Shogun — Restaurant in Rockford Township

This is kind of long.. I've gone 7 times between July of last year and January of this year. I love the food and I love the atmosphere, but I felt so uncomfortable that I had to stop going. The tall/bigger male waiter, every time I go in, has been so rude. I hadn't gone since about 2014, so I just started going again with friends last year. I don't care for the show, so we go to the Izakaya side. When we first started coming in, he came to greet us at our table, I could already sense that he was irritated and grumpy. We tried to ignore it and keep it lighthearted because we like to be as unproblematic as possible, so we tried being extra nice and just laugh it off, but it never seems to help with him. I asked him if he could tell me which cocktails did not contain Pineapple, as I was allergic, and he told me there were 2 or 3. I double checked with him that the orange zest did not contain Pineapple, and he said very rudely "it's orange" and I responded lightheartedly laughing it off like "oh I know, but sometimes they use tropical flavors that contain Pineapple so I was just double checking" he then responded again "it is orange" in an irritated voice. About 10 mins later he returns with that "orange" drink with a huge Pineapple in it. I was like "oh no. It has pineapple" and responded "yes, all of our drinks come with a Pineapple garnish". I apologized and said "I'm so sorry, but I can't drink this, I'm allergic to Pineapple, I'm sorry, that's why I asked". He got irritated and made a dramatic deep sigh and grabbed it up and went to get a replacement. My friend and I started a running joke that "I hope we don't get the grouchy guy that hates us" any time we went, and we usually did, and he was always in a very bad mood. The last time I went and decided not to go back, was this past January. I took my mom out, and I warned her beforehand that there's a grouchy waiter, and if we get him, don't be rude back because I don't want my food spit in. We unfortunately got him, so I let her be the one to ask questions about the sushi, he was very rude to her also, very short and irritated. She tried to make a joke about the salad being good, he was unamused, so we just shut up the rest of the meal. I loved going there, and I think about going back once a week, but I've never felt so uncomfortable at a restaurant in my life, so I definitely won't be returning. That being said, the other waitstaff was great the 1 or 2 times we got them and the bartender was fantastic when I sat at the bar, but that guy has no customer...

I feel like its a hit and a miss. Sometimes good, sometimes awful. When they are good, they are REALLY good. When they are bad, they are REALLY bad.

On their good nights, everything is on point. Food is delicious, staff is friendly. Good portions. Fantastic.

However on their bad nights, their staff is aloof, food is dry and tasteless, and the portions are small.

One instance ill share is that, I'm allergic to shrimp/shellfish. So I usually order my hibachi chicken with out it. From there, one of these options may happen (its my go-to meal, ive had it many times.) They offer to double the noodles(which are yummy), I ask if I could have more noodles instead(I would think noodles would be a cheaper filler than shrimp anyway.), or I ask and they say they cant do it, but I could buy more for 3$.

Which brings me to the next section. When they offer to double the noodles with out prompt, there's typically a decent amount of noodles. When I ask if I could have more noodles, it looks scarce. When I opt to buy more noodles, it doesnt look any different than if I were to ask for more. (I suggest if you have the same issue, but would like to have more noodles, to order your food, say nothing. Then when your food comes out, order more noodles right then.... If you really want more noodles.)

Also, it says tea comes with the dinner, however I usually have to bring it up to their attention. No matter if its a good or bad night. So that's...

Went here for the first time tonight (9.29.23) with my fiancé as a last minute dinner date idea and we had no idea what a treat we were really in for! We're both on plant based diets so we didn't eat anything from the food that's cooked right in front of you by very talented chefs but instead we ordered vegetable rolls, vegetable tempura, vegetable dinner, seaweed salad, and tempura ice cream and it was all for $40.06! That's a delicious steal of a meal! Everyone at our table was super polite and friendly and the chef was very kind and respected me and my fiancé's vegetarian diet when asked if we wanted to try to catch some of the food with our mouths. It was really fun to see everyone having a wonderful time and our server was so awesome and had such a great personality! We made sure to tip well since we both had such a phenomenal time here and we're definitely hoping to dine here again as soon as we can! The noise can be a bit overwhelming depending on how many tables are full but I promise it's well worth the visit if you have never been before! Definitely be sure to save room for that tempura ice cream! I promise you won't regret saving yourself room for a sweet treat at the end of your meal! I do also highly reccomend making a reservation in advanced! All in all an absolutely wonderful experience leaving us both feeling well fed and happy!...