The Twisted Chopstick — Restaurant in DeLand

We called ahead to check on wait at 7:45pm was informed that there was no wait but the person on the phone made sure to tell me they close at 9pm. We walked through the door at 7:50pm. "Sit where ever you want", most tables were dirty or occupied, two tables were available on one said reserved. We sat at the reserved table. We waited about 10 minutes before we got water and the waitress said someone will be with us in a minute. Another 10 minutes go by the same waitress comes back and mutters "Are you guys ready?". We all order, I ordered sake, miso soup/ginger salad and two rolls. Soup/salad come at an appropriate time like 5-10 minutes. However, still no sake. I asked "Is the sake on the way?" She replied sure thing. Sake arrives warm, obviously forgotten in the microwave. Food arrives just as we are finishing the salads and soup. The food is auctioned off, there are four of us at the table and the person dropping off the food is the one that took the order. How do you not know where the food is going? Salad and soup dishes stay on the table even though we are obviously through with them. No offer for more sake. We finish with the food around 8:45. We ask for a split check. The waitress sets both checks on the other side of the table so we have to pass the checks around. I put my card in my check book and set it on the table with the card sticking out. The waitress comes by and the other party hands her the check, the waitress looks at the other check and then around the tables and states, "only one?". She knew the check was there and ready she just didn't want to walk around and pick it up. When she returned and she dropped the checks off on the one side of the table in a stack and did not hand them back out. As soon as the checks were dropped off the waitress dissapeared. There were no pens to sign the check. We kinda shouted to the back to ask for a pen but no reply. I got up and went to the host stand and grabbed some pens. The biggest kicker for this entire experience is that I did not have a napkin for the entire meal and that all the dishes(soup bowl, app plate, salad bowl, and sushi plates)stayed on the table for the entire experience and the waitress had a bad attitude the whole time. She clearly did not want us there. I have had better service at Waffle House.

I have been to this place about 4 times. The first two were fantastic, the last two were terrible service. Food is good. Service is terrible. As with most things these days, I am voting with my money and this place will not be receiving any more votes from me. I will also be recommending against this place to everyone I know.

My check during this visit was almost $80 I tipped almost $8, due to bad service. My future checks will be zero and my future tips will be zero.

The waitress' name is Sarah R.

Edit based on reply: This took place on a Tuesday night, I took a few days to reflect on the event which made me visible upset. By the end of evening we were the only people in the restaurant. I have been a server before and there is no excuse for her service other than laziness, lack of motivation for being there, or poor management...

An honest review. This place does not serve authentic Japanese flavored dishes because they are using strictly American ingredients and missing Japanese ingredients so while the techniques used in the cooking is mostly good (the karrage is moist and crunch) the flavors distinct of Japanese cuisine are missing. Example: The Karrage I ordered tasted like garlic powder was used- the soy (if any was used at all) was mainly there for color and not taste and there was no bonito powder added to the seasoning which…for me- makes the chicken too American. I come from a Puerto Rican family and the garlic tasting fried chicken tasted too close to something my mom has made with Goya Adobo and garlic powder- my mom never has made Karrage but i have- and I’ve ordered it in Asia before and so I know what its supposed to taste like and while I believe the cooks at this place cook properly the flavors are wrong if you come expecting a Japanese flavor profile as I did. Thr shrimp tempura i had was good but tastes like sushi from Sams club- which isnt an insult because i like the sushi at Sams Club but I makr the comparison because this isn’t high caliber authentic flavored Japanese sushi either. This places flavors are too Americanized. These meals can be made at your home with local ingredients. I am disappointed by the lack of Japanese flavors. Having Kewpie as a condiment isn’t enough…Providing Japanese liquor isn’t enough…The Miso Ramen i ordered was one of the most disappointing Ramen I’ve ever eaten because its flavor isn’t complex. It made me think of the saying “keep it simple stupid” because that seems to be the motto the chef was using when creating the flavors for these foods. They are simple fake-japanese dishes because they be can be made at home with correct skills in the kitchen and correct techniques but even still it’s disappointing for me cause although it’s well cooked and the flavor is good it’s not what I want and not what I came for. I want Japanese flavors from Japanese ingredients and this is American style fake Japanese food so it’s a 3/5 at most for me. I won’t return or...

I decided to visit this restaurant after hearing good things online. At first impression, this restaurant is really cute. It seems to be a house converted into a restaurant, the ambiance is excellent. They made a good choice with decor and there's a koi pond in the back. Props to the owner in this regard. Unfortunately this is the height of my experience here.

-service- As someone who has been in the service industry for over 10 years, I feel that the most important part of a dine-in experience is service. The food could be just all right as long as the service was excellent. The service here was below facile. Our server was sweet, however she was totally inattentive. In general the staff seemed lackadaisical. The restaurant was totally slow and there were dirty tables all over inside. We came in around 8:10 and the restaurant closes at 9:00, the energy was not very welcoming at first interaction. I have a suspicion that this is part of the reason our experience went the way it did. Staff are mostly sitting around and eating during operating hours. Server didn't even introduce herself. Our table was visited a total of three times, no one asked if our food was good or if we needed anything. We got menus, we got a to go container, we got our check. To my own standard, even when guests have showed up 10 minutes before kitchen close, I would offer my best service and it was always worthwhile. I was hopeful when other reviews mentioned the good service, this is not what I got.

-food- I ordered some tonkatsu ramen. The presentation was fair, the food itself was lacking. The pork was unlike any tonkatsu I've tried at many ramen shops, not unique in a good way. The egg was also almost ice cold?? The dish was extremely bland and the mixed temperatures were throwing me off. This dish was edible at best, maybe the preparation was poor tonight.

Overall my experience in this beautiful restaurant was really...