In search of everything delicious in the metro, we stumbled upon a new unlimited yakiniku place in the newly opened wing of SM City North EDSA called the North Towers in Quezon City. We gave it a try, so read on and see if it's worth it.
Located in the second level of the two-level SM North Towers Mall, Sumo Niku offers Unlimited Yakiniku with different options and rates depending on the time of the day. They are under the same company of Yakimix and Buffet101. We visited it on a Sunday night and the wait time is pretty bearable.
They have a list system for seat reservations, the lady manning the reservations was a little unorganized with her list which needs improvement. We are 18th on the list so we told her we're just going around since there are no seats for those waiting but upon returning at 5-10 minutes, we were told our names had already been called and we had to get listed again. Later on we found out she just calls the name two times with a few seconds interval and if you're not there then tough luck.
After being seated, we settled down to our table and given the option on what Unlimited option we're going to enjoy. Sumo Niku offers two options, Pork + Chicken and Pork + Beef + Chicken, we opted for the 3 meat choices option which comes with unlimited side dishes and iced tea. Here's their rates in case you can't see the photo below properly.
Sumo Niku - SM North Towers Mall Rates
Pork + Chicken with unlimited side dishes and iced tea
399php Lunch
449php Dinner
Pork + Beef + Chicken with unlimited side dishes and iced tea
449php Lunch
499php Dinner
When we visited, their chicken meats are not available (but they are still charging the same for the 3-meat options), as for the side dishes only kimchi, okra, seaweeds, and cucumber are available which sucks a little since half of the side dishes menu are not available.
We started ordering and saw that we only have a maximum of 2 kinds of meat per order and we need to finish those before we can request for the next set of meats. Service is pretty okay at first, they served the drinks, rice, and side dishes right away. The side dishes taste great, especially the seaweeds and the miso soup.
When the first order of meats arrived, we were a little disappointed on the serving size. Given that it's unlimited, I think they need to increase the serving size if they are limiting it to two kinds of meat per serving. We ordered the US Premium Beef and the Wagyu Beef, the US Premium beef has around 6 thin beef slices while the wagyu has around 7 small cubes of meat, that's already for the two of us in our table.
Their grills are equipped with those industrial style smoke catchers attached from the ceiling, so the smoke is bearable and you won't go out smelling like you actually got grilled. We started cooking and the first set of meats we ordered tastes great, especially wagyu cubes that literally as soft as clouds in your mouth.
After finishing our first set of meat, we started ordering the second set and this is where it went a little downhill in terms of service. We're not sure if they are understaffed or this is part of their technique to turn over tables faster but it took a solid 10-15 minutes for the second set of meat to arrive.
As the dinner rolls on, the wait time became longer and longer even for side dishes and drinks that we sometimes have to reorder again through another staff. Our table's grill keeps turning off too without us knowing why, we'll just notice our meats aren't cooking so we'll call on one of their staff to turn it on again - this kept happening until we finished our dinner.
Sumo Niku is pretty new but I do hope they improve their service fast as the first few months are crucial to newly opened businesses and negative experiences on first-time customers can make a huge impact on their restaurant's longevity. I'll give them a try again in a few months or so to see if they already improved service-wise.
2/F The North Towers Mall - SM City North EDSA Complex
North Avenue, Quezon City
Store Hours: During mall hours
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