Visited on a Friday evening, without reservation. Was there at 730pm and there were many empty tables inside and outside of the restaurant. Was told to sit outside as the indoor dining was 'full'.

Ordered a bottle of Asahi (@$8++), and for food we had the Sakana Teriyaki Bento (cod fish) and a saba shioyaki.

The cod fish was of a good size, plump, moist and melt in your mouth kind. The bento also consist of a small mound of mashed potato salad, a slice of konyaku, a medium sized cooked prawn, some vinegared item and few slices of salmon (2) and tuna sashimi (3). My friend commented that the cooked prawn was very fresh.

The saba shioyaki looked nicer than it tasted.

For more pictures, you may wish to visit here.

As I work in the vicinity, Sugisawa is one of my more frequented joints for business lunches and/or dinners.

To me, one would come to this place for their bento box sets, which are decently portioned and are also decently priced as well.

Whatever your choice of bento might be, Sugisawa's bento will not disappoint. From the katsus to the unagi, from tempura to saba, the food quality doesn't vary too much, even when the kitchen is packed with orders on a busy weekend evening.

Having said that however, what irks me the most is really down to the service level. While I admit Sugisawa is a small establishment, the service is a bit of a hit-and-miss affair for me. Oftentimes, especially when I'm seated outside, I find it impossible to get the attention of the service staff.

And when I'm seated on the inside? A number of times for dinners, I've been quite rudely chased out by the elderly lady staff, who is looking to turn the tables around faster rather than allowing me to enjoy my time in the restaurant. On one occasion, the elderly lady said to me and my business associate, "Can I clear the table now, I want give you the bill?". It was really a rude shock for me as I was in the middle of a discussion with my business associate, and while I understand where they are coming from, it must be noted that I'm not the only person there who is trying to talk business over a meal.

All in all, good food, not so good service.

Because of the bad and rude attitude of the old lady receptionist/waitress/cashier, whatever she is, I will not return to this restaurant. When asked questions about the food (where is it from? anything special today? would you recommend this?) she often is dismissive and "can't be bothered" or at best is quick and short with her reply. She makes (non-Japanese) customers feel unwelcome. I (used to be) a regular customer and the first time I experienced her bad attitude I assumed she was having a bad day, but she has repeated the same general rude service since then. This is a shame, because the food normally is good quality and well prepared.

Other reviewers also have commented on her rude service that unfortunately gets worse if the restaurant either is busy or if there are large groups of drinking Japanese customers (even when the restaurant has plenty of space). Although the old lady is not Japanese, it seems that she and/or the owner prefer Japanese customers and do not value business from others.

There are other excellent Japanese restaurants in the Robertson Quay area that give friendly, welcoming service to everyone and deserve our business. Do not reward Sugisawa.