Pompoko Reviews Summary

Food Quality

Pros:

• "Gorgeous Japanese food at a price which is sometimes unbelievable."
• "It's cheap, it's fresh, it is not pretentious."
• "Good value of money with good quality and sufficient portion of food."
• "Fast service, large portions and the food tasted bloody amazing."
• "A perfect balance of deliciousness, authenticity and cheapness."
• "Always have the most incredible meals when I go here!!"
• "The food is, simple but exquisite. It’s genuine Japanese, made and served by people who care."

Cons:

• "Tofu with chili was literally tofu and ketchup flavoured sauce with a few chili flakes!"
• "DO NOT ORDER THE YAKISOBA. that was the worst I ever had."
• "Unfortunately todays visit to Pompoko was very disappointing experience my meal of nr26 pork katsu don with poached egg rice was very dry and the pork strips were inedible rubbery meat."
• "The chicken smelled weird and tasted like it was cooked 10 days ago!!!"
• "Sadly, dishes came cold and the beef sesame don buri was chewy and tasteless in the extreme."
• "The batter to chicken ratio was terrible, thick undercooked batter surrounding slithers of rubbery chicken."
• "The food quality has gone down slightly over the years."

Service

Pros:

• "Staff is also friendly, it is cash only!! Can't wait to go back :)"
• "Customer care is a Happy one always, eat in or out."
• "Most importantly, the food is tasty and arrives fast!"
• "Staff are so quick, friendly and efficient."
• "The staff are lovely and work so hard."
• "The customer service is excellent and all the staff are amazing."
• "Service was extremely quick and friendly, and staff went the extra mile, bringing out water for our dog without even being asked."

Cons:

• "The service is ok, quick but rather uninterested."
• "Service also is very poor and unremarkable, unmotivated staff."
• "He was purposefully ignoring us and had no intention of serving us."
• "He lacks customer service skills and basic human decency."
• "I got food poisoning and have been enduring horrible stomach pain, constant trips to the toilet and feeling close to throwing up... I'm avoiding this place like the plague from now on."
• "The restaurant was eerily quiet despite there being other customers, and the staff stood around staring at you while you ate."
• "First of all they should not call their guests 'Mate'."

Price and Value

Pros:

• "The prices are unbeatable."
• "One of our favorite place for lunch! So affordable, yet there’s probably no other place in town that does teriyaki chicken as tasty as they do."
• "Very good prices for very authentic Japanese food."
• "We got a lot of food for a tiny price."
• "The menu is extensive and reasonably priced. Highly recommended!"
• "Very reasonable prices and huge portions, amazing price for value."
• "The dishes are very cheap (£6.20!) For a very good bowl of domburri; tasty, freshly made and just the right portion size."

Cons:

• "It was not a pleasant experience and although the prices decent and service fast - we would not recommend going here or if you do be careful what you order."
• "And lastly their prices are over priced in my opinion for the amount of food you get."
• "Not a single thing we bought was proportionately worth the money."
• "The price is cheap and this explains the poor quality of the food."
• "This is a cheap restaurant but it is not worth the money."
• "Had the worst food here literally paid £7.50 to eat plain rice."
• "It is so stupid they charge £1 to put the souse a side when i ordered chicken katsu."

Atmosphere and Decor

Pros:

• "Cosy, relaxed, two floors and Japanese art and design."
• "Pompoko is great and an essential part of the Brighton experience."
• "It seems small from the outside, but they have seating upstairs."
• "It's one of the most charming places - always bustling, cash only, BYOB."
• "But so long as you don't mind eating close together it's a lovely little place!"
• "Pompoko is a buzzy fun little Japanese style fast food restaurant, but feels more like a cafe in some ways."
• "One of Brightons hidden gems, Pompoko has affordable, super tasty and quick Japanese food."

Cons:

• "Bottom of the range Japanese fast food restaurant."
• "Not bad. Is it what it is. A small Japanese place. Hygiene leaves a lot to be desired."
• "The actual restaurant is tiny and customers are packed in."
• "It feels like you're invading some poor Japanese family's dining room, and is more greasy spoon than restaurant."
• "The setting is shabby but in an inviting way."
• "The restaurant is kind of small."
• "The main let down is the very small and cramped space."

Payment and Accessibility

Pros:

• "Only possible downside is the cash-only policy but that is never truly a problem considering there is an ATM not 1 minute away."
• "You can bring your own drinks for a small fee of £1.50 per person which is great if you can grab a seat."
• "Bring your own drink is £2.50/per person."
• "Cash only!! Highly recommend place for Asian food in Brighton."
• "Cash only so if you don't have any money on you just go round the corner to the cash machine next to the tesco express opposite the library."
• "Why are people still complaining that they only take cash? It’s a tiny business and all business get charged a fee by card company’s!"
• "No card, only CASH."

Cons:

• "To our surprise they only told us it was CASH ONLY when we went to the counter and ready to order."
• "It's cash only which can be a bit annoying."
• "It can be very busy and it's a very small restaurant which can lead to waiting times of ten minutes or more."
• "They really need to start accepting card too."
• "Card payments are not accepted unfortunately."
• "They don't take card payment that something is an inconvenience and they don't do delivery."
• "It's still strictly cash-only in 2020 which is a bit annoying."