Uoman Otaruekimaehonten

Had initially made our way to another restaurant but it was closing as we arrived. There were quite a few that closed around 8.30pm as well. As we did not wish to walk back to the Otaru Canal area, we decided to just pop into any restaurant we find along the way back to our hotel. Came across this... restaurant where there were two greeters waiting outside the Restaurant to usher you in. Decided to try out this place. We were brought to level 2 where you are required to remove your shoes before being shown your seats which were Japanese style. Not too bad as we were seated at a low table with a recessed flooring. Saw some customers smoking and asked for a non-smoking section. Thewaitress seemed flustered and ended up putting us at a corner which fortunately was not too smoky. There was a huge menu on the table and we were given an iPad to order our food with. Put through an order for yakisoba, 3-variety salmon rice bowl and a deluxe sashimi assortment. Played around with the iPad and discovered Free Services where you could order cold water, hot tea, change of plates, etc. We then out though an order for 2 glasses of cold water. Our food arrived shortly and it tasted alright. However our water was not served and we re-ordered another 2 glasses mid way through our meal. By the time we finished our dinner which was a good half an hour since our first order, we were still waiting for our water. This time, we rang the call button and asked the waitress directly for the water which finally arrived. However upon almost finishing the water, realised there was some food debris in the water. Yikes! Didn’t want to make a fuss and we quickly asked for the bill and got out of there. Once at the hotel, upon closer inspection of the receipt, discovered an additional charge of JPY876. Is this the cover charge that was mentioned in some reviews ? Also, we realised that on the ipad, the original price for an item eg deluxe sashimi assortment was JPY988 and there was another price of JPY1087 indicated as well. We were charged based on JPY1087 and there was a further 10% added which is likely the tax. Not sure what the additional charges are for but we definitely will not be back.

Visited February 2020

Here's a recap of my short meal there : As soon as I tried to enter, a teenager chewing gum blocked my path with his arm, and pointed at the cover fee without saying a word. Fine, but it could be presented in a more polite way. When eating, I could see another member of the staff and a customer lau...ghing at me for whatever reason. I just left without finishing my dish. It sums up Otaru : An overpriced tourist trap.

Visited May 2019

Pros - Friendly and helpful staff - Easy to find location - Warm atmosphere - Fun using barbecue Cons - Cover charge - Food is average - Little overpriced

Visited May 2018