A restaurant that deliberately gives customers the wrong meals and poor service has been given rave reviews by diners.
The Restaurant of Mistaken Orders in Tokyo, Japan opens as a recurring pop-up spot in the city in order to raise awareness among its clientele about dementia.
The unusual concept was masterminded by Japanese television director Shiro Oguni, who organised the first event in 2017 after being served a dumpling instead of a burger while visiting a nursing home.
Initially, he planned to send the dumpling back, but chose not to and was subsequently inspired to create a service that appears to have accuracy at the back of its agenda.
During one of the restaurant’s first openings, around 37% of the orders were mistaken, but this did not stop the establishment from receiving a 99 per cent customer satisfaction rate.
The Restaurant of Mistaken Orders in Tokyo, Japan opens as a recurring pop-up spot in the city in order to raise awareness among its clientele about dementia. Pictured: a group of customers being served at the restaurant
Mr Oguni has said that the idea behind the restaurant is not just raise awareness around the effects dementia has on individuals, but also to promote kindness among people, even if they are facing difficult situations in their own personal lives.
‘We want to change society to become more caring and easy-going, so, dementia or no dementia, we can live together in harmony,’ Mr Oguni told Forbes.
At one event, one of the waiting staff chose to sit with her customers, while another asked a diner to take orders from the others around the table.
It is also staffed entirely by people with dementia, to help illustrate the strain the illness places on people who suffer from it, proving that kindness is key.
Extending the theme, a statement on the restaurant’s website reads: ‘You may think it’s crazy. A restaurant that can’t get your order right.
‘All of our servers are people living with dementia. They may or may not get your order right.
‘However, rest assured that even if your order is mistaken, everything on our menu is delicious and one of a kind.
”’It’s ok if my order was wrong. It tastes so good anyway”. We hope this feeling of openness and understanding will spread across Japan, and through the world’.
The unusual concept was masterminded by Japanese television director Shiro Oguni, who organised the first event in 2017 after being served a dumpling instead of a burger while visiting a nursing home. Pictured: a smiling member of the waiting staff
While these are all bizarre stunts that would ruin the reputation of a Michelin-starred establishment serving a seven-course tasting menu, it appears to have enhanced that of the Restaurant of Mistaken Orders.
One reviewer enthused: ‘The best idea EVER!’
A second wrote: ‘I just love this place’.
Another embraced the spirit of the restaurant, joking: ‘Got my order mistaken, very bad restaurant. Would not recommend.’