Mahsa & T.
Google
We made a reservation for the julbord and were very excited to try the Japanese twist on the traditional julbord. We’ve dined in the restaurant before and loved the experience, which made us even more eager to come back for this special evening.
The buffet itself was excellent — the variety was impressive and everything was delicious. The sushi and sashimi were absolute highlights. The warm dishes and meats were good, though not as memorable as the seafood.
The cocktails were fantastic, and the sake tasting was a real treat. The information shared during the tasting added a lot to the experience.
Unfortunately, the service was noticeably low and quite disorganized. We arrived before the group seated next to us, yet their drink order was taken much earlier than ours. No one explained to us where to go to get food, leaving us sitting awkwardly for a while. Throughout the evening, no one came to check on us — surprising, especially since the area wasn’t busy.
Considering there is a 500 kr/person ($80 CAD per person) cancellation penalty, we expected a much more attentive and well-organized experience.
We were also seated at a communal table with another group — initially two people and then a third who joined. They were loud and discussing topics that didn’t fit the romantic date night we had planned. The group mentioned that they didn’t even have a reservation and just walked in, which made our seating situation even more disappointing given that we had booked in advance.
The note mentioned “Izakaya,” but that doesn’t automatically mean shared seating — even izakayas in Japan offer private tables — so we didn’t anticipate being placed with strangers.
We’ve been to many julbords over the years as we travel very frequently to Sweden, and not once have we been seated at a communal table. It was the first time, and unfortunately it negatively affected the experience.
Overall, while the food and drinks were very good, the disorganized service and unexpected communal seating significantly took away from what we hoped would be a special evening.