Today I had a deplorable customer service experience with Tokyo Wako on Sunday, June 2, 2024. Despite being a loyal customer for several years and even recommending the service to family members, I was shocked by the decline in service quality. The lack of care, unresponsiveness, rudeness, and overall disregard for customer loyalty left me deeply disappointed. It is evident that customer care is non-existent at Tokyo Wako, and loyalty no longer holds any importance to them. The negative reviews on Yelp platform reflects the deteriorating state of customer service at Tokyo Wako, and it seems like the company is not making efforts to address these issues. What really made the experience an "all-time" worst was the ladies restroom. The water was coming up from the sewer drain and flowing out into the restaurant area. The waiter told us before we sat down that for a party of 9 or more there's an 18% imposed gratuity. Not once, but three times. From the hostess to the manager, the first impression was less than desirable. Customer service is a lost entity. I believe there needs to be training on how to engage with customers in all situations. Being culturally sensitive and aware of the clients you serve is key. Without customers your business FAILS! I think management needs to re-evaluate its practice, protocols, and procedures to better serve its customers. A customer should be satisfied with their experience, not outraged. Do better, Tokyo Wako. Hire "secret shoppers," to examine what the people at large are saying! read more

I attended a birthday luncheon here for my niece and we were fortunate enough to have a whole big room (4 teppanyaki grills & 4 chefs) to ourselves. It was my first time at Tokyo Wako and I enjoyed the food and show. As with most Teppanyaki places, the emphasis is on the delivery and presentation of the food. It's more of the same here. I ordered the Wako Lunch combination of emperor steak and calamari. The chef worked his presentation with first making the fried rice... He had the spinning egg trick and flip down to a science. He was entertaining. He even shaped the fried rice into a big heart when he was done. He asked us that ordered steak what temperature we wanted ours and mine was a perfect medium. I enjoyed the meat and its flavor being cooked on the hibachi. I also liked the calamari steak which took a little while to cook because of its thickness but it was worth the wait. The grilled vegetables, fried rice and requisite miso soup and salad were all good. I have no complaints about the food. I enjoyed it all. The dipping sauces were also tasty. Service was good. Chef was entertaining and waiter service was decent. Tokyo Wako has a huge space at Paseo Colorado. It's worth checking out if you have some time to sit down for a meal. read more

Was invited to a dinner here on a weeknight so it was pretty quiet. There was enough of us that we got a table to ourselves. Hibachi cooking definitely needs a little energy from a crowd, it's like watching a comedy by yourself, the reaction of others is what makes it worth going to. Also, Tuesday is probably the Hibachi version of 'showcase' night. The chef didn't say a word, went and did tricks but nothing else. I suppose you're wondering why I'm missing the lack of dad jokes but it's kind of weird to be watching stuff passively like it was Netflix or something. The food though was fine. I ordered the filet, like an idiot. I did say how I would like my steak to be cooked, but with so many different things going on it was a little overdone. Despite that though, the food was pretty good, the ginger salad dressing was decent and it was a good amount of food for dinner. read more

Food, bad. Service, bad . Ambience, bad. Price, bad. Menu, terrible. sad . so sad. I need to add more characters. I'm still very sad. read more

Chain restaurant gotten mediocre. The portions have gotten pretty small compared to past years. Family of 5. The bill was $185. Seems pretty high to not even have enough for left overs. Adios Tokyo 2 years later. It's gotten worse. The pandemic has not been kind. The vibe is neo mid century ghost town. My prediction is this location will be closed within a year. read more

The sashimi was very fresh, the wait was on it. The teppanyaki tables were boisterous and sounded fun.

I swear this place is seating upon seating upon seating. They have just the restaurant part and also the show where the food is cooked in front of you. I had lunch here for the show. When the chef arrives he brings all that he needs to cook on his cart and gets on his way to cooking. I ordered the noodles with scallops, fish and beef. The food wasn't bad at all. You come here for the show and it's not a bad deal. The waiters and waitresses were attentive and make you feel welcomed. They also have validated parking underneath the mall. read more

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I'll never forget my experience here. We went with our family and as soon as the bill came and my husband tipped a generous amount the waiter asked my husband why he tipped that amount. He said you need to tip me more. I'm very disappointed in this place. read more

Chose to get this on my lunch break , I don't know if its because I ordered the wrong thing but I ordered a Scallop Dynamite and it really can be a Hit or Miss.. sadly it was a miss and was just off with the burned masago.. I also ordered a salmon avocado roll, which is not easy to mess up, but it was good.. not bad hopefully I have a better experience when Dining in to give a second try! Not Knocking it but not my fav sushi's read more

Great food, service, location, and great drinks (full bar) but the lychee martini was my fave. Definitely going back!

Good Tepan style food, service and ambiance. Nice for families and friends. Has sushi bar, regular Japanese dining area and small nice bar.

Food was tasty, but if you have the ability to walk down the block, you should. Sorry folks, this one is for the Mall of Americans. Ciao read more

Tokyo Wako Restaurant - Half Eaten Chicken Friend Rice - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

Tepanyaki heaven!!! I've been coming here since I was 12 years old. It's a family favorite. Normally I don't like going to tepanyaki because of the waits, the fact that you must make a reservation, all other factors. With Tokyo Wako you can walk in and have Tepanyaki for lunch or dinner at ease. No need for a reservation, at least for lunch, maybe recommended on a Friday or Saturday night. They must have 50 tepanyaki tables that can seat 12 comfortably. Prices are unbeatable, tepanyaki chefs are on point, each have their own special touch. Truthfully I have not had anything else besides their tepanyaki, therefore I cannot comment on that. Their tepanyaki is fantastic though. They are generously staffed and service is always effortlessly on point. Family friendly, date night friendly, friendly to friends friendly lol. It's a good time. Their recipes haven't changed at all. If you're dining for lunch I highly recommend their 3 combo tepanyaki and upgrade to a fried rice. My personal favorite combo is shrimp, scallops and emperor's steak medium rare, $20 plus $4 up charge for fried rice. Price for tepanyaki is per person during lunch. They might have packaged deals for large parties. I love how flexible and organized their menu is. Expert tip: call and reserve a private room in advance if desired. Parking is below and tons of parking garages around. read more

We have been going here for years. Different Name, Same Game but not quite Benihana but not Benihana prices. Pretty good, marginally Japanese-style food and ambiance. The chef does "his thing" in front of us. The food was good and our group enjoyed our dinner show. When the chef arrives he brings all that he needs to cook on his cart and gets on his way to cooking. I ordered the teriyakeli steak with chicken fried rice. The kids had Ninja Chicken and Shrimp. We come here for the show and it's not a bad deal. The waiters and waitresses were attentive and make you feel welcomed. They also have validated parking underneath the mall. read more

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Came here for lunch with my co-worker during our lunch break the other day and we were one out of three tables that were being serviced at around 12:45PM (so it was empty). I ordered a soup udon and my co-worker ordered a bento lunch with beef. The waitress asked her how she wanted her beef cooked- she said medium rare. We waited 40 minutes for our food to come out- when we asked the waitress for an update, she asked if we were in a hurry. Um? Regardless, shouldn't take 40 minutes for a soup udon l (it's literally chicken and napa udon). My co-workers lunch, meanwhile, came with Salmon instead of beef (didn't know salmon could be served medium rare), but we had only 20 minutes left to eat by that time, let along have time to ask for a fix. We decided we weren't going to come back again. At one point, the second (out of three) table next to us said "how about you stop chit chatting and come take our order instead", lol. It's Pasadena. You can find way better restaurants (including Japanese cuisine) somewhere else. read more

Tokyo Wako Restaurant - This look 40 minutes to make and serve. Chicken and napa udon. - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

Coming to see a movie and wanted something good, fresh and fast to eat! What could be better than having a chef cook your food right in front of you? Both of us opted for the scallops and steak for lunch. They first brought out a small salad with ginger dressings and soup. Both were delicious. Our chef came out and did his magic with the fork and spatula. We've been here before but the tricks never get old. The fire volcano was the best. The fried rice is always great and then onto the steak and scallops. I had my steak rare and it was juicy! The accompanying grilled vegetables and the yum sauce were divine! We will be coming back! read more

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Came here for a company holiday party and had a great time. We were seated at the corner table overlooking the Green street shops, so we enjoyed a nice view with our dinner. Like most teppanyaki restaurants, this is the more drawn out dinner highlighted with flashy cooking from the chef. Service was pretty attentive and there's plenty of parking at the Paseo. Unfortunately, we came during a busy holiday weekend so I had to use the lot on Los Robles and green street instead of the underground lot. I ordered the hibachi chicken but also tasted the gyoza, fried calamari, truffle butter edamame, chicken fried rice. Hibachi chicken- this was decent. What made the whole meal delicious was the sauce that was provided Gyoza- these were good. Good quality. Not the best I've had but pretty good Fried calamari- came with a dipping sauce that was pretty tasty. Cooked well as well Chicken fried rice- this complemented the entrees very well. Definitely recommend having the fried rice with your meals Truffle butter edamame- it's good. Didn't taste a huge difference between typical edamame provided by other Japanese restaurants. It's warm, buttery, and a bit more salty. Not much different They provided a soup and salad as well. This was the only bummer of the night. The soup and salad weren't that great. Not because they weren't fresh, but because it just didn't taste good. Dressing wasn't great on the salad, and the soup was too salty. Overall, I really enjoyed the experience here. The restaurant provides a great atmosphere to socialize in large parties and also provide some entertainment along with a good dining experience. I would recommend going to this place for large groups. read more

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TWR is hidden in the back, top level of paseo Colorado.. And it should be kept back there nice hidden. Their redeeming traits are that service was really friendly and their happy hour prices look tempting -- for drinking only, not eating. Despite good happy hour pricing, which we didn't know about till we got there, I'd skip food cause of the food poisoning from our lunch. That salmon was beautifully presented but for an 18$ pre tax n tip lunch, you think it'd be fresh enough to avoid being keeled over the toilet all afternoon. Yowza They do have reasonably priced lunch specials that change each weekday but prob still isn't worth getting the sickies. I vote to keep this chain in its place - all by itself, so lonely n sad so it doesn't make anybody else sick booooo read more

Tokyo Wako Restaurant - Miso salmon was "seared" -- that is, too raw and makes ya sick. Comes w a yummy house soup n salad tho - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

Pretty much just came here to kill some time and suck down a few sake bombs before hit the town!! You would think when you order salmon you the fish would come succulent and or sauced up instead it came dry as fuck and you have to ask for some find of sauce. Coming from an executive chef standpoint, I would make sure the fish a serve would look enticing. read more

The atmosphere is very cool, everything else about this restaurant- not so. It's downtown Pasadena and has a breathtaking view. This restaurant opens at 5pm, however my coworkers and I were locked out until 5:10. Once we got in we sat by the bar and our waiter started taking our orders immediately and skipped one of my coworkers. I ordered a bento box, and it took 25 minutes for them to cook. After 15 minutes they served us miso soup as our appetizer. The Miso was okay, wasn't hot. When our food finally came out.. the Teriyaki Chicken tasted very basic, Panda Express has tastier chicken. My RICE, wasn't even cooked. I was literally eating hard rice and told them just to give me another batch of rice. Their manager asked me if I wanted Brown rice instead it would come out in 5 min, and I said no I just want cooked white rice. So she said yes and 3 min later came out with the rice and it was cooked. The very small bento box came out to be $25 The portion is very small and trust me you'll be happier and Panda Express or Yoshimo or any fast food (and I don't eat fast food). read more

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I'm getting more and more disappointed with this place because they don't put on a show anymore. Either they're getting lazy or can't find someone with the skills. The older Asian guy thinks he's a comedian so he talks way more than he cooks. The Hispanic guy is slightly better but he's a lot more reserved and quiet. Prices remain to be the same, if not more due to inflation, but they try to entice you with their new Happy Hour menu from 5-7pm. It's cheap but the quality isn't the best. Very simple, typical, generic flavor. What you expect from a sushi-to-go menu. One thing I did notice about this place is that they love to put butter in everything. Lots and lots of butter, and salt. Don't let the small portions fool you. It'll fill you up real quick. And make you super, super thirsty. read more

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The location is good.inside the shopping mall. Staff is very welcoming and nice. Food is good . Bento is better than udon. read more

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Yay!! Happy hour at paseo mall! M-Friday 5p-7p, order calamari $3, beer $2.50, spicy tuna roll $3.50, etc..nice atmosphere. Totally worth Happy Hour, super cheap..... Seems like theres alot of plain reviews for the benihanna grills, BUT I didn't touch that stuff....reviewing only the just discovered awesome HAPPY HOUR! #cheap #decent = #goodtimes #movie or #shopping + #happyhour #snacks = #happywallet Happy Hour Recommendations: 1. CHEAP DRINKS, beer, wine, hot sake, etc... 2. CALAMARI Bigger than alot of place's portion served with sauce that has hint of ginger in it 3. FRIED CHICKEN - Not American style drumsticks, different batter, plus juicy with fat in areas served with some type of mayo - They even give spicy mayo sauce, requested by my friend 4. SPICY TUNA ROLL - Actually has the taste of spiciness, small and good snack bites. Other recommended roll: Alaskan Roll (I took pictures) *Critics ~ Not for hardcore sushi goers, its a simple nice atmosphere eating place. Great for eating with bosses, colleagues, family, friends and dates. *Atmosphere ~ Probably like RA but bigger, more grand and nicer. This restaurant is pretty big. Private rooms for the people doing that benihanna style cook eating stuff. Lights above each table, lots of breathing room, med-high ceiling, good amount of windows. Modern Somewhat Hip Crisp Clean place, not a party joint but not a dull joint. Perfectly in the middle. Guess Original Tokyo Wako locations use to be celebrity hang out spots, reason these restaurants look and feel like the LA or the valley type of restaurants. *Service ~ Decent, I guess for happy hour they don't provide as much. But I was told to find a lady named JENNIFER, known to usually provided the best service there.... unfortunately I guess she doesn't work Thursday nights so we lucked out. *Location ~ At Paseo Mall (Outdoor Pasadena Mall off Colorado, near Old Town Pasadena). Walking distance to Old Town Pasadena 10min or less. *Parking ~ At Paseo Mall Parking Lot, validated parking. First time here, hidden happy hour place recommended by a friend....not hidden anymore since its advertised everywhere now. But yeah, read alot of reviews and seems like a simple place......although that benihana entertainment food style is similar to other places, this place is nicer setting. Lots of room here and prettier. What can you really expect for these prices? Happy hour quality, yum snacks after/before your movie or shopping! So yes COME FOR HAPPY HOUR!!! Awesome prices! =) Great place to snack, yes I said snack..... American style type of sushi but not fusion. SWEETpeas~! We got coupons for next time: Spend $10 next time and get $5 off coupons. I guess we spent over $25, so we get that coupon. Our group spent over $60 so we got two of them. read more

Manager was very mean! No customer service. Waitress said that we could split the check among our 4 parties. She said at the end no only could be divided in two which cause embarrass all with our friends from abroad. Very bad service. We have visited this place before and never saw this new manager! read more

Came here for lunch on a Wednesday. They have a different weekday special M-F for $9.99. Wednesday happened to be chicken teriyaki so I ordered that. It comes in a cute bento box with steamed rice, salad and 4 California rolls. You can substitute steamed rice for fried rice for an extra $3.50. The chicken teriyaki was extremely hard and dry. The chicken was charred on the outside as if it were over cooked. The fried rice was good, and the California rolls were decent. I came here previously for dinner and the quality of the food was a big difference! Maybe because for lunch the prices are cheaper.. And dinner is about double the price. But it's probably not even worth coming for lunch because the quality of food is horrible. Huge restaurant - never had to wait for a table. It's not the easiest restaurant to get to. It's in the corner by Mrs. Fields on the 2nd floor of Paseo. Park underground for 2 hr free with validation from TW. read more

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Tried to make reservation for me and my family but was told first come first serve......when I arrived they tell us they can't seat us because they're not taking non reservations which is a lie because people were coming in left and right .....maybe because we had little kids idk but either way I'll never come back here I feel like she always gives us a hard time no matter how good of a tip I've left every time but every time it's a struggle to get a table read more

Average at best compared to other similar type teppan restaurants. Portions good, service average, taste average. My shrimp tasted like they had freezer burn and the NY steak was a bit tough. I did not try the ginger sauce but instead doubled up on the creamy sauce. Bad choice. It had little flavor. The chef was on the boring side from a performance/theatrical standpoint. I think I would try one of their competitors next time. read more

I came during lunch, and it was pretty empty which was good because it was relaxing. I had the alaskan roll, tuna cut roll and bento box. The sushi makes the bento box look bad. The steak from the bento box was kinda hard and chewy. The salad dressing was different not what I'm used to in terms of a Japanese restaurant as far as how normally its a ginger dressing. The rice wasn't rice bit maybe quinoa or brown rice. The alaskan roll was delicious though. So if I ever decide to come back it'll maybe be for sushi or their habachi. Zach was my server/ waiter. He was very polite, attentive and respectful. If you come ask for him, you wont be disappointed with your service. read more

Tokyo Wako Restaurant - Teriyaki beef bento box - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

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We are a very frequent customer the food is amazing and we decided to come at 8pm they guaranteed us A seat we waited till 8:35 for them to not give us food and not even seat us and tell us to leave. There are 2 people working and the owner of the restaurant is the bar tender. The food is amazing but the accommodations terrible read more

Tokyo wako is so much better than any other Japanese grill you will try. For starters the Pasadena location is just super nice. The vaulters ceilings and open space make it so much less claustrophobic than Benihana's. You don't leave there smelling like food either. The quality of meat and shrimp is also great. Their sushi is not bad either, not gourmet but decent. Some chefs are better than others, but if you get a good one and tell him how you like your food, the experience is excellent. We enjoy coming here with a group of friends. It's ok for a date, but it's much better with a group of people. I always get the steak and jumbo shrimp. It's amazing! read more

This is a restaurant that extended family members love and always want to go to for birthdays. To me, the meat is always a bit dry and the portions don't fit the price. But there are worse places to go, and the soup and veggies aren't bad. The bathrooms could also be improved. read more

This Tokyo Wako is better than the Arcadia branch; we had plastic texture chicken last time at the one on Huntington. The taste of food really depends on the chef, and you never know which chef you will get. We were lucky this Wednesday for lunch to have Chef Julio cook for us. The filet mignon is cooked to a perfect medium rare and the shrimps and scallops were succulent. The fried rice was also very tasty. Overall, if you get a good chef, the meal will be good as the meat/seafood quality is good. read more

Tokyo Wako Restaurant - Yummy salad and dipping sauces. - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

Food is not bad, but is pretty pricy. I paid 17 bucks for 7 pieces of sashimi. My wife ordered salmon wrapped scallops, which is a cool concept but the salmon was very over-baked and tasted like salmon does when you leave it in the oven for too long while baking at home. The baked green mussels weren't all that great. Service is pretty good, friendly if a bit inattentive at times. There are lots of places to get good Japanese style food, and based on my experience here, I wouldn't recommend this one over a regular sushi place. read more

Tokyo Wako Restaurant - Baked green mussels - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

Fun family environment with good food. The Chefs usually prepare the meal the way we want it. Wacko Wacko special is the best, make sure you ask for ribeye if you don't like New York steak. I don't like eggs in my fried rice so I don't get it, but it does have chicken. My favorite is the ginger dressing in the salad which you can buy from the restaurant. Me do my favorite restaurants in Pasadena area. read more

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I Love tokyo wako I love the food the best one is Avocado Rolls!!!!!!!!!'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. read more

Late evening and we decided to stop by for a few drinks and appetizers. The atmosphere was nice, the place hardly any customers. Food we had was ok. I'd like to go back to try something different. Nothing spectacular really struck out. Other than the two people who tripped and fell on the floor with their drinks. That's enough booze for you guys. read more

SLOW, SLOW, SLOW! Did I say slow???? Omg I came here tonight and was so excited because we sat down right away. I was like how perfect is this! Well I'm assuming sushi is raw and doesn't require cooking so it should be quick right? No way!!! I ordered a firecracker roll and sashimi. Oh and I also got a soup. Anyway, I got my miso soup after 10 minutes which wasn't bad. But the sushi took over 40 minutes. By the time I got it it was so cold!!! J/k but seriously this place was not busy. Maybe about 30 people so I don't understand why it took so long. Also, when I asked why it took so long the server said because the kitchen is busy. I mean really??? I was so disappointed and upset that I won't be returning. Sorry I like my sushi fresh. Not 40 minutes late. read more

Tokyo Wako Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

Very disappointed! We used to love coming here for lunch or dinner. However, this time, the food quality (specifically the filet mignon) was terrible. It had a very funny smell to it and was mushy/weird consistency. They tried to cook us another one, but it had the same issue. That completely ruined the experience. Just thinking about the smell of the meat makes me nauseous. No thank you. I will NEVER go here again. read more

I was honestly so excited to come here, until I actually came here. I have had so much better bento boxes at other places. The salad didn't have enough dressing and tasted so bland. The chicken teriyaki was cut into little pieces and I was only given maybe at most 15 little pieces of chicken. I don't even know if I could call it chicken teriyaki because there really wasn't any teriyaki sauce and it was so dry. My group came in at 1pm thinking that we would pay the $11 lunch bento box price, but was so surprised when we were charged the dinner price. We asked why and it was because it was Fathers Day and that's apparently a holiday. We ended up paying $21.75 for a bento box which is WAYYYY too overpriced for what we received. I wish there was a sign or a worker to tell us that all the prices were going to be dinner prices, but we didn't get that. I honestly feel so bad for suggesting this place to my friends that day. It's a nice, clean restaurant in a good location but their food is not up to par. read more

This was only okay; I've had worse sushi. I'd opt for speciality rolls, stay away from the tempura shrimp and calamari app, breading and quality wasn't there. Cons: There was a ton of runny cream cheese in the philly roll. I feel like service was inattentive despite an entirely empty restaurant at lunch time. Plus the apps mentioned above, breading isn't good. Pros: The spicy mayo is great and the waiter was friendly. The crunchy tempura roll was good. Also it was close to where we are staying. Rice is good too. Overall, I probably would go elsewhere for sushi though read more