Hokkaido — Restaurant in Tuscaloosa

Me and family went there for a birthday Celebration for my mom on Tuesday 8/1/23, and from the beginning our waiter was rude! He was rushing us to order everything like he really didn’t want to serve us. He wasn’t polite at all. He finally got all our drinks and when they came back all of the drinks tasted weird like dishwater. So the manager comes out and asks us what was the problem like the waiter didn’t already let him know, and we tell him the same thing! And so he begins to take all of our drinks back while asking us what else did we want to drink “because these are so nastyyyy” and when we gave him another choice he said “nooo you not gone like those cause they gone be nasty too”! “They come from the same place!” When the issue wasn’t more so the taste of the drink it was the cups tasting like dishwater soap! So when we suggested to get paper cups they still brought out more of the same glasses! Now let’s get to the ordering of food. We also got rushed to order our food right after that incident happened they just kept rolling it on in lol so he asked did anyone want an appetizer? No one wanted one except me and my friend, but I was hesitant to answer because I was still deciding which one I wanted, so he started to ask certain people at the table what did they want and because the certain people he asked wasn’t ready he got impatient and said “I’ll just give y’all some more time since nobody knows what they want!” So I only wanted fried sushi and it was only 3 different kind on the menu and it was a certain one that I had before, but I didn’t remember the name and they were scattered out on the list so once he showed me the 3 I misplaced them and I just picked one that sounded similar to what I had before! The menu didn’t say fried or raw it just tells you what’s in it! And he’s like “that’s raww” just get this one! And he picks one for me me smh so rude! Then everyone gets to ordering and my cousin saw on the menu they have a kids meal for children under 12, but the waiter once again said they don’t accept it, and my cousin asked why was it on the menu if you won’t honor it. So the manager bring his George Lopez Papa Smurf looking tail out there once again asking dumb questions and finally say we will honor it for you! No what needs to happen is they need to update their menus so issues like this won’t occur! But hey what the hell do I know? We was just some ole poor black difficult customers!! Then the chef comes out, and mind you this ain’t no first time rodeo for me and my family at a place like that l, so we know the chefs usually are funny and kind of play around with the guests… but after all that has happened you already know the waiter has spoken some words about us in the back so even though he was trying to make the best of it, we could tell that things have been said! So then he gets to cooking do his lil thing and my mom asked what’s that burning smell, and I noticed it was a burning spot on the grill so I tell her that’s what it was and he goes “oh it’s not gone get on the food or anything, I said I know I was telling her what the smell was and he’s like naw it’s from the fire 🙄 like okay dude whatever you say! I was just really disappointed in the whole experience and I would never want to dine in there again! I believe the waiter name was Blake! But who do even report to when the whole staff we had was being rude. People can believe or say what they want but I do believe we were treated that way because of race and be stigmatized. We also noticed how the same waiter had a different tone and mannerisms with the next family that came that was caucasian! So there’s that! My mom likes there food so much she orders to go from them all the time but after that incident I personally won’t be spending any of my money there again. For me to have spent $94 there for an experience I didn’t enjoy was insane! I didn’t even enjoy the food there I took most of my food home! It’s sad how other people will treat you based on your race. I hope the right people actually take the time out to read...

Worst Service Ever! The only thing I can say that was good was the Sushi my husband and I ordered. It was our daughter's 27th birthday and she had a few friends that came from Baltimore to celebrate w/us. We actually live in Hoover,Al and drove down to Tuscaloosa, about 40 miles out, for essentially the worst service one could receive. The server An, yes that is what she said her name was, basically was a ghost. After she took our drink and food order, she disappeared till it was time to take our money. The food was bland, and the dinners ordered, ranged w/ a combination of steak, chicken, shrimp and scallops. No cheap meals here! I guess I would attribute the lack of service to the fact that we had a party of 11, so any party of 6 or more they add 18% gratuity. I'm ok with that and that's not uncommon at many restaurants, but that doesn't mean you neglect the consumer bc you have a "guaranteed" tip and leave the customer to fend for themselves. We literally had to flag her down anytime we needed something. Our hibachi guy was Jackie, he was cool and very nice, but could've added some more seasoning for taste. We even asked the server about the birthday song where they come out w/ the drums and sing Happy Birthday and bring the fried ice cream. Not our experience. It was literally the server "An" and the hostess that sat us at our table 2hrs prior, who came to do the song. Now mind you, there is NOONE left in the place by the time they finally come to our table, but our party. The hostess yells "Everybody Join and help us sing Happy Birthday!!!!" ....Crickets...The lack luster they displayed was embarrassing and uncalled for. And of course they were conveniently "out of the ice cream". I won't put the REAL reason they were "out" of the ice cream, being that "every other party" that requested the birthday song got Ice Cream, I'll address that issue at a later time. Don't waste your time going to this place. Not worth the $150 we spent for 3 people and at least $35-$50 spent, each, by the other members in our party. AGAIN! This was a Waste of Money that could have been spent at a venue that appreciate ms the consumer. Especially during these Trying Times! We're in a Pandemic for God's Sake! Don't Waste Your Time...

As a visitor from out of town, I saw this location and was intrigued by the 4.5 stars. Sadly, what a disappointment.

We were greeted by four greeters standing at the hostess desk. As they all 4 stared at us, we said we would just sit at the bar. Great. Apparently, they needed four people to greet guests as they walk in. No my concern.

After being seated for a few minutes, I finally asked one of the waitresses behind the bar if we could have two waters, one with a lemon. She came back with the waters and said that they were out of lemons. (My food was later served with a lemon-some how they magically had lemons again.) We put in our order, waited what seemed a bit longer than average before the appetizer and my buddies meal came out. See the photo with the timestamp. No plates to share the apps or chop sticks for my buddy. I had to ask for those. A full ten minutes later I asked they check on my meal. He goes around the corner where I can see a couple other dishes, grabs it after a quick conversation with another “bartender” and brings it over. Interesting. Not sure how long it sat there. I then had to ask for chop stocks and the soy sauce separately because they didn’t think to bring them at once. Meal was fair. Just fair. The female bartender, then poured me two small dishes of soy sauce and said that she needed to take the rest so they could clean them. No huge deal but it’s just one thing after another. We get our bills and of course we had to ask for them, two dollars were charged for tapwater. We asked about that. They laughed nervously I guess and took it off the bill. Not sure what that was about. Management should probably get a wrangle on this place. The bartenders behind the bar continue to have full conversations while showing each other their phone and sharing jokes. Just overall poor customer service and consideration. The behind the bar area looks like a mess. See the photos. Not sure if I got a bad group of new employees but overall, I would not recommend wasting...