The Hub Sakaki Izakaya Bar and Karaoke — Restaurant in Woodlawn

I honestly have so many bad things to say that I might forget about most of them by the time that i finish this review.

The music is so loud that even in the dining area that even the servers can't hear what you're saying. There are sliding doors that try to help with the noise; but periodically the bass is so loud that the door rattles making the sound even worse.

A single bar serves three different areas, and while the restaurant seemed pretty empty (the 4 immediate dining areas around us were unfilled) the bar took 40 minutes to get our drink order wrong. I didn't even order a cocktail. that's right, it took around 40 minutes to get a can of beer.

For food, the skewers makes very little sense. There is a single pork and a single pig skewer. It's missing a significant number of normal foods to properly make this izakaya. among that, the menu is filled with ai generated pictures of food and the descriptions are not even accurate. From what I can tell, they have gone across the street from lotte, threw some things into an air fryer and renamed the dishes so that they sound fancy.

The mentaiko udon had raw broccoli in it, bagged frozen shrimp, and tasted like kraft mac and cheese. the godzilla roll is completely deep fried and the crab on top came from a bucket. I know because I have purchased crab in buckets before.

As I sit here writing my review, i still have not received one of my appetizers. it has been 50 minutes since i've sat down.

I would have been fine if either the service, the ambience, or the food were tolerable. it's actually quite a marvel that the food, the service, and the ambience are so bad. The place is marketed as fine dining, it even says on a sign as you walk in, but there is little thought or care put into the actual preparation of the food. it seems like they asked chatgpt to generate the most hipster menu possible with images and pasted them into their actual menu. "Yuzu Aguachile scallops" is something you would dream up in a dystopian nightmare.

There is no delusion that the cost of the food needs to be cheaper, but typically you may see ANY amount of effort put into the food. When the cost of the raw ingredients + amount of effort of effort put in is the same as the former, you may ask yourself what you're paying for.

As a capstone; it now has been an hour since i've sat down and I haven't received one of my appetizers. i don't know how long this place has been open, but I cannot imagine it will be for...

It's an alright spot... the atmosphere/vibes outweigh everything else. The decor is gorgeous when you walk in and everything looks very 'tik tok/influencer' worthy. It will also definitely appeal to anime fans and those who put a premium on Japanese/Asian cultural aesthetics. Security(?) stops you at the door to see ID & give you a wristband for karaoke. The servers/staff were wonderful for the most part! The menu is nice enough and has many options, though we did have to send a dish back.

A huge disappointment: We called ahead to see if they do anything special for birthdays (since we were there to celebrate a friend's) and was told that they sing happy birthday and do little streamers/signage. When we got there we followed up with them and was assured it would be done once we all got into the room. Cool. Nobody ever came to sing, no signage, and no mention of it ever again. We ended up just singing it ourselves but it would have been nice to know that they weren't going to do it, especially after insisting they would. I understand things get busy but just please come let us know. They also never brought out some shots we ordered and something else that was still listed on the bill.

Speaking of which, they say they have no choice but to put everything on one or two bills but they totally have a choice. If you have a larger party, be prepared to put everything on one check and just venmo that person. It's annoying.

Lastly, they were late getting us to our Karaoke reservation... it was weird because when we came to talk to them they talked as if WE were running late but it was pretty clear they were stalling to get us back there because another party had not finished on time which they admitted. This seems to be a common occurrence. Our 9:30 reservation turned to 10:15... The karaoke section is quite nice however! (Bring a jacket though, they keep it freezing back there.)

All in all, not pressed to go back but would return if someone else suggested it. I hope it improves, it has...

I will preface this review by saying that I’m quite picky about Japanese food, and I only know one place in the DMV that I prefer, so I’m probably a bit harsh.

The food was fine, but very average, and definitely not “good”. My gf ordered the tonkatsu & it was slathered in tonkatsu sauce. We would have preferred the sauce on the side to dip to taste, but the meat was so thin and the breading not very flavorful, so it almost felt like the sauce was added to disguise the lack of quality. It was fine - it’s not easy to find a restaurant that serves tonkatsu and it was a generous portion, but it was only okay.

I ordered the chirashi and kitsune udon. The chirashi was not a traditional chirashi, it was more like a poke bowl. It was also fine, though I had to ask for soy sauce and wasabi for it. The kitsune udon had the familiar taste of premade inari and instant dashi. I do think they use the same instant dashi base for their miso, and it leaves an overly strong and salty flavor to my taste. I love udon so I would still eat it, but it tasted quite far from authentic and not very nuanced.

I will say I think that if you only order sushi rolls, they probably will be perfectly good. It’s also partially on me for ordering something that is a bit more particular! And also the drinks were great! I really enjoyed the sparkling choya and the Hokkaido melon ale I had. They were both delicious and I would come back for that only.

All that being said, I could see myself coming back because I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the interior of the restaurant, and maybe to give karaoke a try, but don’t come here just for the entrees - you might be a bit...