Yokoso Japanese Steakhouse Summerville — Restaurant in Summerville

So we were greeted upon entering the restaurant. We frequent this place or so we used to. We decided to go to the non hibachi side today. Our server Ms Ginger was very kind and pleasant. The menu prices have drastically increased since our last visit 8 months ago. We had no wait to be seated and minimal wait for the food. Refills were not as punctual as you might expect though. Restaurant capacity on the non hibachi side was maybe 15%. 2 servers working. We have nothing at all bad to say towards the server. She was on point, always smiling, made the pleasant conversation you would expect. BUT. The tables were very sticky, the floor was sticky and my shoes talked to me. We did get a high chair for our 10 month old. It was sticky as well. The taste of the food was not what we used to get from this place. I hate to say it but the food from the Northwoods mall was larger portioned and better taste for half the price. 2 drinks 2 adult dishes and 1 kids dish was still $88. In previous settings of this restaurant this would have been acceptable but no longer. Portion size has decreased substantially and the flavor is not the same. If this message to the managers/owners is not taken seriously. This place may be on the verge of closing. It will take a serious revamp of this location if it is to succeed. Prices have increased at this place 2xs in the past year. The only explanation from this perspective would be lack of business and an attempt to recover revenue. I regret to say this will probably be my last visit to this place. It pains me to say again in all seriousness the Japan food from the mall at this point is much...

Been eating here since High School. Yokoso has always been my preferred Habachi sit in restaurant for many reasons.

The food is always great. The chefs always gave a good experience with their cooking.

The teriyaki sauce is made in house, and it thickens as it heats up. It's Fantastic. Many people don't know this but you can buy the sauce in large containers to take home.

The sauce. All hibachi has the same formula and food, what makes yokoso stand out is the way its cooked and most importantly the sauce. The white sauce is by far the best of all the local hibachi places in town. It's slightly thicker and not as sweet. The house hot sauce is amazing as well. Made in house and only offered if asked. Mix the house hot sauce with the white sauce and pour it over the rice. You won't regret it.

Also... you can ask the chef to add the hot sauce to your chicken to Make a spicy teriyaki. One of those things all chefs know about but don't do it unless you ask.

Cons.

Price. I understand inflation I do. But the prices are going up at an alarming rate. It's 33 dollars now for the filet and chicken. I remember when the yokoso dinner which included all 3 meats was that price and the rest were way under. Not anymore. If it keeps going up I feel they may price themselves out.

Portions. Yokoso always gave small portions when it comes to the meats. They load your plate with so much rice you can hardly make room for anything else, and the veggies and meats are way to small for the elevated price.

Other than that, still the...

This place has been one of the biggest let downs. We've been here twice. Each time it's super overpriced, the staff isn't attentive to their guests, and the food left much to be desired. The last time we were here was a Thursday evening, and we had to wait 45 minutes for a table. We got the table and then had to wait another hour for the cook to show up. Prior to the cook showing up, we alerted the staff of my fiances allergies based on what she ordered. The cook then comes out and goes to cook jers first, which I respect but then begins to cook seafood with her dinner, which was another allergy of hers and not listed on the menu. Furthermore it took the cook almost an hour and a half to cook everything. Those of us who got chicken had a partially cold meal as the rice and vegetables had been sitting around for a large duration of that time. There's much better ways they could have cooked everything up so everyone had hot meals. The server was horrible she came around once every 45 minutes when just about all our drinks were empty, not proactively keeping up with everything. She would ignore us if we tried to flag her around, and we could see her sitting around joking with other employees in the back. It's not a good look. This place was open from 5pm to 10pm and our meal took almost that entire time. For $100 for two people, we got cold food, poor service, and left with a bad taste in our mouth for a second time. I wouldn't suggest coming here under any...