| rev:text
| - My wife and I stopped in during their opening week and left with mixed feelings. There aren't too many places in Cleveland to get good shabu shabu (and this is definitely good shabu shabu), but there were a few problems with execution.
The ambiance was very very nice. From the decor to the music it was a beautiful classy place... except for the industrial meat slicer in the window right as you walk in the front door...
It's a small place, and having a meat slicer share a space with the bar and the host stand is a little off putting, not to mention noisey. The concept I'm sure works on paper: High quality meats (japanese A5 beef!) sliced thin right in front of you when you order so you know it's fresh! The problem is, it's an electric meat slicer not a sushi chef. It's incredibly noisy and has to be disassembled and cleaned between orders. Even with the nice music playing, if you close your eyes you feel like you're in line at the deli. Added to that is the fact that the gentleman running it hadn't been taught how to use it. He turned the meet a dozen different ways before finding a way it would cut properly, and wasn't sure how to put it back together once he cleaned it.
Which leads me to the service... it was nonexistent. It's a good bet most people who walk through the door don't know what shabu shabu is or how to eat it. The waitress asked for our drink order, asked for our food order, and when the food was delivered, turned to walk away before asking over her shoulder with a terrified look, "Good?" We asked for a lesson in how to eat our hot pots the right way, and the only advice we were given was "It's basically a build your own soup. Put the hard vegetables in first."
That's it... that's all we were told. First of all, it's not in any way a build your own soup. That's an insult to the food and an insult to your restaurant. People aren't paying $25+ for build your own soup and just because a broth is involved doesn't make it soup.
Over all the food and the concept were excellent and we will absolutely be back once the kinks are worked out.
Move the noisy kitchen appliances to the kitchen and have trained staff operate it. Hire front of house staff that is proud of your food and willing to take the time to teach new guests about it. (And speaking of staff, the cook/ chef who kept walking out behind the bar in a filthy ballcap and jacket to check his phone is a major turn off in a nice restaurant)
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)