Was finding a place for the friend’s birthday dinner when I chanced upon this place. I thought the food looked good so we decided to try their ala carte menu. We had actually reached earlier than the reservation time but was asked to come back later in a very unfriendly tone since they were still preparing so we listened and came back later

Was told that everyone needed to order an Otoshi which was normal with izakaya in Japan. But when we asked what was the Otoshi of the day, the service staff simply said she don’t know as it’s entirely up to the chef. The she proceeded to ask if anyone don’t take raw so she could let the chef know regarding the cook on the Otoshi. So it was back to the question of what the Otoshi was again, and she simply said she don’t know. Sighs. We were so irritated and felt she wasn’t appropriate as the front of the house. The tension remained high even when we were ordering. At some point, friend A said to friend B – I can sense your hostility and friend B replied – I am just matching HER hostility. lol

Otoshi of the Day – Sawara Handroll

This was really nice. The cook on the fish was balanced with the rice and seaweed

How difficult was it to ask the chef – what was the Otoshi for tonight. That was a question we couldn’t understand

Hokkaido Hairy Crab w Tosa Vinegar Jelly $120 (1 crab)

The crab was the first to arrive. This was really good. The crab meat was sweet and succulent and the vinegar jelly went really nicely without overwhelming the dish

Grilled Hokkaido Kinki Fish (whole) $65

Kinki fish was cooked really well. The skin was crisp and there was good amount of oiliness from the fish

Butter Grilled Abalone $75

Personally, felt there was too much butter though the butter sauce did make the abalone very fragrant and I thought the abalone had a good chewiness to it

Shirako w Ponzu Sauce $35

This shirako was so smooth and the texture really melted in your mouth

Crispy Squid Tentacles Tempura $15

Squids were unfortunately very normal

Wagyu Beef Nikudofu $39

A very comforting bowl of soup, with tender beef slices and flavourful broth. Like I would think this would go well if you have too much alcohol

Japanese Dashi Omelette $14

This was one of the better omelette I’ve had. And everyone agreed this was really good

YFC (Yomo Fried Chicken) $14

Chef’s signature. A must order

Oyster Spring Roll $18

Oyster spring roll was executed really well. Oyster was fresh and plump and you can taste the sweetness when you bite into them

Hairy Crab Mixed Rice $120

Ending off with the hairy crab mixed rice which was the perfect end to the meal. It was a really balanced bowl of rice with fragrance, mixed with sweetness of the crab meat

Honestly, food was really good. Like when I looked back at the photos, it was like wah – this was really good. BUT… service was really hostile. The staff never smiled at us the entire dinner service but was smiling to other tables/customers. It made us felt like what did we do to offend her and hey, we are paying for service charge you know. With such service, it really made our dinner experience unpleasant so it was such a pity. Perhaps we should have just gone with the omakase menu so that we could be seated at the counter and be served by head Chef Yomo-san instead. In my opinion, I give full credit for the quality and the food but the service staff really needs to improve on her service and attitude

Atelier Yomo

47 Duxton Rd, Singapore 089511