Kiku Restaurant
| Address: | 365 NJ-17, Paramus, NJ 07652, USA |
| Phone: | +1 201-265-7200 |
| Site: | facebook.com |
| Rating: | 3.6 |
| Working: | 12–3PM 12–3PM 12–3PM 12–3PM 12–3PM 4–11:30PM 4–10:30PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 5
JA
James G
Ive been to literally hundreds of hibachi grill dinners across the tri-state including some of the most expensive spots in NYC and consider myself somewhat of a connoisseur of this type of restaurant. Ive been to Kiku well over 20 times alone so I feel I am in a good position to state that this place is simply poorly run and you should avoid it at all costs. Dont get me wrong, Kiku could be wonderful. The space is beautiful and pleasing on the eye. With the right chef, the food can be delicious (though Id say its a complete miss 30% of the time). However, what really takes this place out of the running is the terrible service. I think they simply have too many tables and not enough chefs and wait staff. Its clear to me that they dont seem to care about providing service on any reasonable timescale. And a good portion of the time, the chef will be lacking. I went there yesterday and although we were seated at a table within minutes of arriving, it took over an hour for our chef to arrive at the table. The "show" he put on was good, but the steak was not really seasoned at all, and he put a ton of teriaki in the noodles (the noodles are supposed to be cooked with a touch of teriaki, but more soy). Someone in another party at my table remarked at how the noodles were too sweet, and they were - we couldnt eat them. And finally, it took over 15 minutes to do the whole check thing. All told, over two hours for a table with two families who werent really drinking (drinkers might want to sit and take their time but families with kids are a different story). Looking around the place, many people were in the same predicament, looking a bit unhappy, sitting there with no food waiting for their chefs to arrive. Ive given Kiku a number of chances to redeem themselves because they are conveniently located, and a few times we had a great experience, but after this last adventure, Im now completely done with Kiku and will only patronize the other hibachi places in the area. If you enjoy waiting too long for the chef to show up, food that may or may not be on point, and an overworked and inattentive wait staff, then this is your place. Otherwise, AVOID.
BR
Bruce Moore
We came to this restaurant last night for my daughters birthday (her pick). We went early (5:30) and they assured us that our party of 5 could have our own hibachi table. I had never been to this restaurant before, but had driven by it 1,000 times. I must admit we were all pleasantly surprised with the level of service and how fresh and delicious the food was !!! The service was paced perfectly. They gave us a small bowl of soup for starters and a small salad with a tasty asian dressing. They took our order and the chef made everything just the way we like it. (were a fussy group). The portions and quality of food was superb. Most of us ordered the Steak and Shrimp and it was just perfect and such large portions as well. Mine came with Lo Mein noodles, Fried Rice, perfectly cooked fresh vegetables, lots of shrimp (cooked just right with light seasoning) and a large sirloin steak that was cooked to perfect, tender and tasty !!! My only regret was not trying this restaurant sooner. It was entertaining and quite delicious. will be a regular for sure. But from what Ive read, I will avoid late night Saturdays !! ;-)
MA
Marie Z
Terrible! I made a reservation on Wed. for Saturday night at 7 for a celebration with guests from down the shore. When we got there, it was obvious we werent going to be seated on time, since there were many people standing out front. When I asked how long, they said 20 min. Half an hour later, I asked again, they said asked the manager. When I tried to ask him he IGNORED me for 15 more minutes. Finally, my guest stood in front of the manager so he couldnt ignore us any more. He said at least 20 more minutes. So I said "So basically, my 7:00 reservation is for 8:05?" He said "Sorry" in a way that, having worked with children all my life, meant he wasnt sorry. It was clear the staff didnt care if we left, since they had clearly overbooked and had people waiting to take our spot. We called a local Indian restaraunt which could take us right away, and left, never to return again. It doesnt matter that their food is good, Kiku is a mill that treats its customers with contempt. I was so embarassed in front of our guests, who had a long drive back. We are sad because we loved this place. The Indian restaraunt, Bhoj, was wonderful.
BR
Bronwen Safai
We arrived at Kiku a little early for our 8pm reservation and as there were only 2 of us for a Hibachi meal we slipped in with a 7:30 reservation group. Good so far. We were seating at 8:15. By 9:20 our meals were still not served. We had had some lukewarm soup and standard bulk made salad but this only served to increase our appetite. Our seating companions left in disgust. Another 2 tables near us did the same. When the chef finally arrived he was annoyed to be only serving 2 people. Not our fault folks. Then he asked Do you want me to do the volcano?. He did not perform in any way and proceeded to cook his steak on our grill while 2 bus boys hovered at our table talking to themselves and taking away any atmosphere whatsoever. Then an annoying woman started making excuses (not enough staff on) for why it took over 1 1/2 hours to be served and not leaving us alone. We did not go to an expensive restaurant to feel like we were in a food court. The $70 bill (without alcohol) should have been on the house after such poor treatment. Never again. Dont do it. Unless you like expensive food courts.
A
A Private User
My friends & I have Hibachi dinner at Kiku for all of our birthdays. Last night we split the check and I gave our waitress my debit card for our portion. This morning I come to discover that not only were we charged for our portion but for the entire bill AS WELL! When I called I was told the waitress was confused and I am sure it was immediately credited. So why would we not be told that this happened? Why not provide us with a receipt of this transaction? Terrible way to do business and we were not credited after all. We had to fight for everything and at the end the manager did not seem to understand the situation. In addition it was my birthday, my friends planned on having a cake and a small celebration and they screwed it all up not bringing out a cake and not singing to me. The food and atmosphere are usually good but I cannot stomach a place that does this. Additionally the Manager, Kein shim lied to me and told me this was the first time this happened but based on the reviews I am reading about this it has happened plenty of times before. I will never go there again.
