by Alice W. on Our friend was nice enough to set up for 12 of our friends for what we thought would be a nice dinner for us. The decor of the restaurant was really elegant and we were greeted with a friendly host who seated us promptly. From the start our server, Sarah, had a very sour face like we owed her something. We tried not to let her awful attitude ruin our moods for the night. We proceeded to order our drinks which was promptly served and then ordered our dishes shortly after. Sarah, explained to us that the dishes are meant to be shared. We explained that small groups of us would be sharing (since we predicted that the portions would be small) and she said that she could not split up the check but would make sure the dishes got to the right people (which she was not there most of the time when the dishes came out). Our starters were: Kakaige, tenpura fritters & blossoms which were all appetizing but very small portions. The rolls(spicy geisha, banzai & rainbow) & sashimi (hamachi & scallop) were pretty good and fresh. Warning: Don't order the $8 wakame salad! It was good but only about 5 bites worth of salad! We also had the black cod & short ribs but the flavors were a little too light and the short ribs was a bit dry. We ended our palates with the donuts & trio of house made ice cream. The donuts were very good but the ice cream is just like any other ice cream that you could get from the store. I'll have to say that most of the food was tasty but very very small portions for the price & the service left us with a terrible aftertaste for this fancy place. What happened was, when the check came we were going through all the items to make sure everything was correct. We noticed that the tax seemed like it was a little over 2% higher than the typical 9.25%. We asked our server who came back looking confused and said that she had to get the manager. The manager, Derek Hunter, came over and asked us if there was a problem. So, we also asked him why the tax was calculated this way. His explanation was that there is tax on the gratuity charge because the gratuity was an item on the receipt. (Wait, what?? You tax the gratuity?) We asked him why would they charge tax on the gratuity and that they should not charge tax on gratuity. I calculated the subtotal plus the gratuity which still did not equal the tax that they were charging us. We told him that things were still not adding up correctly. Then Derek got really defensive and just told us that "if you do not have the money we can work something out and you could wash the dishes or something"(his exact words), while he was walking away like he didn't want to bother with us. We were all left dumbfounded of what he said and his demeaning attitude. We went back up to talk to someone else who could explain this. If there was a computer glitch or there is some other charge. It's not that we were not willing to pay the extra few dollars, we just wanted to clear up why it was calculated this way. If they could've just explained how the charges came about then we would've been happy to have paid the total bill without any hesitation. We asked other people who worked there and they also could not explain how the tax is calculated. BUT at least they were a lot friendlier and tried to find out for us. We ended up were too tired to further find an explanation and were going to take matters into our own hands in other ways. We told one of the people who worked there that this is really deceitful to the customers and if they have a computer glitch that they should get it fixed. It also can be seen as if they are overcharging their customers trying to shave a little off the top some more. I personally want to let others know that they are shamefully charging their customers and probably often times without them noticing. If you have dined there recently and still have your receipts I would definitely double check them. I honestly would have rather have gone to a rundown restaurant where the food was cheap with large portions and where you expect them to throw the dishes of food at your table and give you rude service. I think you can find another Japanese restaurant where they will give you a lot better service & give you the exact same quality of food for less and with bigger portions. After being treated this way, I would never go back to this place again and would not recommend anyone else to ever come here either. I later found out that some SF restaurants are charging an extra fee either by raising prices, adding it to the tax, or a certain dollar amount to pay for restaurant workers insurance. If this is the case, they should clearly state on their menu or at the front door that they have this charge and not just sneak it into the gratuity. What about the diners who do not have the mandatory 20% gratuity charge? Are they informed of this extra charge when they go to pay the gratuity? Sounds like this restaurant is substantially deceiving their customers.
by Randy G. on So, after hearing about Delux from co-workers and rateclubs, I had to try it. Getting there early helps, because the restaurant gets packed quickly. First off, the place is ultra chic. A large bar/table is in the center of the restaurant, highlighted with blue lights. This place oozes of sleek. But enough about the lighting, onto the food! I got the Delux burger, which was incredible. Medium rare beef, served up on arugula with gruyere and a mixture of onions and bacon was incredible. The bun, a super soft baguette style was incredible as well. Juice dripped from this burger. Not grease, but juice. Pure, delicious, incredible, beef juice. If I could bottle and sell it, I would. My fiance had the turkey burger, which was excellently spiced, a tad dry, but the aioli helped cover that dryness. Their fries were also tasty, I enjoyed the ketchup and aioli. However, I have had better sweet potato fries. Their beer selection is awesome, including selections from 4 Peaks, I had an excellent Kolsch-style lager, that complemented my burger well. The prices are a little high, but the burger does make it worth it, both size and quality On a final note,I wouldn't recommend coming here at night, it seems like over priced drinks, loud music, and lots of stuck up people.
by Tod Fabros on I really dislike Midtown, but I like Halo, a lot!! Halo manages to be swank without being too pretentious. You can waltz in wearing flip-flops and jeans or a couture outfit . . . either way you will fit right in.
by I got five on it on I have never had a bad night in Bea's place theres never any fights the music selection is quite large that is when theres not a band and there is every walk of life in there absolutely no discrimination great fun pool tables always pictures taken an put up for display for those of you that have a memory problem after too many beers and the owner is a knock out shes got great bust and a beautiful face to boot you gotta check it out thats the only place worth goin in Alice texas bet that. well hope yall have a good one. sissy
