Teppei Gets Requests To Split Big Groups For Dine-In, Customers Insist 'It's Allowed'

Restaurant Teppei has only 22 counter seats, with customers facing the chefs. To ensure adequate safe distancing, Teppei-san has installed plastic barriers between the open concept kitchen and diners, with a small gap at the bottom for the chefs to serve food (see pic above; fine-dining sushi bar Shinji by Kanesaka has a similar setup). There’s also a one-metre gap to separate different groups of customers. As for merrymaking folks who love offering sake to the omakase chefs, just don’t (it should be common sense by now that sharing food with strangers is a no-no for all involved). And the chef would have to keep removing his mask to sip your offering.

The restaurant’s Facebook post concedes that it will “evaluate [reservations] case by case” for parties above five pax from the same household, with diners required to provide “proof of residence to confirm that indeed the group is all under the same roof”. As his restaurant is reservation-only, Teppei-san reckons it’s easier to sieve out errant customers in advance and “manage accordingly”. But of course, the onus is on the customers to regulate themselves. After all, you don’t want to end your night with a trip to the police station, or have your name splashed all over social media for brazenly flouting safe distancing rules.

Photos: Teppei Yamashita/ Alvin Teo (shot in 2019)