Shoya Izakaya — Restaurant in Doraville

I am deeply disappointed with the experience I had at Shoya Izakaya on June 26, 2023, at 9:30 PM. Although the food we ordered and the overall ambiance were satisfactory, the unprofessional conduct and rude behavior of one of the waitresses marred our dining experience.

Upon receiving our bill totaling $113, we left a $7 tip, which we believed was a fair amount considering the level of service we received. However, to our astonishment, as we were leaving the restaurant, the waitress chased after us and loudly berated us for the tip amount, openly questioning why we only tipped $7. This public confrontation was not only embarrassing but also completely inappropriate.

I want to emphasize that tipping is a voluntary gesture of appreciation for excellent service, not an obligation. The waitress's demand for a higher tip and her attempts to guilt-trip us were not only unprofessional but also crossed ethical boundaries. It is imperative for the staff at Shoya Izakaya to understand that such behavior is unacceptable and can have a detrimental impact on the restaurant's reputation.

Furthermore, I find it necessary to question what actions by the waitress warranted a tip of at least 15%. She merely took our orders, brought out our food along with a few to-go boxes, and did not provide exceptional service or go above and beyond her basic duties. Additionally, her service duration of less than 10 minutes does not warrant an expectation of additional tip amounts.

As a result of this regrettable incident, I will not be returning to Shoya Izakaya, and I will make it a point to inform my friends, relatives, and online communities about my experience. There are numerous other Japanese restaurants in the area that provide superior service and respect to their customers.

In conclusion, I urge Shoya Izakaya to address the behavior of its staff and ensure that incidents like this do not occur in the future. Customers should feel valued and respected during their dining experience, and the unprofessional conduct we encountered falls far below the expected standards.

Overall,...

update raised a star or two for a thoughtful and constructive response. I appreciate that the review I gave was taken exactly the right way by the owner. I am relieved that my comments were taken seriously instead of as an insult. I feel like these words show me the owner truly cares and is experienced enough to use it as an opportunity to improve rather than trying to discredit my observations. I will give the restaurant another visit and re-rate it then. The food has always been tasty and deserves an opportunity to give a different impression.

I want to like this place more. The taste of the food is pretty good and they do have a good selection. Our last visit just left me put off to coming back. First strike against them was when we walked in we were completely ignored despite numerous staff members being within 10 feet. After 3 or 4 minutes of just standing inside the door watching employees talking with each other one of the people finally came over to greet us and told us the only area open was the sushi counter. We came almost 2 hours before they closed so I thought this was weird. During our meal numerous other parties of 2 came in and were sat in the normal dining area. Apparently if you're white you get the sushi counter as everyone at the counter was white. The sushi counter did have one unique feature of being able to see into the kitchen...I wish I hadn't. Watching cooks wipe sweat with their hand and then grab food, playing on their phone, eating while cooking, touching garbage cans and then preparing food. They were cleaning up so many items were left out on the counter un-refridgerated and just so many other health violations... I've managed restaurants for years and can tell you if the health department came in while we were there they would not have passed. I can overlook some stuff but what I...

The management has some serious customer service issues.

Dined in at around 8 pm Friday. The place was still packed. It was getting late for dinner so I decided to put my name on the wait list.

The waiting customers were standing everywhere in the hallway bumping into other people, but the guest waiting area was being used as storage. That was a tell-tale sign of their poor customer service and things to come, but we missed it.

Finally got a table after over 30 minutes wait. We ordered a Sapporo pitcher and some appetizers first. Our beer came out, but it was lukewarm.

Complained about the beer temperature to our server. Her answer was that the keg was not chilled. If they had cared about their service quality, they should have explained the situation and offered bottles instead of serving lukewarm draft beer. She replaced our beer with another lukewarm draft pitcher, and never asked if the new beer was okay.

Also witnessed another female server rudely ordering an asian customer to throw away an outside drink she brought in, while she didn't say a word to a white lady also holding a drink from outside. Asian on asian racism, that is messed up.

Our first appetizer, fried lotus roots came out soggy as a rag. The next appetizer, fried octopus was overcooked and darkly burnt. It was obvious that their kitchen was short staffed and unable to control food quality.

It took less than 10 minutes to realize that our dinner was ruined. Paid our bill for barely-touched food and beer, but didn't receive a single apology.

Maybe it was their off-night. Maybe this is the new dining norm since Covid and I need to lower my expectations when eating out. Or maybe Shoya Izakaya is too successful and busy to care.

As we were leaving the place, the manager was casually pouring lukewarm beer from the tap for another...