OOKA Restaurant Bar . Sushi .Hibachi

I decided to visit OOAK after seeing its high reviews on Google, but unfortunately, my experience was disappointing. Having enjoyed Japanese cuisine in various countries, I was excited to try this place, but it didn’t live up to expectations. The food presentation was very simple, and the flavors were lackluster. Initially, the service seemed promising—polite and quick—but things quickly took a turn for the worse. We were attended by three different servers, which caused confusion and inconsistency. While the cold dishes arrived quickly, the hot dishes for our party of four were delivered in two separate batches, with a 15-20 minute gap between them. The real issue arose when I ordered a fried dish and asked if it contained gluten, as I have a gluten allergy. The first server assured me it did contain gluten, but then another server came and said it was gluten-free since he had taken the order. Trusting his reassurance, I ate a piece of the dish, even though I knew there were gluten-free options for fried foods. Unfortunately, this caused me discomfort, though I was fortunate not to experience a serious reaction, but this could have been extremely dangerous for someone with a severe gluten allergy who needs an EpiPen. Afterward, the server confirmed with the kitchen that the dish indeed contained gluten, which was a huge red flag for me. This level of miscommunication and inconsistency around food allergies is concerning, and I won’t be returning. I highly recommend the restaurant improve their allergen information and staff training to ensure that situations like this don’t happen again. For those with food allergies, be extra cautious and double-check everything, as this could have been a life-threatening situation.

The food and service were outstanding. One waiter in particular took great care of one person in our party who was gluten-free.