Big Bing Hibachi & Smoothie Tea — Restaurant in Port Saint Lucie

I just want to start off by saying, I never write reviews. I compelled to write one for Big Bing; which just opened a few months ago. I was very excited for a new quick service Hibachi place local to me, so I gave it a try - 3 times. I wanted to force myself to like this place, 3 times. And all 3 times I was disappointed and had the same experience all 3 times.

The atmosphere and location is great. However, you’re quickly greeted with an AI image on the wall, and iPads to order, which is fine, but that should have been my first warning that the owners are cutting cost in hiring proper employees; using cheap tacky AI images, and an iPad to order ourselves. Again, that’s fine. I tend to order online anyways. The first time I ordered ahead though, the estimate was 6:30pm. I arrived at 6:45pm. No one greeted me, no one even acknowledged me. Same goes with the other 4 customers waiting. And that’s not the employees fault totally, because there were 2 employees running the entire thing. One cooking, and one prepping; with a lot of people waiting. So I waited patiently; until finally I was able to get one of the employees attention asking for my pickup order. She was nice, and began to say my order was almost ready. I ended up waiting another 30 minutes for my food. I left there around 7:20pm. When my order was supposed to be ready by 6:30pm. I come home, to very average cold food. Nothing to rave about; but I gave them the excuse that they were busy and went on about my day.

However, it happened again the second time. And now the third time. Average food, long wait for order. Again, only TWO people working on a busy night. No one greeting me as I walk in. This time though, I saw the cook and second employee, finishing a backlog of orders; and I don’t blame them! They are only two people; and one is cooking. Then, I see everyone’s “fresh” protein sitting under a hot lamp on the back wall as they have to catch up prepping the orders on the plate. Meaning, the bulk of the cooking was done way ahead of time, but they didn’t have enough people to prep the orders.

You have a huge kitchen and prep station; why are there not more employees greeting guests, and prepping food? I can just assume it’s the owner wanting to cut costs.

If the owner happens to read this: as Port Saint Lucie begins to develop, you’re going to want to hire more employees. Maybe have a little more quality customer service with your customers; especially those who ordered way ahead of time. The AI image on the wall is really all I needed to know to clue in that you like to cut costs wherever possible; but don’t let it dwell on the hands of your poor short staffed employees who are working so hard to cook and prep everyone’s orders while also making a good customer service experience.

I had really high hopes for this place. I sadly see it failing if changes aren’t made. Because I surely will not be waiting another hour at this place...

We were really excited to visit Big Bing for the first time because the concept seemed so promising. However, our initial experience was disappointing. First of all, even when you choose the “build your own” option, it’s far from affordable—building a basic plate can easily cost over $15.

During our first visit, we were eager to try specific items, but after paying, we were informed that some of the ingredients we had paid for were unavailable. While we appreciated their offer to substitute with something else, it was frustrating that their system wasn’t updated to reflect what was in stock. On top of that, we purchased two bottles of water, but they only had one. We also ordered edamame, which the staff forgot entirely. Had we not returned to the counter, we would have left without it. Despite these issues, the food had good flavor, which motivated us to give the restaurant another chance.

Unfortunately, today’s second visit was even worse and proved to be a mistake. We ordered a “build your own” plate, and the portion size for nearly $17 was disappointingly small—less than what you’d get at a typical fast-food chain like Panda Express—and to make matters worse, the food was served cold. We also ordered the Salmon Teppanyaki, which is described on their tablet and website as including: 6 oz salmon, seared cherry tomatoes, vegetable medley, lemon, Italian parsley, black pepper, salt, and sesame. However, what we received was simply salmon with a few pieces of lettuce.

When we raised the issue with an employee, she sent another employee to hand us the food. Before taking it back to add the missing cherry tomatoes, she mentioned that they had changed the menu. However, this did not justify the inadequate dish we received. The cherry tomatoes she eventually added were cold, and the salmon was still undercooked and cold, resembling sashimi rather than teppanyaki.

With all these problems, we cannot recommend Big Bing. If it’s not one issue, it’s another. While we are the kind of people who believe in giving second chances, this experience has left us with no reason to return. Unfortunately, there won’t be another...

UPDATE

After leaving the review ownership reached out to me. The situation was explained and a full refund was given. It was refreshing to hear an operator identify where they went wrong, apologize, and inform me of their plan to correct the issue at hand. I have winced return and had an excellent experience.

I arrived and scanned the 20% off QR code for signing up for a membership. I couldn’t get the discount to show (user error) the woman behind the counter was very sweet and helped me get the discount. I placed a large order. The site said the order would be completed in about ten minutes, which seemed nearly impossible. The order was ready almost twenty minutes past the expected time. The site was easy to use, but needs to be more realistic with the pick up time as several other patrons were upset their orders were not ready within the expected pick up time frame. I feel the middle aged men looming over the counter with their arms crossed glaring at the Big Bing Team might have stressed them out and led to the multiple mistakes with my order.

After a few minutes my name was called and I was given a single entree. I must have looked confused as the nice woman behind the counter asked me if the order was right. The receipt was correct and listed four entrees, three side items, two sauces, and a drink. The woman said “Oops, I think I made a mistake!”.

After a few more minutes I was given my order again. They forgot my drink and quickly handed it to me as I asked for it. I walked outside to check it as the counter was busy. The order was missing the $27.99 filet mignon combo. I walked back in and it was handed to me. I then asked for the side sauces that were also forgotten.

As far as the taste, it’s exactly what you would expect from a take out style hibachi place. Not as good as a sit down hibachi restaurant, but more affordable, and quicker. Fairly priced for the quality. Although the woman at the counter made many mistakes, she was very apologetic and sweet. My unsolicited advice is for her to slow down and take her time to review the order is correct, especially after already...