Sake Lounge

05/20/08

dont waste your time or money

by burns662000

ok, let me start by explaining that i am a former employee... and yes it is true that the owner can not afford to pay his employees. i am a former manager and i have been waiting for over 3 months to get my last two paychecks paid. aside from that, the cleanliness of the restaurant is terrible. one afternoon i took an empty soup bowl from a table back to the kitchen only to find a dead insect under the bowl. i was blown away. i quit the next day. the servers and bartenders are usually very attentive and good workers... the food is... ok... i only gave them one star because its the lowest rating i can give... do not waste your time or money on sake lounge or cafe japon on kirby (owned by same person)

02/02/08

You can go somewhere else for better sushi.

by mngtea7

While the sushi itself is decent, it isn't exactly the best (of course that is highly dependent on WHO makes it that day), and some of the food is okay. The service isn't a problem, at least not from my personal experience. The waiters and waitresses take care of their customers despite the business's failure to pay them which is why I can't give them another star. A friend of mine use to work here, and I've heard about their shady business practices. It's a wonder actually how the restaurant can manage to stay at Bayou Place despite being unable to pay their employees on time or the amount they promise to pay. Wonder where all the money goes.

12/14/07

Worst Restaurant in Houston

by roxychic20

My boyfriend and I went to Sake Lounge last night and we will absolutely NEVER GO BACK! When we walked in, we waited about 10 minutes at the entrance while a line of people formed behind us. The place was not full at all and we had four waiters pass us by, not acknowledging us what-so-ever. I asked if someone could seat us, and the waitress proceeded to answer the phone before walking us to our table. Our waiter was completely unfriendly, the food took forever to come out and I left half of what I had ordered on my plate. The waiter disappeared and didn't check on us for about 20 minutes and in the mean time, some friends had joined us. They had to walk over to the bar to get drinks because the waiter was off probably standing around talking with the rest of the wait staff. When our waiter finally returned, we asked for our bill, and asked him if he could split the bill in half, but he walked off without letting us finish our request. When he returned we asked if he could send the manager over, and in any other NORMAL restaurant, if one makes such a request, the manager is usually over in a flash. Not this one! It took him 15 minutes to come to our table and he was the most incompetent manager I've ever encountered. We told him our horror story, and he at no time attempted to apologize. He said he would take the gratuity off and split the bill. 20 minutes later, I had to walk up to the front to get our bill because I couldn't imagine what could be taking so long. He split up the bill by putting the food on one and drinks on the other which we did not want. We paid and got the heck out of there and we hope we made ourselves clear that we would NEVER return. I never write reviews, but this experience definitely made me want to spread the word about this awful place. Please, save yourself the anxiety and go somewhere else, anywhere else! Sake Lounge needs to be closed down, that's how bad it is.

• Pros: None
• Cons: Everything

11/30/07

Not the Same

by cfyjnkyliz

Sake Lounge used to be busy busy busy and have good sushi, sadly this is no longer the case. A girlfriend and I visited around 8pm on a Friday night and were one of three other parties, not only were we thrown off by that but outdoor seating is no longer available, even though tables and chairs (minus seats) line the sidewalk. The hostess was very rude but the waiter did his best to please us. We started with cocktails which tasted like cough syrup. The veggie tempura was tasty but when it came time to order sushi we discovered they were out of ebi!!! How does a sushi restaurant run out of shrimp? I will not be returning.

• Pros: tasty food
• Cons: everything else

10/12/07

DON'T @ SAKE LOUNGE!!!

by shawn1968

THIS PLACE IS A JOKE!!! AVOID IT LIKE THE PLAGUE, I WAS JUST IN THERE TONIGHT. I ORDERED THREE THINGS OFF THE MENU....25 MINUTES LATER I ASKED THE WAITER AT THE FRONT COUNTER WHERE MY ORDER WAS. HE WENT TO ASK THE CHEF HOW LONG IT WOULD BE ONLY TO RETURN TO TELL ME THE KITCHEN NEVER RECIEVED THE ORDER. GUESS WHAT? I WAS THE ONLY CUSTOMER IN THERE. IT WAS DEAD. I HAD TO GO ALL THE WAY OVER TO CAFE JAPON ON KIRBY (SISTER RESTAURAUNT) TO TELL THEM WHAT HAD HAPPENED. THEY BARELY LISTENED!! THEY COULD BARELY BE BOTHERED TO APOLOGIZE!! THERE ARE TOO MANY GREAT SUSHI PLACES IN HOUSTON. SAKE LOUNGE CONTINUES TO GET SCATHING REVIEWS BECAUSE THE SERVICE IS SO LOUSY. WANT A NICE NIGHT OUT? PICK ANOTHER PLACE. THE BAR/WAITSTAFF ARE LAZY EVEN WHEN THERE IS NOBODY IN THERE. THUMBS DOWN!! STEER CLEAR!!

• Pros: NONE
• Cons: TOO MANY