Yokoso Japanese Steakhouse North Charleston — Restaurant in North Charleston

Before reading, please take note that I had to screen shot my ENTIRE post because my post exceeded the character limit. All of this information had to documented. I'm not sure if this place actually deserve 1 star! I thought this would be the best place to celebrate my daughter's 16th birthday, but I was so wrong. How and where do I start?!?! I thought I was doing the right thing when I visited the establishment 3 days in advance to make the reservation. Upon entering I noticed the sign on the door that limited the party to 8 due to Covid. I understood that, but when the young lady told me that you can have a party larger than that I was happy. I reserved my table for 10 people for Saturday 7th at 6pm. She advised that they had a party of 15 going on at the same time, but checked with her manager and he then said 6pm would be no problem. We arrived Saturday 11/7 around 5:50ish. When I checked in it was exactly 6pm (I remembered showing the hostess my phone which said 6pm). In fact joking that I did make it on time. They took a moment to get our table ready. Once they called us (it's about 6:10) they seated us at our table. Two hostess came to my table and advised me that when I made my reservation it was for 10 people, and we counted 12 in your party! I said "what 12 people are you counting?" She said we both counted 12, and actually it was 11. So I went over 1 child (11 yrs old by the way). They then suggested that I RESCHEDULE my daughter's dinner? WHAT? I then asked for the manager (well, she was no help). She also advised me that her two hostesses counted 12 people in my party (can't we not count) and after we recounted together she then said "Oh you guys can stay since it's only 11). It was a child for goodness sake. She wanted me to pay for another table to sit the 11 year old. By this time I'm VERY upset! I go back to my seat. It took them another 30 mins just to take our drink order! I ask the waiter to go get me the manager (again), and he "claimed" that she doing a "video conference" and would be with us shortly. Well...she NEVER came! I went to find her! I ask her were they deliberately waiting to serve us because it shouldn't have taken this long. Meanwhile a group of 7 that came in AFTER us are now being served with their personal chef. REALLY? The waiter then proclaimed that they were waiting on a chef that could serve my party of 11. He said they have certain chef that accommodates large parties. Well, if having an extra 11 year old was the hold up, then that's a problem for your establishment. I've never heard of such a thing. So you're telling me that you have chefs readily available to cook for a party of 7, but not trained to cook for a party of 11. The two kids actually got food off the kid's menu, so that shouldn't have mattered. The waiter FINALLY took our order around 7:10. We've been seated over an hour and yet we just had drinks while the party across from us are eating their meal. I ask for the manager AGAIN (how many times does one have to visit a manger to get good customer service) by the waiter, who kept apologizing over and over again. The manager (don't know her name I know she had purple/bluish hair) and she kept avoiding me. So, I went to find her to express my disappointment with their services. I advised her that my reservation was made 3 days prior and I didn't understand what the hold up was. She advised me that they never should have given you a "6 O'clock time (it's now 7:15). I told her that in fact when I made the reservation they had already advised me of a previous party of 15 and that the time that I booked was fine. I told her to be honest, and do the right thing. She apologize that we haven't been served yet, and said that we should have by now because I express that a family behind us can come be seated and have their dinner started and we are just at the table with empty plates. She then said that she would accommodate the dinner, but that doesn't always solve the problem. Please see photos to read the...

This Joe B (I use Tom James for my Google acct). I visited Yokoso again this past Tuesday, 4/1/25 and what an improvement in the food!! I ordered the same thing as last time: chicken and appetizer shrimp. I got it with broccoli instead of onions. The food was superb in every respect: taste, texture, heat and properly prepared. It was very good! I believe it was a different chef in the back this time. I can't remember his name but he's good. The quantity was good also; plenty of food to take home, which I did and when I reheated it the next day it still tasted almost as good. Thus, I would recommend them for sure now!

The same bartender was working, Abbey. She was wonderful as always. Very friendly and very responsive to any need I had. She was right on the spot. Watching her work with other customers, I can see she is consistent with her excellent service and delightful personality. She knows what she is doing when it comes to drinks also - a real pro!!

I also talked with the manager that night, Lorrie Anne. She is something also! Extremely nice and attentive. I watched her manage the staff and she is good. I also saw her dealing with customers -great job! Having been a manager myself in various businesses, I would hire her a heartbeat. She knows her stuff. She seems to know how to manage the business and she definitely knows how to manage people. She is also a "people person" when it comes to customers. I can tell they like her. The restaurant is well managed, at least from what I've seen with the people on duty this night.

The staff that I have encountered really make a difference for a pleasant experience, and great food.

My only complaint would be that need something else on the TV besides reruns of Family Feud :-) But overall, excellent place. If you haven't tried them in a while, go again, you'll be pleasantly surprised. And to all my friends in Mt. Pleasant, I think they are just about equal to Yamatos.

I am a long-time customer of the Mt. Pleasant location that is now closed (Yamato). I know a few people who work there are now at Yokoso in N. Chas. So this weekend (Sunday, 3/16/25) I thought I would give it a try. I was very disappointed. The atmosphere is very different, and the bar is smaller. The whole place just seems less friendly. The only cheery people there were one of the chefs I knew, and the bartender Abbey who I know. Both worked at Yamato. The other people working there seemed "blah" for lack of a better word. Just going through the motions more or less. I expected a happy go lucky bunch that interacted with each other and customers, but I didn't find that here. I know, it was just my first visit, but... Ok, now for the food. I ate at the bar, and luckily the bar tender was exceptional. I don't know how she kept up with the drinks for the hibachi area, the bar and take-out orders (taking calls and preparing for pickups), but she did. She was fast and very friendly. Ok, back to the food. It was not good, but again I am comparing it to the Mt. Pleasant location. The soup was a little tasteless and very few onions and mushrooms. The salad was a good portion and plenty of dressing, but the dressing did taste a little different. I had chicken and what supposed to be appetizer shrimp. The shrimp was tough (chewy), maybe over cooked. It seemed like "warmed over shrimp". It just wasn't that good. The chicken wasn't much better: the pieces weren't cut up enough and pieces were hanging together by pieces of fat. It also lacked taste, blah again. Speaking of blah...The Zucchini definitely was. Although it was cooked ok (texture was good), it was tasteless. The rice was ok, not as good as I was used to at Yamato but just ok. I asked who cooked everything and they said it was the manager cooking in the back kitchen...hhmm...I hope he doesn't manage like he cooks! One last thing about the food. The sauces, which are a big thing for me, left something...

I would have given this place a 5 verses a 4 because…This place opens up at 5pm each day verses the 4:30pm times listed. They changed their front door hours to reflect this. They also have another sign posted that’s let’s you know that they are short staffed and to be patient. I do recommend making an appointment in advance. We got there around 5:15pm our out of town friend from Georgia had got there at opening and was sitting at the bar area. The young lady who greeted us, was ineffectively dull and not cheerful. We asked for a table for 3 but she said that would be a 20-minute wait. There was only two people at the bar, four people at a table in the bar area, and a few people in the main dining area. We didn’t have reservations so I’m sure that some tables were previously reserved. I then asked if we could eat at the bar or the bar area where there were about four unoccupied tables. The hostess stated we could if that’s what we wanted. (I LET THAT COMMENT GO)! We decided to sit at the bar, verses the bar tables that were unoccupied. We ALL were glad that we made this decision because the young man tending bar and servicing us was outstanding. Great personality, service, speed and he interacted with us as if he knew us. He treated the other two ladies sitting at the bar who were not in our party of 3 with the same respect. I can’t recall his name but he did attend the Citadel College, and Boisé State College, and will be attending Charleston Southern University (CSU), soon. He deserved a good tip and we enjoyed giving him one and letting him know how friendly he was and made our visit great. The Hostess, well that’s another area that needs worked on by management. The food was very plentiful and good. My sushi plate order wasn’t what I expected from a sushi bar but the other two in our party had great meals…very good food and nice and hot. We had great service and food. Since I’m a local, I’ll be back again, and will sit in the bar area verses the main...