Mizu Japanese Steakhouse — Restaurant in Renton

Let me preface this review by stating: I used to go, with my family, annually to the previous Mizu location as a birthday tradition started back in highschool by my parents for me. This will no longer be happening unless something radical changes. This review will also likely regularly compare the two locations, because.. Well, this is the forward move from the previous one, you'd think they were moving and would keep the same level of competence and quality.

I walked in before the rest of my party got there. Immediately, pungent fishy smell. Nothing currently being cooked, but it was a hot day, okay, might be related to that. Looking at other reviews after the fact, I was apparently wrong: Their ventilation is terrible. It doesn't take me long to adjust to the smell and I look around, okay, the tables are way closer together than the previous place, there's a table with only one guy at it, nothing currently being cooked, two other parties eating plus the one guy.

At first I wave off the hostess, saying I was waiting for my party. She asked if I had a reservation, I had forgotten to check and called to see if one had been made. Nope. I stood waiting at the front counter for about five minutes?-ish while the hostess dealt with a delivery pickup, and when she came back I told her hey, party of five, no reservation. It's a tuesday. Shouldn't need one.

She looked around (again, nobody currently cooking, and also to note, three open tables) and said okay, it'll be a 25 minute wait to be seated. Now, the previous Mizu didn't do that--If there were tables open, they sat you immediately unless there were reservations. They sat you, they took drink orders and appetizer orders and got you some water. This place? Nah.

Go sit on the 2-3 person bench across from some terracotta soldier-esque art piece blocking where another bench could be, with four wooden chairs in the airlock-style room adjacent to the entrance being the only other seating--on a 95 degree day, those seats were hot not recipients of the admittedly mediocre a/c that the rest of the restaurant had.

The rest of my party arrives and immediately notice the smell, with one wanting to walk back outside. We all adjust after a little bit of time, and I ask if we could possibly be seated at a table instead of waiting by the door. No response. My mom walks up, about to reiterate the suggestion but stops due to a sign on the front desk that states an automatic 18% gratuity due to a proposed 20$+ minimum wage increase in Renton. Tips are given based on service, not as a requirement--We're not subsidizing the owner's ability to pay the employee so you can charge 30$+ a plate and have people wait around a half hour just to be seated at a clearly open table. I remember how the tips worked at the previous Mizu, down in Southcenter--You were only locked in at a gratuity percentage if you had a party over a certain number.

We wandered away from the desk and discussed our options, then saw a chef walk out to one of the tables... With a mask on. Now, I was pro-mask all through covid. I'm pro-mask when you're sick. It makes tons of sense. The only realistic time to wear a mask is when you're sick, as a mask doesn't really protect you much from other people being sick--At least, not your average cloth mask. But it muffles the voice of the chef.

If he's sick, why is he working with food? Otherwise, he shouldn't need to wear the mask. The main appeal to hibachi-style restaurants like Mizu is the chef, the entertainment and style they provide, as well as the fantastic jokes. Between the noisy-but-smoky ventilation and the mask, I don't understand how anyone can hear and appreciate any humor or even any questions.

We walked out and went to Trapper's over in Southcenter instead. Even got some cocktails and likely paid a good 30% less than we would've here even if everyone ordered tofu(cheapest item) and no alcohol.

The kicker that I didn't notice on the way in and saw on the way out: They still have a tarp sign up above the door, no permanent...

TL:DR at bottom.

I've been going to Mizu for ten years and tonight ensured I'll never eat there again. I hadn't been since before Covid and, with my niece visiting, decided to go for dinner on her last night.

Upon arriving, we found a sign on the door that said automatic 18% gratuity will be added for all parties dining in. A little questionable, but we went in. After being seated, we found out the restaurant is under new ownership. This might explain the gratuity change.

Upon seeing the menu, we were shocked to find the prices had increased substantially. Again, we decided to stay because we'd always loved Mizu. Our orders were taken and the meal began. We were seated opposite a group of 3 very nice people who all ordered filet mignon combos (this is relevant later).

The chef came out and was very friendly and engaging. He began cracking the eggs for the fried rice and burned some of the egg. Instead of scraping it off the cook top, he kept going. The burnt charcoal smell was awful. He slopped rice everywhere, dumping some off the sides of the plates onto the table when serving. THEN, I found some thin plastic when taking my first bite of the rice. I spit it out and set it aside, showing the waitress discreetly when she came back. There was also bits of charred egg in the rice itself.

He continued cooking and it turns out the restaurant has made major changes to their vegetable side. Almost no zucchini and yellow squash, but a LOT of carrot, onion and broccoli. At least they still had mushrooms. However, no more bean sprouts and cabbage after your meat is served.

The other party's steaks were ordered one medium rare and two medium well. The chef put all 3 steaks on and cooked them together and served them at the same time. This party did not comment. Toward the end of our meal (the chef was cleaning the cook top), the other party finally received their shrimp tempura appetizer.

The chef came back with the waitress to argue that the plastic I found was egg white. I showed him the pieces and how they did not flake apart like egg white and were inedible. I also told him I believe it's from him using the spatula to open the saran wrapped butter at the start of the meal. Not a huge deal, but they need to be aware of these things so it doesn't end up in people's food. He told me it's egg white and walked away.

We paid our bill and left. We will not be back. The food was just not as good and the prices are significantly higher than they were.

TL:DR Been eating here for ten years but now they're under new ownership. Burned egg for fried rice and didn't scrape it off the cook top. The smell was awful and some ended up in the rice. Plastic from the saran wrap on the butter ended up in my fried rice. Staff argued with me that it was egg white. Side veggies have been significantly changed and some removed altogether. Appetizer came out at the end of the meal. Steaks appeared not to have been cooked to requested done-ness (they were another party's meal). Prices are significantly higher Automatic 18% gratuity on all parties...

Wife and I stopped in for dinner. After being seated I noticed that the floor was very dirty and the table tops had smears on them. Not promising. While waiting to order, a cook at a neighboring table lost control of his spatula while flipping it around and knocked items off of the table. When our cook arrived, he also lost control of of his spatula and fork and luckily didn't hit anyone. He also tossed an egg past himself to the table behind him. Later he took some cooked egg bits and tried tossing them at people and missed wildly. What is this, amateur hour? Now I know why the menu states that they will automatically add an 18% gratuity to all orders, regardless of party size: nobody would tip this cook.

The soup appetizer was extremely salty, and I love salt, but several people at the table didn't eat it. The salad dressing was good, a standard ginger-soy mix, but the lettuce was cut in a large wedge, making it hard to get a small mouthful at a time.

Several people at our table ordered steak medium rare and lobster. The lobsters were cooking on the table for more than 10 minutes and came out very tough and dry and the cook burned and pulled a lot of the meat off, almost 1/4 of the lobster. I watched several NY Strips and a Filet Mignon (all ordered medium rare) get cooked though to medium well and they were pretty tough to eat. My shrimp were tough and a bit freezer burned.

The vegetables sat on the cook top until the very end of the meal, which is improper pacing and ordering for a teppan service.

The $4 upcharge for fried rice was a waste of money. The cook added egg, a few bits of onion and carrot, and a whole lot of oil and soy sauce. What came out was mediocre. Not well seasoned, and not even any sesame. When the cook got around to finally giving people the fried rice and vegetables very late in the meal, he kept dropping the food on the table, in sauce dishes, and into my neighbor's water glass. facepalm

The "yum yum" sauce they provided for dipping tasted straight up like Kranch. Bleh.

To top it off, after charging 18% gratuity on the bill, they tossed in a line for "Tip:". Here's a tip: gratuity is tip and you already got it because it was mandatory. Jerks.

I had to apologize to my wife for making the bad choice to try Mizu. Why isn't there good teppan in...