Shogun — Restaurant in North Attleborough

I want to start by saying I’ve been a loyal customer to Shogun for quite some time. I order from there often—because the food is genuinely good. That’s what made me excited to finally experience it in person with my family. We went in on a Friday for hibachi, ready to enjoy a nice evening together. The place was completely empty—just the three of us. At first, that felt like a treat: no crowds, no noise. Just us and the chef.

The meal started off fun, and we were enjoying ourselves. Laughing, talking, eating... you know, just soaking in one of those rare peaceful moments families don’t get often enough. But all of that came to a screeching halt because of something that should’ve been completely avoidable—disrespect.

While we were still eating, the cleaning guy came over and started wiping down the hibachi grill at our table. Not beside us. Not after we left. While we were still there. He began spraying what he said was “just lemon juice” all over the grill, and it splashed right into our food. My rice. My plate. And he used a rag that looked like it had seen too many shifts. The smell of cleaning products in my nose while trying to eat? That alone was enough to kill the vibe. But it wasn’t just that. It was the complete disregard for our presence.

When I politely tried to explain we were still eating, he didn’t understand. Someone else who spoke English came over, and I expressed my concerns again. And you know what the response was? “He has to clean.” Just like that. Not, “I’m so sorry” or “Let me have him wait until you’re done.” Nope. Just a flat, dismissive “He has to clean.”

I looked at him and said, “But we’re still eating. Food is getting contaminated.” His response? “It’s just lemon juice.” And then—he just kept cleaning. Like we didn’t matter.

That right there? That’s what hurt. Not the lemon juice. Not the splashes. Not even the smell. It was the attitude. The complete lack of courtesy. Like our presence, our meal, our moment didn’t mean anything. There was no rush. We were the only table there. He could’ve waited five minutes. Instead, he stole the last few bites of peace from our evening.

I left with a bitter taste in my mouth—and it wasn’t from the food. It was from the disrespect.

It wasn’t the mistake that ruined this for me. It was the fact that no one cared enough to make it right. No apology. No accountability. Nothing.

Dining in? Never again. You had one shot to turn a regular customer into a loyal, dine-in regular—and you blew it.

Do...

My husband and I made a reservation to celebrate our Birthdays (both of us in February) with the kids. I’m strictly an occasional drinker these days and wanted a Mai Tai that night because it was my birthday and why not!? My drink was an over poured vodka concoction. It was gross and couldn’t be ignored. I asked the waiter in a very polite manner to have the bartender remake it with rum. The bartender had the audacity to come over to our table and argue with me that she had made it with rum initially. I took a deep breath, held my ground and simply asked her to please make me another drink with rum. She did and low and behold my new drink actually tasted like a Mai Tai should tatste!!! After this uncomfortable confrontation I was clearly targeted. It was surreal. The bus boy after placing everyones miso soup at the hibachi bar slammed mine down and made a mess with no apology. Later I noted him conversing with the bartender. Nice touch I thought. I’ve bartended and worked in the restaurant business for years. When you know you know. Meanwhile my eleven year old son took the liberty to helping himself to the Cherry of my drink. I believe it was the manager who came over with a tiny cup of cherries and I initially had thought “oh how thoughtful” until she pointed out that she was concerned about my son eating cherries with alcohol on them. My eyes are still rolling. I refused a second drink because I felt the hostility and it would have gone bad real quick. We paid our tab and left the premises with the bartender giving me the biggest stink eye. So happy Birthday to me lol! I found the experience to be amusing and I assure you it didn’t ruin my birthday. I did however thought I’d leave a much deserved one star...

The food was mediocre. The lobster was not fresh and on top of that, the chef seemed to be having a bad day, because he didn’t want to provide a pleasant experience for us:

the rice was not stir-fried enough... it was bland and not hot enough!

The steak was tasteless. When I asked the so-called chef for more salt and pepper, he simply added pepper, even after I asked him twice for both (the family next to me was as surprised as I was). I ordered filet mignon with the lobster. Not tender enough, to be honest. Just stick to the chicken, or shrimp, or regular steak... You really can’t tell the difference.

The whole purpose of coming here was to have a nice hibachi cooking show... Well, it turned out that the chef was ticked off by something, or was having a bad day. I get it! It happens to all of was. That same guy had to serve another group that was next to us once he finished with our table; interestingly enough, his disposition changed drastically: smiling and acting complete different (you could tell that he was enjoying what he was doing). Even the family next to us noticed it.

Good luck with your chef. Hopefully, if you are lucky and end up with this guy, he’d like you more than us!

Don’t order lobster. It’s not worth it. I thought it would be, especially because we are in a coastal area....