"The two appetizer shrimp were good, with the right color and appearance. The rice was acceptable, but then came the smaller shrimp of poor quality, cooked before the steaks—like those frozen bags from Costco or Sam's Club, perhaps even worse, shipped from who knows where. I managed to eat three of them, which tasted like chlorine and cheap seafood, with almost no teriyaki or seasoning, just a bit of butter for cooking.
At this point, my Coke had run out. The waitress returned to refill everyone’s water and tea, but not my Coke. I waited a long time and only got a refill when the cook was almost finished. By this time, my steak was sitting on my plate, getting cold while I was still thirsty from the shrimp and rice. I noticed other staff members standing around in the hall, on their phones, doing nothing.
When the waitress finally returned, she brought a pitcher of flat, stale Coke that had clearly been sitting out for who knows how long, instead of a fresh glass like you’d expect at a restaurant of this quality and price. As for my steak, it was the blandest hibachi steak I’ve ever had—no seasoning, just some butter, and it had large chunks of fat from cheap meat that hadn’t been trimmed properly. I ended up with bites that were half fat.
I might understand this level of quality and service at a fast food-style Japanese restaurant, but not at a hibachi-style sit-down restaurant where you expect trained chefs and decent service. Honestly, this is the worst Japanese food I’ve ever had for the price. I've dined at other Kobe’s for over 20 years, and this is far from what I remembered. I left half the awful food on my plate in disbelief, although the rice was decent. I didn’t even take the leftovers home because I wouldn’t want my dogs to eat shrimp of that quality—no joke! Never again."
Sapporo Roll
