Food was okay, fish was fresh, beautiful atmosphere but the service was extremely horrible.
I walked in last Tuesday, but was told that the restaurant only accepts reservations. That was fine, so I made a reservation one week in advance to celebrate my birthday with three friends, for a total of four people.
I chose Mutsu because I had seen the beautiful bar area and was looking forward to sitting there. I didn't realize at the time that parties of three or more would be seated at the private dining tables in the back. That part was my misunderstanding, and I completely understand the restaurant's seating policy.
However, when my friend asked if we could sit at the bar instead, the server immediately refused without really offering any explanation or trying to accommodate us.
We eventually sat at a table in the back. While we were sitting there, ordering and waiting for our food for over 30 minutes, I noticed several tables were still empty, even though they weren't all next to each other.
The food took a very long time to arrive. The first thing we received was the spicy edamame, and honestly, I was shocked when it arrived. It was basically edamame sitting in a soup-like sauce. The flavor was not good at all -- very sour and tasted like mostly sambal. The edamame was also slightly overcooked.
The server then came over and asked, "Everything okay?" -- while we had only one dish on the table, which was the edamame. That was also the only time during the entire meal that the server checked on our table.
After that, we repeatedly had to ask about our food and when it would arrive.
When the sashimi platter finally came, the fish itself was fresh and tasted good, but the slicing and presentation were extremely disappointing. Some pieces were extremely thin, unevenly cut, and some looked like square pieces that had simply been cut off and placed on the plate. The thickness was inconsistent from piece to piece 0 skills of cutting and presentation.
The handrolls were another disappointment. The nori was extremely chewy, even though we ate them right after they were served. That said, I will give credit where it's due: most of the fish was fresh and delicious. The only exception was the uni, which had a noticeably slightly fishy.
The service continued to be frustrating. At one point, our water pitcher was empty. We placed it at the end of the table where the staff could clearly see it. Servers walked past our table multiple times without looking over or asking if we needed anything. Eventually, I had to call out to a runner and ask for water before anyone noticed.
There were also two handrolls that my friends had to repeatedly follow up on because they had never arrived.
Then the bill came
We noticed a 20% "Large Party Service Charge." We were extremely confused because there were only four of us, and I did not see any clear statement on the menu saying that a party of four would automatically be charged a 20% service charge. The only notice we saw on the menu was that 3% is added to the bill and is not gratuity.
When I asked the server about the 20% charge, he told that because we were using that particular table, which had been reserved, the restaurant automatically charged the service fee.
When I questioned it and said I did not agree with the 20% charge, the server removed it almost immediately.
That honestly left me wondering: If the restaurant can simply add a 20% service charge and then remove it when the customer questions it, how is this charge being determined in the first place?
I also told the server that if the restaurant intends to charge a mandatory 20% service charge, it should be clearly disclosed to customers in advance and on the menu, especially given California's requirements regarding mandatory fees.
The response I received was extremely dismissive and unprofessional:
"I just work here. I'm not the one who made it."
That response was particularly disappointing.
I have no problem paying a service charge when it is clearly disclosed and when the service justifies it. But in this case, the service was extremely inattentive, our food was very slow, we had to repeatedly ask about missing dishes and water, and then we were presented with a 20% "large party" service charge despite being a party of only four.
Overall: the fish was fresh and some of the food was good, but the service was far below what I expected, and the way the service charge was handled left a very bad impression.
If the owner or management would like to speak with me about this experience, I'd be happy to discuss it. Please feel free to contact me. read more