Chef acquires menu signing skills as a welcoming gesture for deaf clients…

A deaf couple from Dallas, Texas, who were dining at a posh restaurant, learned what it really meant to receive first-rate service with a side of compassion. Tatsu Dallas is described on its Instagram page as “a traditional, edomae-style sushi adventure deep in the heart of Texas.” Melissa Keomoungkhoun and her spouse Victor Montiel went there for supper and received service that was tailored to their needs.

Nataly Keomoungkhoun, Melissa’s sister and the online dining editor for D Magazine tweeted about the encounter that “almost took [her] to tears.” Nataly described how the staff at the restaurant went above and beyond to make sure her sister and brother-in-law had the best experience possible in the now-viral thread.

As one of the city’s most difficult reservations, Nataly tweeted that “dining critic @bgreinhart published a wonderful review of Tatsu Dallas.” “I went there and really enjoyed it. The cuisine is unrivaled. However, I want to tell you about the Tatsu Dallas service.

As an omakase restaurant, Tatsu Dallas serves dinners made up of foods that the chef has personally selected. Since such dinners necessitate more discussion of the cuisine than usual, Melissa felt that it would be challenging to communicate with the staff during her visit. She was aware of the omakase tasting menu’s hoopla and realized that a large portion of the dinner is intimate and described by word of mouth, Nataly tweeted.

I am Deaf, and so is my husband, Melissa told TODAY. “When dining out, we are typically prepared to meet the staff’s communication needs, such as using our voices with American Sign Language, our voices while displaying texts on our phones of what we need or want to order, or by asking for pen and paper if communication becomes too challenging.”

Melissa contacted Tatsu Dallas ahead to their reservation to let the staff know that she and her spouse are Deaf in order to find out how they could appreciate the meal to the fullest without being able to hear the chef introduce each dish. In response, the restaurant gave Melissa and her husband a taste of their supper by supplying the tasting menu in advance.

They were also told by the restaurant that a far more detailed menu will be sent to them on the night of their visit so they could read all the chef wanted them to know. They also sent us a copy of their drink and cocktail menu so we could study it beforehand, just because they believed that was the best way to get in touch with us, Melissa said.

But the couple received a very welcome surprise when they entered the diner on the day of their reservation! Tatsu’s wife, Janice, the beverage director, and Tatsu himself welcomed my husband and me when we entered the lobby room and greeted us in ASL, Melissa recalled. Even though it attracted considerable attention in the room, we didn’t feel left out thanks to the staff signing at Tatsu!

“Chef Tatsuya Sekiguchi also learnt how to sign the full tasting menu,” Nataly tweeted. Melissa reported seeing a printout of the menu’s sign-off instructions behind the counter. It stunned her and almost made Nataly cry, she wrote.

Chef Sekiguchi stated that his goal is to create and provide a special and memorable eating experience every single day. Every day, we all celebrate something.

I would be grateful if I could contribute to making it more memorable,” he remarked. He continued by saying that he hoped the pair would return so he could use ASL. “I didn’t fully understand. I’ve learned the words and phrases I’ll need for work,” Sekiguchi remarked. We all will continue to learn ASL as we continue to hope they will return.