Sato Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Forest Acres

This use to be one of our favorite places but last night, horrible experience. As soon as our party got seated it seemed unusually warm inside. The longer we sat, the hotter it got. Our waiter was nice, the restaurant was basically empty, our mixed drinks served my the manger took forever and our chef was friendly and talented. I’m an extremely cold natured person but by the time our chef started cooking sweat was rolling down our bodies. I asked why was it so hot and he said the AC was broken. My body temperature was so high I wanted to abandon our party and leave. The restaurant could have put a sign on the door or at least said something before we ordered. A 200 dollar meal wasted, I couldn’t eat anything. And my drink didn’t have nearly enough ice in it. This was my friend first time coming to a place I spoke so highly of and it turned out to be a complete disappointment. Over the past 10 years we’ve been to this place several times. It gets worse each time. Seems as if the owners don’t put any money back into the business. There is and has been a raw sewage smell near the bathrooms by the kitchen, idk what it is but it should have been fixed years ago. Smells like swamp water sitting under the floor or something. The place is filthy, we had to wipe our sticky chairs with baby wipes and the wipes were black. 🤮 The carpet is dated and nasty, I don’t think the vents work, the air is so smoky it’s thick and difficult to breathe. I suggest putting in some windows or opening the back door. Honestly, it’s probably 1000 violations about this place. After we complained, no compensation was given and no apology offered. I feel bad for the staff having to work in that kind of unnecessary heat. It’s fair to say, this was our last trip to Satos, it’s other options in Columbia where the competitors cook the same but maintain their establishments way better. To anybody dining in Columbia, read the reviews. A lot of these places overcharge for lackadaisical service and subpar food. The restaurant scene here is not it. When customers stop spending where they are not valued maybe the restaurants...

We used to like this place, but not anymore. Our last experience was awful.

We wanted to order for pickup, but the online ordering did not work. So, we had to call instead. When I came to pick up the order they mixed up the prices and charged us almost 50% more than they should have. When I raised the concern they corrected the mistake, but then the new price still did not match the online price. When I asked about that, they said that they automatically add a 10% tip for all phone orders (I guess that's why the online ordering form does not work) and the manager did not want to take it off even though I asked to opt out. So essentially, I was forced to pay a 10% tip for all the inconvenience they caused during the pickup!

Moreover, while I was signing the receipt they picked up the original voided receipt (with the 50% surcharge) and threw it into the trash then pretended like they did not know what happened to the receipt. So, only after I asked to get a second copy they fished it out of the trash and pretended as if nothing happened. Oh, and by the way, the receipt you get for signing also includes a line for tips but they do not inform you that your total already includes the 10% tip, so you may end up paying a second tip, bringing your total expense significantly above what should normally be charged for pick up.

During all of this, the manager showed a lot of frustration and impatience. For an order of over $50 for pickup I got a lot of attitude and complete incompetence. With the current incompetent staff and the manager who puts random surcharges, we'll not be coming...

We come here often. We bring our family and friends. We celebrate birthdays and just because here. We have a favorite chef. We tip really well. I don't like giving bad reviews. Especially where I spend lots of money at.

My husband and I ordered sushi instead of hibachi. Our grand son ordered kids chicken hibachi. The sushi was not good. It didn't matter who's roll it was. It wasn't good. They had a waitress making sushi. It was not good. The fish was dry, and the rice was overwhelming. When we brought that to the attention of the waitress ,he took it back and apologized. In place of sushi, my husband asked for vegetables from the grill. I had miso soup. The bill comes, and they REFUSED to remove the sushi. I ate one bite. He ate one bite, and I tasted one of his because we were trying to see if WE were having the same issue. It's not like we ate half and said take it back! The fish needed to be thrown out. The lady making it had no clue on how to make it. I eat sushi lots of places in and out of the country even there and have never had sushi that bad. So WHY are you charging us for something we couldn't consume?

And to say basically forget you, forget your patronage is so disheartening. " Who cares about a Google Review" they said.???

The cook was fun, and the waiter was phenomenal. If they try upgrading that place that is clearly a money maker because it's always packed, maybe they would understand loyalty. They say if you look better, you feel better, and it shows that you care. These owners...