Slow moving sushi

Ok, I’m calling this bluff. Yes, the cuisine at Inaho in Yarmouthport is stunning, delicious, crafted from the highest quality ingredients, and expertly presented, but the overall dining experience ranks considerably lower than the standards upheld by the menu. I have gone to Inaho about a dozen times, roughly once a year since I was in middle school. Why do I go only once a year when I live so close? Because I always need a full year to cool off and forget just how dreadful the service was. In all of my visits, there has been only one when we were seated on time, served promptly, and had a waitress that was respectful and professional. We are always seated at least half an hour later than our reservation time, we have waited 45 minutes for an appetizer to arrive, we have waited over an hour for dinner to land at the table, and we have had to jump up and down waving our glasses to get the waitress to notice we would like some more water. And I’m not alone. Online reviews of the restaurant are all the same: beautiful restaurant, outstanding cuisine, confusingly slow service. On my latest visit, we were seated only 15 minutes late for our reservation time, which we thought was a good omen for the timeline of the rest of the meal (wrong!), but in that 15 minutes hovering at the hostess stand, we witnessed one couple reprimand the hostess for their prolonged wait, and two other groups arrive for their reservation only to be told by the hostess, with an unconcerned shrug, that there was no record of it.

My most recent visit to Inaho was one of the visits when we waited too long for food. I don’t mean it was a little slow leaving the kitchen, I mean we were contemplating gnawing on our napkins just to hold us over by the time the appetizers finally arrived. It was a busy Tuesday night, but it’s always a busy night, and it’s summer on Cape Cod -- get it together. The one excuse made by our waitress for the slow service was that the sushi counter was backed up. Probable, since the demand is high with Inaho ranking as one of the best sushi restaurants on Cape Cod, and perhaps even one of the best in this region. But since our dinner arrived at the table a full hour after ordering, I’m not buying it. Yes, presentation takes time, but I ordered sashimi. You don't have to cook it, it’s already pre-cut, no mounding of rice, rolling, or drizzling of sauces required even, just stack it against some daikon strands and let's get this show on the road.

When there is a kitchen back-up because someone is on break, or they’ve temporarily stopped plating because they ran out of beef and have just run down the road to see if they can strike a deal with the local farmer, or a meal ticket has simply fallen behind a cooler, or whatever reason there is for a service delay, I really appreciate honesty. I’m a waitress too. I get it; stuff happens, it’s humiliating, it doesn’t win you any friends in the kitchen or the dining room, but you own up to it. Our waitress chose to ignore our table and then tell us a long story about how she is just waitressing to put herself through nursing school. As it turns out, I too might know a little something about underemployment in the culinary industry. I also know that your story does not make up for an obvious lack of food. This is just a temp job, you say? That’s great; tell me that story while I’m eating, please.

            What we ate was amazing. The miso eggplant appetizer was, as always, the perfect umami enticer. The seaweed salad was fresh, and the agedofu was some of the best I’ve eaten. The entrées were equally stunning. The whole fish was served, with a simultaneously organic and regal appearance, swimming upright on a bed of perfectly tender teriyaki vegetables. It was, of course, cooked perfectly, too. The grilled squid was good, not amazing, it was just a straightforward dish, but a bit more acid would have rounded out the flavor nicely. The ginger and tomato garnish did nothing to add to the overall taste; some lemon or vinegar drizzle would compliment it better. The sashimi dinner was so fresh it melted in the mouth. Beautiful.

            I will go back to Inaho, because I always do, and because once the food arrives, it’s dazzling. But the toe tapping that starts from the moment you walk in the door is a problem that I wish would be remedied, but likely will be not because with such good food, we all put up with the poor service, and thus reward it in the act. We should all boycott to prove a point, but we just can’t seem to stay away from the perfectly fried tempura entrées, and the specialty dragon rolls that come in an array of colors and sprawled across a platter in a display that is awe inspiring. Your food is top notch, Inaho, and though your service could be worse (to my knowledge no one dropped and re-plated anything, because if they had, the food probably would have arrived quicker) it’s safe to say that I’ll see you next year.