Sogo Hibachi Grill — Restaurant in Denville

One of the worst experiences I ever had at sogo tonight. I had an 8pm reservation which my entire group was there on time waiting to be seated. We waited an additional 15-20mins to be seated which we didn't argue or got angry. Once we all sat down at our table we waited another 15-20mins for our waitress to come to our table. They didn't bring us any water or anything. We just got the edamame and soup. Once the waitress with nose ring showed up she clearly had an attitude for some reason. She took our drink orders then we waited another 20mins for the chef to show up.... Here is where it all went haywire... Our chef was not friendly at all we had a child sitting at the table which he never once cared for. As far as putting on their little show on the grill to entertain their guest. He never flipped the veggies to any of the guest at the table, never sprayed the sake, then when he plated the food it fell all over the table, the noodles touched the table, the rice falling out the bowl. He clearly didn't care for the guest at the table which included 2 other women who was not part of our group.

We then asked to speak to the Manager in charge and I explained to him what happen at first he agreed with us and apologized I explained to him we did not want any of the food anymore. Which we said we will pay for our drinks and not the food. He then said he will comp us some drinks and give us $100 gift card

At this point the chef was done entertaining his other table and made his way back to where we were sitting We explained to him you did not put on the show for a child and was very rude when it came to taking care of our table. I asked him why he did not do the sake spray or flip the vegetables to any of the guests he did not say anything and then offered us some vegetables in a cup...... I don't know if that was to mock us but it was ridiculously rude. That was my tipping point once he did that I grabbed my jacket told the manager I'm done with this place I'm not paying for anything I left the food and said if you want me to pay for the drinks I will pay for the drinks made my way to the front..... then the waitress came back and said is this what YOU PEOPLE DO!!! This was unbelievable because we are from the Caribbean very well-educated all college graduates and for a waitress to speak to her customers like this was mind blowing... Now the bartender decides to jump in and say that we did not tip him while we were waiting to be seated at the beginning.... mind you we only had one drink and before we could complete the drink we were pulled to our table. so the bartender had no idea what we just experienced in the back waiting for our food but he just decided to jump in and talk ridiculously to his customers.

I never in my lifetime experienced something like this I don't know if it had something to do with race or just the employees wanting to leave to go home I have no idea but guaranteed I will never go back to this restaurant again and I will spread the word about this place it's very unfortunate to deal with something like this and the demeanor of...

What kind of restaurant grants you a reservation for 8PM for a party of 7 then upon arrival no longer has a table available? We arrived with family flying in from abroad expecting the typical hibachi service from a restaurant we frequently visit. Once entering the restaurant we received abrasive and standoffish demeanors from the bartenders when ordering drinks before getting our table. Once being seated we then experienced another 10 to 20 minute wait for service from both our waitress and hibachi chef they were both incredibly inattentive. When the chef started cooking there was a major lack of showmanship he did NOT put on a show like the other 5 tables next to us.

Our table also had two additional women who were also regulars and visibly upset seeing that we had a child with us and we didn’t receive any kind of show. The chef continued to “cook” without any of the typical hibachi tricks until he lit ONE stack of onion on fire AND THAT WAS IT. After the food was done he then THREW, yes THREW the food onto everyone’s plate very sloppy. Some of our party do not eat beef when asked to keep it separate from the chicken it was completely DISREGARDED.

At this point I was up looking for the manager. After speaking to the manager explaining all of the above he then says “oh woah I’ll have to talk to that chef....do you guys want free dessert”? 🤨? He couldn’t have cared less about the treatment we received! When the chef moved on to the table behind us his showmanship showed up and out at that table let me tell you I was flabbergasted...shooketh even. Again, pointing the difference out to the manager he started denying that he even knew the chef meanwhile the waitress was rating him up “oh he’s our best guy been here 12yrs” which reminds me I AM STILL WAITING FOR MY WATER 😒!!!! Sooooo who’s lying here?!?! When the chef wraps up the other table and walks back the manager approached him and asked what happened THIS MAN SAYS “I DID SHOW VEGETABLES AND SAKE” I stood there like can you show me where I have a VIDEO......At that point everyone forgot how to speak...gift cards and discount were offered with that disrespectful dessert!!!!!!

The two ladies additional to our party spoke to the manager as well about their food tasting horribly and the huge chunks of raw vegetables they received. Needless to say we left our food offered to pay for our drinks and left. Upon walking out the bartenders shouted out to my brother and cousin “THIS IS WHAT YOU PEOPLE DO?!?” Mind you not once did we bring up race even though we were THE ONLY BROWN table there. The utter disrespect we experienced last night was disgusting!!!!

I WILL NEVER GO BACK NOR RECOMMEND THIS POOR EXCUSE OF AN ESTABLISHMENT TO ANYONE!

Also, the bathrooms had NO hand paper towels and ONE functional sink.

MAKE IT...

My wife wanted to have dinner here. She was there once before with friends and liked it. Today’s visit wasnt as positive. While it is clean and food is ok… it is not worth the price… average at best. Given it was Saturday - place is packed. Location-location-location… so just to park we had to wait in line - valet only was available. So naturally we were late for our reservation. We got table by the entrance with light above it - out… to read menu we had to use our phone lights. Waiters and the host were nice and tried their best - but they were clearly frustrated by the amount of people.

For desert - wife ordered hot tea - it was warm at best… they did try to replace it and apologized stating it was last in the old pot and they will make a new one - again - too busy hence this kind of a service. After waiting 10 min for new cup of tea and having already finished our desert - we opted to not wait any longer.

Icing on the cake? Extra surcharge for paying with the credit card. For a restaurant that busy and with prices above average - this is poor taste and service. An extra 3$ wont kill me… but the whole point of passing service fee to your consumers is just bad business imho..

Now - their location is going to keep them busy regardless of this review - but we would not be back… i will rather patron small local sushi restaurants…

We had - sashimi appetizer, miso soup, kani salad, one of their special rolls and fried ice-cream and lava...