not a place i'd visit a second time. this restaurant has been around for probably well over 20 years now, all at the same place. we had not tried it until last night, and after the experience we had, i can only attribute that to divine providence. the front of the restaurant is devoted to the typical hibachi communal area, and further to the back are the sushi bar with stools, and 8 or 10 booths and tables - interior is rather worn and dark.
the two menus on the table we chose had different pages, and neither included a number of the dishes included in the on line menu we looked over before coming - really confusing info. we ask for a bowl of miso soup, changed our mind, and ask for the house soup (chicken broth based), and a salad with ginger dressing.
. the order came back with both miso & house soup, and the salad - we just accepted both soups. each was good, as was the salad, though the dressing was rather thick, and was difficult to mix into the lettuce. we also tried an app special of grilled sea bass, which was just ok - the sauce was too sweet for my taste.
it took 45 more minutes to get our entrees, a noodle and shrimp dish, and shrimp tempura with veggies. i ask the waiter what was taking so long, and was told that a large order was tying up the kitchen - this from a table that came in well after we ordered - i was not happy to say the least. when we finally recieved our dishes, we were very disappointed in both. the noodle dish was bland, and the shrimp were over-cooked and chewy. all the items on the shrimp tempura were under cooked - the exterior was pale white, no hint of a nice brown crust. the broccoli was total mush, and everything else had no flavor. i can only assume the tempura was under cooked in a rush to get our already late order out of the kitchen.
in addition to the bad dishes, not one plate, bowl, or bottle was removed from our small table in the hour and twenty minutes we where there. our water glasses were not refilled, and my order for an additional small hot sake was completely overlloked. this mess cost just a few cents uner $50. terrible service, equally bad food, no concern expressed for the delays - and this on a night when they were olny moderatley busy. no chance we'll be back, not with wasabi just a block or two down west market street.