St. Petersburg is truly a city laid down for balls and holidays. And do not be confused by the gray rainy gloom, puddles and the piercing wind from the Neva. From the subway or from the car, on foot or on a hoverboard, sooner or later, everyone finds themselves in a single cultural space of exhibitions and meetings, cinema and theaters, museums, monuments of architecture and art. It is impossible to pass by. This masquerade of colors, sounds, trends, styles, characters and fates in itself is a work of art, "Paradise".
It is not surprising that the restaurant chain with the bright name Tokyo City appeared in such an extraordinary place.
"Tokyo City"
This is a chain restaurant. Forty establishments of this brand are in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region, several more - in Riga. The geography of presence is gradually expanding. The site does not contain information about its owners, their contacts, but, from time to time, there are reports on the Internet that they also own the restaurant chain of Uzbek cuisine “Bakhroma” and “City Confectionery No. 1”.
Style
Arriving at the Victoria, Spar, Magnit or other supermarkets, the interior decoration customers of their halls immediately see which network they belong to.
McDonald's, Bistro are also recognizable places of public catering both externally and internally.
Restaurants “Tokyo City” at first is only related by the menu and the sign, because each one has its own unique look.
But then comes the perception of the general - the feeling of a European country house. Walls of old red brick or its imitation, but giving a feeling of warmth, a lot of light. Two-seat sofas, with pillows on them, in combination with chandeliers or lamps hanging from the ceiling. Instead of ceilings - more often brutal technical equipment. Bookcases on illuminated shelves. Potted flowers between rows of sofas or on windows. Space and volume. The style resembles a loft or eclecticism with high-tech elements.
The room tends to get away even from a hint of standard perception as a catering institution, where those sitting at tables elbows hurt each other and jerk from the shocks of those who walk past the aisle. Sounds background music. There is wi-fi, a children's room with toys.
Menu
Judging by the name, this is a themed Japanese restaurant. But it was not there. Indeed, Japanese cuisine is prepared here. But, according to reviews, in "Tokyo City" you can also find Italian, Chinese, Russian, European cuisine.
The food system, judging by the site, and by the reviews, in Tokyo City is as layered as a cake: firstly, it is multinational. In Russia, and in a city such as St. Petersburg especially, food establishments have to take into account the multinational composition of the population, different food traditions.
Secondly, Tokyo City dishes are oriented to a very different wallet: here complex works worthy of gourmet coexist with shawarma and hamburgers, borsch and salads. There is even a fitness menu. An impressive wine list.
Moreover, the restaurant delivers pizza, lunch, pies in St. Petersburg and the region. From employees of Tokyo City (St. Petersburg) there are fewer reviews on delivery work than from buyers, but they have something in common.
As can be seen from the organization of space, decor, style decisions, as well as the menu, the organizers of the Tokyo City project decided to “kill” several birds with one stone, as they prepared a convenient resting place not only for different social layers and social groups, but also for different ages. Therefore, in the evenings there are always a lot of young people relaxing in whole companies. According to reviews, the restaurant is never crowded, and there are always free tables.
Inhabitants from nearby houses rejoice at the opening of new branches of this restaurant - now you don’t have to do long sorties into the city to just spend your free time. Some are used to having their own dinners here so as not to cook at home.
Employees at nearby offices order lunches at Tokyo City. Pizza, according to reviews, is popular. Thus, there is no need to bring food from home or eat dry food.
Judging by the reviews, “Tokyo City” is becoming a salvation for citizens who need to meet unexpected guests. There is almost always free space here, you do not have to try to book it in advance.
It seems that the emphasis here is not on the tastes of gourmets, but of the “simple” working population, perhaps infrequently, but who was abroad and got acquainted with the local cuisine. It's nice to meet your favorite dish at home. Here everyone can find their own pocket and taste something attractive. This place is not for the elite, but for everyone. Perhaps this is the concept of chain restaurants.
As it turned out, the restaurant chain periodically updates the menu. An unpleasant surprise for regular customers who “only here” buy their favorite dish and come only for it is its disappearance. In reviews, such complaints often flash. But what to do? The menu should be updated at least a little to interest new visitors. Will have to diversify their tastes.
Working hours
Office workers, employees of enterprises of various patterns of ownership, their bosses, families with children, youth companies, as well as city guests can come to the network of these restaurants at any time convenient for them, established by the schedule of a particular department.
For many, the work in Tokyo City, according to the reviews of its employees, is located next to their house, which is great convenience, not to be late, because restaurants open at lunch from 11-12 hours. Closing time is sometimes a deep night. The mode of operation depends on the location of the institution and the day of the week. There is no single time. What is the reason for this variety of schedules is hard to say right away.
Perhaps the managers somehow calculated the most “profitable time” for each restaurant from the network, which determined the work schedule.
Indeed, in the morning it would never occur to anyone to come to a restaurant for breakfast. Even the most businesslike and richest people, in the morning, God forbid, have time to drink only a cup of coffee, and go.
Everyone needs lunch: at this time, non-working housewives with children wake up, employees rush to get their lunch, and also grab it for their boss. In the afternoon city streets are busy. It's time to open up.
And in the evening and closer to night, the city is freed from worries about work and study, and needs a rest, a change of scenery. Then teenagers come here, couples in love, vacationing companies, employees who have finished their working day, and so on.
Visitors noted a lot in their reviews, but never criticized the mode of operation of restaurants of this network.
Home order
Sore spot "Tokyo City" - delivery. According to reviews, in St. Petersburg you can wait a "tasty" one and a half hours and even more, despite the stated hour. This feature is worth considering. If the order is scheduled for an important occasion or date, it must be done not end-to-end, but in advance.
Most often in the evening order pizza, sushi. In the afternoon, lunches and pies are added to this set. Although this division is relative.
When ordering a home, you need to understand that the Tokyo City restaurant, according to visitors, is a popular place, and their order is not the only one. And the city of St. Petersburg is rather big. Therefore, the declared delivery hour is also a relative concept and depends on traffic jams, congestion in the kitchen, and organizational issues. Therefore, being late with order delivery is far from uncommon for this restaurant. Perhaps if there are more branches, the speed of this service will improve.
Of course, any dish tastes better than freshly prepared. But the cooled food delivered is not all the problems that the customer may encounter. Judging by the reviews, Tokyo City may:
- bring the wrong number of servings, spoons, forks, napkins;
- deliver the wrong order at all;
- to forget the terminal for the possibility of paying by card - then you have to look for cash, and if the action takes place at night, this situation becomes doubly uncomfortable.
This happens irregularly, but it happens. In the event that it turns out to prove to the company that the violation was on their part (to send a photo of the order to their email), the employees will most likely agree and rectify the situation by bringing in the remaining or replacing the dish. No “excusable” additional servings or dishes, discount cards should be expected.
It is important to check the order before eating it, especially if there is an allergy to certain products, even if the restaurant was warned in advance of their inadmissibility. Complaints about errors in the preparation of dishes for the order and its collection take place, which caused the health of customers to suffer.
Judging by the reviews of Tokyo City in St. Petersburg, the quality of food delivered to your home does not differ from that provided to a client who is waiting at the table: they praise and scold both.
Payment on delivery
"Tokyo City" in St. Petersburg, according to reviews, delivery is carried out by a special courier. You can pay for the order brought to your home directly to the courier: in cash or at a special terminal - by credit card. This convenience is highly appreciated by users of restaurant delivery services.
There is an option to pick up cooked food from the restaurant itself and pay on the spot both in cash and by bank transfer.
Quality
The taste, freshness of the ingredients, the observance of storage and sanitation standards, the skill and experience of the cook are the components of a quality dish.
It is generally accepted that a peculiar gradation has developed, according to which the dining room is worse than a cafe, and that, in turn, is lower in level than a restaurant. Yes, and restaurants are different.
All this is true and false at the same time. Each gourmet will say that in a quality manner, in compliance with all norms and rules, you can cook food only at home, from products grown in your own garden and on the farm. In any other place you can stumble upon a violation of the rules. The dishes may come across something that they should never be. Hence the complaints of visitors. Although, in general, the quality of food preparation in Tokyo City by visitors is considered normal, acceptable. The cases of poisoning described in the reviews are rare.
If customers complain about food, they most often say that they didn’t like that the kimchi soup looked like a miso soup. But this is a matter of taste. Regulars of this restaurant chain have long noticed that in one place they can cook more spicy food, in another - leaner. Not everyone likes this inconstancy, but it’s the cost of the network nature of the restaurant, where dozens of cooks work.
The cleanliness of the places designated for cooking in a restaurant is mixed. Employees themselves provide it in their reviews. Some of them find nothing wrong with their work. But there are also negative responses. They indicate that the restaurant has expired products, which are given to prepare food for the employees themselves or directly to the hall.
The reviews of the restaurant staff really have a lot of complaints about the quality of their food. But none of them writes about cases of poisoning with this food. There is no information on the Internet about the closure of restaurants for inspection by the relevant Sanitary and Epidemiological Supervision authorities, claims brought forward and fines. Therefore, such reviews should be treated carefully, but without hysteria.
Service
Feedback from visitors to the Tokyo City restaurant chain about the quality of service is diverse to the full polarity, but still most of them have a negative side.
Customers complain that they sometimes have to wait long for an hour to wait for the execution of their order, to rush the waiters. Those, in turn, can pass by, as if ignoring the appeal to them.
Others noticed that if there are several rooms in the restaurant, it is noticeable that one room, for example, with chairs and tables, is served faster, and the other with sofas is slower. Maybe that's how it is here.
The waiters themselves in reviews of work in Tokyo City indicate a lack of staff. In this regard, the hall is serviced at times less than the number of employees. According to reviews, the work in Tokyo City is very intense for employees. When the restaurant is fully loaded, this circumstance immediately affects the speed of service and causes a negative customer, which they, without hesitation, pour out precisely on those who bring them food.
Where does the lack of staff come from?
- new branches of the restaurant chain are opened, requiring new hands;
- beginners do not have time to fulfill their duties and at the same time pass tests for knowledge of restaurant wisdom, which are simply necessary for work;
- high pace, emergency work;
- fines for beginners eat up the lion's share of the salary.
It turns out that getting a job in a restaurant is not so difficult. It’s hard to stay there. There is no single strict system for training staff like a school in this restaurant chain. Training takes place on site. Here come either beginners who have never done this before, or experienced workers. The "little thing" is almost exclusively among beginners. Some reviews of Tokyo City employees indicate that Central Asian people work in the restaurants they visited, which, in their opinion, does not add credibility to this place.
Service is the responsibility of staff, waiters. But they also receive a lot of complaints: to their visitors, who don't order so much, to picky management, to low salaries, to busy working days. Employees ask how they would take the desire to politely serve customers with a smile.
According to some reviews of Tokyo City (St. Petersburg) employees, some waiters do not like the small orders of visitors who took, for example, only lunch. The waiter has to fuss when serving this table no less than with a large order, and at the exit he receives a penny tip or they don’t give him at all. Accordingly, such clients, it happens, have to experience the bad mood of the waiter. The good news is that such cases are rare. Indeed, the very principle of a chain restaurant involves the sale of dishes in any portion and quantity.
Customers coming to a restaurant expect a polite attitude, care, attention. But in the Tokyo City network it is not customary to meet guests at the entrance and, having placed them in the hall, immediately take an order. Here they themselves sit down, then they wait for the waiter, then they wait for the order.
We summarize the reviews
Reviews about Tokyo City in St. Petersburg are mixed. Visitors write one thing, workers write another. Conclusions, as always, have to do yourself. With visitor reviews, it’s more or less clear: most like the new restaurant chain. Serve here:
- relatively cheap;
- delicious;
- often hold promotions;
- cozy halls are provided for both companies and single visitors.
Sushi, according to reviews, many people like Tokyo City in its variety. After all, many come to the restaurant for a Japanese menu.
The reviews of the Tokyo City network employees - for the most part, the waiters - are largely negative. Workers do not like:
- fines;
- busy work day;
- demanding leadership.
Many newcomers leave the restaurant without having mastered even the basics, without having passed the necessary minimums to know their work.
Experienced workers quit, citing the prevailing disorganization in it. For example, if they place an order and there is no clean dishes for it, then for the lack of other personnel, which, as a rule, is always in short supply, they themselves have to go to the hall, collect the dishes, control their washing and so on. And the dishes ready for the client will quietly cool off to the side and wait until hands reach him.
Judging by the reviews of the waiters of this restaurant, without interest on their hands they get 8,000 rubles, and even then, if they passed all the tests and they have no fines. With interest up to 30,000 rubles. Tipping 1,500-3,000 rubles.
Employees of Tokyo City (St. Petersburg) write in reviews that, after passing tests and exams, they remained online, because they like a lot:
- young team;
- New acquaintances;
- the opportunity to make good money;
- good tips for the waiters;
- a good place to work during self-paid studies at the university;
- obtaining new skills;
- career;
- delivery to the house by official transport;
- flexible working hours;
- salary paid on time.
Average bill. Stocks
This concept is a bit arbitrary, although it reflects the level of restaurant attendance. Depending on its location, the average bill goes 700-1000 rubles.
Most visitors to Tokyo City like the promotions there. Most often you can find profitable offers on sushi, for example, two sets for the price of one or a 20% discount on new sets of sushi.
The price reduction applies to almost every section of the restaurant's menu. So, you can buy a honey cake dessert at a price of 99 rubles or WOK in the form of udon noodles with vegetables for 120 rubles. Hot cheese with lingonberry sauce will cost 169 rubles these days. Such a popular hot dish as Chicken Quesadilla, with a discount on the stock, will cost 179 rubles.
One of the most frequently ordered dishes in the restaurant and in delivery is pizza. On promotional days, Carne pizza with chicken, pepperoni, ham and Mozzarella cheese, supplemented with tomatoes, chopped olives and parsley, is sold at 189 rubles.
The prices in the restaurant speak for themselves. They are very accessible to a wide range of visitors. Therefore, in reviews, people often write that they are used to coming here to dine.
Total
Restaurant is not a new concept. At this word, a doorman appears before his eyes, opening the doors to the half-bow, a waiter leading to a free table in the huge light-flooded hall, music around and an unthinkable check. Rather, this perception is inspired by feature films.
This is hardly appropriate today in our democratic society. Some foodies believe that the culture of sushi restaurants is a thing of the past. But the recent appearance of a brightly positioned restaurant in the quality of Tokyo City restaurant, even a chain of restaurants, refutes all prejudices.
Like many networkers, he suffers from an illness of personnel: random people coming here cause a sharply negative perception of the quality of dishes and service. Therefore, the visitor here must always be on the alert, as, indeed, in any other place that sells food.