Okami Japanese Steakhouse — Restaurant in Wilmington

Okami tonight was a lot of fun. There was just one thing that bothered me tonight and wanted to let all future customers know who reads this about how they work in regards to tips. THE TIPS ARE DISTRIBUTED 50/50 BETWEEN CHEF AND WAITRESS. I am totally grateful for the waitresses serving us and the other guests but personally I don't think that is fair to the chef. The chef is 100% the reason why I would go back. He made everyone at the table laugh and enjoy themselves and after talking with the others at our table, they too came to the conclusion that the chef is why they would come back. Knowing that Okami is a cook in front of you restaurant where the chef is the focal point of the attraction, I believe they should be getting more than 50% of the tip. When I went to the front desk and asked why it's 50/50 when the chef does more than the waitress, they responded with "the chef makes more an hour so that's why they are 50/50". Understanding that I explained I have no problem at all with tipping the waitress I was just curious if I could then maybe tip the chef more individually and if they knew where he was so I could give him an individual tip. They didn't even try to look for the chef and just again explained it's 50/50 and that is how it works. Again, I have nothing wrong with tipping the waitress and thankful for them, but as a customer who appreciates the talent and ability to entertain, I was a little disappointed that half my tip wasn't going towards the chef who brought that enjoyment. But like I said my enjoyment came from the chef, and to give a 1 star would be hypocritical so I want to make sure my rating is fair in regards to my experience. Just from one customer to another, understand that half your tip will not be going to the chef who made your...

In response from the owner: "For hibachi grill, it is our policy that we can not sit you until we can verify that your entire party is present. We enforce this to all customers. Your party didn't want to follow the policy, became disrespectful and aggressive to our staffs," (NO ONE BECAME AGGRESSIVE NOR DISRESPECTFUL- She is the one that saw we were disturbed and quite frankly annoyed by her uncompromising demeanor. WE WERE ALL LITERALLY INSIDE THE BUILDING we had CHILDREN that had to go to the restroom and she REFUSED TO sit the ADULTS that were not assisting the children in the restroom. SHE SAW WE WERE PRESENT. I don't know if she assumed we meant 17 adults but it was 17 people. I presumed this was a restaurant not a school. We are customers that were willing to pay despite her UGLY & RUDE BEHAVIOR that is when she said and I QUOTE "If you don't like it you can leave. I don't care to if you 'HISPANICS' ate here or not") then was asked to leave. (SHE DID NOT ASK US TO LEAVE, SHE MADE US WANT TO LEAVE BECAUSE HER RUDE CUSTOMER SERVICE & ATTITUDE) No one had mentioned race except your party, which has no relation to why you were asked to leave. We are proud of the diversity of our staffs. The security cameras were also recording the entire scene. (I'M GLAD THAT THE SECURITY CAMERAS CAUGHT YOUR UGLY ATTITUDE & REMARKS. REGARDLESS HAD YOU MADE A DEMEANING COMMENT OR NOT- CUSTOMER SERVICE IS OBVIOUSLY SOMETHING THIS RESTAURANT LACKS BECAUSE OF OTHER REVIEWS LEFT. NOT TO WORRY OUTBACK HAPPILY ACCOMODATED OUR PARTY AND OUR 500...

I visited Okami on 7/11/23 for dinner and it was my first time there. I was not impressed at all. The service that I received from my waitress was horrible. I received my food cold and when I relayed that to my waitress, she informs me that there is no way it is cold and it was just put in the window. She was basically calling me a liar. She takes my food back to the kitchen to see if she could at least heat it up for me. Minutes later she returns to tell me she is sorry there is nothing they can do accept take the food off my order and allow me to get something else. I tell her that I want the same item that I ordered which was filet mignon and lobster with extra rice no noodles. She tells me that I can't get what I just ordered because I'm not allowed to reorder the same thing. At that point I told her to bring my ticket to pay for the other meal and left. She didn't offer to get the manager or try to make sure I was satisfied with my service. She was really rude. I have never had such bad service in a restaurant nor have I had such rude staff and bad service. I will not be returning to your restaurant ever again. I will definitely not recommend your restaurant to anyone. Educate your wait staff on being courteous to customers and when a customer has a complaint to not make them out to be a liar. When there is an issue with service, they need to inform a manager and let the customer speak with them not make decisions themselves as to what can be done when the customer has...