| rev:text
| - Food is 4-5 stars.
The service is 1 star. I'd give it 0 if I could.
This review is based on two separate occasions.
The first time I went there, it was a late lunch at about 2-3P on a weekend. There were only two other tables occupied when I entered and they were midway completed with their meal before we were even seated.
I have my 5 year old with us. So when the waitress comes up to our table, I ask, "What's good for kids?" Her response, "Kids?" I said, "Yes, kids. What do children normally order?" She says, "Children?" I say, "Yes, children. What do children usually get here?" And she says, "Get?" At this point, I can tell this is going nowhere. But trying not to lose it and be polite, I say, "Is there a kids menu?" since some restaurants have a separate kids menu. And again, she says "Kids?" So I point to other table and I say, "What did those kids order?" She says, "Kids like noodles." Keep in mind that about half the menu comprises noodles. So I say, "Which noodles?" And she says, "Which noodles?" So by now, I'm a bit turned off and just order without the waitress' input.
I'm not sure where they get their staff from. It seems like they just flew in from Asia and handed them a uniform. I'm not being difficult or picky. I myself am 100% asian and my mother also tried to speak to her in Japanese with zero success. She's over 70 and was disgusted. She is also 100% Japanese.
The food came out about 45 minutes later. Luckily, I had my phone to keep my kid occupied. Otherwise, we would've left and gone to McDonalds.
The second time, I plan ahead and try to be smart about it. I call ahead and ask if it's crowded or if there is a wait because it's dinnertime and a holiday weekend. They said the restaurant is mostly empty. So we truck on down there.
As luck would have it, the second trip is worst than the first. I see a party of 7 walk in right when we do. Knowing that these people move at turtle speed and trying to order before the party of 7, I tell the hostess that I am ready to order before we even hit the seats. And what does she do? She walks away and brings ONE menu for a party of 5. I have no idea what she's doing and I say, "I'm ready to order" again. And what does she do? She walks away and brings four more menus. So at this point, I'm worried. I say, "We don't need more menus. I said I'm ready to order." So we place our order and I watch her carefully as she goes to the party of 7 and takes their order without putting our order in.
And of course, I sit there for an hour while my 5 year old yells out, "What is taking so long?" And of course, the party of 7 gets their food before our party of 5 despite placing our order first. My 80 yr old father who can barely walk is outraged, feels compelled to go to the "manager" and asks what is taking so long. The restaurant is less than half full. They apologize profusely and say the other tables' order is simple and that's why they got their food first.
Simple? Simple? Seriously? How hard is it to slice fish, put it on rice and cook noodles for 5 minutes and put it in a bowl? How do I know this? Not only do I love soba, I've cooked it myself at home at least 30 times.
All five of us ordered the same exact item. It's not like we ordered unique items per person. They could have mass produced each component and threw it on the plate. Let's face it, Soba is basically ramen. You cook it and give you a bowl of pre-made sauce. It's not like they are making the actual noodles from scratch the moment it's ordered.
They had one waitress, one manager, and what must've been one cook for a holiday dinner time slot. Unreal.
So why a 3 star rating? They gave us a discount on the bill and the food is good. I tell the manager that if they cannot handle 5 identical orders with a restaurant is less than half full on a holiday weekend at dinner, what would it be like if they were at capacity or had a line? She apologized profusely again, agreed with me and said that our party and the other party arrived at the same time. Still no excuse. It was two tables in a restaurant that was 1/4 full when we got there.
Bottom line, don't bother unless you can wait an hour plus for noodles and a chirashi bowl that should take 20 minutes tops. I will NOT ever return. You have been warned.
Inaba employees, management and owners: I hope you read this because you have a lot to learn about managing a business. Have you ever wondered that the reason why your restaurant is half full is because you cannot support a full restaurant? And now your restaurant will be even more empty because I will not return and will tell everyone under the sun to never go there regardless of how great your soba is or ever will be.
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