Sake No Hana — Restaurant in New York

Disappointing Experience Despite Great Food and Service

I had high expectations for Sake no Hana, especially given its reputation and the glowing reviews I had seen. While the food and service were both excellent, the restaurant’s severe understaffing completely ruined the experience for me.

Let’s start with the positives: the food was fantastic. Every dish was beautifully presented, fresh, and full of flavor. The sushi was top-tier, and the wagyu practically melted in my mouth. The chef clearly knows what they’re doing, and I have no complaints about the quality of the food. The service, when we did get it, was also great. The staff was polite, knowledgeable, and genuinely trying their best.

However, none of that matters when a restaurant is so understaffed that it turns what should be an enjoyable meal into a frustrating ordeal. From the moment we arrived, it was clear that the restaurant did not have enough employees to handle the volume of guests. We had a reservation, yet we still had to wait nearly 30 minutes just to be seated. This was not because the restaurant was full—there were plenty of open tables—but because there weren’t enough staff to attend to them.

Once we were seated, it took an unacceptable amount of time to get our drinks. I watched as our server, who was clearly overwhelmed, ran back and forth trying to manage multiple tables at once. It was obvious they were stretched way too thin. Getting our first round of drinks took 20 minutes, and even then, one of them was incorrect. The server was apologetic, but it wasn’t their fault—there simply weren’t enough people working.

The delays continued throughout the meal. It took forever to place our order, and the wait between dishes was excruciatingly long. We were sitting there, hungry, watching other tables experiencing the same frustration. At one point, we even had to flag down a different server just to get water refills. It completely killed the vibe of what should have been a smooth, enjoyable dining experience.

By the time dessert rolled around, we were exhausted and irritated. What should have been a nice dinner turned into a test of patience. I’ve had leisurely meals before, but this was just plain slow due to the lack of staff.

I genuinely feel bad for the employees working here because they were clearly doing their best, but there’s only so much they can do when there aren’t enough of them. The management needs to fix this staffing issue immediately, or they’re going to lose customers who simply don’t have the time or patience to deal with such a chaotic dining experience.

Would I come back? Not unless they hire more staff. No amount of good food is worth this kind of hassle. For the prices they charge, I expect a seamless experience, not a night of waiting, waiting, and more waiting. One star for now—hopefully they get their...

My recent visit to Sake No Hana with a group of six friends was a rollercoaster of experiences. Our evening started on a high note with our server's exceptional friendliness and warmth. However, the initial optimism quickly faded as we encountered a series of mishaps.

The first hiccup was a mix-up with a drink order, a minor inconvenience that we brushed off. However, our patience was truly tested when our entrees, including the highly anticipated A5 Wagyu, took an excruciating hour and a half to arrive. Upon tasting the Wagyu, we were immediately skeptical. It lacked the characteristic marbling and flavor of A5 Wagyu, tasting more like a standard steak.

To the restaurant's credit, they promptly removed the dish from the bill and offered to prepare new entrees. But this gesture only prolonged our wait, as the replacements took another hour to arrive. Additionally, some parts of our original order were completely forgotten, and it took 2 1/2 hours for us to finally receive them after reminding the staff.

Despite these service setbacks, most of the food we sampled was quite good. The appetizers arrived promptly and were delicious, and the other entrees we eventually received were enjoyable. The cocktails, apart from the initial mix-up, were well-prepared.

Perhaps this was an off night for the restaurant. It was a Sunday evening on Father's Day, which may have led to staffing shortages or other operational challenges. However, as a repeat customer who has previously enjoyed excellent service and authentic A5 Wagyu at Sake No Hana, this experience was undeniably disappointing.

In conclusion, Sake No Hana offers a mixed bag. While the food is generally tasty and the ambiance inviting, the inconsistent service and the Wagyu incident cast a shadow over the overall experience. If you decide to visit, be prepared for potential delays and double-check your order to avoid...

As someone who works in the service industry and never complains or makes reviews, I was extremely upset with my experience at Sake no Hana. From the beginning of us sitting down, we were met with a rude server who was not answering our questions. We asked to move our table and she responded “I dont know” and didn’t say anything else so I had to say “can you please check for us?” After we moved and had been waiting for our water to come and to order food, our cocktails came and got dropped on us and the table. I’ve been there as a server and we did not get upset at all. I assured her it was ok because I know how that feels. However, we didn’t hear an apology for at least a full minute, just silence. Afterwards, our new server immediately had an attitude and took the menu out of the hands of one of my guest. I asked to speak to the GM and they sent over the food & beverage director, someone who is not supposed to fix this problem for us. He apologized, but then told us the server who dropped the drinks on us had a back injury and came back to work too early and that’s why she dropped the drinks on us. No establishment should have servers who are injured working. It’s wrong, unprofessional, and put the server in an unfair position. We got there at 10:00 and did not place our food order until almost 11:00. We were offered a fully comped meal from our experience, yet at the end of the dinner we were given a bill that only had some items discounted. After having to complain for what felt like the 10th time, we finally got our bill comped ( as promised from the beginning though) and still left a generous tip. I left the establishment feeling upset, as if I had done something wrong, and judged. Again, as someone who works in this industry I am extremely empathetic to the stresses and things that can go wrong in a restaurant, but I have to say, I will never return to...