I'm sad to give Shiso Tree a less than favourable review - especially given how highly regarded this cafe was a few years ago. We arrived at little before 4 PM and walked into the restaurant to be seated... only to be told by the server that the restaurant was "closed". What? Closed? How could this be? I mean - there were 3 other tables munching away at their food. Upon asking and confirming with the waitress again if the restaurant was indeed closed, we decided to take the L and left the restaurant.
We hangrily stood in front of the restaurant to discuss what our next plan of action was. A group of about 5 people walked into the restaurant. Me and my friend knew that they were going to be turned away, just like we were. NOPE! They were seated immediately. What the hell? I stormed back inside and asked what the deal was. There was a different waitress this time, and she said "we're not closed - we start dinner service in 15 minutes". WHY DID THE OTHER WAITRESS TELL US THE ESTABLISHMENT WAS FREAKING CLOSED. We would've been perfectly fine with waiting! If it weren't for that group that went into the cafe, we would've left J-Town and went to another restaurant. There definitely needs to be better signage regarding their hours of operation. What a bitter memory.
Now for the food - the okonomiyaki fries were pretty good, though, on the salty side (too many of those bonito flakes). Pastas were meh, but were indeed creative with a Japanese twist.
If it weren't for that initial blunder, we would've had a better overall experience.