Mizu Japanese Steak House — Restaurant in Gig Harbor

Hello,

I am a resident of Gig Harbor, and have been to Mizu a couple times and loved it. The food is great, the chefs are great, and usually the waiters are great. Yesterday, Saturday October 3rd, I ate at Mizu under the reservation at 5:30 for our Homecoming Dance dinner. I wanted to say a few things about our experience, which was overall fantastic, but there was definitely some areas needed for improvement.

We arrived at 5:20 for our 5:30 reservations, and were seated immediately which is perfect. As soon as we sat down, our waitress, who was also the hostess at that time, told us, "We have another big group right after you, so we are going to try to move fast." Not the best start to a dinner. As we began to review the menu, she gave us between 5-7 minutes to make our decision on drinks and food when it was very clear we were just trying to enjoy the company of each other on our Homecoming evening. I completely understand how busy it is for all Gig Harbor restaurants on Homecoming evenings, but our reservations were made at least 3-4 weeks in advance to the evening, so it was no surprise we were a large group and it was also no surprise when we were coming.

Everyone in our group, besides me, was a first time customer to Mizu. Much of us didn't know what we were ordering, didn't know what was good, didn't know what the chef would cook in front of you and what would be cooked in the back, so naturally we had questions. Yet when we asked them, our waitress gave short, unhelpful responses and basically told us just to "try something". Then when we began to order our meal, someone in our group wanted to order the Pink Floyd roll and the waitress, who once again was also the hostess who seated us, told her "Don't order that, it takes a long time to make." Frankly that is just being rude. Our money is just as green as the next group waiting in the lobby. This was my last Homecoming, I am a senior in High School this year and I will never experience a homecoming again because I will be graduating and really, I was a little disappointed with how we were treated.

The night was not all bad, our chef, whose name I do not know, was wonderful. He was a great man, who was fun, and exciting, and entertained us the whole time, not to mention the food was amazing. But in total, we were probably at Mizu for less than an hour because we were so rushed. And when we did leave, there was an empty table for the next group behind us, and only one group waiting in the lobby.

I don't believe it was fair for how we were treated. Homecoming is a special night for everyone, and sometimes it is just nice to sit down and enjoy a moment. Especially for an event that, after that night, will be gone forever. I am not asking for a refund, or a complementary meal, or anything frivolous like that. I am simply stating how our evening went, and how we were treated. Our chef was a wonderful, enthusiastic person. Yet, our waitress was below average for any...

The first time I tried this place was about a month prior to our recent return. The food was so good and exceptional service. Although, we did sit at the hibachi table so I think that made a HUGE difference in quality and service.

I recommended to come here due to my previous experience. I went out with my sister and husband to celebrate their birthdays this month. We didn’t want to wait for the hibachi table (an hour and 15 min wait) so we sat in regular dining. We ordered some apps and shared a 2 person hibachi dinner for 96$. My sister had a few cooked sushi rolls which were decent. I had the super white tuna and ikura to start… bad choice.. I was in the bathroom ALL night.

The 2 person dinner was NOT good. We never received the soup and salad that comes with it even after I asked. We wanted the steak medium rare and it came out extra well done. The scallops were completely overcooked. The food was already cold when it arrived. It took a while for the server to come back to check on us. After maybe 20-25 minutes she asked how everything was and I had mentioned the steak and would prefer to have it redone if possible. It came out seared on the sides and rare inside.. so I was disappointed. When we finally got the bill, the gratuity of 18% was already added. I didn’t think the meal was worth the amount we paid. The service was awful and the food was complete garbage. I hate leaving reviews like this but I would hate for someone to go in and experience the same things we did at the dining table.

For 244$, we were all disappointed.

I would say that if you want to do the hibachi table to reserve seats in Advance! It was a more pleasant experience and the quality of food was 100% worth it. Just DON’T get the...

Greeted by a very exuberant girl who proceeded to tell us the place had been taken over by new owners and that we had the place to ourselves. My husband wanted to dine at the restaurant because he likes the fried rice. Went to use the bathroom almost slipped and fell on the newly washed floors. Kudos to keep it cleaning but maybe dry the floors a little better so people don’t encounter that. Sat down with my husband the overly chatty waitress proceeded to ask their required questions are we here for any special occasion. Answer no, we went to the restaurant because my husband wanted to go. Then out of nowhere the waitress asks the nature of our relationship which I found a tad rude. My husband was shocked by the waitress’s foot in mouth responses. She couldn’t believe we were married. Last time I checked how to earn a good tip is not put your foot in your mouth. We’ve eaten out at a lot of restaurants never encountered such abrasive direct comments from staff like that. What made it worse is the waitress kept putting her foot in her mouth more. We proceeded to stay for dinner. The chef was entertaining. Tuna they use was over cooked and not high quality. Shrimp and scallops were decent. Would recommend bringing back ponzu sauce and going lighter on the Olive Garden type butter. I believe the owner came to check on us to make sure everything was ok. I know it’s hard to work in the service industry. Hopefully, they work out the quirks to make a better...