Alyson W.
Yelp
Never had an experience like this at a Marugame Udon before. I'd like to preface by saying I've been a long-time customer, since the Stonestown Galleria location opened up in San Francisco. I used to go several times a month as a high schooler and make a habit of visiting again when I'm back in the city from college. It's consistent, decently priced, and a pretty familiar taste that's reminiscent of being a high schooler in the 2010s just hanging out with my friends at a mall. I've also been to the Waikiki and Westfield Valley Fair locations and all have been standard, if not great. Before today, I would have said anytime Marugame is an option, I'm there.
That brings me to my visit tonight. Seeing my grandparents for the first time in months, I was excited to take them out to dinner at such a nostalgic spot for me. We parked upstairs in the garage, where the handicapped parking spaces were already a bit of a hike from the elevator. Their mobility is limited, and by the time we made it into the line to order, they had been standing for over ten minutes. After placing their orders and simply needing to pick them up, I suggested they sit down at a nearby table while my brother and I carried their meals on trays for them. No problem, right? Wrong.
Within a minute of them sitting down, my brother takes a look at the table and gestures for me to look too. One of the staff members is talking to my grandparents who speak limited English and pointing away from the table. Upon seeing my grandmother get up, without her cane I might add, I rush over to the table to ask what the problem is. I'm informed by this staff member that they have a no-reserved-seating policy, which I completely understand--it gets busy sometimes! However, there were more than half of both the indoor and outdoor dining spaces open on this evening. Explaining both my grandparents' limited mobility due to age and medical reasons, the staff member suggested that she would pull up chairs in the main walkway for my grandparents to sit in while waiting for us to bring over the food. On a busy night, sure this would be fine, but with all of the tables surrounding this one being entirely empty? I was a little irked at this point. She claimed that this was simply her enforcing a corporate policy, but I'm sure corporate would like to hear about how a place that tries to maintain such Japanese culinary authenticity would perpetuate such a disrespectful attitude towards elders. Seeing my grandparents have to make their way (alone) from the table to sitting in the middle of the entryway/walkway like second-class citizens really pissed me off, but even worse? By the time we got our food, no later than two minutes later, the table was still empty. We returned to the same table. Like they had never left.
So overall--the food, same as always: consistent, solid. The experience? I've seen better treatment of the elderly on a MUNI bus. There are plenty of good udon places in San Francisco, and I will definitely be making the drive to take my business there instead.