Yummy Teriyaki — Restaurant in Seattle

No wonder the place was empty when I went to pick up: atmosphere is drab, service was rude, and the entire restaurant was full of thick smoke as if the kitchen isn't clean nor ventilated properly. My hair and clothes still reek of the smoke and I was only in there for less than a minute!

After being greeted by inhaling the smoke, I said hi to the guy behind the counter (no response) and asked him if they had recycling since I had an empty water cup and saw no trash/recycling anywhere that the public has access (and didn't want to litter...), and he just looked at me with dead eyes. Okay... So then I brought out my insulated bags for the orders and verified that they were the right ones, and before I could pack them up in the bags on the limited counter space, he kept rudely telling me to confirm the orders, rushing me (even though I was the only one there.) I told him I will once I have them in the insulated bags to keep warm and dry from the rain and I'm actually ready to start the delivery.

(This isn't my first rodeo and I know better than to be a rude courier like others I see who shove their phone in your face and I understand there are terrible couriers who end up stealing food that they never actually "confirm," so you want to make sure that happens...but to be so unwelcoming from the start and demanding and treating me like that felt weirdly accusatory and defensive.)

I will never again accept a pickup from this place. If only people ordering through UberEats/DoorDash actually experienced this place in person: they too would decide otherwise.

There are plenty of other restaurants that are thriving for a reason, which is opposite this establishment because they are CONSISTENTLY high quality in food, welcoming atmosphere, and friendly service to BOTH customers and couriers. Hopefully it's not too late for this place to take note and make changes that would help them thrive rather than decay.

*EDIT in response to the owner's reply: Again, I understand that a small business local restaurant has to have policies & procedures that are intended to protect your business, such as having you witness couriers confirm orders before they walk out your door with your product. Sorry for your loss, but factoring in shrink is also an unfortunate part of business.

Accordingly, and more importantly: it matters HOW your employees who are paid to enforce such policies & procedures actually talk to people. Having a friendly demeanor in body language, facial expression, and tone/volume of voice would go a long way when telling future couriers, "before I hand you the order, may you please show me that you have confirmed the order?" Rather than a rude and rushed, "CONFIRM THE ORDER NOW!"

Most couriers are hard-working honest people who are on the same team as you just trying to do our best out here. But I suppose you attract what you...

The food we ordered was classic teriyaki, standard, good quality, it was well made, tasted good as far as teriyaki goes, the chicken was tender and moist, especially the chicken breast teriyaki, the portions were fair, overall, really great dish. I will be back next time I get a craving for Teriyaki. I also had the Gyoza and egg rolls in the combo, they were cooked well and the frying oil tasted fresh.

A few suggestions and constructive critiques for the future, and nothing major, but I want to give some useful feedback.

For the food: I may have made a mistake ordering, but I definitely prefer the sweet dressing common to Teriyaki places rather than the ranch dressing I received. The salad also was just lettuce, the lettuce was fine, but I would like at least a little shredded carrot or cabbage. -Offering a glass of water with the meal would have been nice as well, but I didn't explicitly ask for this, so it may have been on me.

Price: The food hovered around 16 dollars per person which is steep for me, we're all pretty poor, so we didn't order drinks. I totally get it, everything in Seattle is expensive, it's a somewhat standard price as far as Teriyaki goes. I just think, as we didn't order anything a la carte, it was a meal, a drink or at least water could have been included.

As for the Service: Other reviews have mentioned this, the person manning the counter barely acknowledged us, so we used the self-serve Kiosk. This isn't really a negative, I don't need friendly service, they were polite when bringing our food. In relation to the other reviews, the tip amount didn't play a role for our service, but Im not a huge fan of tipping at a counter service restaurant or before eating, just doesn't make sense to me.

Atmosphere: We live in a city, this isn't an expensive restaurant, considering that, this place was pretty clean and it was nice to be able to see the kitchen, no complaints there. This place is pretty smoky, but that can be a sign of good teriyaki.

Anyways, there are a lot of criticisms in here, I wanted to give this place an honest shot, and I enjoyed it, I live near here and I want it to improve. In a world of ghost kitchens and fast food, it's nice to sit down and have a good...

When I came to the store just now to pick up my order, I encountered a new staff member. As a regular customer, I'm very familiar with the store's setup. Today, I asked the new staff member if I could use the restroom, but he told me it was out of order. I responded that I come here every day and know it’s functional. He continued to insist, in an unfriendly manner, that it was broken.

As a professional delivery driver in Seattle, I have never been so rudely denied restroom access in any restaurant. Considering he was new, I didn't want to waste time arguing. I showed him my phone, indicating I had two orders to pick up. He handed me only one. When I stressed that there were two, he finally checked again and gave me the second one. I asked him if it was his first day here, to which he replied it was not.

Why can't he work with friendliness and treat customers and delivery personnel with respect? Is it possible that an Asian person is discriminating against another Asian? I have been picking up orders here for almost 10 months and have built a trustworthy and positive working relationship. I hope this new gentleman can improve his work attitude. Otherwise, I believe not only I, but other delivery personnel will reconsider continuing our...