out. We hadn't gotten the drinks or appetizers we ordered and my girlfriend's entree wasn't out yet. In my head I was thinking "this is fine, everything else must be coming shortly." I was wrong, 10ish minutes go by and my food is sitting in front of me untouched because I at least want to wait for my girlfriend to get her food before I start eating... and now my food is getting cold. My girlfriend tells me I should start eating, mind you we haven't even gotten our drinks yet. Maybe another 5 minutes later our waiter appears, she tells me that they are out of the beer that I ordered so I should pick another beer. I pick another one then politely remind her that my girlfriend also ordered a glass of wine and asked for an update on her food and our appetizer. She says that the wine will be right out and that the kitchen is running slow, she apologized then went to get the drinks. Another 5 minutes later she comes back to tell me that the second beer I picked out is also not available anymore so she asks me to pick another one. Ok I pick a third one and about 2 minutes later I finally get a bottle of very warm beer. Then another 2ish minutes later my girlfriend's glass of white wine arrives, and it's also very warm. At this point we've already had one of the worst restaurant experiences of our lives. I had already eaten most of my meal, we've finally been served our drinks (but they are unfortunately not cold), our appetizer is nowhere to be seen, and my girlfriend's meal is also seemingly non existent. Our waiter is cleaning the table next to ours and we ask for glasses of ice to put our warm drinks in. We get that about 5 minutes later, so now my girlfriend is having to put ice cubes in her wine. Great, now our expensive drinks are watered down but at least they are cold.

I look at my watch and realize we have been here for a whole hour. My girlfriend is starving, and we are both very frustrated at the horrible experience we had had so far. Our waiter comes back maybe 10 minutes later FINALLY with the spicy edamame appetizer we ordered an hour ago. I ask the waiter what the status is on the seafood ramen that my girlfriend ordered, and she again apologizes and says that the kitchen is backed up. Over an hour in already, my girlfriend just says that she doesn't want it anymore and to have it removed from the bill. Thus ending our nightmare Valentine's Day experience at this restaurant. We went to the nice wine bar across the street afterwards and got her some food and shared a bottle of wine which was a much much better experience.

If I could give zero stars I would. We will not return to this restaurant, and I would encourage...

A deeply disappointing dining experience.

We chose to dine here for our 13th wedding anniversary after looking at the menu and feeling the selection was right up our alley. We were greeted and sat quickly, provided water, and our server then left for what felt like an extended period of time, given there were only 4 other people in the restaurant at the time (and we were her only table). When she came back for our order, we both asked for different glasses of wine, to which she said "we're all out of those". After asking a coworker, it ended up that only half of the wine list and 2 of the 3 beers were available. She was unfamiliar with the available wines and was unable to recommend anything else. We settled on alternative drinks. We had Takoyaki for our appetizer - absolutely delicious - but then sat for a significant period of time with empty plates before she asked to take our entree order. My husband ordered, and then I was told they were also out of what I chose to order. I asked for just one minute to look over the menu again, asked some questions, and it was clear she did not know the menu well. I ultimately asked for her recommendation and chose one of her top choices because she was unable to answer questions about other dishes. Fast-forward: my husband receives his entree and we had our (empty for 10 minutes) water refilled from another server. Five minutes later, I still have no entree. Ten minutes later, my entree shows up with the other server. At this time, there were 11 people in the entire restaurant, and we were one of 2 tables she was serving. Particularly being our anniversary dinner, we naturally wanted to eat together. I'm not sure under what circumstances it's acceptable to bring entrees out with that kind of lapse in time, but she seemed oblivious to the lack of timeliness - or server sensibility. After our entrees were delivered (and during all of the down-time), she was at the bar on her laptop or sitting in the dining room scrolling through her phone. She never once checked on us after ordering, and we had to flag the other server down (who was taking care of the rest of the restaurant) for the check and some boxes.

In an establishment with this price point, we expected, at minimum, a server who had been properly trained to understand menu offerings and be able to provide recommendations for alternatives, particularly when a significant portion of the menu was unavailable. Above all else, it felt disrespectful that our time and experience was not important enough for her to stay off of her laptop and cell phone and pay attention to the service (or lack thereof) that she was providing. I cannot stress this feeling enough. Unfortunately, we very much regret choosing Tenkyu for our anniversary dinner and will not be returning...

We tried the uni wagyu, beef sukiyaki tonkatsu, oyster mushroom, truffle fries, grilled lamb rib chop, and spicy miso tonkatsu.

The uni wagyu had fresh, sweet uni. None of the sour, old uni. The wagyu wasn't as tender as A5, but it was still easy to chew and had a lot of flavour. The cucumber and salmon roe was a nice balance to the rich flavours.

The beef sukiyaki tonkotsu ramen had tender, slightly sweet marinated beef, savoury and soft ramen egg, perfectly pickled and slightly sweet radish, and crispy greens. The broth had a nice shimmer of fat with light flavour. You can definitely taste the umami.

The oyster mushrooms had a nice seasoning and tasted a bit meaty. The lemon is a nice touch to add some citrus and brighten up the dish.

The truffle fries were deceiving. They look like regular fries but have a light truffle taste, nothing too overpowering. They came out hot with the outside having a nice crunch and the insides being light and fluffy.

The lamb was tender and well seasoned. They fell off the bone and were so tender. The lemon adds a refreshing taste and the sauce it came with made it lighter and more fresh. It was almost like a cucumber and cream/aoli mix.

My companion said the vegan miso ramen was delicious. It had a bit of spice but still had flavour for not being a meat based stock. They said that they try vegan dishes at restaurants, and if those are actually good the rest of the food must be too. They liked the vegan ramen so much that they said they'd recommend it to their friends and they would be back to try the meat based broths.

It was a calm atmosphere. I can tell this will be a place for people's special events and special occasions. The staff was attentive and checked in with us to make sure we were having a good experience. The owner also came by to talk to us and ask us our thoughts. I loved how friendly everyone was.

Even though this was just their tasting night, the food, service, and atmosphere were excellent. I can't wait to come back...