I've been going to this restaurant with my family (and extended family, and friends, and former boyfriends, etc.) since they first opened. It happens to be near my house and so it's more a matter of convenience than quality/taste.
Before I go on what is to be a rant of disappointment, I will commend Kobe for the following:
- Screaming Orgasm entree is a favorite
- Fast service (almost makes you wonder if they just have everything on stand-by, ready to be microwaved)
- Nice ambience (music and multiple TV screens for watching games)
- Friendly, young staff
- No AYCE time limit
I never thought to write a review for Kobe because (1) sushi isn't really something I am qualified to critique with sound judgment and (2) I never had a problem with them in the past nor have I been so impressed with their food/service to feel obligated to do so. That being said, a recent visit to Kobe over my Winter recess with my large group of cousins (all of whom are long time customers as well) compelled me to say something to the general public and (hopefully) catch the eye of a manager/staff member as a means of improving their restaurant.
- AYCE strict rules: I came here with my cousins as a family outing on one of our last nights together. We were looking to say good-bye with one last meal and Kobe seemed to be the appropriate place. About half of our group (of 10 people) wanted AYCE and the rest were looking to purchase a la carte off the happy hour menu. To our surprise, no one was allowed to get AYCE unless the entire table was doing AYCE. We offered to move around the table so that only one side of the table was receiving a la carte while the other half scarfed down pounds and pounds of fish, but our waitress wouldn't accommodate us nor could she tell us why that wasn't allowed. We asked to speak to the manager and all she told us was "No" (again, without an explanation). At this point, we were deciding if we should just split up as a family and move to separate tables. In the end, 8 people were forced to do AYCE and 2 had to pay full price for sushi rolls during happy hour. I understand that many sushi restaurants are adhering to the "no AYCE unless everyone is AYCE" policy, but these restaurants also find a way to be more accommodating of non-AYCE customers in the same party. We thought of 3-4 alternative options for the manager/waitress, but still, nothing.
- Service: The staff is young, friendly, and (at times) attractive. They all seem to be college students working part time. That's the vibe you get. So you would expect them to be pretty competent at their job and move at a non-glacial pace, right? Yeah, no, that's not at all true. Our table was already reserved for us when we arrived, but they were missing the appropriate amount of table settings. Seriously, though? 10 people -- it's the easiest two digit number. You have 10 fingers and 10 toes, so how could there be a miscount?? Water took a long time to be served and refilled. Better quality restaurants do a very good job of refilling your water without having to be asked, but for some reason, we had to ask SEVERAL times just to get my glass refilled once. There also seemed to be a lot of confusion between the waiters. One server brought an entree that wasn't ours and looked confused until another waitress had to redirect her to a table far away from us. (We're the only table of 10.. how do you get this wrong?) Additionally, certain orders were also missing that they needed to be requested for again. And finally, the most appalling thing that night was when the waiter asked for my plate WHILE I WAS STILL TAKING A BITE OUT OF MY FOOD. I literally had food in my chopsticks ready to be eaten.
- Food: Kobe doesn't serve good quality sushi, but it's decent and the rolls are very creative (so props). What turned me off (again) was that they didn't serve wasabi with the sushi until I asked for it. They also didn't include their fried banana dessert (the only one worth getting, really) on the AYCE menu. Kind of lame, if you ask me.
All in all, Kobe is an okay restaurant, just sorely disappointed with their staff and management (or lack thereof).