The restaurant is small, cozy, and on average quite pricey so we had high expectations. It was quite disappointing… food was average, service very rude. Not worth the visit, especially in Princeton where there is a large choice of good quality Japanese restaurants.
I do not normally give negative reviews, especially if I have not tried the food. I am making an exception.I was excited to discover Ajiten and even more excited when I saw they had Uni (Sea Urchin) nigiri on the menu. My busy work-from-home schedule usually makes it challenging to get out for lunch, even just for takeout. But today my schedule permitted me to try Ajiten for take-out. If I ordered close to opening time (11:45 AM) I would have just enough time for them to prepare my order and the restaurant is 10 minutes away.I called (11:50 AM) and got a voicemail message stating their hours. The same hours are already stated on the Google search page, the Yelp page, and Ajiten's website just next to the telephone number. I waited and called again (noon). Same response. I thought "maybe they don't use the phone".I drove into Princeton but there was no available parking on Chambers Street, none in Palmer Square. I drove around a few times before considering the Palmer Square deck and Spring Street deck but by this time, it was too late to place (12:15 PM) an order and still make it home to eat before my next meeting. I gave up and headed home.On the way home, I called again (12:20 PM) and this time someone did answer the phone.I get that it has been challenging for restaurants to find workers. But perhaps adjust the listening opening time to reflect reality or ... be open when you say you are open.
Small hole in the wall kinda place, the first time we went in here we had the stroller so it was a little difficult. The food is awesome, it's a family run business so not a lot of employees, we always go at the right time which is like just after the open for dinner.
Really just a disappointing effort. Dry ramen. Disgusting (literally) meat to add - possibly unsanitary. No flavor after ‘reheating’ per instructions. This reminds me of a dried fast food egg Mcmuffin. But $70 worth :(
Worst service I have ever experienced. Customers deserve respects. Cancelling orders at the last minute and being rude over the phone is not what you should do.
Worst service ever. Best choice if you want to ruin your dinner.
I would have given them zero star if I could! Unbelievable worst service ever!! I have never written a bad review online, and always to be an easy-going person. But Ajiten got this first shot! I and two young kids entered the restaurant and waited to be seated. The woman took us nowhere and then went back to kitchen. So we stood in the middle and I asked her nicely which table we should use, the woman was so rude and mean, and spoke in a very condescending tone “would you let me through??” Then went straight through us and started setting up tables without even asking whether we like to sit in the corner or not (I noticed later the other two tables were probably reserved, but she did not tell us beforehand!). Most importantly is that her rude attitude was completely unacceptable! Yet I said nothing and sat in the corner. We waited for about 15-20 mins, nobody came to ask about ordering. And we were the only customer in the restaurant by that time. The kids were starving. So I came up to ask her whether we can start ordering, she was so mad, and came over to tell us they were not making instant food, if the kids were starving, we should go somewhere else to eat! Then we asked her how long it would take them to serve food averagely, she kept saying they needed to prepare the food from beginning, etc. I once again asked her the same question, she said “it all depends on what you ordered!” and kept emphasizing we should go other places to eat. My gosh, I have been to the best Japanese restaurant in the NYC many times and of course I know sushi is not instant food! And this is the very first time I encountered the occasion that the restaurant host insists their customers to step out and seek food somewhere else! I really do not know what’s the matter here and what the hell is going on with this insane woman. You all should read the bad reviews about the customer service and they are all true!
This spot is a 5. If you know anything about sushi, you will love this place. The highest quality and freshest fish in the area. Some of the best scallops I have ever had and the monkfish liver was excellent.
Ramen tastes good but overpriced. You will only get one single piece of pork for the Tonkotsu ramen ($17) which is pretty disappointing.
I tried to make a reservation at this restaurant and had the rudest interaction with the manager working here. When I tried to make a reservation for a certain day and time, the manager said "Why does your family keep calling us" in a very condescending tone. Mind you this is the first time I am calling this restaurant. I understand that this could have been a misunderstanding, but they could have asked if I was the other party before trying to start a conflict with me. She even lied and said that my number was on record calling multiple times, AND THEN proceeded to ask me what my number was. When she realized that my number called for the first time, she did not even apologize. She sighed and tried to make the reservation for me. I decided not to make my reservation.