Mon Cafe Japan — Restaurant in South Carolina

I recently visited Mon Cafe Sumter, hoping to enjoy a hibachi meal, but unfortunately, the experience fell short in several key areas.

First off, the atmosphere is lacking. While the restaurant has potential, it didn’t quite hit the mark. The overall vibe felt off—nothing too cozy or inviting, just a bit underwhelming.

The service was decent, but not exceptional. The staff was polite enough, though nothing stood out as particularly memorable. I did have an unfortunate experience, though, when I found a hair in my food. I immediately raised the issue and asked for a refund. The response? Instead of refunding my meal, they offered me a replacement plate—which wasn’t what I was asking for. I was clear that I simply wanted my money back. It took a whole week for them to finally get back to me, only to say that they were “having trouble with their machine." To my surprise, they didn’t give me a refund but offered a gift card for the restaurant instead. However, the catch? It’s only valid at Mon Cafe itself, which felt pretty disappointing, considering my experience. Lastly, the cleanliness could definitely use some improvement. There was dust around the condiments and napkin station, which just added to the sense that the place could use a little more attention to detail. All in all, while the food might be okay (I didn’t get to fully enjoy mine), I can’t say I’ll be coming back. The lack of professionalism in handling complaints, combined with cleanliness issues and a less-than-pleasant atmosphere, makes this a tough place to recommend. I’d suggest looking for other hibachi spots in the area if you're after a better...

So, I don’t usually write bad reviews, but do I have some information about my last visit to share with you. I will try to keep this as short as possible.

My two friends and I were having a girls lunch and decided to eat at this restaurant. I have been at least 20 times before and never had a bad experience with them. So my two friends ordered their food first and waited at the counter for me to order. Before I got the chance to order, a roach about the size of a quarter crawls across the counter. Instead of killing it, the cashier SWIPES THE ROACH TO THE FLOOR. At this point I told my friends that I wasn’t going to eat here anymore, and they proceeded to ask the same cashier for a refund. We did not think a refund would be unreasonable considering my friends hadn’t even received their food yet. The cashier told us she did not know how to file a refund, and had to call the manager over the phone. It took about 20 minutes to file the refund. How is it that you leave the store unattended with employees who don’t know how to do a simple task? Anyways, I always looked forward to eating at this restaurant. My fiancé and I had a rewards card that we used points on all the time. Unfortunately, I do not take this thing lightly, and it needed to be addressed. I will not be eating at a restaurant with bugs making it’s way all around the store. I have worked at plenty of restaurants before so I can understand a bug or two.. but everything about this situation was handled poorly. I hope I can make it back to this restaurant again, but as of right now it’s...

It was way too expensive for getting the same meal that I have had cooked in front of me at another restaurant and to receive very poor service as well. When you can clearly see that the food is pre-cooked and put into heated bins so it is not immediately cooked fresh on the spot. I was already disappointed with the expense and poor service shown. They charge way too much for shrimp and scallops and then didn't even put more than for scallops in the meal. When I went to get a takeout box I watch an employee stand there staring at me for almost 3 minutes. Doing absolutely nothing when he could have come up to the counter and simply handed me the box that when the other employee finally finished talking to another came and handed it to me. The service was just very poor and the price was way too high for the amount of food that was given. I would not recommend this place and I will not be going back. I've gone too much better restaurants where I've received a meal that has cost the same in been a much better meal like that of a steak for the price I ate a simple shrimp and scallops at this place I could have gone out to another restaurant and got a steak and potatoes for the same price. Was very disappointed with the service on top of the price...