KOME Japanese Cuisine — Restaurant in Upper Saucon

Kome was an interesting experience. The atmosphere is fairly modern, which is light refreshing and makes you think of the ocean with its blue and white colors throughout. (Reminds me of fish scales)

I ordered the Sashmi combo. My partner ordered the duck. We ordered pork gyoza to start.

The entire order took roughly 15 minutes for the gyoza... and it took 30-40 minutes for our entrees to come out from the time we ordered it. ( a bit long if you ask me)

Our waiter was attentive, though he never refilled our drinks besides the first order. There was also a question of quality control with the menus. One set of our menus was missing a clip on the bottom to keep the paper in, and it was missing a specials menu. I called ahead of time to make a reservation, and I said I did NOT want Hibachi, they said no problem.

I arrived, and the hostess said you had a reservation for 2 for the hibachi, right? I said nope I just wanted to go to the regular sitting area for a regular menu." Both hostesses then proceeded to complain about one of the other hostesses (who I suppose wasn't there) to themseleves. We were seeted promptly.

The gyoza was light and had a delicious umami sauce yet light and well balanced. The dumping was thin and had a nice sear to it.

The sushi was fairly good. I was somewhat surprised to see nigiri come out on my combo platter as restaurants few and far between have it now. (That's a bonus, and it should have been put there on the menu)

The fish was not cold, it was at a temperature (as it should be) that melted in your mouth. There was already sauce applied to the nigiri. The California role that came with it was also decent. (Nothing special, though) The sashimi was delicious (though sashimi is generally what I gravitate towards)

My partner ordered the sous vide duck. The portion was on the small side. She said that the cook was good, though almost overdone. There were multiple sauces on the plate. There was a horseradish mustard sauce that I really enjoyed that would go well on other pieces of meat, though my partner didn't care for it.

The only thing that floored me was the price of everything. 2 entrees, 1 appetizer and a mocktail, all cost $100 dollars, not including tip, which, if you ask me, is a bit ridiculous. I had some decent sushi, and I would go back for that. But to charge $38 for a combo platter? For a combo platter, it is more expensive than most other sushi places, yet there is a marginal difference in taste/quality... nope, I think I will pass.

If you can afford it, I suppose it's a good place for sushi. The sushi is nicely handled, though only a small marginal difference between a family owned sushi places and this one. The atmosphere is light. The waiter was good, though we didn't get a refill. The hostesses were nice though they complained about other employees in front of customers. (Like we didn't exist)

For the price, atompshere, and service, it might look like a nice restaurant from the outside, but the price and service will have you swimming...

I'll start by saying that I won't be coming back again anytime soon, solely due to the wait staff.

I attended KOME for a birthday party, we paid to rented out the balcony seating so that we would be able to socially distance effectively. I'll start by saying that the restaurant looks great, the atmosphere and vibe was sophisticated and the staff at the door were friendly.

When we arrived, the hostess asked if we wanted them to take the cake that we brought with us, we agreed since it seemed to be a normal service. Everyone gathered at the balcony, we surprised the birthday girl, it was great.

Then it was time to order which ended up being a bit complicated. What food they actually had was excellent, but we had to try a couple times to get something that was on the menu since their online menu was out of date. That left some bad impressions but the food we ended up getting was still delicious.

After dinner we were caught up in the food so we wanted to order dessert, forgetting we brought a cake, so we asked about some things that we had seen on the menu online. This menu was also out of date, so I politely asked if they had an up to date menu we could look at or if they could tell us what the options were. This is when things got unpleasant, our waitress replied by telling us that we had already ordered enough food. I was surprised by this response but insisted that we still wanted menus so she agreed. She came up to the balcony another 4 times, never brought the menus despite us asking each time. On the 5th time were finally given menus so we could see the options.

After we ordered dessert, our waitress brought the cake up to the balcony to sing happy birthday. After the song, she asked if we wanted them to cut the cake, so were happy to accept. As she was walking away with the cake she turned and asked if we knew about the cake fee, we didn't since no one had mentioned it. So we told her no, to which she replied: "Okay, it will be added to your bill" before quickly walking away with the cake. We asked both her and another waitress about the fee and received no answers. She soon returned with our desserts so we ate that while waiting for the cake to come back, which took about 20 minutes to cut. After cake we all received our checks and finally found out that the fee was $2 per slice of cake and as expected our waitress who had told us that we had eaten enough received the traditional built in gratuity.

In summary, the sushi, aged steak, and sorbets were excellent. The wait staff, significantly less so, which left a bad taste in everyone's mouths. If you're from the area then give it a try, you might have a better experience as a non-party. If you're not from the area or don't mind a drive, there are better options in Philadelphia for the same price and...

★☆☆☆☆ Absolutely Horrendous Experience – Two Thumbs Down

We went to this restaurant last night, and I have to say—this was one of the worst dining experiences I’ve ever had.

To be clear, the food was actually good, but that’s where the compliments end. It took 45 minutes just to get our appetizer. When we politely asked the waitress for an update, she snapped back with an attitude and said, “Of course it’s coming out.” No apology, no explanation—just rudeness.

After another 10 minutes, the appetizer finally arrived. Then we waited another 40 minutes for our entrées. Once again, asking the waitress only earned us more attitude. When the food eventually came out, my meal was served first, and my wife sat there watching my food get cold while hers didn’t come out for several more minutes.

To make matters worse, the side of fried rice we ordered—which they made sure to tell us came with an upcharge—was never brought to the table. When I asked about it, the waitress said, “Oh, we’re boxing that up for you to take home.” I never asked for it to-go—I wanted it with my meal. That’s basic service.

I requested to speak with a manager, which took another 15 to 20 minutes. A man named Bart finally showed up, and he was completely useless. He couldn’t even bring himself to say, “I’m sorry.” He vanished after a few seconds, and the waitress returned with the bill and said, “You don’t have to pay it if you don’t want.”

I told her I was, of course, going to pay. I didn’t come looking for a free meal—I came to have a nice night out and enjoy good service. She offered no apology, no explanation, no accountability—just a scowl and silence.

Frankly, I can tolerate mediocre food or even a bad atmosphere, but what I won’t tolerate is being treated like garbage after spending my hard-earned money. The service was disgraceful, and the staff made no effort to make things right.

If you value your time, money, and dignity, I’d strongly recommend you avoid this place. Two thumbs down—and if nothing else, I hope this review saves someone else from wasting...