Sawa Hibachi Steakhouse, Sushi Bar & Thai — Restaurant in Florida

Good sushi and rolls, but the Thai "Cashew Lover" dish I had was very disappointing. I ordered it "10" on the spice meter (max). When I got the dish it had almost no flavor -- certainly no spice. I told the server/dining room manager, and she apologized and said they could take it back to the kitchen and "put something in it." I asked for sriracha instead, not wanting to wait even longer for my retrofitted dish. When she came back with my hot sauce I asked, "Are the cashews supposed to be chewy?" "No," the server said, "they should be crispy, and I watched them put the cashews on your dish just before I brought it out." So, I said, the cashews in my dish that had almost a chewing-gum texture must be stale. Again, the server apologized and said she had spoken with the kitchen staff about the lack of spice in my "10" dish. I then did something for the FIRST time in my 57-year life -- I sent a dish back and said I'd do without rather than eat something with no flavor made with stale ingredients.

There were lesser issues with a couple of the other diners' dishes in our party of six, which they complained about to the server/manager (she said she'd "take care of it"). When the check came she said she had given us a 20% discount on the bill. I asked whether my dish, which I had refused after encountering the stale cashews, was on the check, and she said rather than backing the cost of my dish off the check the 20% discount was intended to compensate for the problem. When I protested that we shouldn't have to pay for a basically inedible dish made incorrectly and with stale ingredients, the server/manager rolled her eyes, snatched the check folio off the table and stomped back into the kitchen. She eventually returned and said she had taken my dish off the ticket. However, she said the restaurant would NOT honor the standing 15% discount extended to customers who pay by cash (as we were going to do). So, in reality, we received a 5% discount for all the trouble. And I didn't have to pay for my inedible dish. But they did include the mandatory gratuity on the check for our party.

You know, every restaurant puts out a "clunker" once in a while. How they make it right is what separates the best from the rest. I was astonished that the server/manager showed such "tude" when I had the nerve to say I shouldn't have to pay for a messed-up dish that I didn't eat. She implied she had done us a big favor by taking the cost of my botched entree off the check -- and she penalized the group by disallowing the cash discount as "retribution." In my view this experience reflected an intolerable, greedy mindset behind the people and place if they expected me to pay for my expensive "cashew lover's" dish that, they freely admitted, was not prepared to my clearly specified taste and used stale, gummy cashews in the process. It most certainly showed poor business acumen. I doubt I'll be visiting Sawa again (after dining there several times...

#HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE!! They are so rude and disrespectful. People like that do not deserve the pleasure of living in our country. Clearly they are racist. Well long story short, I am woman of color whose also mixed with caucasian. Me, my co worker and her daughter decided to visit this restaurant after a long day of work. We received the worst service ever in my entire life at SAWA. We walked in and the asian woman with glasses at the counter attitude was so horrible it just cut you at the door! I ignored it thinking that maybe she was having a bad day. We sat in the back at the hibachi grill. The food was good and the cook was friendly. We got our bill and notice we were charge 18% gratuity for a party of 3. While we were discussing this matter, the party of 4 who was sitting at the same table over heard our conversation. The woman asked us why are we being charge 18% gratuity for a party of 3? I replied "I'm not sure". I knew it was because of the color of our skin. She had a party of 4 and they were not charge gratuity at all. So the woman was furious! She expressed her concerns to the waiter and told him that charging us 18% gratuity was unacceptable and our bill need to be fixed. After being harassed by 3 employees and waiters standing around us whispering, the bill was finally fixed. I was given the bill and was told by the woman at the counter with the glasses "she will remember my face." That was a threat? Wow! I kept my cool and did not make a scene. (I must say it was hard). At the end of the day, I don't have a problem paying my bill nor leaving a reasonable tip for the services I receive. I don't know what happen to make those people handle us like animals but I get it we were people of color and had been judged when we walked through the door. If they don't want colored people dining at their restaurant, hang a sign notifying us people that we are not welcomed. I can respect that a little bit better than to be humiliated, embarrassed and harassed by those people for just being a woman of color. Which once again I'm also caucasian! I will NEVER visit restaurant again and I'm asking for those who read this message to not visit as well. I will pray for the ignorant employees at that restaurant. Get to know me first before you judge me. I'm proud of who I am. We are normal just like the rest of people in this world and we truly did not deserve this type of treatment from this place of business. UNREAL and UNBELIEVABLE! #HORRIBLE...

Sawa is a favorite for us! Food is always delicious and fresh, and the manager and employees have known us for so long that we are always welcomed so warmly. The restaurant is beautiful and cozy on one side with booths or tables and hibachi land on the other.

The food has not ONCE been anything but yummy, fresh, and sitting for hibachi is always a great time. Sadly, I lost my mother recently, and after her funeral yesterday, my aunt, cousins, sister, and brother in law all came in for hibachi. ALEX is by FAR the BEST hibachi chef. I needed to genuinely FEEL lost in the experience to hold all of my emotions inside and he not only didn't fail at doing that for me, but he had our whole party hysterical laughing, smiling, and enjoying all the "yummy" food 😅 You'll understand the humor behind "So Yummmyyy" once you go in to the restaurant for hibachi and request for ALEX to be the chef assigned to your table. Trust me, on the worst day of my life, he managed to entertain me and also delivered such perfectly cooked food! "Soooo yummy!" Fiona was our main waitress, and she was efficient, friendly, and very accommodating. I'm going to include some pictures and whatnot from dinner yesterday.

Understand, I do NOT make up fake reviews or embellish how great a place is. I give completely HONEST reviews, and this is a spot that is well worth going out of your way to come and enjoy a meal. While I know there are other Sawa's out there, this particular one is one that my mother and I had been eating at or getting take out from for so many years now. Go on in, tell them the local guide Nicole with the red hair from Google reviews sent you in. There's nothing in it for me beyond seeing more people and families fill up this restaurant. They work immensely hard, and they deserve to have their whole place filled on any given night, which does happen from time to time. If you're not a sushi lover, they have many other dishes to order as well as hibachi. I'd love to know how many people find this review in particular helpful and if you do make it in, I'd love to get a thumbs up after you have your own wonderful experience at Sawa in Boynton Beach, off of Jog and Woolbight, in the plaza with Walgreens, Publix, JFK Emergency, and other...