Ron of Japan’s food is always great, but service has them on my ratings watch.
Written: Mar 20 '06 (Updated Mar 21 '06)
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Pros: Great tasting dinner combinations and sushi
Cons: Really poor service last time out
The Bottom Line: We’ll go back at least one more time, but not with a party of 10.
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| Saxguy's Full Review: Ron of Japan - Northbrook |
A warm thank you to the category lead, megugrrrl for adding this location to the database.
My family and I have been celebrating various family events at Ron of Japan’s Northbrook, IL location for years. Each time out, the food has been great and the service competent if not unexceptional.
Ron of Japan is a Japanese Steakhouse, where the guests sit around a table consisting of a large grill and a chef prepares the various dinners while you watch. The concept is somewhat similar to Benihana of Tokyo, but the food is better at Rons.
Dinners consist of various entrees, which can be grilled in small pieces and various combinations. The Teppan entrees (priced high teens to low 20s, scallops are $18.95) are available in single entries of chicken , sirloin, shrimp or scallops and include a small bowl of chicken soup, vegetables, white rice and green tea. The Crown entrees, at about $10 more, are available with chicken, sirloin, shrimp (not scallops for some reason) Filet Mignon, prime rib and king crab. The Crown combinations at another $5 or so, include chicken with shrimp, king crab, calamari, sirloin or filet mignon or a seafood combination of king crab, scallops and shrimp or filet mignon with either scallops, shrimp or king crab. The crown dinners and combinations come with chicken soup, garden salad with their special sauce, vegetables, 2 pieces of shrimp kogane-yaki, an appetizer of two shrimp with an egg yolk sauce covering, green tea and dessert.
Sushi rolls can be ordered as appetizers. They range from about $6 to about $9 for 6 rolls and are freshly made.
I ordered the scallops from the teppan menu, my wife had the crown seafood combination, my son had the crown filet mignon and king crab and his girlfriend had the crown filet mignon. I ordered Boston rolls (tuna and avocado), my wife ordered eel rolls and my son had an extra order of Kogane-yaki shrimp. While there were 10 people there, I only paid for those 4 and so that is what I will focus my review on.
The food is invariably great at Rons and last night was no different. My beef with last night was the service and it was very annoying.
In Ron’s defense, we were a fairly large group of 10 people and we did change our reservation from 6:30 to 7pm, calling in around 6:15pm. The place was more crowded that I expected, too. When we first arrived there were no open tables.
We got to the place at about 6:45 pm and the younger ones among us headed straight to the bar. My son’s girlfriend was celebrating her 21st birthday and enjoying Mai Tais. We stayed in the bar for around 20 minutes. The bar allows smoking; I dislike that so I headed to the front and asked the hostess about getting seated. She checked with the maitre D, and we were seated about 10 minutes later at a single table. We were all seated around the table, including my wife who is disabled, but it was much too cramped. I’m a big guy, and my wife needs a little extra room so that she can rest her arms when she eats. This table was too small for us. I ended up sitting back away from the table to eat and finished early to help my wife. For what I paid for this, I shouldn’t have to.
It took a while for the waitress to come for our order and there was no water on the table initially. It seemed like she took the initial orders competently enough, and she was a pleasant, flexible woman. The water arrived, followed by the chicken soup, which my wife and I both likes, and the salads, with the special sauce, which tastes reminiscent of thousand island dressing, but different. The salads are always very fresh and tonight was no different.
The waitress served the salads, I got one even though I was not entitled with my teppan menu item. That was easily corrected, although it was a harbinger for things to come. I asked about when the sushi would arrive and she muttered something in mostly Japanese about making it fresh. Well, the other times we had been there, the sushi was served first. Around this time, I also noticed that she had a habit of putting the checks down on the busboy station and then looking for them. We also had to ask for chopsticks, something which had not happened before. We also asked for tea and I don’t remember doing so either, particularly since it is supposedly included.
The sushi arrived and we liked ours. They were tasty and freshly made. When we were just about finished, the chef arrived and got started. While some of the Ron chefs, like the one we had last night, aren’t as flashy as Benihana about the cooking, the food is invariably done to specification and quite good.
The chef cooked the shrimp kogane-yaki first. My son loves this. It was quite good, although they shorted my son on his included appetizer. He knew it all along but didn’t mention it until later, just when the chef was finishing. My son did get the remaining 2 pieces at the end. The steamed rice was served.
The vegetables were next, the first round being a combination of sliced carrots, mushrooms and zucchini; the second round consisting of bean sprouts. All were cooked warm, but left crisp and were very fresh. Around this time, I asked for a plate for my wife, and it took a little effort to get the chef to understand. In this sort of cooking, the plates are right on the edge of the grill so the chef can steer the food into them. Unfortunately, my wife cannot reach that far to eat, so I get a plate, put it in front of her and steer the food from plate next to the grill.
Next was the fried rice for those who ordered it. My son enjoys this and yesterday was no different.
Next were the entrees. The chicken was cooked first, then the steak, then the seafood and dispensed when done. My scallops were heavenly. A large potion of very large sea scallops, they were done but not overdone and very tasty. My wife enjoyed her scallops, crab legs and shrimp. My son and his girlfriend enjoyed theirs, including her (gasp) very rare filet mignon, which was done as she specified.
I was enjoying the food, but eating over my lap so my wife could have enough room was getting tiresome. My son was cramped, too. So, I finished the scallops over my rice bowl and moved my chair a couple of feet back from the table so the others could have more room.
The chef was getting ready to finish, so I asked about the last 2 pieces of shrimp kogane-yaki for my son. The chef consulted with the waitress and looked at the checks and my son got what he ordered. I noticed that the waitress and the chef were speaking Japanese to each other afterwards. While voices were not raised, it seemed like there was a difference of opinion on something. I also saw the chef later talking to the Maitre D and both were looking at our table.
It was time for dessert, and we informed the waitress that there were two birthdays at the table. Soon, the pineapple boat with the sparklers came out, with the singing waitresses. That’s always a nice touch.
We then settled up and left. One couple in our party questioned their bill, but it turned correct. Ours was correct. At $180 for 4 adults without drinks, it seems pricey. However, that included great food and appetizers. That figure might be unrepresentative. I was annoyed enough with the cramped table and the service lapses so that I left a 15% tip. I almost always go 20% when I enjoy myself.
So, on balance, great food. The scallop teppan entrée is a particularly good value. The service was worse than mediocre, considering the seating delay, the cramped seating and having to ask for a lot of things we usually don’t have to. For what I paid, the service ought to be better.
Maybe this is a fluke. I will certainly give Rons one more chance. However, I do not recommend them for a group larger than 8, and you need to monitor the service carefully.
Thanks for reading. God bless!
Please check out my other Chicago-area restaurant reviews.
Bob Chinn’s Crab House
The Tavern (of Libertyville)
Millenium Park Grill
Davis Street Fishmarket
Dee’s Chinese restaurant
Hackney’s Restaurant in Glenview
Twin Anchors Restaurant in Chicago
Pavilion Restaurant in Chicago
Szechuan East Restaurant in Chicago
Maggiano’s Little Italy
Recommended:
Yes
Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations Scallops, Filet Mignon and scallops combination, seafood combination, sushi rolls
Best Suited For: Friends
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