Yep... I went when they had only been open about a week... I think they were still trying to "work out all the kinks" of being a brand new restaurant. We had reservations for 7:00, weren't seated until 7:30, and our order wasn't taken until 8:00. Nobody ever came to refill our drinks during dinner. Finally, we had to ask our chef to go find our server so we could get drinks. Hopefully, they will have worked through all these problems in the first couple weeks.
The food was good - not really any different from Kyoto's or Kanki - soup (clear broth with a couple mushroom slices), salad in ginger dressing, fried rice, zucchini & onions, and the meat of your choice. The only thing different I noticed is that Kabuki served some lo-mein type noodles as well as the fried rice. If you like Kyoto's and Kanki, you'll like Kabuki too. If you don't like those places, don't bother... it's pretty much the same.
The chefs could have used a little more practice time as well... hopefully they'll get better as the service does. At my table, one girl got a shrimp in her beer. I ended up with all the shrimp tails on my plate, and one hit me in the head. One woman at my table got up to speak to a friend at the next table. While she was away from her seat, the chef accidentally lost hold of a fork he was "juggling", and it went speeding towards her seat. It probably would have stabbed her right in the chest had she been sitting there. At the table next to us, the chef lost hold of a salt shaker he was throwing around - it went straight through a woman's drink glass, and she ended up with Mai Tai all over her lap.
Overall, it wasn't a really bad experience, the chefs were entertaining, and the food was good. However, the service left a lot to be desired (hopefully to improve in time), and the chefs were a little dangerous... if you like "living on the edge" - go for it!
I'd be interested in knowing if other people have had similar experiences there, or if it has improved since the first weekend. I live so near there, I'd like to go again if things get better.
On Sat, 19 Jul 1997 20:23:07 -0400, Gil Bryant
Someone wrote:
>Anybody dined at Kobuki?Raleigh-Durham, NC