damn sorry you wasted your money on that crap. that press release was a huge red flag me.
the owner seems more focused on bathroom fragrances and manufacturing exclusivity.
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The press release said the founder is in his early twenties. Their introduction video describes sincere hospitality and shows the staff without smiles. It says the name Yakun is short for yakitori kun, and Iām not sure if I feel thatās appropriate. I miss yakitoriya.
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Donāt want to clown them too much but this photo almost looks like a parody?!?! 
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ā¦hate to say but this was my experience at Somni. I felt like I was being interviewed after every course about me, what I was wearing (nothing remarkable), where Iām from, everything I liked about the dish, everything I liked about the wine. Often while I was chewing.
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This happened a LOT last night. Main host (wasnāt even a server, maybe the manager?) literally saw chef place food in front of us, saw us take one bite, and then decides to strike up random conversations lasting way too long while we are just nodding our heads waiting for him to walk away so we can eat the food. Felt like a twilight episode or we were being Punkād. I honestly shouldāve have spoken up and said something, I regret not doing that.
This shit is basic restaurant hospitality 101. If theyāre attempting to get a star which it seems like they are, then good luck to them.
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Oh, gawd, that would be so annoying. Iām happy to have the staff explain the dish (sourcing, inspiration, how to best to eat it if there are multiple components, etc., etc.), but I personally otherwise kind of want to be left alone so that I can actually reflect upon, you know, the food.
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I really dislike being asked what I thought of the dishes. Objective assessments turn into confrontations / compensation situations. Typically they just assume I just have bad tastes and explain that the dish is āsupposed to be like that,ā before having a whisper conversation with the manager and taking it off the bill. For example, if I say the cacio e pepe is too salty, the waiter āteaches meā that pecorino cheese is inherently salty; it could never be that the chef put too much salt.
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There are many regional and hard to find branded chickens in Japan. As well as the top grade of traditionally made oak charcaol made in Japan. Those sort of things would explain a higher yakitori price tag but this place sort of feels like cosplay.
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Yea, at the beginning of the meal the manager proudly exclaimed āour chickens are farm freshā which means literally nothingā¦
Iām pretty sure chickens from Japan cannot be exported to the states, since even the high end places in NY resort to purchasing Chickens from Pennsylvania and pasture raised birds..
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This is very difficult to read - we thank you for your sacrifice and may you have better experiences in the future.
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Hereās a photo of Yakunās sake menu that was posted to Red Note.
The eighth bottle from the top says āJuyondai Shang Zhu Baiā åå代äøč«øē½. äøč«øē½ in Japanese is pronounced Jyo Morohaku ććććććÆć, and āShang Zhu Baiā is the Chinese (Mandarin) pronounciation. Itās odd that most of the other Juyondai bottle Japanese names are correct even if listed partially, but they opted for Jyo Morohaku in Chinese enunciation for English naming.
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also that Aramasa experimental line is Private Lab, not Private Label (and Ash is not part of Private Lab but Colors). (while private spec brews do exist, undoubtedly they are not the ones on offer here). not going to go into the pricing scheme, but yeah. at least Juyondai has an official US distributor (Skurnik) so youād think naming of the product line would be more consistent.
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Welcome back @beefnoguy itās been a long time!
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If I view it less as yakitori and more a Kyoto chef doing kaiseki ryori and yakitori I guess it starts to make sense . . . The landscaping and interior sorta reminds me a ryotei. The seafood and wagyu as luxury ingredients increases the price bracket . . . I havenāt done too much reading into it enough yet but I thought Kyoto cuisine and yakitori were on almost opposite sides of the spectrum of formal vs casual
I donāt think all the Aramasa No 6 should be labelled X-Type either but well who knowsā¦ 
Deathwatch
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