| rev:text
| - I was really looking forward to having a new little secret spot tucked behind a Rabba, but unfortunately I'll sooner return to Rabba for supper than to Teppan Kenta. Let's start with what went wrong:
- While a slow pace is the norm with izakayas, the up-to-20 minutes between dishes was pushing it. Especially when our cocktails ($5.5-6.5; some of them watery enough to satisfy a teetotaller) were long gone. We would eat for 30 seconds, then wait. And wait. And wait...
- This may be more of an issue with the word "asparagus" lacking singular/plural differentiation, but the grilled asparagus ($4) had between 1-2 spears and no discernable excitement. It was ludicrous (but sadly, not mystical).
- Ordered the chef-recommended Okonomiyaki DX (Japanese pancake with pork, squid and shrimp, $15), asking if we could substitute cheese for the meat since the toppings were priced the same. Server said yes - seemed easy enough. When it showed up over an hour later, cheese was a solo act. Another server came by, quickly said they were "so focused on the cheese that they forgot the rest" (?!?!) and before we could say anything, she dumped a few seafood pieces on top of the already-served pancake. Despite the fact that the ingredients are supposed to be, you know...inside.
- They charged us $16.50 for the above hot mess. Yes, extra for the cheese when the stuff it was actually supposed to come with didn't even make it into the dish.
- Our server, suddenly ready to wrap up, asked if we wanted any dessert. We informed her that we were still waiting for 3 dishes. She seemed unfazed.
- Our first orders finally came last, over an hour and a half after we requested them. The seared salmon with ponzu jelly ($6.5) was slightly tough with some tiny flecks of jelly on the side that we couldn't pick up. Along with a simple bowl of agedashi tofu in broth ($5), it wasn't worth the time it took.
- My friend finally cancelled the karaage he was waiting on. Server said yes, and then came back twice more to push if he still wanted it. He didn't.
- Asked for the bill. Server said yes and vanished. I mean, we literally never saw her again. 15 more minutes passed. We eventually asked for the bill from someone else.
- There was no acknowledgement of any of the above. In fact, when they finally brought the bill, she promoted some other dining event they were having and gave us a menu. Yeah...probably no.
Still reading? I guess you really don't want to invite your date to Rabba. Here's the good stuff:
- Ebi Mayo (grilled shrimp & broccoli with mayo, $8) was our first dish of the night and, despite the small-even-for-small-plates portion, its flavour got my hopes up for the rest.
- Hot Pot ($20) was probably the evening's only plate of real interest, with its creamy sweet soy milk broth, enoki shrooms and a couple crab legs. Tasty? Yes. Worth the Vimy? Not at all.
For the record, this petite 50-seat restaurant was only about half-full over the course of the evening (we were there on a Saturday from 7:30-9:45).
The food wasn't bad, but along with the service, it wasn't up to par. After 2 hours and $115 at a Certain Other Local Izakaya, I'm invariably happy and stuffed, albeit deaf - I just can't say the same for Teppan Kenta. We came ready to love the place. We were disappointed. We left hungry. We went home and made fish sticks.
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