Japanica — Restaurant in Greenfield

We had a large party of 13 which was scheduled weeks in advance. We were assured that they would be able to accommodate us at one of their hibachi tables. We were a bit surprised upon our arrival that they had us squeezed in with another family of 6 once taken to our table . It was a very tight seating arrangement. But we all settled in- after all, Saturday at 5pm must be a prime time for this establishment. They make it clear that the party will be charged 18% gratuity with signs posted at the hostess stand, which I am always completely understanding of and more than OK with!! However, it was clear last night that this waitstaff takes full advantage of this piece. Our waitress was rude and short with us from the second we sat down- thinking back I don’t even think she greeted our table or introduced herself. She abruptly gathered our drink orders, and even argued at one point with one person in our party about ordering a “single” cocktail, but in a tall glass. Things went down hill from there fast. We did not get a sushi appetizer we had ordered pre hibachi- though I watched several other tables - many of which sat down well after us- receive theirs- and I can honestly say she only returned to our table TWICE throughout 90 minute time frame we spent in that restaurant. One of which times I asked her to please cancel the app order- as by that time, or hibachi chef was already serving dinner. She didn’t apologize or even ask if we needed anything else, just quickly said yes yes along with some hand gesture and hurried away to assist another table. We attempted to call her over multiple times after that, and although it was clear she was aware that we we trying to get her attention, and even other WAITSTAFF were aware (all of who were very busy with their tables, understandably), she would put her hand or finger up at us, only to run to one of her 10+ other tables that she was waiting on. Now I understand that things like being short staffed are common these days, but outright rude, disrespectful behavior when your bill ends up being over $500 ( that was tip included) and not even being able to get a WATER during your meal is purely unacceptable. It is a shame, because the food was not the reason for this review. Our hibachi chef was pleasant and even wished the birthday girl a happy birthday before he left (I also tipped him cash before he left the table as a side note, because I fully believe in gratuity for service). But I do believe that other people should be aware (especially with large parties) that, although you WILL be charged for 18% of a gratuity charge, there is a HIGH chance you will not even get a FRACTION of that service or attention to your table, especially -from what it seemed- on a Saturday night. Over booked, and way over rated. Unfortunately, it is pretty unlikely that I will ever be returning after...

I had the worst restaurant experience I’ve ever had here last night. I’ve never written a review like this, but this experience warrants being shared.

We arrived at 6:50pm for our 7pm hibachi reservation. We had 5 children under the age of 10 and 4 adults. We made a reservation for this very reason, as children quickly grow impatient when hungry and so we were hoping to not have to wait an extended period of time. We checked in immediately and they told us our table would be ready shortly and to have a seat. It took over an hour to finally be seated at our table. While we were waiting, we pursued drinks at the bar for the adults and children, and never ended up getting served after waiting for over a half hour. I understand that sometimes things fall behind, but this was never communicated to us, nor should it run behind by an entire hour for a table.

Once we were seated at our table (after 8pm), we had 5 very hungry children and were hopeful we’d be able to eat soon. We waited another 45 minutes for our hibachi chef to come begin cooking our food. When he finally finished another table and came to greet us, he realized that our table hadn’t been turned on and therefore we had to wait another 10 minutes for it to heat up. It’s 9pm and we had been sitting at our table for almost an hour and nobody thought to heat up the table?!

We were treated to a couple appetizers “on the house” that we hadn’t ordered while we waited, which we appreciated, but then they showed up on our bill at the end of the night and had to argue with the server to have them removed. Additionally, our chef served people the wrong amount of food because he entirely forgot one person’s order so after everyone else was done eating, he had to go and cook more.

Once we finally got our chef and he began cooking our food, he went around with the spray bottle for the children and sprayed “water” into my 7 year old nephew’s mouth… which turned out not to be water. My nephew instantly started saying that it was burning his mouth and the chef came back to say that it was just “flat sprite”. We’re pretty sure he had accidentally given him some sake.

Needless to say— we do not recommend and will not...

While looking at the empty Southridge mall, and my favorite Japanese restaurant In this area was closed on Mondays, this restaurant came up as a suggestion on the Google maps. So I put the address in my GPS, drove around for a bit because I couldn't find it, (a bit add spot for a restaurant and mini mall) I finally did and went in. I d Don't like the locale or the hours. It closes at 2:30 p.m. It was hard to communicate with the waitress. She didn't understand and definitely didn't speak English. I tried to get across that I didn't want a brothy seafood udon noodle dish, but a stir fry one which they don't offer. So another waitress came over. She knew the word frothy and suggested and pointed to a chicken udon noodle and vegetables stir fry. I placed my order (see picture) which came out pretty fast. The restaurant was a large place and probably popular despite the small store front window. It had a bar and hibachi tables for groups over 2 people. But there was only four other customers at a hibachi table. That area is really barren of shops and people. The order came within a reasonable amount of time. Although tasty, it was very sparing of the chicken or vegetables. Mostly noodles, scallions and onions. I really liked the sauce (I do not know Japanese sauces but I find Japanese food tastier than Chinese food because the sauces have more flavor) This sauce was mild but tasty. A bit too much onion and scallions. The dish came with a small salad: Japanese dressing, large thin slice of tomato, iceberg lettuce, and a thin tiny slice of cucumber. I usually don't eat the salad but I was hungry and the dressing was tastier than most Japanese salad dressings. maybe I was just hungry but overall both a salad and main dish were tasty also reasonably priced. $$-$$$ I will go back there again to try something other than my favorite...