you don"t need to save the crystal for a special day, even water tastes better in a "Fancy Glass"

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

DON'T GO HERE>>>> YUCK on so many levels


Last night, We went to Locos Table Mahana a new-ish restaurant in Ebisu. It was really the worst- on many levels. I believe that the restaurant business and feeding your guests is an art form. That doesn't mean food needs to be fancy. A good sandwich place can create works of art, just like a french restaurant can. But there is an agreement made between the restaurant owners, chefs to put the guest first and make a good product.

Mahana is all about making money. And with poor product, bad service and shady business practices!

first off they have a "hidden" table charge. there is a teeny tiny mention of it on the back cover of the menu, even my waitress did not know it was there. They brought a fake amuse bouche or small tasting plate to the table and I was suspicious so I asked if it was free and the girl explained- No- it is 500 yen or 5$ per person! the manager came and showed me the tiny print that said there is a table charge- and that is covered with this little bad tasting tasting plate.

the rest of our food ranged from ill prepared, to dried out and stale, to just plain bad.

there was a hula floor show, that was fine- I guess. Though it felt forced and the girls seemed less than thrilled to be performing for the guests who largely ignored them anyway.

and when all was said and done, and they brought the check. It was a blank receipt with just the total at the bottom! what the hell is that. it was printed on regular POS paper, but they have set the cash register to not print the items purchased- just the total. And since I am sure they cheat and add charges or wrong prices... this just was the final affront.

This restaurant is all about cutting corners, using old product and gouging the customers with hidden table charges etc.

the dessert we got was supposed to be mini donut holes, chocolate and banana. The so called donuts- were from days ago for sure. Dried out.... stale... YUCK.

Oh by the way- the servers could not have looked less engaged on any level.
the drinks glasses were tiny and filled with crushed ice. I figure my coke had maybe 1/8th of a can and the rest was ice.

it was clear to me, someone in the industry, that this place makes money- by treating their guests badly and cheating when ever they can.

IF you want good Hawaiian food and nice service- come to Nakameguro and try the M&L cafe.

MAHANA. SIMPLY. SUCKS

fancy glass rating on a scale of 1-5 or in this case lower...

Decor 3FG (nice but a bit cliche)






Service Spilled FG!






Food Spilled FG






Drinks/wine 2 FG





Overall YUCK

1 comment:

tokyoterri said...

could not possibly have said it better, and I am definitely not an expert on food or service. what fooled me when we went into the place is that it was big, and reasonably nicely decorated. I mean, they seem to have taken some time to do it, so I assumed that the food would be at least on par with the decor.

Alas! first, there was the mystery meat wrapped in limp plastic-looking leaves. I don't know what the spice was, but it said 'untasted by chef' to me! everything was mediocre, but the thing that shocked me the most was that the donut holes must have been imported from France...in 1999, 'cause they were far from fresh...

made me appreciate dinner at fujimamas, and m&l even more...

lovely Hawaiian food at mamas' tonight, btw. tks,