St. Petersburg, "Tokyo City": feedback from employees and customers

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

St. Petersburg is truly a city founded for balls and holidays. And do not be embarrassed by the gray rainy gloom, puddles and 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, cinemas and theaters, museums, monuments of architecture and art. It is impossible to pass by. This masquerade of colors, sounds, trends, styles, characters and destinies is a work of art in itself, "Paradise".

It's no surprise that a chain of restaurants with the bright name "Tokyo City" appeared in such an extraordinary place.

Tokyo City

This is a chain restaurant. There are forty establishments of this brand in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, and 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, messages flash on the Internet that they also own the chains of Uzbek cuisine restaurants "Bakhroma" and "City Confectionery No. 1".

Style

Coming to the supermarkets "Victoria", "Spar","Magnit" or others, customers can immediately see which chain they belong to by the interior decoration of their rooms.

McDonald's, Bistro are also recognizable catering places both externally and internally.

Restaurants "Tokyo City" at first have in common only the menu and the signboard, because each has its own unique look.

But then there is a general perception - the feeling of a European country house. The walls are made of old red brick or its imitation, but giving a feeling of warmth, a lot of light. Two-piece sofas, with pillows on them, combined with chandeliers or lamps hanging from the ceiling. Instead of ceilings - more often brutal technical equipment. Bookcases on illuminated shelves. Flowers in pots between rows of sofas or on the windows. Space and volume. The style is reminiscent of a loft or eclecticism with high-tech elements.

The room tends to get away from even a hint of the standard perception as a catering establishment, where those sitting at the tables touch each other with their elbows and twitch from the pushes of those who walk past along the aisle. Background music plays. There is Wi-Fi, a children's room with toys.

Menu

As the name suggests, 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 multi-layered, like a cake: firstly, it is multinational. In Russia, but in a city likeSt. Petersburg especially, catering establishments have to take into account the multinational composition of the population, different food traditions.

Secondly, Tokyo City's dishes cater to a wide variety of budgets: here complex products worthy of haute cuisine coexist with shawarma and hamburgers, borscht and salads. There is even a fitness menu. Impressive wine list.

Moreover, the restaurant delivers pizza, lunches, pies in St. Petersburg and the region. From employees of "Tokyo City" (St. Petersburg) there are fewer reviews about the work of delivery than from buyers, but they have something in common with each other.

As can be seen from the organization of space, decor, style solutions, as well as the menu, the organizers of the Tokyo City project decided to "kill" several birds with one stone, as they prepared a comfortable resting place not only for different social strata and social groups, but and different ages. Therefore, in the evenings there are always a lot of young people who have a rest in whole companies. According to reviews, the restaurant is never crowded, and there are always empty tables.

The inhabitants of nearby houses are happy about the opening of new branches of this restaurant - now you don't have to make long trips to the city just to have a good time. Some are accustomed to having their meals here instead of cooking at home.

Employees from 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 the citizens whomeet unexpected guests. There is almost always a free place here, you don’t have to try to book it in advance.

It seems that the emphasis here is not on the tastes of gourmets, but on the “simple” working population, perhaps infrequently, but who have been abroad and got acquainted with the local cuisine. It's nice to have a favorite dish at home. Here everyone can find something attractive for their pocket and taste. This place of rest 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. Reviews often include such complaints. But what to do? The menu should be updated at least a little to interest new visitors. You will have to diversify your tastes.

Opening hours

Employees of offices, employees of enterprises of various forms of ownership, their bosses, families with children, youth companies, as well as guests of the city can come to the network of these restaurants at any time convenient for them, set by the schedule of one or another department.

For many, work in Tokyo City, according to its employees, is located next to their home, which turns out to be a great convenience, allowing them not to be late, because restaurants open at lunchtime from 11-12 o'clock. Closing times are sometimes late at night. Hours of operation vary by location and dayweeks. There is no single time. It is difficult to say at once what this variety of schedules is connected with.

Perhaps the managers somehow calculated the most "profitable time" for each restaurant from the network, which determined the work schedule.

It's true, 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 lunches: idle housewives with children wake up at this time, employees rush to get their lunch, and also grab it for their boss. During the day, city streets are crowded. Time to open up.

And in the evening and closer to night, the city is freed from worries about work and study, and needs rest, a change of scenery. Then teenagers come here, couples in love, vacation companies, employees who have finished their working day, and so on.

Visitors noted a lot in their reviews, but never criticized the working hours of the restaurants of this chain.

Order at home

Tokyo City's sore point - delivery. According to reviews, in St. Petersburg you can wait for a "delicious" one and a half hours or even more, despite the declared hour. This feature is worth considering. If the order is scheduled for an important occasion or date, it must be done not back-to-back, but in advance.

Most often in the evening they order pizza, sushi. During the day, lunches and pies are added to this set. Although this division is relative.

When ordering at home, you need to understand that the Tokyo City restaurant, according to visitors, is a popular place, and theirorder is not the only one. And the city of St. Petersburg is rather big. Therefore, the declared hour of delivery is also a relative concept and depends on traffic jams, the workload of the kitchen, and organizational issues. Therefore, late delivery of the order is far from uncommon for this restaurant. Perhaps, if there are more branches, the speed of providing this service will improve.

Of course, any dish tastes better freshly prepared. But cold delivered food is not all the problems a customer may face. Judging by the reviews, in "Tokyo City" they can:

• bring the wrong number of servings, spoons, forks, napkins;
• deliver the wrong order at all;
• forget the terminal for card payment - then you have to look for cash, and if the action takes place at night, this situation becomes doubly inconvenient.

This doesn't happen regularly, but it does happen. In the event that it is possible to prove to the company that the violation was on their part (send a photo of the order to their email), the employees will most likely agree and correct the situation by delivering the rest or replacing the dish. No "excusable" extra portions or meals, no discount cards.

It is important to check the order before eating it, especially if there is an allergy to certain foods, even if the restaurant was warned about the inadmissibility of their investment in advance. There are complaints about errors in the preparation of dishes for the order and its collection, because of which the he alth of customers suffered.

Judging by the reviews of"Tokyo City" in St. Petersburg, the quality of food delivered to the house does not differ from that provided to the client waiting at the table: both are praised and scolded the same way.

Pay 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 - with a bank card. This convenience is highly appreciated by restaurant delivery service users.

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

Taste, freshness of ingredients, adherence to storage and sanitation standards, dexterity and experience of the cook - these are the ingredients of a quality dish.

It is generally accepted that a kind of gradation has developed, according to which the canteen is worse than a cafe, and that, in turn, is lower in level than a restaurant. Yes, and restaurants are different.

It's all true and not true at the same time. Every gourmet will tell you that you can cook food with high quality, in compliance with all norms and rules, only at home, from products grown in your own garden and on a farm. In any other place, you can stumble upon a violation of the rules. There may be things in dishes that should never be in them. Hence the complaints from visitors. Although, in general, the quality of cooking in Tokyo City is considered normal and acceptable by visitors. The cases of poisoning described in the reviews are rare.

When customers complain about the food, they most often say they didn't like the fact that kimchi soup was similar to miso soup. But this is a matter of taste. Regulars of this chain of restaurants have long noticed that in one place food can be cooked spicier, in another - leaner. Not everyone likes such inconsistency, but this is the cost of the network nature of the restaurant, where dozens of chefs work.

About the cleanliness of the places designated for cooking in the restaurant, the information is contradictory. Employees themselves provide it in their reviews. Some of them do not find anything wrong with their work. But there are also negative responses. They indicate that the restaurant has expired products, which are given to cook food for the employees themselves or directly to the hall.

In the reviews of the restaurant staff there are really a lot of complaints about the quality of their food. But at the same time, 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 bodies of Sanitary and Epidemiological Supervision, claims and fines. Therefore, such reviews should be treated carefully, but without hysteria.

Service

Reviews from visitors to the Tokyo City restaurant chain about the quality of service are varied to complete polarity, but still most of them have a negative side.

Customers complain that they sometimes have to wait a long time, for an hour, for the execution of their order, to hurry up the waiters. Those, in turn, can pass by, as if ignoring the call to them.

Others have paidPlease note that if there are several halls in a restaurant, it is noticeable that one hall, 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 the reviews of work in "Tokyo City" indicate a lack of staff. In this regard, the hall is serviced by a much smaller number of employees than it should be. According to reviews, work in Tokyo City is very stressful for employees. When the restaurant is fully loaded, this circumstance immediately affects the speed of service and causes negative customers, which they, without hesitation, splash out on those who bring them food.

Where does the staff shortage come from?

• opening new branches of the restaurant chain, requiring new hands;
• beginners do not have time to fulfill their duties and at the same time take tests for knowledge of restaurant intricacies, which are simply necessary for work;
• high pace, rush nature of work;
• pen alties for rookies eat up the lion's share of wages.

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 service personnel like a school in this restaurant chain. Training takes place on the spot. Here come either beginners who have never done this before, or experienced workers. "Church" is almost only among beginners. In some reviews of Tokyo City employees, it sounds that immigrants from Central Asia work in the restaurants they visited, which, according totheir opinion does not add credibility to this place.

Service is the responsibility of service personnel, waiters. But they also receive a lot of complaints: about their visitors, who do not order so much, about picky management, about low salaries, and busy working days. Employees ask how, with such negativity, they will take the desire to serve customers politely with a smile.

According to individual reviews of employees of "Tokyo City" (St. Petersburg), some waiters do not like the small orders of visitors who took, for example, only lunch. The waiter has to fuss about serving this table no less than with a large order, and at the exit he receives a penny tip or is not given one at all. Accordingly, such customers sometimes have to experience the bad mood of the waiter. The good news is that such cases are rare. After all, the very principle of a chain restaurant involves the sale of dishes in any portions and in any quantity.

Customers, coming to a restaurant, expect a polite attitude, care, attention. But in the Tokyo City chain, it is not customary to meet guests at the entrance and, having placed them in the hall, immediately take an order. Here they sit down themselves, then they wait for the waiter, then they wait for the order.

Summarizing reviews

Reviews about "Tokyo City" in St. Petersburg are contradictory. Visitors write one thing, employees write another. Conclusions, as always, have to be done by yourself. It is more or less clear with the feedback from visitors: most people like the new restaurant chain. Servehere:

• relatively cheap;
• delicious;
• frequent promotions;
• cozy halls are provided for both companies and single visitors.

Sushi, according to reviews, in "Tokyo City" many people like it for its variety. After all, many people come to the restaurant for the Japanese menu.

Reviews from Tokyo City employees - mostly waiters - are largely negative. Employees dislike:

• fines;
• busy day at work;
• demanding leadership.

Many newcomers leave the restaurant without even mastering the basics, without passing the required minimum knowledge of their work.

Experienced workers leave, referring to the disorganization prevailing in it. For example, if they place an order and there are no clean dishes for it, then in the absence of other staff, which, as a rule, is always lacking, they themselves have to go to the hall, collect the dishes, control their washing, and so on. And the dish ready for the client will quietly cool on the sidelines and wait until the hands reach it.

Judging by the reviews of the waiters of this restaurant, they receive 8,000 rubles without interest on their hands, and even then, if they have passed all the tests and they have no fines. With interest comes up to 30,000 rubles. Tip 1,500-3,000 rubles.

Employees of "Tokyo City" (St. Petersburg) in the reviews write that, having passed the checks and exams, they remained to work in the network, because they like a lot:

• young team;
• meet new people;
• opportunity to make good money;
• good tips for waiters;
• good place to work during self paid university studies;
• gaining new skills;
• career growth;
• delivery to the house by official transport;
• flexible work schedule;
• Wages paid on time.

Average check. Promotions

This concept is a bit arbitrary, although it reflects the level of restaurant attendance. Depending on its location, the average check is 700-1000 rubles.

Most of all, Tokyo City visitors like the promotions held there. Most often, you can find great deals on sushi, for example, two sets for the price of one or a 20% discount on new sushi sets.

The price reduction applies to almost every section of the restaurant's menu. For example, you can buy the Medovik 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 will cost 179 rubles with a discount.

Pizza is one of the most frequently ordered dishes in a restaurant and on delivery. On promotional days, Carne pizza with chicken, pepperoni, ham and Mozzarella cheese, complemented by tomatoes, chopped olives and parsley, is sold for 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 for lunch.

Result

Restaurantis not a new concept. At this word, the porter opens the door in a half-bow, the waiter leads to a free table in a huge light-filled 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 gourmets believe that the culture of sushi restaurants is a thing of the past. But the recent appearance of the Tokyo City restaurant, which is clearly positioning itself in this capacity, even a chain of restaurants, refutes all prejudices.

Like many chains, he suffers from a staff disease: random people who come here cause a sharply negative perception of the quality of food and service. Therefore, the visitor here must always be on the alert, as, indeed, in any other place that sells food.