Hayashi Japanese Steakhouse — Restaurant in Midland

We came here once about a month ago and enjoyed our visit and the hibachi grill quite a bit, (especially as we never go out right now- but felt accomodated and safe with their setup), but so we came back last night for another date night.

Upon being seated, we were pleased to only see two other people at the grill, as last time we were squished to the edge. Once we had received our drinks, the waitress came up and asked us if we could move so they could squeeze four more people in. Essentially telling us they wanted to pack in every single seat, and place us less than a foot away from 6 other strangers. (There was another grill still open and untouched- meanwhile, they proceeded to pack in every other spot around the open ones, and even had chairs pulled up, far above capacity and leaving no distance between anyone).

We told her we'd like to have at least a small distance between us and others, and she just looked at us blankly. We then vocalized that we're in the middle of a pandemic and didn't want to be crammed into a space with a bunch of people- she again looked at us blankly, so we informed her we would like to move.

Upon moving, (to a non hibachi location),a new waitress came up, and proceeded to play with and adjust her mask nonstop. When she came up to take our order, she walked up and straight up took her mask off and bent down to our level to talk to us. At this point we were disgusted with the lack of safety measures, and decided to leave. Absolutely ridiculous!

This establishment is clearly choosing money/profits over their clients safety and mandated protocols. We will...

So, a few friends and I decided to hit Hayashi for my birthday: the big four-elevens. And, we didn't make a big deal of it. We were just like, "Hey, we'll have the teppanyaki," and stuff. And, they were all like, "Okay, right this way," and sat us right down, and got our drink orders and stuff. (Oh, Bee, Tea, Bubs... you gotta check out the happy hour on this place. For serious) Now, it bears mentioning, one of us is vegetarian, and another is vegan. whispering Didn't even need to tell them! They picked right up, and immediately made menu suggestions accordingly. Like BOOM!

I Know, Right?!

Anyway, So then... dun dun dun.. one of my friends lets it slip that it's my birthday, and the staff was all cool with that, and played along, and I won't go into details because, "Birthday experiences may vary," and all that. But, I will say, we had a big ole blast. They entertained us, and fed us dang good food, didn't rush us or anything when it came time to pay the bill. Naw! They treated us like royalty. it was pretty dang awesome!

Treated me like a king and made me feel like a princess, and that was pretty freaking awesome! Heckin' 5 stars! I'd post a photo.. but they're all on my phone.

OOH OOH! Have the lobster teppanyaki, with noodles! And, the seaweed salad is amazing. Serious. Literally. Hash...

I hate to leave bad reviews.. especially because this is my favorite sushi place in Midland. Tonight was pretty rough. I sat at the sushi bar alone close to the kitchen. Everything was good until staff came and was sitting at the end of the sushi bar right next to me. They were cussing (in English and Spanish.) one server was complaining about her job and the chef was trying to coach her on where she should go work. After that someone walked into the office behind the hostess stand. The chef went to the office and him and the other guy started yelling and cussing at each other. The whole restaurant could hear. 🫣 He came back to the end of the bar and they continued to complain about work drama. I ended up getting up and moving to the middle of the sushi bar so I didn’t have to listen. It was pretty bad. Sushi was delicious as usual. My server was an angel. I didn’t get her name but she was so apologetic and good. I hope things improve because I love coming here to sit at the sushi bar. Sorry for the review. Just thought management should...