Ichiro Hibachi & Sushi — Restaurant in West Hartford

TLDR; terrible service, management, morality, and mediocre at best food they charge a lot for. The server had no idea what the second appetizer was, she didn't refill our water in the hour between when the soup and salad was served and the first entree came out, did I mention the food took over an hour? I understand the restaurant was busy but we were told if we didn't sit at the hibachi grill we could be seated and served almost immediately while it was an hour for the grill, well we could've been at the grill for almost an hour by the time the first entree arrived, alone, without its side of rice meaning it had to be eaten alone or cold by the time the rice eventually got there. The next two of four entrees came in, still no rice for the first. The fourth entree came out almost a half hour after the first and finally the side of rice and seeing as I found a piece of the third order in the fourth I don't understand the time discrepancy. The green tea was bitter and had an almost moldy flavor overall smelling slightly of sewage. One of us ordered the steak medium rare the other medium well, and both were well done. If they are going to charge more for fillet minion don't overcook it to the point the increased tenderness is irrelevant. The shrimp was over cooked as well. The miso soup was just broth and the salad was iceberg lettuce with a third of a slice of a tomato. I can't make this up. Some one in our party told our waitress that the discrepancy between the advertised table time, grill time and actual wait time was unacceptable and she apologized and she, our party member, said she understood that a lot of what happened was out of the waitress's control, which though true was generous,and would like to speak to management as it was also poor management. Enter the managers stand in, the hostess who had told us sitting as the table would get us quick service, saying the manager was out for the evening and the waitress is new and she should have been trained better. Apparently she though this was some kind of golden explanation because when asked simply how the promise she made and the speed of the kitchen weren't management issues she looked like a deer in the headlights, too bad throwing the waitress under the bus didn't work. As if poorly trained staff on the floor isn't also a management issue. The best part is when the waitress came back we mentioned the manager and she asked if we wanted her to get him, we said we were told he was out, and she stumbled and said "um yeah, he's on a delivery but he'll be back soon and I can get him then." Either he was there and as disappointingly low quality as his food and service or gone and who would trust anyone's concept of time at that restaurant. Either way I wish I could leave zero stars and I would not recommend this restaurant to the starving, it'd be quicker, more satisfying, and tastier to grow your own food or do what I ended up doing and go next door...

Just so everyone is aware. I have never thoroughly written a review for a business ever in my life, but hey there's a first for everything right?

Let me start off by stating that the experience I went through in this restaurant as a African-American male was unacceptable (you'll see why I say this, below). Everything started off very delightful as our server was very nice. Although, he did not ask us how we wanted our steak and assumed we'd like it medium, he was very nice!

Though, this review is not about the server. It is about how horrible the management is overall at this restaurant. It all started when a friend and I did not like the food we received simply because it was very cold! I ordered hibachi chicken with rice which was very strange why it'd be cold. Also, we did not sit by the grill. We chose to sit in the other dining area. We still managed to suck it up (only taking a few bites) and paid. I brought it to the managers attention that the food was really cold before we were about to pay. The manager stated word for word "since you took a bite out of the food, you will have to pay." Of course I probed the manager a little explaining that "I would need to taste the food to know if I liked it or not," but okay we continued to pay anyways because we simply did not have time for disagreements. As I was paying, the manager specifically stated "people like YOU do this all the time anyways." I asked "by YOU? what do you mean?" He stated "people of your kind tend to do things like this often YOU WILL NEED TO PAY." This is when I had all the time in the world for a disagreement not only for his racial slur, but for his awful hospitality.

The story is so much longer after that as the cops were called due to not wanting to give me a refund, racial remarks, and much more. I will not explain everything, but if you'd like to know...it was a nightmare!!!!!

Moral of the story is, they are extremely racist at this restaurant. I hate to use the word "racist" so freely, but that is simply who they are. They stereotyped a friend and I thinking we were trying to get a free meal out of them. We did not in fact pack any of the food to take for leftovers...that's how unsatisfied we were with the place overall. I am a college student, so it does not take much to satisfy my hunger.

However, when food is simply cold at a HIBACHI GRILL with rude customer service. I will not allow such disrespect and horrible...horrible customer service! It was also my first time having such a unpleasant experience with a restaurant (surprisingly, after reading my dramatic review).

I just truly hope someone reads this keeping in mind how crazy the world is nowadays. I would not wish the experience I went through on anyone and will no longer be dining with this restaurant. I hope that IF you do continue to dine with them...just please be cautious!

Thanks for reading everyone,

Love, "That...

I'm super disappointed to do this because I never leave bad reviews and I actually really like this places food, but I really don't think my experience was acceptable. for context I've ordered takeout from ichiro probably 30+ times over the last 5 years, and many times I've done so within a half hour of closing, which has never once been an issue, and I've always arrived before they actually close so it's not like I've abused it. also just for reference if I am ordering that late I'm just getting a side order of noodles so it's not like I'm ordering multiple extravagant meals. so last night (a thursday) I called exactly 30 minutes before closing and asked if I could place an order for pickup, and the guy tells me the kitchen is closed. I asked him what time they close (so I know for future reference) and he just says "now.", which I thought was pretty rude. I was so taken aback I just said "okay thanks for the help" and hung up, which I shouldn't have done but I was pretty irritated. in my experience kitchens don't normally close a full half hour before the restaurant does, even for people dining in. but for pickup orders especially I think shutting it down 30 minutes before close is unreasonable, and again - it's never been a problem before in the many times I've ordered in the past. BUT that aside, if this is a new policy of theirs then fine, that's obviously their prerogative - but they should be clear about that on their website, and even moreso if directly asked. the fact that he said "now" instead of being forthcoming about it was really the thing that put me off the most and what prompted me to leave this review. again, if it is now the case when it hasn't been in the past that the kitchen is closed exactly 30 minutes (or earlier, I don't know when it closes because he wouldn't tell me) before the restaurant closes, then make that perfectly clear to the customer so they know next time. but now because of his response, I probably won't be ordering again at least for...