Musashi Japanese Steak House — Restaurant in Havelock

I have been to this location several times since it opened, sometimes twice a week. I have always had a good experience until our visit last night (7/23/2014). We chose to eat here for my mothers birthday so there were 8 in our party. Service was very slow, they seemed to be very understaffed, however our waitress was very nice but rushed. We all ordered sushi, my brother in law got the spicy tuna roll. The tuna was a dark color, not sure what was going on with that (when I have had tuna before it was red). Also the sushi looked very sloppy, not at all up to the usual quality. The taste was good however. My sister in law ordered the hibachi jumbo shrimp, the shrimp were definitely not jumbo. The shrimp were very overcooked rubbery and dry, so she sent it back. About 10 minutes later they brought it back and AGAIN overcooked. She then said never mind I don't want another entree. The waitress talked her into getting a chicken teriyaki to go. When the bill came they were still charging her for her meal. We had the manager (who was also the cook) come over who proceeded to yell so loud that people in the restaurant stopped and stared, that he wasn't comping her meal. He acted like we wanted out whole table comped when we did not, just her meal that they cooked incorrectly TWICE. Finally he took her meal off, but also took back the to go meal so my sister in law left with no meal for the night. We didn't think it was too much to ask to comp her entree that he cooked wrong twice when the rest of us were paying over $100. He lost 8 customers that visit this restaurant several times a month and also a lot of bad publicity with all us of telling everyone we know about our experience with this manager (Tony Nguyen) and restaurant. The wait staff was very apologetic and kept hinting that this was how he usually acts. I actually felt...

This was, without question, one of the most appalling dining experiences I’ve ever had..

I found a HAIR on my sushi — a disgusting and inexcusable hygiene failure. I reached out as soon as I noticed the issue. I called, no one answered, and then I filled out a contact card from their website and waited.

When I finally got through to an employee later, they were apologetic and told me I could come back the next week to get the issue fixed. I called to get my replacement order filled and was told no it actually has to go through the manager. When I spoke to the manager, their response was jaw-dropping. Rather than addressing the issue with any semblance of professionalism, they had the audacity to claim I had “waited too long to report it.” Are you serious? I reported it right away, and your failure to respond is somehow my fault?

There was blatant lack of accountability from management. He claimed he doesn’t know who made that promise but when hair is found in food it needs to be handled right then. I don't know whats worse, again insinuating I waited weeks to report this or that finding hair in Mushasi’s food is common? Mushashi has no respect for their customers, their food, or basic sanitation.

And since the manager was completely uninterested in seeing the picture at any point of me trying to contact them, I’ve included it for...

My husband and I went for a date night. We don't typically go to Havelock, but wanted to venture out and try a place we've never been before. The menu of the restaurant reminded us of a restaurant we used to like back in SC, so we decided to give this place a try. I'm so glad we did!! We started out with the Goyza and they were amazing. Delicious, crunchy, and plenty of meat. For our main course I order the Carolina Sunset Roll and my husband ordered the Steak Hibachi. When they finally arrived (a bit of a long wait for an almost empty restaurant) the wait was worth it! The portion sizes were large and the food was chef kiss Delicious!! The steak was soft and flavorful, the rice was cooked perfectly and the onions were tasty. Only complaint my husband had was there was not enough mushrooms (we only found maybe 5 or 6) and the rice to meat ratio was off. Next time he will definitely have to order double steak. As for the Carolina Sunset Roll... perfect!! I was a little nervous about the spicy mayo, as some places make it very spicy, but this one didn't really have any spice. It was super filling and tasty. After filling up and feeling stuffed, my husband had enough for a whole other meal, which we gladly took to-go. I can't wait to go again and have already started telling all my friends and co-workers...