New Kiku Sushi — Restaurant in New York

I typically avoid writing negative reviews, but after yesterday's appalling experience, I feel it's necessary to share what happened. The level of service my daughter and I received at this restaurant was not just poor—it was atrocious and unacceptable.

We arrived at the restaurant just before 3:30 PM. As soon as we entered and took our seats, the waitress handed us the menus. From the start, there was an unmistakable negative energy from her that we should have heeded. Ignoring this initial discomfort, we continued to look over the menu, unaware that this was just the beginning of a truly dreadful experience.

When I asked for the lunch menu, the waitress responded dismissively, stating that there was no lunch menu available that day. This was perplexing, especially since we had visited previously on a weekend before 4 PM and were given a lunch menu. This was our first sign that something was seriously off.

We proceeded to order two oyster rolls, smoked salmon with avocado, two soups, and two seltzer waters. The bill came to approximately $46.00. Upon reviewing the bill, we noticed that one oyster roll had been omitted. When we brought this to the waitress's attention, she became visibly irritated and claimed that the price of the missing oyster roll was the same as the smoked salmon roll. She returned the bill with a revised total of $45.00—an amount inconsistent with her explanation.

If we had ordered from the lunch menu, priced at $12.25 for any two rolls with soup, our bill would have been less than half the price we ended up paying. This further highlighted the deceptive nature of the service we received.

Despite the waitress’s rudeness, we left an $8.00 tip. However, as we were leaving, we noticed an A-frame sign outside advertising a KIKU SPECIAL lunch from 11 AM to 4 PM. I approached the waitress politely and inquired why we had been told there was no lunch menu. Her response was that the sign was incorrect and that it was her first day working there. When I pointed out that the takeout menu also advertised lunch from 11 AM to 4 PM, she became irate and insisted that there was no lunch special on weekends.

Her demeanor escalated to outright hostility. She accused us of creating problems and then, to add insult to injury, offered to pay for our lunch, handing us $20.00 in cash. As we left, she started shouting in her native language, using profanity, further demonstrating her lack of professionalism and respect.

This experience was a glaring example of how not to handle customer service. The miscommunication, rude behavior, and overall lack of accountability were staggering. I will never patronize this business again and will be sure to share this experience with others I know...

Food delivery mistakes happen. Part of life. But here is what is uniquely bonkers and unacceptable about Kiku on the admittedly rare occasion they make errors you decide to call them on: They want – you—to take the blame. And then leave them alone. But buy more food. And, as I now see, shortchange you on any refund they finally agree to. Not a good business model.

More specifically, and as I see in at least 4 other reviews, the pattern, and potential policy, is to literally blast you and hang up if you report any issue with delivered food.

I experienced this years ago and boycotted for a couple years. In recent years, I gave them another try, and here we are again. If this happens to you, you are far from alone.

The first time it was a Shrimp Tempura roll I ordered without avocado. It had avocado. I called them. The gentleman said they wanted “food evidence” before considering any refund. I gave the food back and began boycott #1. Yes, their rudeness, to which I protested, was the most demoralizing part and ultimately why I chose to stop ordering for a while.

Tonight, it was a side order of Gyoza (the rest of the order was ok). The plastic sauce cup, placed inside the larger side order box, did not stay sealed and the sauce was spilled all over the Gyoza. Now, being admittedly particular, in the past I have asked them to exclude the sauce, but they don’t. I have tolerated small spills, but tonight the order was ruined (yuck – soggy Gyoza). Note - even people who like the sauce for dipping would probably have been upset with the ruined texture.

I called them. She offered a $1 credit for what she said was $6 of food. She apparently lied. (As I write this, I now see on the menu the Gyoza is currently $7.75).

When I told her the task was a $6 credit or a new delivery, she rudely said, “I don’t want to do this business” and hung up. But the thing is, I still had their number.

Over my two added calls, she finally relented and sent the driver back with a $6 refund. However, he didn’t hand me the money until, as before, they had conducted a thorough “food investigation” to apparently ensure I was telling the truth. So, yeah, deja-food. And just, well, weird.

I asked the driver what the manager’s name was. He said he did not know.

Boycott #2 begins now.

I cannot understand a restaurant that operates from the premise that customers who have been loyal for years, and paid probably thousands of dollars, and given them multiple chances, suddenly want to get one over on them over…a single side order.

Yipes.

They still owe me $1.75. I’d rather type this than...

Having eaten in and ordered from Kiku, a fair amount of times, I always felt it was suitable, nothing special, but good enough to continue patronizing . Since Covid we may have ordered from there once or twice, however, LAST NIGHT WAS THE VERY LAST TIME I WILL EVER PATRONIZE THIS PLACE. I called my order in at 5:14 p.m. At 5:25 p.m. the order arrived! Not realizing that it was actually 9 minutes since hanging up, but pretty quick I mentioned to the delivery guy, 'that was quick!' Then I tasted the food. The shrimp tempura appetizer was NOT HOT at all, nor was the fried rice, the Tuna Sashimi slices were as expected chilled enough. When I called back to just ask if the food had been pre-cooked and pre- boxed, because no way could it have been cooked, boxed, and delivered the two blocks away in less than 9 minutes, the woman on the phone insisted it was cooked then, and then because she was getting another call, said, 'DON'T WORRY, LADY!!!!' AND HUNG UP!!!! Needless to say, I did feel a little queasy after eating two pieces of the shrimp tempura, which is supposed to be crispy but was soggy, so I threw the remaining two of the four pieces away. As I said, the Sashimi was okay, the rice not bad as I ordered it without any protein, and will be able to reheat it today, however the TREATMENT BY THAT WOMAN ON THE PHONE SEALED THE DEAL. From now on I will ONLY ORDER OR EAT AT TEN RESTAURANT ON 15TH STREET AND SEVENTH AVENUE whey are always much more congenial on the phone, and when serving customers at their establishment. I only ordered from 'Kiku,' last night as Ten does not do a fried rice dish. We normally always order from there, and the last time we dined in was New Years Eve, 2019, and it was very enjoyable, they served a complimentary white fish tempura that is not on the menu but is out of this world, as is their dressing for the Avocado Mango Salad. So, my advice, as a long time Park Slope resident, opt for TEN, you will have a much better experience with take out...