Restaurant Rukureru

Wasn't too bad but had a difficult time ordering a beer so skipped it. Maybe it's difficult beings I don't speak Japanese. Good variety of various options.

Visited September 2015

I had been looking forward to going to Le Clair based on the ratings here; I also thought its location within the Keio Plaza Hotel gave an indication of the quality to expect. Perhaps it was a sign when the front desk clerk did not know which restaurant had the Hawaiian buffet. Once we found it on t...he second floor, we saw tables covered with tablecloths. When we were seated, we realized the tablecloth was made of plastic. We should have taken a look at the buffet before we decided to stay; we won't make that mistake again! Although the two side salads were decent and the sweet potatoes were good, the green salad was not fresh and not all that green. It was scattered with corn. The bread was stale. The crab legs must have come from rather young crabs. Another table held a huge fish head, which looked popular. The table also had chirashi zushi; when it was refreshed, the remains of the first platter were dumped unattractively into the new one. The "hot" dishes were barely lukewarm. The fish and pork were curled and dry. Other dishes in this section included small fried drumsticks, slivers of "tortilla pizza", greasy egg rolls, pineapple fried rice, tiny hamburgers labeled as loco moco, and curry. Two bowls sat above these chafing dishes; one with ketchup and the other with mustard. The mustard was cracked and had formed brown crusts. The dessert section was a little better. The brownies topped with nuts and pumpkin seeds were the best part of the whole buffet. There was fruit (grapefruit, orange, soggy melon, and pineapple), various types of cake, some kind of custard, and bananas, marshmallows, and toasted bread for the chocolate fountain. The self-service soft-serve ice cream was half melted before I returned to our table. The toppings offered for the ice cream were chocolate crisped rice, corn flakes, and coffee. The service was the worst we have ever experienced in Japan. Only one of the staff, a waitress, smiled. There was a small cart with a large silver dome that hid the roast beef. The meat was periodically uncovered and carved into small slices and served with demi glace. We saw one diner wait as the beef was slowly carved by one of the younger staff and placed on small dishes. The person carving ignored her and continued to carve without finishing the dishes with the sauce. She continued to wait. Finally my husband went up to the cart, took a dish, and ladled the sauce on his roast beef himself and then she did the same. We waited for refills on water; just about every server (including the person who appeared to be in charge of the dining area) passed our table: we were very near the buffet. While the restaurant is large, there are not that many tables. We decided to see how long it would take for someone to notice. Some servers picked up our plates, but no one brought water. We ended up taking a pitcher from the serving station for our table. We also saw a waiter (the same person who took a turn at carving and making customers wait) carry out a dish, holding one end with one hand and the other end on his hip, He was holding serving tongs with his other hand and letting them bang against his apron, which was not very sanitary. Perhaps 3,500 yen per person is not a lot of money for a buffet dinner at the Keio Plaza Hotel. However, there are other restaurants in the area where people can have a much better dining experience for the same price or less.

Visited July 2013