Yokai — Restaurant in Greensboro

ETA: The owner replied to my original review claiming I wasn’t empathetic towards their situation. When dining, I always am kind and understanding and tip over 30%. I get it. Reviews serve a purpose — to provide constructive feedback.

They also never addressed a single complaint in my review. If hearing that two of your employees gave your customers dirty looks simply for walking in and appearing confused, and it’s still not addressed in your reply, then there are some egos getting in the way.

We all can’t wait to see your undeniable growth. As an owner, however, it’s your job to acknowledge the feedback your patrons give you. It’s constructive criticism, and without it, you will continue seeing disappointed patrons. Decent hospitality is the bare minimum for Machete’s sister restaurant, no excuses. The owner can choose to give an apology, or they can continue to say the patron is the problem. Their choice.

All in all, give them a chance, it could be your cup of tea. Greensboro wants to see our small businesses thrive; to do that, you need feedback. This can easily be addressed by management and with time.

Original review:

Every other 1-2 star review is spot on with the reality of this new restaurant. I do want to give the entire staff grace for taking a huge leap and wanting to provide a new experience to Greensboro. It takes full hands on deck and a ton of courage, so props to them. Kinks are to be expected with new establishments and will always be forgiven and forgotten.

However, it seems that not a single employee cares to 1) follow steps of service (something Machete has no issues with), and 2) make their patrons feel welcome.

One bartender with curly hair was very kind and patient with our requests — all basic such as drink inquiries, and asking for share plates, which we had to ask for, and waited even longer for. These requests should be given without asking. Steps of service. We stood at the front waiting to be seated. There is NO signage stating this is seat yourself. Two waitresses gave me and my friend a rude look as we walked in. They could have easily walked up and told us their seating policy, since it is not posted. After maybe 2 minutes, a gentleman who I assume is the FOH manager told us to seat ourselves. Directly to the left of the entrance were two dirty tables, while the two servers continued to stand at the POS system, give us looks, and not clean dirty tables. Steps of service is not something valued here.

We then waited for nearly 15 minutes to even be acknowledged by a single employee. Finally, a gentleman walked up and said no hello, welcome, or if we had any questions. Instead, we got a monotone “are you ready to order?” Well, we had questions, which seemed to bother the employee. We felt unwelcome after this moment. Drinks took a minute, but that is to be expected with the rush and one bartender, who was friendly (but didn’t give us water or say hello). Other patrons who arrived after got waters much quicker.

The food was fairly quick. Many items were overly salty, not close to authentic Asian cuisine. The soba noodles were one note, only salt. Please listen to the reviews from previous Asian patrons. Maybe you have already, but getting input from someone of Asian descent could really help narrow the menu’s focus. Maybe consider hiring someone of Asian decent too. Neither of the bathroom soap dispensers didn’t work. Everyone was quite pleasant on the rare occasion they interacted with us.

I get it, I worked in fine dining for 8 years. It’s a grueling line of work. No one wants to deal with a Karen or a Darren. But if you aren’t prioritizing making patrons feel welcome… making casual conversation… then please try to understand that extensive training needs to happen for this place to succeed for ALL patrons. Instead, we had to flag down several different employees, making us feel guilty like we were bothering them. Please consider putting signage up about the seating policy. And maybe smile, say hello, and give water to your patrons. It’ll go a long way.

Kanpai,...

This is my third time going here and it seems to get better every time I come. This time was a little different. I sat by myself on the little bar when you first walk in and I had the opportunity- rather pleasure of talking to Chris(one of the chefs) for the majority of my time there. We talked about how Yokai started, how he and Kevin(someone that’s he’s worked together with for a while) bonded over Eastern Asian food and how they used to sell ramen for “five bucks a bowl with all of the proteins and everything else that’s great” and called it the “best deal you’d ever find”. Even though this wasn’t the same $5 ramen that he and Kevin once sold while house music was played in the background, I found this place as the best deal you’d ever find. My meal stay started with the “Chicken Karaage” as an appetizer with the tangy kewpie mayo. The mayo complimented the chicken with the lemon zest flavor and the slight spice you’d find with the crunch of the chicken and made it a great plate to start with. I ordered the “Oni(their version of an Old Fashioned)” cocktail next because I enjoy the whiskey they use for it and it didn’t disappoint at all. It’s hard to get an Old Fashioned right, but for them, it felt like a walk in the park and came out wonderfully. While I was eating Chris was making sure everything was okay and how I was liking what I ordered and if there was anything else he could do which I quickly assured him everything was fine. In between bites and orders I stated talking to Chris about the food and the other menu items and how this place has slowly become my first choice for when friends come to visit or try something new. It was nice to talk to the guy behind the bar about his craft, his culinary birthplace, and how much he enjoys making dishes he loves. The last meal I had was the Ramen, with Chicken Katsu, an extra egg, some spicy chili sauce, and a couple of mushrooms on top. Like the other previous times I had been I had ordered the ramen, but this time it was different. I tasted the work that was put it into it; the effort that everyone had put into every dish, tray, idea, and even ice cube. The meal meant more than it had before knowing what everyone had done and knowing that this came from a shared passion of East Asian food between two friends and watching them have fun with with something that they can share with other people. I had finished my plate, my bowl, and my glass in a little under an hour. I told the waiters and chefs behind the bar “thank you for the meal” and left smiling.

After reading all of this(and I hope you’re still here) I recommend this place 100% to everyone I meet and tell them that they’re going to enjoy everything that they order, down to the...

2024 review: came back here on a date and added an extra star (:

old review: my friends that had already gone here after opening had said that they didn’t recommend it saying that it was basically white people trying to make Asian food. However, for my friends, and some other people who have said the same thing, I think that it is important to understand that anybody can make dishes inspired/influenced by another culture or other existing dishes. I had went with my family and right off the bat. I could say that the staff here were very nice and welcoming. The atmosphere of the restaurant was nice as well, but I didn’t think that the atmosphere was that prominent either. I would say that they should turn down the volume of the music a tad bit because it does get very hard to talk with your colleagues and the server, especially when more people are coming in. One thing that I will give an A+ on for this restaurant is how fast the food comes out. My family and I had ordered over $300 worth of food and had gotten it and finished everything within less than an hour! That was insane! Here is everything we ordered and my thoughts/recommendations:

Soba - do not recommend, bitter aftertaste and feeling in back of mouth. They also mix the sauce with the noodles when typically you dip it. Skewers - both are good, only 1 stick per order, con is portion is mad small Fried chicken - hella crisp, pretty good, personally I wouldn’t order it again but I’d recommend it Waffle okonomiyaki - don’t. gets soggy SOOO fast and lacks flavor Peach oolong drink - DONT! Ginger cucumber salad - if my nephews who hate veggies ordered 4 rounds of it then oh yeah def recommend Tuna tacos - sooo good, portion mad small tho Pork buns - nephews liked them and ordered 3 orders of it. (For the kitchen: Instead of pickled carrots and daikon, I’d say to top it with shredded green onion they have, cucumber and maybe sesame seeds) Chicken sando- pretty good, would recommend Ramen - very rich in broth which is good but is a little overpowering Donuts with yuzu vanilla ice cream - pretty good, coconut taste was a lot tho

Nonetheless, I was very satisfied with my experience, and even though there were some dishes that I didn’t really like I was still happy that I got the opportunity to try a bunch of the menu items so that way I know what to order next time and recommend. But I think that for the food and its portions, this place would be best if you were coming here for drinks, because I see these menu items as more as bar food than meals. I would say I’d come back, especially...