Not a good experience.
Went in knowing Akino was good for what it's worth. Left with a sour taste in my mouth. I understand this is the first Friday for the establishment as well and probably majority, if not all, the staff's first time getting slammed (being very, very busy).
There were about 6 servers, 2 managers, 2 hosts this shift (that I saw), and (give or take) 24 tables.
My Partner and I were informed by the server that it's temporarily BYOB and there was no cork fee. Great!
We put in our first order around 7:10pm (give or take). I stepped out and bought two drinks. Appetizers were on the table when I got back to the table. We were informed in the beginning that it may take a little longer for the rolls to come out due to it being Friday and very busy - this is understandable.
Things were going well at first - we finished the apps, 1 out of 6 orders of the rolls came out with the appetizers, as well as the orders of sashimi. 1 app was missing but, figured they forgot and it's AYCE, let me give some grace, shrug it off, and order it next round since they were getting slammed.
Manager (didn't introduce themselves) saw our two open drinks and said there was a cork fee and asked if anybody informed us and in which I replied no. They said we would have to be charged for it. My Partner and I were originally going to protest it but, I wasn't in the mood to fight it and I understood that they got their policies and it was just $8 but, why did your server tell me there was none? Pre-shift briefing/meeting must've not been done and people were not on the same page.
Now the customer is paying for the establishment's mistake? Strike one.
Strike Two: Here's where things rolled downhill - it wasn't until 50 mins have gone by and not receiving our orders -- multiple servers, busser(s), and manager(s) passed, eyeing our table, none checked to see if there was an issue during that time frame. It wasn't until, Tom (busser?) asked if something was up and if we were waiting on our orders. We replied yes and another server was called over, Ken. Ken deserves a raise. He checked our table's order, confirmed, rolled up his imaginary sleeves, and informed us that he is gonna put a rush order in. He informed us that it's possible that it was lost in the commotion where they were prepping the food.
Food finally hit the table. Thank you very much, Tom and Ken.
Strike three: Our final app hit the table as we were wrapping up. At that point, we didn't want it anymore but, we try not to waste food and also since it's AYCE, we didn't want to get charged.
Strike four: Servers were quick to ask if we were ready for the bill and when I received the bill, even the original server didn't understand why there was a cork fee. They went to go ask about it and the bill stayed the same (I honestly didn't expect them to remove it).
Food was delicious.
Service was the issue.
Principles were the issue.
So I have to ask:
* Does the Servers have assigned seating? You have about 6 servers and about 1-2 bussers and I only saw about 3 of them (1 busser included) paying attention to details. How do you expect to flip the tables swiftly and have more customers while simultaneously providing great customer service, if nobody is providing said customer service and paying attention to what could be cleared out and compartmentalized for the limited space? It also seemed like those 3 were carrying the team.
* Managers don't do table checks? They don't check in with customers to see how they are doing. I saw at least 6 tables that were unhappy or seemed like something was wrong, which could've been rectified or addressed had servers and managers checked in with their tables.
* Ticket system and you got 8 staff to prepare and plate the sushi.. what solution can be inputted to mitigate items being ran to the wrong table? Because this is very likely what happened with our food... due to the ticket being lost in the chaos.
* Table placements. I get that the establishment wants to have as many customers squeezed in as possible, especially for the weekend rush but, your bus-bucket is going to accidentally hit somebody one day.
This was the first week(end) of opening. I understand there are nooks, crannies, and kinks that need to be worked out.
I sincerely hope the kinks are worked out before it becomes a greater issue.
Bonus: also, call me crazy but, 16 security cameras (at least the ones I saw in the main dining area) is kind of overkill.
Would've gave one star but, that extra star is due to Tom and Ken's saving grace. read more