Sawa Japan Steak House — Restaurant in Lakeville

We made a reservation for 14 2 weeks ago. It was for a surprise birthday party. We called 2 hours prior the day of the reservation and were assured all was going to be fine with the 7 pm reservation as timing was key. We arrived at 6:50 and were told, quite rudely by the hostess that we'd have to go after the 6:30 reservation and they had not only not been seated, but it would be another hour at least. It completely ruined everything we had planned. We were seated at 8:20, left alone for a 1/2 an hour sitting around a Hibachi table before they even came and took a drink order. The mgr had told us the first round was on the house (after our friend insisted they do something after ruining our night) but as soon as the hostess was told that (she was starting a tab), she promptly stopped the drink order and didn't come back until almost 9. We got our drink order, they took the food order (no one ever came and apologized or said they would try to make it up to us). Our cook (we had 2 hibachi tables for 14 people) he said nothing, didn't interact with us, no razzle dazzle, NOTHING. It was like we were being punished. He kept looking toward the table of young girls he had just finished with and never even engaged with us. We ordered the filet mignon and he never asked us how we wanted it. He didn't season much of anything and you could tell he just wanted to get out of there. The cook on t he other side was fabulous and at least 1/2 our party was entertained. They gave us 20% off each bill but that was because we asked for it.....it was such a disaster. Our friends who had Groupon that they'd already purchased for 1/2 off, were told they couldn't use it because of the discount....our friends with Groupon said they'd skip the 20% off as THEY ALREADY PAID FOR IT AND WERE SAVING 50%. That means Sawa got the $$$ from purchased Groupon also!!!! So they actually didn't save 20% at all. SKIP THIS PLACE AND GO TO OSAKA. TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE SERVICE. WE HAD FRIENDS DRIVE 200 MILES FOR THIS PARTY. I would never go back EVER. They could have turned it around by at least making the dining experience fun, it would have mattered and lightened our disappointment at waiting 2 HOURS...but they absolutely...

Will NEVER go to Sawa Japan again. This was our first AND LAST time. Went there to enjoy hibachi dinner for 4. We received absolutely horrid service ... and we were not belligerent nor intoxicated. They were clearly only interested in getting us "in and out" in a hurry being double teamed by two servers tag team style. Constantly asking to take our hibachi dinner order after we repeatedly and politely told them we were there to enjoy and take our time. Sushi orders were messed up (brought out wrong items). One server says a particular sushi item was not available, the other says it is. Initial server taking sushi order was absolutely clueless about sushi in general as well as what was/wasn't available. Other server says initial server was not a "sushi waitress" but only a "hibachi waitress" (so why, then, was she taking our sushi order?). Other server was curt and abrupt from whom we continued to receive absolutely horrid service. We decided to leave before we even ordered the entrée. Asked to see manager ... server claimed to be the manager. She was rude and unprofessional (big surprise!) and refused to adjust the bill in any way. Again, we were not intoxicated and not belligerent in any way, shape, or form. Told her we didn't think we should have to pay the bill in full for this horrible service and treatment. Did she offer any compromise? No. Her response? She immediately called 911 to involve the police! Waited a bit but cops did not show. Had better things to do than suffer her presence for the sake of principle. We paid the bill in full, to my chagrin, and headed to Porter Creek in Burnsville where we laughed about the server we now refer to as "the Angry Asian" (BTW, my college GF is native born Taiwanese). Am contacting credit card company as we speak to dispute the charge and get it credited in full. Did I mention we received absolutely...

We've been here as a family probably a dozen times. The food and service can be hit or miss. Most times it's a miss. We always order the filet mignon and lobster from the hibachi when we go. Half of the time it's "okay" and other times the filet contains more gristle than meat. For thirty + bucks the portion is very small to begin with then you have to spit almost half of it out into your napkin! The chef experience we've had has been hit or miss too. Sometimes they are entertaining, and other time you can tell he'd rather be anywhere but behind the grill cooking. Two of my biggest complaints and both of with you CAN rely on is that the servers are unfriendly, bordering on rude. They seem to care less if you're there or not. In fact at times I think they seem like THEY are not there. You have to find someone if you'd like a refill on your water and they give the impression that you are a big bother. The other thing that I don't like is that they have this unwritten rule that EVERYBODY has to order an entree. My kids are 5 and 7 and they each have to order an entree? My kids always order their own soup and we get my daughter sushi. My son likes the fried rice and my wife and I like to order the filet and lobster. One would think that that is suffecient. The waitress has embarrased us in front of a large group when it has come time for us to order and we think we're ready and she says we have to find and order two more entrees. Overall, the experiences we've had here are not worth the effort. ...