Arirang Hibachi Steakhouse — Restaurant in Sayreville

I am so disappointed in having to write this review. I have been going to Arirang (in Brooklyn and in Staten Island) since i was 15. Have many birthday pictures from this restaurant. I moved to NJ 2 years ago and have been wanting to try this place ever since. Everytime I asked someone to go, they always asked me to try some of the other Hibachi restaurants instead as they said they are better taste, quality, and price. I did try a few of those and have been pretty happy. I had some friends come over and i decided, since in the midst of Covid you are not really taking in the Hibachi experience, to try take out from this place and trest everyone to a good meal. They are only about 15 min drive from my house so we called ahead and placed the order. Order was ready when they said it would be ready and pick up was seamless. I bring the food home, and that is where the disappointment began. The portions were TINY. The only thing that seemed about the same size was the veggies that it comes with but the hibachi meat seamed like 30-50% smaller than what they serve at tue restaurant (both quantity and size of meat used). The flavor fell short as well and it definitely did not feel like a traditional hibachi cooked meal. At first i figured the taste was off due to this being take out, but then I remembered that i have taken left overs home and ate them out of the fridge before and the taste was on point. To make things worse, they serve the meal with white rice and not Hibatchi fried rice. I did not make a big deal out of it that day but attempted to call the restaurant next day. Some girl picked up and i asked about the dish coming with white rice and not hibatchi rice. She said that this is how they offer it and it clearly says this on the menu, which to their credit, it does. I mentioned that we did not order off the menu as we knew what we wanted and we should have been given an option to have white or fried rice. To me. And i am sure to most, one of the most enjoyable parts of hibaci is the fried rice. The girl said I was right and that typically they do tell people ordering to pick and she is not sure why nobody told us a d it could have been that they were too busy. I then pulled up their menu and saw that their hibachi orders also come with an ice cream/shervert or some type of dessert. She said that this is not something that they give for take out unless we ask for it specifically. I asked why and how would anyone know to ask for it when its clearly stated on the menu that it will come with the meal. I said its convenient how they expect people to know to ask for the dessert and they ignore that their menu but the white rice vs hibachi rice they just say that this is the way it comes and as it states on the menu. You cant cherry pick the things that only make your narrative better and they should have clear communication to the clients so they can meat their expectations. Girl said that there was nothing she can go to help and offered for me to speak to her manager. I said i am not really looking for anything from them but I will have the conversation so that i can help them understand that they are falling short of expectations and what they can improve on. I was on hold for a minute or two and then the girl picks up saying that manager cannot come to the phone right now. This was around 3/4 on a Wednesday afternoon so i am sure it wasn't due to being super busy. Either way, i was told to leave my number and that this manager would call back at some point that night. This all was 2 weeks ago and manager never bothered to call. I never bothered to follow back up either but figured i would make this review instead. If they cannot be bothered to call a customer back to hear how bad food was, portion size was, and how dissatisfied someone was, maybe they can take the time out to read it here instead. So many better options in the area for Hibachi so i would NOT recomend this place and I will NOT come back here once covid is over and will instead pick another "go-to"...

To The Owner:

Although this letter is long overdue, we wanted to take a moment to let you know about your employee, James Magliulo. We have known James since he started out as a waiter in Sayreville Arirang. Even back then he stood out among the other employees. James has ALWAYS been attentive but not pushy - knowledgeable but not arrogant & fast but not rushing. He was quick to recall us after only a few visits - remembered our "go to" items almost immediately and always had a good suggestion for something new.

Flash forward to when he was promoted to manager. Whoever had that idea was a genius! We told James he would be a great manager and we weren't wrong. He continued to be attentive to patrons - addressing issues / concerns while ensuring the restaurant was running smoothly. The staff appeared happy - we were there often enough to see it - and the effect trickled to the patrons. His knowledge of the brand far exceeds other managers we've come across, he possesses excellent customer service skills, problem solving skills and is a multi tasker.

For a while we missed James - other managers came and went & sadly although good, you could tell the difference. We asked for James and was told he was managing the other restaurants. Once in a while he would come back to Sayreville to "fill in" and we were so happy to see him.

Lately James has been in Sayreville every time we go often and we're so happy to see him back. We thought he was back managing again but were happy to hear he was again promoted... to Director of Training. Another smart choice for your team-- someone is paying attention in that organization of yours.

You would think from this letter we were a family member of his ..LOL but we are not. We're just regular customers who are so happy to see a man recognized for his skills & efforts. Again, this letter is long overdue but it appears not needed since someone in your organization is paying attention . One more point to mention. We love Arirang chicken wings but with the togarashi seasoning - we picked that up from the spicy edamame in the menu. Freddie one of the cooks in Sayreville makes it perfectly. James made it a point to learn how Freddie does it in the event Freddie is off so we have it done the right way. Crazy right ? P.S It's something to think about offering on the menus (Just sayin...😉)

Finally, we can't say enough about Sam and Marisa your bartenders who are always so attentive, kind, & personable. Lastly, who could leave out -Tony if you're taking the time to write a letter about staff at Sayreville Arirang- Excellent! The best sushi chef hands down.

Thanks for all the great food &...

I did not enjoy being there. I’ve been to so many hibachi places and this one is the worst I’ve been to. My fish was mushy and tasteless like it was freezed so many times before it was cooked. I’m sorry, but it was disgusting. Portions aren’t too big comparing to other hibachi locations I’ve been to. And you pay crazy money. Never paid $96 tips before. And for that amount of tips the waitress had courtesy to comment on drinking the forth glass of coke because it’s a free refill. Service was bad. We asked for napkins and we got just few small squares… like, really?? We’re 12 people here… They try to save on you so I WOULD NOT recommend going there. Didn’t feel special and it was supposed to be a special day for my mother’s first birthday in this country. We ended up paying way more this place deserves. Nothing was on point there. Even chef didn’t entertain us much. While other Chefs did better our chef was burning my mushy fish that I ended up getting at the end of my meal. And thanks god I didn’t wait because it wasn’t even worthy to wait for. The only things I liked there is drinks. Good margarita, good apple vodka, good pina colada. I liked shrimps but I got only 3 pieces. And that was the only thing I really enjoyed from the food I had on my plate. My mother didn’t feel special at her birthday there because there were other birthdays and they were putting special music for them and for my mom they just brought a sparkling candle (that was getting to the end by the time of placing it on a table) on ice cream that is included to the price anyway. No special piece of cake for a birthday person. No music. No welcoming feeling whatsoever. Another thing that I liked though was the fact that we were seated (12 people) almost right away without a problem. But i reserved ahead. I read people were saying wait time is horrible there even though you reserved ahead (which I don’t understand since this place isn’t the greatest for me), but we had no problem with that.

Bottom line I wouldn’t recommend this place. Go some other hibachi. I know that you can have more way more fun elsewhere with better service and food. Other hibachi have more fun chefs with chick toys popping out of the egg and other fun tricks they do. I feel more cozy in other places. That’s the first time I didn’t enjoy hibachi place and unfortunately it happened to be on my mother’s birthday. It was my first and last time in...