Hokkaido Japanese Steak & Sushi — Restaurant in Saginaw Charter Township

Went here four times and the last was one of the worst experiences ever at a restaurant. First time went for lunch and my wife ordered a steak and chicken combo, she did not like the chicken because it was too sweet for her taste and not prepared the same as down state chain restaurants prepare it. The second time she asked our server if she could get a combination; but have double the steak, she said yes for a few dollars more, it was great. The third time she ordered the same and the server said she had to order a single steak with a side order of steak, they did not do a double steak anymore. Strangely the manager came out and explained this as well and we were fine with the extra cost. The last time we (our two young children, my wife and I) went for a special occasion dinner and it was horrible. My wife decided to try what our server at a previous visit suggested, order the combo and tell the chef to not put the teriyaki stuff on it. Our chef came out and within one minute was playing to the engaged couple and their shall we say two very close lady friends. He said he was married and did not like his wife or being married. I tuned him out for the most part after that; being happily married. Then he make some joke about how he hates his kids and that I probably hated my kids to. There were several references of an adult manner throughout the dinner to where afterwards our 10 year old daughter confused by why he said what he did as he cooked our meal. Before he cooked the chicken; my wife leaned over and told him how she wanted her chicken cooked and he said he would still put some lemon on it and she agreed. However he cooked it all up and well into a minute of cooking it he realized his mistake and pushed aside her portion, too late. She did not like it. The server noticed later and my wife explained what had happened, she said next time you tell me first, why? I told the chef, who left the prep kitchen without any of the meat by the way. He joked about working at another local Japanese hibachi restaurant and left us with an impression that he was most likely fired. The server got the manager, he brought out the chef that lied to my wife's face to save face. I was about to say something but the people next to us thought it was some ploy to what? Save a few bucks on the bill? So then the chef came out with a carry out container with chicken cooked the way wanted it and then admitted he screwed up, where was your boss then? We paid full price and did not take home the chicken he made. I found out from my wife what was said about me hating my kids and they confirmed it. If I had heard that and was not watching a tv across the dining area to tune him out I would have made a scene and walked out. Nobody deserves that type of lousy service disguised as humor. The fact that he lied in front of his boss to my wife made it that much worse. Never...

We went last night to celebrate mine and my sons birthday. While waiting for table to be cleared my husband and I stepped to the bar to pre order a drink which was visually sticky and dirty glass doors were smeared and slimy looking and a putrid smell on top of all the dirty dishes at the bar… drinks were sloppily made he had his fingers all over my straws after having his hands on the fight bar and glass was all sticky on outside. the table became available we order appetizers and we’re going through the menu while we wait for those. She starts to bring them and we order our food just put into perspective. This is my first family meal since I’ve had gastric surgery so I ordered a Kids portion. Mind you I also have a 10-year-old daughter who ordered a full portion adult meal. Our waitress continues. You can’t order that you’re not under 12 and I was like OK well I can’t eat like that. She says well unless you have a medical card I can’t do that, she says you can order a side of rice if you would like so, by her tone now, people are starting to stare making me very uncomfortable and embarrassed I said, never mind I just won’t order anything. So then after that my husband had got the manager and explained the situation to him (also the bartender) and just explained how she could’ve handled it in a different way it’s not like we were being cheap my daughter ordered a full size meal she could’ve just made it work. So he said that was fine but I don’t understand why my medical condition was called all out when the gentleman said he was allergic to shellfish across from us didn’t have to show a medical card so anyways. After that she proceeds to try to take all the food for the appetizers when no one was even finished with them we repeatedly told her they weren’t done eating that then she starts slamming refills and other plates down and at the end she tosses the to go boxes down, didn’t offer bags or any to go sauces, and then says, do you want any cake or anything and I said well actually it’s my son‘s birthday if he wants cake and my daughter wants to order some of the ice cream so it took her forever and then she comes back with it slams it down on the table in front of him doesn’t wish him happy birthday or anything so my daughter goes to try it and takes a scoop and bites into a candle that wasn’t lit or anything just shoved in the middle of the desert for $170 bill it was the worst experience I’ve ever had had a restaurant our chef was amazing. The food was great. The manager wasn’t the greatest in his resolve of the problem just kind of repeated what she said in a different manner and eventually allowed me to order the smaller portion , and the waitress was horrible and just got worse as our night went on only to ruin a completely good birthday dinner coming from a server of 25+ years tending bar and...

The very first time we visited this establishment, we weren't impressed. The rice wasn't good and a lot of the dishes weren't authentic. It hasn't changed much, but the white rice was much better this time.

I ordered the unaju (eel on rice) while my wife ordered one of the bento sets. Two things immediately stood out.

One, the sashimi included with her dish was cube shaped, instead of thinly sliced. This is a huge problem, as it changes the mouth feel of the fish AND the overall flavor - I had to request they thinky slice it. The fish itself was fresh, but simply was too large to enjoy.

Two, my unaju came cut up into small pieces with part of the eel missing. It seemed to me that in order to appease Western tastes, they removed the parts that contained most of the fat and bones. The bones are really soft and completely edible, and the fatty parts are truly flavorful, so to me, this was a high crime. Other than that, the taste was good, but not completely authentic.

The salads and soups were pretty good, and our appetizer, some sort of fake crab meat tempura was very good - we both really enjoyed that.

The service was just okay. There were two other tables with customers on both sides of us, with a different server for each, but we had to wait 10 minutes or more between visits from our server. We even had others stop over to deliver food or ask them to get the server. We weren't doing hibachi, but maybe the servers pull double duty - working both sides simultaneously.

Lastly, I really would like it if they expanded their sake selection. It is VERY poor and they were completely out of one of the better ones on the menu. For a Japanese style restaurant, that, and the selection, is pretty bad.

The food here isn't terrible, isn't quite authentic, and not so pricey that you can't enjoy it. Too bad that with a bit more effort, it could be so...