Chef hiro — Restaurant in Columbus

Let me just start by saying this my partner and I went to a place called Chef Hiro, thinking we were going to have a nice breakfast. Nothing fancy. Just some good food, decent service, and a clean environment. What we got instead was one of the most careless and irresponsible experiences I’ve ever had in a restaurant.

I ordered the chicken and waffles. My partner ordered the lamb breakfast plate two lamb ribs, scrambled eggs, grits, and shrimp. Now here’s the important part my partner is severely allergic to seafood. Not a mild allergy. Not an “I’ll just pick around it” situation. A real, documented allergy that can trigger a reaction in seconds.

So before ordering, she told them clearly. She asked if they could substitute the shrimp and grits for something else. They said no. Okay not every restaurant does substitutions. Fair enough. But then she asked if they could at least prepare the meal without shrimp. They said yes. We trusted that they understood what that meant.

But when the food came out, there it was shrimp, right on the plate.

She took one bite, and immediately, it hit her. Her mouth started swelling. Her throat tightening. She had to stop eating right then and there. She called the restaurant, calmly explained what happened, and said we’d be bringing the food back. The person on the phone said they’d have to get the manager.

So we drove back to Chef Hiro, expecting at least a moment of concern an apology, some acknowledgment that this was serious. But when we got there, it was like none of it mattered. The manager, a man, came out, didn’t say a word about what happened. Didn’t ask if she was okay. Didn’t apologize. He just asked for the card, ran the refund, handed it back, and walked away.

Now, I want to be clear that’s unacceptable. When your kitchen’s mistake sends someone into an allergic reaction, you don’t just process a refund and move on. You take responsibility. You show empathy. You do better.

And it gets worse. When we first got there, I accidentally walked through the back door instead of the front, and I wish I hadn’t because what I saw back there was a mess. The kitchen was dirty. Floors sticky, clutter everywhere, food sitting out in the open. Not the kind of place that makes you feel safe about eating anything.

Then, when the manager came out to handle the refund, his fingernails were filthy dark grime underneath. I’m sorry, but that’s unacceptable in any food service environment, let alone from someone in charge.

And let me just add those waffles they’re serving? They’re from Costco, not homemade.

Oh, and one more thing on the receipt, there was a character that looked suspiciously like something out of Naruto. And last I checked, the rights to that belong to Masashi Kishimoto and Shueisha. Now, I’m not a lawyer, but there might be potential copyright infringement issue.

At the end of the day, Chef Hiro didn’t just mess up an order they showed a complete lack of care, cleanliness, and professionalism. When you’re handling food, especially for people with allergies, you’re not just serving a meal. You’re responsible for someone’s health. Someone’s safety.

Good thing we keep an EpiPen on hand because this could have gone very...

My wife and I have been following Chef Hīrō on Facebook for a while now and have been wanting to have his food pretty much from the jump. And today we made the journey to finally, finally try it out. And let me tell you, we were not disappointed.

Walking in, we notice it's a little on the intimate side, and still very much a work in progress. And that's the absolute only reason I didn't give it a five star rating. The decor is bright. And if you're a fan of anime (Vinland Sage was playing on the TVs today), you'll see some familiar faces (Huey, Riley, and Grandpa from The Boondocks as Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Kakashi Sensei, respectively. Along with Goku on another wall). There's still some finishing touches to be completed, but you'll get the vibe and enjoy yourself all the same.

From what we've seen online, the food menu rotates with a few static items. We chose our drinks and food and ordered at the bar. The bartender was all smiles and incredibly kind. I ordered a Bud light (hey, I'm driving) and my wife ordered the Hokage Zombie. A Bud light is a Bud light, no need to expand. The Hokage Zombie is the like an amped up Zombie that is pretty standard fare at any bar in the city. One sip will tell you that more than two and you'll be a zombie. To put it simply, pace yourself with this drink. But it is tasty and made me wish we had Ubered instead of driven.

Now for the main event. My wife ordered the lamb chops and I ordered the Luffy bowl with steak and shrimp. The lamb chops were amazing. They had a jerk seasoning and the flavor was out of this world. They were tender, flavorful, and plentiful (five chops for $22 is a deal, let alone the red beans and rice and grilled pineapple that came with them). The Luffy bowl is red beans and rice topped with grilled shrimp and steak with cilantro and scallions served in a hollowed out pineapple half. And it is even better than it sounds. The portions are beyond generous. By the time we finished our plates, we were completely stuffed...but still wanted more. We walked in looking like Rock Lee and walked out looking like Chōji. We will be...

I've been meaning to check this place out every since I heard about the food truck a few years ago. As an anime enthusiast, I don't come across many places with an anime vibe, so I knew I had to check it out at some point.

Today was that point!

When I arrived, I can already tell that there was something special about this place. From the various Shonen protagonist painted on the walls, to the small manga section this place is a safe haven to those looking for a weeb-inclusive place to hang out! I ordered the $20 special that came with a Philly with a choice of protein (I chose salmon), mac and cheese, and three (3) Gaara wings. It was about an 30 minute wait, but I didn't mind because I had some time to kill before going to work. I decided to read a manga while I waited.

Once the food arrived, it looked like a masterpiece! I didn't even want to touch it in fear I going to ruin the edibie painting. It was so good I literally wasn't able to talk for ten minutes after taking my first bite of the mac and cheese. I realized as I was eating it that at some point, all of it would be gone and that made me sad to think about. It had the right levels of cheesy to make me forget about my slight lactose-intolerance.

The wings were insanely good! The Gaara glaze went extremely hard and even after waiting ten minutes before getting to the wings (the mac and cheese had me in shock), they were still piping hot. That glaze was addictive! I didn't have enough time to get into the salmon Philly sandwich, but I took a nibble of it and was still amazed how well it was flavored. I also added some of the leftover glaze from the wings to the sandwich for later.

All and all, the food was worth every penny and I can't wait to go back to try what the...