紅虎餃子房有楽町店

(²⁄₅ stars)
Beyond Unilocal 100 Challenge 2015 — 34/​?
Benitora Gyozabo is a chain of restaurants featuring pan-​fried gyoza (long, served in a cast iron rectangular pan) as well as traditional crescent shaped gyoza. They also offer a fairly full menu of stir-​fried dishes, ramen noodles and rice dishes. Overall, they are usually at least three stars, but buyer beware, YMMV and in this particular location, it is definitely the case.
Now to be fair, I’ve visited at least half a dozen of their other locations, plus many visits at all hours for this specific place. Food aside, read on for the highlights and reasons.
Highlights:
+ Service: ¹⁄₅ stars (I’m debating whether I should give zero, but as there were attempts to appear «proper,» I’ll go with one. Details below)
+ Menu: ³⁄₅ (their «bo» (long stick-​like shape) gyoza are the menu highlight. They come out hot and sizzling in the cast iron pan — be careful not to burn yourself on the pan or by the hot juices that squirt out at you take a bite!)(other menu items are average or better as far as Chinese restaurant offerings go. For reasons unknown, they were absent from the menu during this visit and replaced with giant crescent shaped gyozas — quantity per piece was probably similar but the pan-​fried variety are much better and what I was looking forward to)
+ Ambiance: ²⁄₅ (unchanged over the years; obviously they have arranged the tables and chairs to pack in as manu people as possible and «actively» promote table turn. Read details below)
+ Access: ³⁄₅ (you would think being right next to a major train station that access would be at least four stars, but the signage both outside and inside the elevator are confusing and unclear. How many times have I «mistakedly» gone up to the 3^rd floor when the main dining area is actually on the 2^nd floor?)
+ Value: 2.5÷5 (could be closer to 4 stars if the service and ambiance were better; it’s not just about cost!)
+ Quality: 2.5÷5 (according to Unilocal,3 stars is «okay,» so that’s what they get. Presentation and timing could be improved, and as I know how Chinese food is prepared, I can immediately see if a dish has been fried/​steamed/​warmed too long. Room for improvements in this area, for sure)
So let’s go back to service — is it really that bad? Well, there is an obvious push to get customers quickly in and out. I’ve seen this at all hours of the day and seasons. It’s especially bad in the evening when they constantly remind you your time limit is 90 minutes, regardless of whether you’ve made a reservation or not. And no, it is not under the typical restrictions of «all you can eat for 90 minutes.» They push you to order at least one dish and drink per person, then start clearing away dishes without asking just as you’ve finished (and sometimes before!).
During lunchtime, prices are more reasonable, but again, they are pushing for turnover.
Another point is nearly all of the staff appear to be native Chinese. Normally that would add to authenticity of experience. In this case that might apply if you are dining at a literal hole in the wall in the backstreets of Hong Kong, but not in Japan, in the middle of a major urban center. The staff need work in proper Japanese manners, and it’s not just saying the right words, or what sounds like the right sounds. We’re human and can feel degrees of sincerity — none of that here.
Without ranting too much, if you start to ask questions about the menu or variations of the offerings, the waiter/​waitress runs to the back and has a shouting match with a colleague before coming back and flatly refusing to be helpful. Glad I don’t have dietary restrictions!
And a few words about ambiance: There’s sufficient lighting and physical space, but it always feels cramped. I think it’s the number of tables/​chairs they’ve managed to squeeze in here. This time there were short divider barriers running vertically down the center of each square table to provide the illusion of «semi-​private» spaces for two parties of two or one. The problem with this is the table width is still the same, and our chairs and elbows and butts are bumping into each other — literally shoulder to shoulder. Be careful getting out for visiting the restroom or leaving, lest you knock the menu or other items off the table next to you. I should mention that even during the day, it is rather noisy with the kitchen staff shouting at the waitstaff and vice-versa…all the way across the restaurant!
Overall, I really want to like this location more, but the food/​pricing being so-​so is not supported by the ambiance and service. Next time, I’ll choose another restaurant nearby if I want Chinese, or there are always a ton of other offerings.