Happy Teriyaki & Sushi — Restaurant in Fife

Writing my review as I eat (6/14/21 4:57 PM)

Greeted very quickly at the door, and seated just as fast. Not much business. Staff seem quiet, polite. Ordered Pork Teriyaki. -Food arrived suspiciously fast. The waiter walked into the kitchen and came back in less than a minute. No way that the pork or veggie portion was cooked to order. Rice looks good. -First bites. The pork teriyaki is a shocking disappointment, but not surprising. This is absolutely not cooked to order, as it is tough, chewy, and dry. Usually a teriyaki place serves a fresh, cold salad with dressing. This is a hot mixture of cabbage and carrots, which, while probably tasty, is not what I was looking for. No knockoff in rating for this. The teriyaki, however, is massively disappointing. It feels like the chef has lost their passion for the kitchen, and perhaps lack of business has led the place to precook the portions of meat and preserve them in heated containers for delivery drivers or pickup orders. The portion size is good, but the quality, especially for the price charged, is shocking. Overall, 2/5. The teriyaki is in the name, and as good as the service staff has acted, it cannot make up for the remorseful quality of food that is being served. -A man in plainclothes, working in the back area in the kitchen, seems to have a pretty horrible cough going on. He stepped outside after noticing that I saw him, but has not said anything to me thus far. -Moving back to the rice. I eat mine with the teriyaki sauce on top, as is my preference. The rice is excellent. Sauce has flavor, and the grain of the rice with the sauce mix together very well. Unfortunately, though, this is something that I would expect out of any teriyaki restaurant. Still a good sign that this is done right, however. -One concerning thing I've noticed: 1,2,3,4,5,6 even, people that are in uniform working here. I have been the only customer in the restaurant for 30 minutes now, and when I arrived, there was only one other here. Are all of these people working and being paid for said work? If so, it concerns me how much money may be being bled out on people who are just standing around with nothing to do. I would expect this degree of staffing with a slightly larger restaurant during the lunch hour. -Spoke to a waitress passing by, asked her about her time here. She's worked here for 4 months, had transferred from another restaurant in the same chain. When asked about the food, she responded "Love it." -Finishing up the last bit of rice now. The cabbage remains untouched, seeing as it isn't a preference of mine I don't feel it's fair to review it.

Overall, 1/5 on the teriyaki itself, 4/5 on the rice, 4/5 for the customer service, and 2/5 in terms of sanitation. I feel inclined to give the teriyaki a 2 simply out of respect for the portion given, but the disappointment in taste is too much to overcome for...

My senior mother demanded a sit-down dining experience for a family meal during the pandemic. Happy Teriyaki had a few tables set aside, clearly marked which tables were open or not. We were the only ones eating inside despite a line-up of people waiting outside (full parking lot) for take-out. The restaurant had clearly visible instructions so people waiting for orders distanced and separated. The inaide and outside of the restaurant had several sanitizer stations available. I was so glad to see how this restaurant had actually invested in material and time to reorganize for this long term pandemic. They cared and took it seriously while trying to stay in business.

One of the staff led my mother to her sit-down table. They had hands free menus postered but bad eye sight meant we needed real menus. They provided paper copies which they threw away later cleaning the table. The menu is pan-Asian, (Japanese, Cantonese, Korean, all Americanized). The older people in our group all ordered simple meals (teriyaki) not being familiar with any Asian foods. I ordered a Bento box looking for a variety of tastes. The only thing that wasn't impressive was the miso. The sushi items were all fresh, soft, and didn't fall apart. The simpler items were done well, with attention to detail. The tempura was not greasy. The salad was dry and crisp with dressing.

Even as the only sit-down customers the staff did not ignore us. The perfect amount of attention. Respectfully distanced while ordering through masks and their quick read of the table made close interaction rare.

The location here, between freeway exits, is in a maze like block with a dozen chain restaurants. Their location was obvious with a bright sign and near the main road, not in the maze.

Hopefully I'll have a chance to go back, the menu had some fusion items like sushi and bulgogi "burritos" that...

The food was good, however I was not impressed with the service. I actually became a little upset. I went there with my boyfriend, and our daughters. Everything was fine at first, and we ordered our food. Then when they came to bring our food out, the waitress brought my boyfriend's food before the kids, which I thought was a little weird, because I have worked in a restaurant, and most of the time, the kids are always served first. I didn't really think anything of it. I figured his food was done first. But then she brought the other food immediately after. First the kids, then mine. When she came to bring mine last, she went to set it in front of me, and then ended up setting it in front of my boyfriend next to his other plate (he was sitting on the opposite side of the table from me) Then I was upset. It was very rude, and it was my food, why didn't she set it in front of me? Then the rest of the time, three different girls that worked there kept coming up to our table and interrupting us, while we were trying to eat, and asking the same questions as each other. Which was also weird to me, because it's a small little place, so I know they could see and hear each other whenever one of them walked over to our table. I just felt uncomfortable, and like they were trying to get my boyfriend's attention or something. He also mentioned that he felt that way. This was a pretty frustrating experience especially when I was the one paying for everything, and felt...