Kani House - Woodstock — Restaurant in Woodstock

Kani used to be our go to hibachi restaurant. However the past few times we have been the quality of food and service has drastically declined. The decline has been happening over the past few months.

It began about 2 months ago when we went and the chef we had was filling in from another location and had mentioned that this location was the only one not to cook with garlic butter by default. He got some and asked if we wanted our meal cooked with it. We did and really liked it at that point the server said that we could request it whenever we wanted that they just didn't cook with it normally.

So fast forward a month later and on this visit we asked both the server and the chef that we would like our meal cooked with garlic butter. First we were told by the chef that they don't carry garlic butter; when we mentioned that they had it in the back last time they suddenly had it, we were then told that we would have to have agreement from everybody else at the table that they wanted there's cooked in the same. At that point we gave up and said it was fine without the chef managed to separate our meal out and only put garlic butter on our meal.

So now fast forward to yesterday. We showed up after the lunch rush around 2:30 and requested to be seated in the sushi area. Looking around obviously nothing had been cleaned since the lunch rush as most every table in the sushi area and a lot of the hibachi tables had not been bussed yet. First my wife found a finger nail on our table and after waiting for nearly 10 minutes we finally got the attention of a server to place our drink and food order. We decided to order hibachi chicken and when it arrived the chicken and veggies both simply seemed steamed and had absolutly no flavor. Plus most of the fried rice was not cooked all the way and rather raw. And to top off the matter our server "En" (at least that's the name on the receipt) seemed annoyed that she had a table and practically threw our food on the table.

It's a shame that their quality had fallen so far. We used to take guests from out of town here all the time but I guess it's time to find a...

I went to Kani House on Dec 1st 2021 and ordered Salmon from the Hibachi grill while sitting in the regular dining area. My salmon seemed fine when it arrived, and so I took a few bites from it. I hadn't paid attention to the coloring, partly because of the teriyaki sauce covering it, but also because of the inherent trust that we give restaurants when we eat there. Much to my dismay, I realized that I had just eaten several pieces of raw salmon.

The waiter noticed this as well when I showed him, and he was definitely able to see the issue, having immediately taken my plate back into the kitchen. Someone who I assume to have been the manager approached me and asked what happened, and so I told him. He proceeded to ask me how I would like my salmon cooked, and if I would like it well done. My response was that I would simply like it to be cooked the way that salmon is always cooked: so that it is safe to eat. His response was nothing short of dismissive, and I have been alive for almost 29 years without ever hearing how I would like my salmon to be cooked.

He told me that their salmon is "sushi-grade", and that he would personally cook my salmon to fix the issue. I was comforted with the thought that it would be taken care of, but unfortunately it was not. My food arrived just fine after being redone, but my dining partner's shrimp was cooked way too much and I assume that the manager had labeled us as people just trying to get our food "comped", so nothing was done about it. If her shrimp had been replaced like my salmon, my impression would not have been nearly as bad.

In the end, I was handed a bill with full charges on all items, and it felt really disappointing to see that I needed to pay for my salmon after it was served to me raw and I had unknowingly eating several bites of it. It's quite obvious that Kani House management does not wish for me to return, given the way that I was treated.

Don't worry, I heard you loud and clear. I will not be...

I got a Postmates order for this place and decided to order over the phone since I had to place and pay for the order myself. I told the girl on the phone specifically that it was a Postmates so she was fully aware and presented no problem with this. She was super friendly I believe her name was Lauren as well lol. However as soon as I walked in, the young Caucasian girl at the front immediately announced to me with an attitude that they don’t do Postmates before ever bothering to even to greet me because she saw my food delivery bag in my hand. Now this annoyed me because I personally like my food to be warm so even when I’m picking up food for myself I sometimes bring one of my bags for that reason. So if I had just been on one of those excursions that’s how I would’ve been greeted as a customer just for walking in a place with a bag. After I explained why I was there she went and got who I assume was Lauren from on the phone to confirm my story as though I was lying or something. So once she did confirm lauren instructed me to go to the bar for my order so I walked over to the bar to again not be greeted by the young Asian man behind the bar but simply looked at me and asked if I was here for the Postmates order. A couple of minutes later a lady who I’m guessing was the manager or owner cane up from behind the bar, not to greet or ask me if I’d been helped but to rudely explain to me and emphasize that they absolutely do not take Postmates or any type of food delivery orders at this location as though it was my fault Postmates still lists them on the app. I’m just a good courier. I don’t control peoples orders or what Postmates has on the app so I understand your frustration but I’m not the guilty party you should be taking it out on. I felt the entire experience was extremely unprofessional and embarrassing and if I had ever considered going to this place, doubtful since I’ve never heard of it, I definitely...