Binchoyaki — Restaurant in Sacramento

Dear Michelin,

I have considered you a trustworthy guide to exceptional dining for the majority of my 54 years on the planet. Tonight, that trust has been compromised.

My fiancé made reservations this evening for Binchoyaki Sacramento based on her “hit list” of Michelin blessed recommendations for 6:15. We arrived at 6 and standing outside met Cathy, the hostess. We had reserved the bar and walked in to the restaurant and saw the 2 open chairs at the bar but were told to check in with Cathy who told us that we would be seated at 6:15 like our reservation. The patio was 50% full and another couple came a few minutes later with a 6:30 reservation and consistently, she told them that they would be seated at 6:30. At 6:15 she informed us that masks were mandatory and although I am a double vaccinated healthcare employee I agreed to mask to our seats at the bar. Over ten patrons inside including the bar were unmasked and I took my mask off after being seated and she said that we needed to mask until we were served. There were many non consuming unmasked patrons inside and I asked if that was reasonable and recommended we leave to my fiancé when she shared that it would be $25 per person to leave at that point. Stunned I agreed to stay just to see what the extent of this madness would expose. I asked what law existed now dictating masks and she responded that I was “scaring her” and should stop. I stopped. Our server was great. I didn’t get her name but she said our food would be amazing and explained the menus. Unmasked we ordered a sake and a beer and put together our order. After ordering Cathy returned to us and said that I needed to stop looking at her because it was making her uncomfortable. I had not looked at her at all. At this point I was shocked and confused. We placed our order and subsequently watched the staff prepare the grilled items. I saw 3 different people handle raw meat and either open the refrigerator in the open prep area or switch to vegetables, none gloved. The grill was covered in aluminum foil and 3 cooks shared a very small space with 4-5 staff passing between during our 20 minutes there. We asked our server to prepare our order to go and paid. What we received (for $90) was 7 ounces of protein (I weighed it when I got home because it was ridiculous) and sauce and garnish. The chicken and steak were unseasoned and overcooked. The sushi was excellent. The order was not a reasonable portion for 1 person. I have lived here and dined extensively for many years and I have never experienced this level of ineptitude and disregard for customer service. On top of everything, the gratuity was included with the bill which has never been the case for a party of 2 in any city in my entire life, exacerbated by the experience and the threat of a $50 charge for leaving prior to ordering because of a clueless and rude employee. This restaurant does not deserve to be in the company of the fine restaurants our city is fortunate enough to provide. I hope this is a unique example of a restaurant that has been spectacular then terribly fallen after the rating. If not, it does compromise our interest in using your guide as a reliable...

Binchoyaki – Disappointing Experience

Binchoyaki is located near HWY50 on the edge of Sacramento downtown, not too far from the city center. While the location is convenient for drivers, parking is very limited — most people will need to park farther away and walk to the restaurant.

The restaurant does have some appealing touches: a yakitori counter where you can watch the chef at work, plus Japanese paintings and sake-themed decor. The bar area always seems lively, drawing in plenty of locals. They also offer a fancy wooden outdoor dining space, but in reality, it’s uncomfortable. It’s noisy from cars passing by, filled with flies, and even worse — fruit from a nearby tree kept falling onto the tables. To top it off, the table and seating were noticeably uneven.

For food, I ordered four yakitori:

Negima (chicken thigh & green onion): Tender, but nothing memorable.

Teba (spicy chicken wings): Small portion, flavor just okay.

NY Strip Loin (Niman Ranch): I could only taste the plain beef, the sauce added nothing.

Shiitake Mushroom: Only four tiny pieces, extremely underwhelming.

All portions were very small for the relatively high prices. The overall quality didn’t justify the cost.

I also tried two onigiri: Tuna Mayo and Ebi Mayo. Both were disappointing. The nori was poorly wrapped, so the rice fell apart easily. The tuna was chopped into tiny bits with little flavor, and the shrimp tempura was just one small piece compared to the amount of rice. Definitely overpriced and not worth it.

Service was another huge letdown. The wait time was far too long: about 20 minutes for the yakitori (acceptable), but nearly 40 minutes for the onigiri, which should be quick to prepare. Staff service was very slow overall, and it felt like we were constantly waiting.

The final frustration came with the mandatory 20% gratuity, hidden in a small line at the very bottom of the menu. I was dissatisfied with both the service and experience, yet forced to pay extra.

Between the high prices, tiny portions, long waits, poor service, and mandatory gratuity, my visit was extremely disappointing. Two stars only for the decent yakitori quality — otherwise, I would not recommend...

We have been wanting to try this place out for a while, but we live out of town and with covid we never have been able to check it out. Well today we were sitting at home, hot and bored and decided that we wanted to take a little drive and decided to get lunch here. We had to make reservations, since the outdoor seating is limited and they are only allowing people inside to use the restroom (cool with us, we like to go to places that are taking this serious)

When we got there our server/hostess was very inviting, she could tell this may of been our first time and willing and able to answer all our questions also had made some suggestions based on what we liked. We went a little overboard on the ordering, but how can you decide on just a couple of things when everything sounded like it was going to be good.

We got the beginner plate. it was a good mix of meats and vegies (Shishido peppers (not spicy), shiitake mushrooms tempura plate, pork belly, chicken wings, a chicken meatball ( can't remember the name, but my daughter loved it), chicken thigh/ green onion) Japanese potato salad (really good), krispy rice (its spicy), pork jowel.chicken livers, chicken hearts, NY strip loin, grilled oysters, bacon wrapped enoki mushrooms (amazing), corn that was cut off the cob in strips still attached to part of the cob (don't have the name also, but it was excellent, ), a side of pickled fruit/vegetables, edamame, and 2 bowls of Sukiyaki udon. and to end it some grilled peaches wrapped in ribeye (different but really good).

Every single thing was beyond delicious! There were 4 of us, 2 adults and 2 children and and we all shared a little bit of everything. While the server was clearing some plates, she apologized a little bit about trying to figure out how to stack the plates, and said they had only been open for 3 days for sit down service. I was blown away, I would have never of guessed, every single worker there was beyond nice and helpful, and seemed like they had been doing this for years. We will 100% be back, and sooner than later. We have to get some shaved ice from Osaka Ya across the street (we...