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2012-01-09
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As big fans and frequent visitors to Inakaya Roppongi, my wife and I were initially thrilled that Inakaya will be opening in Hong Kong. However, we were hesitant to go when we realized that Inakaya Hong Kong is just a franchise. Unlike Inakaya Roppongi, which specializes in Robatayaki, Inakaya Hong Kong also has teppanyaki and sushi counter!!We just visited the Hong Kong franchise tonight on my wife's birthday and the mismanagement by the Inakaya franchisee in Hong Kong absolutely ruined her
We just visited the Hong Kong franchise tonight on my wife's birthday and the mismanagement by the Inakaya franchisee in Hong Kong absolutely ruined her birthday! When we made the reservation over the telephone to reserve a table at 6:30pm, the receptionist did not mention that we had to return the table by a certain time. However, when the receptionist phoned us to confirm the table on the day of our dinner, we were suddenly told that we had to return the table by 8:30pm, and we were told that the restaurant has a rule that there are two seatings and limit the dining time to two hours for each seating. At that point in time, we were already not thrilled that this was not mentioned to us earlier, and honestly, we would have gone to another restaurant to celebrate if we knew that we would have only been able to dine at Inakaya for 2 hours since we normally eat for 3 to 4 hours at the Roppongi store.
When we arrived at the restaurant slightly before 6:30pm, the reception told us that we had to return the table by 8pm! We told her right away that we were told that we had to return the table by 8:30pm, and she agreed that we can return the table by 8:30pm. However, when we were at the table, we were told by the waitress several times that we had to return the table by 8pm again! We went there with our 3 year old daughter who is going to Inakaya for the first time, and we wanted to stay for the rice cake making and the changing of the chefs (which we know from our experience will not happen at 8pm)! Throughout the dinner, starting from 6:40pm, we were reminded several times that if we need to order additional food, we better do it soon since we had to return the table by 8pm (even though we already told her that we were only told to return the table by 8:30pm). After several requests, we were absolutely furious and we requested to talk to the manageress. After our complaints, she agreed to let us return the table by 8:30pm, and afterwards, the receptionist came in to explain the situation. However, not only did the receptionist not apologize, she did not want to admit that she was wrong and spoke to us with a horrible attitude. We ultimately decided that we have had enough and only stayed for the rice cake making and did not stay until the changing of the chefs. By the way, we also noted that there were customers who arrive at 7:30pm, which clearly indicate that the receptionist's explanation that the restaurant normally does two seating and limit the dining time to two hours is just an excuse to kick us out!
Personally, we always felt that the critical success factor for Inakaya Roppongi has always been the great atmosphere which Inakaya Roppongi's website states to "release yourself from your daily tasks and enjoy the comfort of our traditional Japanese Robatayaki restaurant "INAKAYA"". However, the franchisee does not understand that Inakaya is not just about the food, but the experience. As a result, it completely ruined the customers' experience by hurrying the customer to finish his/her dinner! We had no complaints about the food, Japanese chefs and staff (even though the food quality is below Inakaya Roppongi), but the franchisee's clearly has a problem running a high class robatayaki restaurant and the franchisee's mismanagement is ruining the Inakaya brand in the process.
We had the following robatayaki items:
Wagyu beef- This is a signature Inakaya Roppongi dish. Decently cooked, but not as crispy as Inakaya Roppongi
Ginkgo- decently grilled and seasoned, can't really screw up gingko.
Shellfish (forgot the name)- Decently seasoned, not as fresh as I would have liked, but it was the day after New Year's Day, meaning that Japanese fish market is closed, so, as expected, this is stock from last year (the same reason that we didn't order Kinki).
Salmon/salmon roe rice- This was okay, but not worth the price that they charged. Again, hard to screw up steamed rice.
Prawns- Same problem as shellfish, no fresh stock due to Japanese fish market being closed on New Year's Day, so, can't blame that for that.
Sake- served in a wooden box. The aroma of the wood definitely improved the sake taste, but not worth the money ($180/box)
It appears that we are left with no choice but to save our robatayaki dinners for our visits to Tokyo (or maybe New York). In the meantime, I will tell all my foodie friends to avoid Inakaya Hong Kong like the plague, especially if they are anticipating the same dining experience as what is expected from Inakaya in Roppongi. I am glad that the Inakaya Roppongi website did not state that there is a branch in Hong Kong since Inakaya Hong Kong is not worthy of using the Inakaya name!
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