Kobe Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar

Reviews 3

TH

Thomas C. Whitfield

I have been to Kobe a few times and though the wait was sometimes long, especially on a Friday or Saturday night, it was still pretty good, and had a nice atmostphere. However, the last time I was there, with four other people, we ALL got sick within an hour or two after leaving Kobe, and we continued to vomit for the rest of the night and into the morning. This was in mid-April 2012. We called Kobe twice that night to complain and tell them there was something wrong with their food, and the manager told us the second time that no one else had called or complained. She did not know that we knew one of the people in our group had already called and spoken to her earlier in the evening so she was blatantly lying about the fact that no one else had called or complained There is no telling how many other people may have gotten sick that night, but she did not want to admit that it was their fault for us getting sick. Even knowing that we had two small children who were affected by their food, she was not willing to accept the blame for our sickness. Before this incident I probably would have recommended Kobe to anyone, but after this display of total disregard for public health and welfare, I can only STRONGLY recommend that no one ever eat here. I understand that sometimes things happen where food gets left out too long, or the restaurant receives a tainted batch of food, but even in those situations I would expect nothing less than the restaurant to not only simply offer to refund the amount of the dinner but also to offer to pay for a visit to an urgent care facility or other medical treatment if required. We did not get anything like that. In fact, we did not even get so much as an apology or anything to make us feel like the management staff at Kobe was at all concerned for our health or in the least their own public image. We were literally on the verge of taking our entire group to the emergency room at DCH Hospital more than once throughout the evening. I personally started to worry that one of us would suffocate from choking on our own vomit while sleeping, especially the two children, who were only ages felt like I was going to from vomiting so much and so violently that night. I have never gotten sick from eating food before and have always thought of myself as having a pretty strong stomach. But after that night, I am afraid to even think about asian food. That was the worst night in recent memory, and by far the absolute worst experience from a restaurant in my entire life. I cant ever eat at Kobe again and the two children that were part of our group are too afraid to ever go back.

A

A Private User

My family and I are frequent customers of Kobe. On last night, as usual, our dining experience at Kobe was very good, the hibachi chef was excellent; however, my dining experience was spoiled at the end of our dinner. There were a total of 9 people sitting at the hibachi grill; a party of 3, a party of 4, and a party of 2 comprised the total of 9. My husband and I were the party of 2. A lady was our waitress the entire time we were there (this lady was Asian); however, there was another waitress who gave each of the parties back there method of payment and receipt (this lady was American/Caucasian). Within the party of 3, there were two separate checks (the party of 3 was American/Caucasian as well as the party of 4). When the Caucasian waitress returned with the receipts and the credit cards, she didn’t know which card belong to which customer. She returned my husband our card, and then she looks at me and says, “Your card was declined.” I immediately looked at her and told her, “that is not my card, that is hers” (while pointing across the grill to one of the ladies within the party of 3). Needless to say, I was deeply offended; this was an act of racial profiling and discrimination at its finest. Prior to leaving the restaurant, I stopped and asked the waitress, why did she think the declined credit card was mine? She offered me some lame excuse that she didn’t look at the receipts and she thought the other parties were all together. Her excuse was even more offensive, because, it is highly probable that when there is a party of more than 2 people, there are separate checks; and, within my party, there were only 2 people. I assume you can figure that my husband and I are Black. I didn’t appreciate the treatment I received from this waitress not one bit and I did tell a manager about this waitress’ actions. The manager did offer an apology, but, the waitress who committed this act against me did not. My family and I really enjoy Kobe; therefore, I am not going to let this one bad experience with a very ignorant waitress contaminate my overall outlook of Kobe. But, this type of treatment at Kobe which happened on last night better not happen to me ever again or I will be pursuing this further.

A

A Private User

By far the worst overall dining experience Ive had in a very long time. Being someone who is a road-warrior and sees various types of restaurants from the basic to up-scale, I can attest that I will NEVER go back to Kobe in Tuscaloosa. After being in a customer for the morning, we decided to go to their favorite spot, which is Kobe so that I could try it. The customer typically eats there 2-3xs/week. We call ahead for a table at 11:45 a.m. We arrive at Kobe at approx. 12:05 p.m. Our call ahead (which we were told was acceptable) was disregarded and we waited for a table. We finally were seated at a habachi grill (where the room was only occupied by 4 people to start with). Our group was seated and drink orders taken. The hostess then comes back and tells me that I need to move over a seat because she needs a group of 4 chairs together. Not asks, but tells. I politely let her know how to ask for such a request from her customer. Although our drinks arrived shortly after our order, our appetizers were very slow to come out. After the chef prepped the grill and made the rice, he was quick to let me know he did not appreciate my steamed rice preference rather than his fried rice that was right there. As he sliced the vegetables and prepped the grill for the next ingredient, he flipped his lighter doing the flashy routines and lighter fluid shot from the lighter and came across the bar, landing on my plate and sweater. Again, no customer service and I was told it was just water, followed by his apology as we lit the grill. Regardless, I saw it come out of the lighter. He then continued to prep the food without offering a towel or new plate. When the food was ready he served everyone and as he got to me I asked if I could have a new plate since the fluid, water or lighter fluid, was now on it. He expressed his disgust and looked around his station as if getting a new plate was impossible. Being as I was with a customer, I simply let it pass and he put the vegetables on my plate. I absolutely refuse to ever go to this restaurant ever again. The food (appetizers and chicken stir fry lunch) were nothing to brag about.