Tsuki Japanese Steak House & Sushi Bar — Restaurant in Charlotte

Summary: Food poisoning, inappropriate/rude service, ok-ish atmosphere.

I am extremely disappointed in my dining experience this evening. I was excited to go get sushi here, but after experiencing bad food and what I considered to be extremely inappropriate service from our waitress Michelle, I will not be back.

Michelle was an older middle aged Asian women with glasses.

Considering the fact that all she did was take our order and bring it to us, and only check on us twice down I did not experience exemplary customer service.

After she had brought us our food, she proceeded to sit at the bar with her back toward us, eating food and scrolling on her phone. Since both me and my dining partner felt something was off with the food, and given the awkward tension coming from the only other table on our side of the restaurant that was seated directly beside us and their “conversation”, we decided we wanted to leave.

After waiting for around 10 Minutes for our server to come over to our table, my dining partner approached her requesting the check. She gave us our check and then proceeded to sit back down and scroll on her phone and eat.

(Her coworker had noticed that we were ready to pay and had taken up our check and returned it to us)

My dining partner had left his to go box on the table, and when he had turned around in the parking lot to fetch it, he was met with the server (Michelle) who was holding the checkbook.

She gave him his to go box and then proceeded to question him regarding the amount of tip he had left her. He had tipped her five dollars (Again, considering with the service was not exemplary, and the fact that we both at that point knew we had received food poisoning, combined with the awkward atmosphere we did not decide to leave a 20% tip).

She had questioned him on whether his tip amount was $15. When he responded no it was five dollars She then proceeded to tell him that 15% was the minimum amount that was required. Keep in mind that at no point in our dining experience did I see that policy written in their menu, within their restaurant, nor was I verbally informed of this policy.

When my partner had questioned her about this 15% minimum policy, and had asked why there was an option for the customer to decide the amount of tip they wanted to leave if there was already a minimum required amount she then proceeded to say that “They have to pay their staff”.

When was it the customer so responsibility to pay you a minimum wage? We don’t own that business and we didn’t hire you so why are we being confronted about paying the staff???

As a customer, I am disgusted. I am not your manager, I did not hire you, I am not responsible for your wages and while I do sympathize with the fact that I know servers do not get paid a usual state minimum wage I am not your boss and am not responsible for your compensation.

After my dining partner had gone back-and-forth with her a couple times about this “policy” she then proceeded to tell him “good luck” and then glared at me as she walked inside.

I had previously been to this restaurant a couple of times, and I will say that on the hibachi side of the restaurant I have never experienced this kind of behavior and all of the chefs had been extremely nice.

I would encourage you if you do decide to bring your business here to only do the...

Tsuki is a combination hibachi and sushi restaurant. We've gone there for sushi in the past and really enjoyed it. This time around we visited for Memorial Day to have hibachi lunch. The food was wonderful and the value (at least for lunch) was phenomenal!

I ordered salmon, my wife got steak, and our pescatarian kid got shrimp. We were all happy with the flavor and size of our portions. I ate my whole salmon right there, while my wife and kid ate half and brought the rest home for leftovers (again, highlighting the value of this meal).

The "show" was typical for a hibachi place with the usual jokes about egg rolls and the flames coming off the grill, etc. Entertaining, yes, but it's the same as anywhere really.

The flavors imparted on the rice, veggies, and salmon were wonderful. Just lots of soy and garlic and butter. Extremely yummy preparation. The veggies were grilled perfectly and absorbed so much flavor from the sauces used and from the charring on the griddle. The rice browned so wonderfully and absorbed so many flavors from the food cooking around it. The salmon developed a fantastic glaze on it from the sauces and also from picking up the flavors from all the cooking during this session as well. The flavors were just top-notch.

Time for a negative. Getting hibachi here would be a challenge for someone who doesn't eat meat. Nobody asked if any of us were pescatarians, which seems like a fair question considering two of us ordered seafood only. Sadly, the hibachi griddle was used for my wife's steak and also for the fish and veggies. The same utensils were used as well. So the steak was sliced with a knife and then that same knife was used to slice the tails off of the shrimp. The same section of the griddle was used for the whole meal. So after the steak was done cooking, the shrimp were moved right onto that section where they probably absorbed the meat juices left behind. The veggies followed suit, which could have been a problem if one person had seafood allergies. It was rather disappointing for someone who pays attention to such things and could be extremely upsetting to a vegetarian or pescatarian who was there to eat and observed it. And it could be dangerous for someone with allergies. Each griddle could potentially have 8 or 10 people sitting around it, not all from the same party, so the potential for cross-contamination is quite high for each seating.

Back to the positives - the value!

Some differences between the lunch and dinner portions:

1. With lunch, you choose between soup and salad vs. getting both with dinner.
2. With lunch, you get fried rice vs. getting both rice and noodles with dinner.

I think that's the only difference I could tell - which is amazing, because the lunch price is about half that of the dinner price. For just some noodles and soup, it's well worth it.

Definitely visit Tsuki for hibachi lunch, it is extremely well worth it for both your wallet...

I used to be a regular at this place; however, I stopped going several months ago. The reason, is that the restaurant is filthy and food quality has declined. I gave the hibachi another try over Christmas and the experience was worse than ever. Call the Health Department! The place was filthy. We contemplated leaving but the hibachi grill and plates were clean enough. I'll cover the service first. The service was non-existent short of taking our order and delivering the bill. I ordered the salmon to be cooked well. The hibachi chef cooked it medium rare. When I asked that he cook it through, he became combative and insisted it was cooked. I was stunned by his reaction. He took the salmon and placed it back on the grill and was pressing down on it so it would cook quickly. That's not how you cook fish. I ended up with a smashed, crumbled piece of salmon that was still raw in the middle. I didn't press it because this young man was nasty. The hibachi "chef" claimed to have over 2 years experience. Really? He also undercooked the veggies. The miso soup was a bowl of clear broth with nothing in it. I sipped it and it tasted like they forgot to rinse the soap off when they washed the bowl. The rest of my party commented that the food was less than "okay", veggies under cooked and overall, the food was under seasoned. Also, can they replace that filthy curtain that separates the dining room from the restrooms and kitchen? God knows what's growing on that thing. I won't be back for hibachi or carry out. This place needs a visit from the...