[Obsideon]

Originally Posted by naomi

(previous post: The vibe is also less pretentious.)

What is wrong with white people serving japanese? Does it bother you when you walk into Joeys/Cactus Club and see asian girls serving white food? How about when you walk into Hapa Izakaya and a white girl screams hello at you in Japanese?

Besides, you'll know that the eatery isn't a typical Japanese restaurant. You can tell that just by walking in and looking at the decor and the menu. This isn't your typical japanese joint, which is great because god knows there are so many of those around. And yes, the owner is Japanese.

The service was also horrible. We had to flag down the waitresses that were taking care of us every time we wanted something. They didn't bring us water. Didn't ask if we wanted refills. Took forever to process our bill. Once they brought us our food they disappeared to chat with each other.

As far as the ambiance you talk about at Ebisu, I honestly didn't feel like it was a great dining experience. Maybe it was just an off night or something but the overall package was lacking something. I just can't put my finger on it.

pretentious... hm.. that's the first time I heard anyone use that word for us. We're pretty casual, from the feedback maybe too casual!

It's not that they are white, its the fact that they know nothing about Japanese. I asked for ponzu sauce and the girl was like "huh?" and half the dishes they bring, if it ain't the "Elvis Roll" then they can't even pronounce it properly. No I'm not bothered by asian CBC or whatever BC's working at white restaurants, but wouldn't you be bothered if they had Mainlander FOBs prancing around yelling "HAI there! er cheekin bargor witsh fries?" The other thing is with a mainly 99% caucasion ratio out front, it makes you wonder what kind of people run the kitchen pumping out these 'caterpillar rolls' .. bunch of pasta/burger making white folks? I mean if they trained in Japan then props to them. There could also be authentic Japanese chefs in there that can speak perfect english since he'll need to, what with all the white girls outside. Just a thought.

We are not your typical Japanese restaurant either, a lot of the sushi and kitchen staff have 10+ years experience in Japan, 1 has traveled throughout Japan in competitions and won a lot of them. Another trained under an Iron Chef, then there's 1 with a Fugu license. Extensive training to serve a deadly poisonous fish. I'll tell my headchef about your food quality complaints for good measure. Next time you should just tell me directly on the spot so I can fix it rather than bring it up a week later on RS. That's what I'm all about, wanting to hear feedback so I can hope to improve all the time, working on a personal level with the most important people, the customer. As for the service issues I will bring that up with my staff and even show them your post. No one's perfect, I'll work on that. Thanks for the heads up.

Originally Posted by SlySi

Am I the only one thats finds it annoying to have a color faded 10 feet projector in a restaurant?

I would find it annoying too but I haven't seen one recently.

Originally Posted by pingu81

For me, what it comes down to when I determine what is a good meal or not its is the food itself. Specifically the quality, proportions, presentation, and pricing. I go to a restaurant to eat. The things like the decor, waitresses, and entertainment come second to the food.

If I wanted to see some T&A. I would go to Joey's, Cactus, Earls etc and would know ahead of time that I would be settling for the at-par food.

I went to Ebisu for the first time last week and overall the food was just OK. The rolls could be improved on. I don't mind paying money for a good roll but it BETTER be good. Unfortunately, it wasn't worth the $12 which I paid for it.

The service wasn't poor, although it could be improved on. There were plenty of waitresses working at the time although I don't understand why most of them were standing idle. We didn't even get a "how is your meal so far?" or "would you like another drink?". This is disappointing especially considering how a tip was automatically tacked onto our bill (large party procedure I assume although we only had 7 people at our table??).

I don't want to say that my experience at Ebisu was horrible, but there definately are better alternatives in the vicinity.

Good review, duly noted. Will work on it. Thx. Also, it's a regular policy now in Vancouver. Like 4 out of 5 restaurants do it, from the super high-end to the Izakayas. Parties of 6/8 get the tip automatically calculated, with us it's set into the computer. As with any restaurant, you don't have to pay it if you feel it's not justifiable, it's just pre-calculated. Please do remember to express your reasoning for not doing so though to prevent them thinking that your just cheap and that it's the servers fault they didnt get the money which is totally fair.

Originally Posted by 3zee

What are you talking about, The Eatery is Japanese owned. If you are talking about the waitresses, I don't think they should be included when judging how authentic a restaurant is. Its not like Ebisu has all Japanese waitresses, nor do most of the Japanese restaurants in Van.

Anyways, my take on Ebisu: I agree with a few of the above posts, rolls were marginal, service was pretty bad, waitresses always standing around talking to eachother. The girls are easy on the eyes, but seriously, do you even hire girls who have service experience or u just hire any girl who will suck cock for the job. A sub-par restaurant for an above-par location.

I doubt most restaurants trying to run our style can seriously hire all service-pro waitresses. Most of the girls are just finishing school, still in school or Working Holidays from Japan who come to work for a year only, none of which have much service industry experience. Unless I find women in the late 20s or even 30s then they usually wouldn't have been in the industry that much, of course there are exceptions but those are few and far inbetween. I can only hope to try and train them as much as I can. As for your last comment, are you jealous? Hehe J/K! Too much Casting Couch for you lol.

Originally Posted by naomi

With reviews like that, Ebisu sure doesn't need marketing!

I didn't realize inebriated women was a valid criteria for determining the quality of a restaurant. I'm sure the owners and founders of Ebisu would be flattered.

At the end of the day, I don't care how many modelesque waitresses, 10 foot projectors, cheap drinks, etc you shove into one restaurant. If the food quality is low and the service is sub-par, no amount of "ambience" will make up for it.

I will probably be there again this Saturday because a friend is coming from out of town and wants to try the place. I'm always about second chances so we'll go and hopefully the experience will be better this time.

We'll see.

I will try to make the necessary improvements by then.
Don't forget to say Hi! I'll be here and definitely try to make your experience better than before!

Originally Posted by 7seven

I have to agree with most of the above, while the food is decent, the service from the waitress' is pretty horrible especially when compared to other downtown restaurants. One time in particular, our waitress spent more time flirting with me and talking to the other waitress than making sure our orders where right or checking if we needed drinks, if I wanted eye candy, I'd just go to Cactus Club. She seemed more interested in telling us about what she likes to do in her spare time and which club she was going to be at later than taking our orders and forgetting about our drinks. I really think Deon needs to do something about the waitresses.

Other downtown restaurants? Don't know what you would compare us to.
I think your misinterpreting flirting with just trying to be friendly and start a conversation to make the customer more happy, it's part of their job, high horse man haha or maybe you're just that damn sexy.