We had a reservation at Ginza Hachigou in Tokyo at 3pm. I spent weeks planning the targeted date/time, and felt the rush of excitement when I was able to (luckily) secure a slot for 4 people via TableCheck! It feels even better because we were unable to dine here on our last trip to Japan.
However, when we arrived to our reservation, they had already sold out of the truffle ravioli “chef’s recommendation.” Cue the disappointment. The regular ramen we ended up ordering was still delicious, but there was still that desire for what I had spent weeks looking forward to!
My question is, if the restaurant only has 6 seats and knows exactly how many customers they will have for the day (including walk-ins in the morning), how can they “sell out?” Seems like they need to take people’s orders during the booking system. Can anybody help diffuse my sadness?
by musicbliss
24 Comments
Shit happens
That sucks! I can only recommend going to another place to eat something else you love. There really isn’t much you can do when luck hits you like this
Tell yourself that truffle is overhyped
Hey that sucks, no doubt. There are plenty of awesome places to eat at. Don’t let that ruin your trip.
Grow up. Entitled as hell.
Imagine complaining about this experience. Be happy with what you have.
This may not be that helpful but I’m not a big foie gras guy so I specifically wanted to go to ginza hachigo for the exact meal that you had, hyped myself on it, and was so excited to eat it
Unless you see real truffle, it’s likely truffle oil which is 100% synthetic. I might be an old grumpy man but I feel like relying on expensive ingredients like truffle is a crutch or marketing tactic.
Even if they had the exact number of seats booked all day long, they wouldn’t know how many of those people will order the truffle one and who will order something else so why would they make enough of the truffle to cover every single seat, when it’s not guaranteed every person will order that?
Go somewhere else after and continue to have a good time!
Don’t worry truffle and this ramen is over hyped.
Just go to mugi and olive behind ginza6.
Tbh I would over to shinjuku and walk around the ramen shops. Once you see something that really stops you in your tracks get it. Try a few different places there. You’re in Tokyo and even though it’s not what you wished to get. Getting lost in the city and trying places is what travel is for. Plus the memory of walking around and being adventurous will be more fun than the one spot experience.
Because they make it for service every morning. It’s a super fine ingredient at a super small shop. They probably can’t afford a large volume of truffle nor risk having to dumping it for a loss at the end of the night.
What you’ll learn about spending time in Japan is that nothing is 100% catered to you, the customer. Customer service is supreme, yes, but not at the expense of their business. It’s awesome. Long lines, long walks—through rain, typhoon, snow, earthquakes, & sunshine. But when you work for and it pulls through, you appreciate it that much more. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve traveled an hour away only to have the shop just randomly be closed that day. It’s a bummer but then I’d find something else.
You missed out on this one but you can either try again or visit one of the other 10,000+ shops in Tokyo.
I’d be really grateful I were able to get a table & eat there. You did kinda go late in the day🤷🏻♀️
Ramen is everywhere in Japan and it’s so good everywhere it’s kinda like going to a well regarded burger joint and complaining that the $35 lobster burger wasn’t available.
Sux that you didnt get to enjoy your truffle shuffle ramen. But hey you still got to go to Japan twice. Lucky you. I went to Tokyo in 2009 and wish I had more ramen. Didnt have sushi even though I went to tsukiji market twice.
No, that is not how restaurants work. You have to account for the labor involved in making a dish and it’s overall freshness. That doesn’t even touch on ingredient availability and quality. If you plan on serving 120 people, you do not make 120 servings of everything. If you did, almost all of it would spoil. You prepare according to the average sales of certain items, if you get unlucky and it’s sold out when you get there then that’s just your unlucky day.
Those who pursue Michellin stars in Tokyo are nuts. Japan is full of excellent restaurants. There are 11 ramen-yas within 4 blocks of me that are killer. I could say the same about sushi, etc. Too bad Mexican food isn’t covered well.
As top comment said, truffle is overrated. I’m sure it would have been nice but its overpowering. I think you lucked out getting to taste a true bowl
You can go almost anywhere w no reservations on the fly that have amazing food. Sounds like a lotta hype for nothing. Stick to local easy places.
it’s ok to be disappointed but you had a beautiful meal in a beautiful country. focus on the gratitude for an experience the vast majority of people will never have
I don’t know if this helps you feel less sad but this deep dive on truffles helped give me a totally different perspective on truffles and I have since stopped ordering anything with truffles at restaurants.
https://youtu.be/KKddfnuQtd4?si=BhpK_aUUHLN3-44S
Ramen is def not the best application for truffles of any variety bc their flavor can be very mild and it’s more an aromatic than anything else.
First world problem. The next time you feel disappointed just remember there’s people starving in the world.
I mean this nicely, but if the worst thing that happening is a restaurant ran out of truffle ramen, life is going pretty well
It’s very hard to get the exact number of portions on any given day for every dish. Sure, they can forecast it, but there’s always a miriad of reasons for something not going as planned.