1 star and honestly, the handicapped bathroom is doing ALL the heavy lifting here.
I made a reservation for six people six weeks in advance. I confirmed it by text the day before. On the day of the reservation, I received an unnecessarily aggressive phone call confirming it yet again. I told them we were on our way and might even arrive early. I asked about parking and was given perfectly reasonable directions. So far, so good.
Then we arrived.
We waited patiently to be seated, only to be brought to a table that was laughably inadequate for six adults. Calling it a table for six requires a fairly creative interpretation of the word six. Six small children, perhaps. Six adults? Absolutely not.
It was 5:45 on a Tuesday before Labor Day, and the restaurant was nowhere near full.
I politely asked to be moved to a table where six adults could actually sit comfortably.
Apparently, this was an extraordinary request.
We were made to wait while one employee spoke to another, who apparently needed to speak to a third employee, all while giving us the distinct impression that accommodating the reservation we had made six weeks earlier was some enormous favor they were reluctantly considering.
Eventually, we were moved.
How generous.
And that pretty much set the tone for the rest of the evening.
The service was disorganized and strangely inexperienced. There was a "first day on the job" quality to virtually every interaction, as though none of the servers had ever worked there, or possibly ever worked in a restaurant, before.
We ordered two portions of a small plate that cost extra. They never arrived. When we pointed this out, the response was not particularly apologetic or even especially concerned. They seemed genuinely surprised that we had ordered them in the first place.
I understand that things get missed. Mistakes happen. That's not what bothered me.
What bothered me was that nothing about the entire evening suggested anyone was actually in control of what was happening.
The staff was consistently unfriendly, unhelpful and, at times, downright rude. At one point, an employee actually pushed past an elderly woman using a cane rather than simply navigating around her. Basic courtesy seemed to be in very short supply.
And then there was the seating situation, which became increasingly insulting as the evening went on.
Remember the table we were originally told was somehow appropriate for six people?
It was later occupied by TWO people.
Yes. The restaurant apparently could not find a properly sized table for six people who had made a reservation six weeks in advance, but had no problem putting two people at that same table once we had been moved.
Make that make sense.
The food itself wasn't good enough to make any of this forgivable. It was mediocre at best, certainly not memorable, and certainly not worth the price or the attitude that came with it.
And then there were the other diners.
The table behind us had four seats and only two people sitting there. One of them apparently decided that the restaurant's banquette was an appropriate place to display her BARE, DRY, DIRTY, ASHY FEET which she proceeded to put up on the seat.
Yes. Her BARE feet. On the seat.
I don't hold Gyu-Kaku responsible for the existence of inconsiderate people. I do, however, hold a restaurant responsible for the overall experience it creates and for whether its staff is attentive enough to notice what is happening around them.
The one bright spot was the handicapped accessible bathroom, which was appreciated.
Otherwise, this was an extraordinary amount of aggravation for what should have been a straightforward Tuesday dinner with a reservation.
We did our part. We made the reservation six weeks ahead. We confirmed it twice. We showed up on time. We were patient when we were seated at an inappropriate table. We politely asked to be moved. We ordered food and paid for it.
In return, we got an uncomfortable table, an unnecessary hassle over being moved, missing food, indifferent service, mediocre food and an overall atmosphere that felt remarkably lacking in hospitality.
The most charitable explanation I can come up with is that the entire staff was brand new and nobody had bothered to train them.
Whatever the explanation, it isn't my responsibility as a customer to absorb the consequences of it.
There are plenty of restaurants where six people can be treated with basic courtesy, seated at an appropriate table and served food worth paying for.
Gyu-Kaku White Plains is clearly not one of them.
We won't be back. read more