July 18, 2014-
NOT MEDICALLY FRIENDLY!
The atmosphere:
Wow, this place has definitely deteriorated on multiple fronts. Remember Mr. Yen's and Grand Fortuna? this place is going down the same troubled path. They used to be very positive to customers and a nice place to go but now they have horrible customer service and a very bad business attitude. You feel like you are a bother; just get in, pay and free up that table!
The place is dirty:
You can see obvious dirt on the carpeting, holes in the screens, marks on the ceiling, food remnants on the grill, food all over the kitchen prep floor and employees standing around in there doing nothing. Shouldn't they be cleaning it up if they have no customers to attend to? I mean, EVERY customer walks right by that prep area and it is easy to see the mess. I have also noticed a fair amount of employee turnover which also tells me things are not being run well.
Our most recent and last visit, July 18th, 2014-
We visited to celebrate our oldest child's 23rd birthday with my parents. Of the group of six, three of us are diabetic and cannot consume the rice or noodles provided with the hibachi menu items or the sushi but it was her favorite restaurant so we went.
I politely requested to substitute more vegetables for the rice and noodles and were told "sorry, no" by the waitress who was obviously embarrassed to have to tell us that the restaurant does not accommodate customer medical needs. Wow. How many people would actually ask for a substitution? Not many I think. Our dining requirements are no different than the onion allergy mentioned in another review and for a restaurant to have such a callous attitude about patron health and well being is despicable. Are their families free of all medical issues? We were there to spend money (total tab was nearly $250.00) and what if we had an allergy that would induce anaphylactic shock? Just because a blood glucose spike doesn't kill you on the spot doesn't negate its importance. Don't expect these jokers to call an ambulance for you either; you had better have a designated caller!
I decided to politely request to speak to a manager and this big bouncer-type who was lounging on the bar stool at the end of the bar chatting up the bartender and not doing his job meandered over and was as oily and solicitous as an undertaker expecting to sell me the works. I explained that we had half of our dining party with serious medical issues and told him that we would like to please substitute more veggies for the carbs so we could have a healthy and appropriate diabetic meal. Immediately he shut down when he saw that I wanted something that he wouldn't do and said "no". No apologies, just "no". I asked if our meals would be discounted for the food that we would not consume which would be fair and he said "no". I offered to pay more and it was still "no". I told him that I was sorry to hear that and that we would not be back and he shrugged and turned away. Amazing. He didn't care one iota for the restaurant's reputation nor for his job apparently because with an attitude like that he won't have it for long.
I do have to give kudos to our chef, because when I mentioned the diabetics at the table, and asked him to please skip the rice and noodles for the three of us, he did and portioned out a few more veggies to the diabetics to balance the meal saying that he completely understood. That was very kind. Upon leaving, the waitress was offering a tea and water refill and our daughter asked if she could have her offered tea refill "to go" and again, embarrassed, she said that the restaurant didn't have any to-go cups! I felt bad for her to be put in that unnecessarily difficult position.
The food:
It is obvious that Nakato's has gone quite downhill and is now just a hack hibachi establishment (not that they were ever the peak but they weren't bad) offering inexpensive ingredients and over charging for the quality. The "noodles" are simply cold spaghetti and the fried rice is one egg without meat for an extra $1.75. I could buy a dozen eggs for that price. The KC Strip "steaks" are literally a 1/4" thick so I will rename them KC Sashimi. The shrimp are not cleaned of their veins and I for one don't like eating shrimp poop. The veggies looked as if they had been sitting out in the air for quite some time because the broccoli and carrots were all dried out and rubbery. If you order an alcoholic drink it comes watered down. Who do they think that they are fooling??? It is obvious that they are now solely in money-making mode and have lost their care and concern over their family reputation. If you have any family pride anything with your name on it should be first class. I again evoke the memory of Mr. Yen's and the Grand Fortuna that preceded it; they started out okay and were run into the ground by ineptitude. It is sad that we will be losing another restaurant choice in Springfield read more