Amanda "San Francisco was founded by a goat" C.'s Profile

A review in 3 parts.

Part 1 - Useful:
Located in MGM Grand, Shibuya is outstanding Japanese food. The menu is a little hard to understand as everything is put into one of three categories (cold plates, hot plates, and sushi) with no description of size.  My dining companion and I ordered the Yellow Tail (AMAZING with just a touch of heat), Jidori Chicken Teriyaki (this is not your mother's chicken teriyaki. Amazingly flavorful and juicy), the Ryu roll( Freshwater Eel, Cucumber, Mango with Avocado. I'm a sucker for mango and fish but this literally blew my mind. The ingredients were so fresh.), and the Shrimp Tempura roll (the batter on the shrimp was so light and crisp) which put our tanks comfortably on full.

What put Shibuya into the 5 star category was their dessert menu. The duo of creme brulees was amazing. That is a lie, ONE of the creme brulees was amazing. The other (apricot) was forgettable. The soy pineapple cheesecake made me want to change religions and make the soy pineapple cheesecake my new god. Everything on the dessert menu was unique, inventive, and sounded absolutely amazing.

Part 2 - Funny:
The concierge at MGM turned us on to Shibuya after I appeared stumbling at the desk mumbling "ASIAN FOOD! I NEED ASIAN FOOD!!!!!!" sun scorched (seriously someone has actually said "if i ever need a tan, i can lock myself in a room with black-lit room with amanda. ;)" because I am so freaking pale. 2 hours in the sun and I was pink and delirious) and semi-drunk from the delicious slushie-esq adult beverages by the pool. The concierge was able to get us a table despite the fact it was a busy Saturday night.

Part 3 - Cool:
-pops collar n leather jacket-
-hits the side of the jukebox-
-nods approvingly as music begins to play-
-grabs two teenage girls that have randomly appeared at my side despite the fact I'm obviously about 20 years older than them but am playing a high school guy-
-snaps fingers-
"Aaay!"

A few weeks ago a friend of a friend whisked a group of us ladies to Mad Pianos at John Foley's (not actually at John Foley's but one practically unmarked door down). I was amazed that in my 4 years as a San Francisco resident I had not stumbled upon this wonderful place that my friend Caitlin described, most accurately, as the "most hilarious/awkward/aw ful/amazing place ever."

The piano players are very talented, know almost every song you can come up with, and keep the audience engaged with audience participation and fellatio jokes. The wait staff is pretty quick on a packed weekend night. The crowd is an interesting mix of "fun rowdy" tourists and locals. Even the security guy is friendly and helpful instead of the traditional juicehead with an anger management problem that seem to plague the security guards in this city.

The ONLY reason I am not giving this place a much deserved 5 stars is due to their piano player Alejandro. It takes quite a bit to offend me (http://www.yelp.c...) but the two times I've been there Alejandro has said something so offensive (I'm not talking fellatio jokes here kids) my group has left the bar. Last time it was calling Snoop Dogg's Gin and Juice "crackhead black people music" more than once. In addition to coming off as incredibly racist he also ruins perfectly good fun songs but not knowing the words and making them up. A lot of the other piano players do this as well but they make up funnier lyrics which have everyone rolling in the aisles. Alejandro is just annoying but not annoying enough to ruin this bar/show.

TIPS:
+ While the bar takes cards I highly recommend bringing some cash for "bribe money"
+ Get there early (8:00 PM) if you want a seat. It gets packed very quickly.
+ Don't request Don't Stop Believin' too early in the night. It annoys the piano players.