I had high expectations for what I believed was a once in a lifetime experience to eat at one of Masaharu Morimotos' restaurants. My husband and I made the reservations for an outside table in advance expecting a busy Saturday night. I gloated about it to all of our family and friends up until we walked the short distance from the Ilikai condos to our awaited evening. Just in case you don't know who Masaharu Morimoto is, he is an Iron Chef on Iron Chef America on the Food Network. He actually came over to be on Iron Chef America from the original Iron Chef. I've been watching the Food Network since I was a teenager, and owe part of my knowledge and passion for food to the network. As we walked up to the hostesses bar to announce our reservation I was full of giddiness and excitement. Unfortonately, it all went down from there.In the restaurant business, "First impressions are everything!" We didn't receive a lot of smiles or eye contact. The hostess at the computer told us, "We don't have anything right now, but your more than willing to wait, but it could be awhile." "You could sit at the bar, or take an inside table." Even with a reservation I don't mind waiting a mere 5 to 10 minutes, but to tell us that we have a reservation but it may not work out, to me, is silly and defeats the purpose of a reservation! We waited. We were taken out to be seated at a table outside near the exit where a family of 8 had there arms outstretched along an L shaped couch. Their arms literally dangled over the table we would have sat at. We politely declined and waited for a better table. Once we did get seated our service was less than satisfactory.
We specifically dined at the restaurant for sushi and after explaining to the waiter to bring it out in sections so we weren't eating it all at once, we were served all of the 5-6 different sushi combinations we ordered. We never got asked if we wanted more drinks. The sushi was very fresh, but it was hard to enjoy because we already felt so discouraged. I hate to feel judged when I go to a nice restaurant. I would hate to think that Morimito's labeled my husband and I as "young adults without much money" or "not that important." It sure felt exactly like that. We were so bummed out we didn't want dessert. We waited 20 minutes for the check, and another 10 for him to run the card. We thought about talking to management, but were so sick to our stomachs we left with our heads down.
I had to recount this experience to all the friends and family I gloated to. That was the worse part, reliving it.
Morimoto's this is my advice to you:
- Your owner and head chef is world renowned and the food reflects that, but your service needs to be parallel with this expectation. The service was pathetic and drastically needs improvement.
- Don't take reservations unless you commit to keeping them for your guests.
- Don't judge people, and always make a positive impression. If we had gotten the right service we easily would have trippled our bill.
- The bartenders were great, informative and passionate about the job. No problems with them.
Good Food, Crappy Service, Attention to Detail in your food and presentation, but overlooks Customer Service.
