Amanda C.
Yelp
I don't like writing every detail of bad service, so I'll write the main points first and leave that at the bottom. I will still be detailed in this review, so that people know I'm not just being cranky, and yes, direct feedback was submitted to management with further detail. But on to Yelp Elite duties... the review!
THE SHORT STORY:
The food is 3 stars and the service is 1 star - so 2 stars it is. Ambiance was nice enough with a full bar that has a lot of TVs, large dinning room with ample tables and sushi bar area. Looked to be a patio area, but I didn't get a good view. Feel of the ambiance is not the best though because staff seemed unhappy and argumentative the whole time.
The food could be 4 stars, but it's over priced for portion and taste. Additionally, there are a lot of sushi restaurants in the same neighborhood - so with stiff competition, food is 3 stars.
Service from the host was 1 star (see below), kitchen staff yelling loud enough for us to hear was 1 star, slowness of bartender gets 2 stars (though the drinks were good he kept making for bar area and one large table over everyone else), and waitress was 2 stars.
THE LONG STORY & REVIEW:
Food - we ordered the Baked Scallop app ($14.50) along with the Kimchee Octopus Salad ($9). Scallops were cooked well enough, but plating was annoying with the large hot skillet in the middle of a small table. Overall it was good - probably wouldn't order that again though. I would order the octopus again; very fresh and interesting flavor with the kimchee sauce. On to entrees. Since we had to make quick food choices, we wanted to choose from the Daiwa Creations. Other half ordered the Sunset Roll ($13.50), and said that while it was good, the rice wasn't quite right (I had one, and I agree with him - maybe because it was the end of the night?). I ordered the TNT ($17), but I'm not sure why it's called that, because it wasn't spicy in the least. To make sure, gave one to other half who usually has a less spice-tolerant palate than me, and he said it wasn't spicy. It was good even though it felt misnamed. Fish was fresh, but again, nothing special overall about the flavors themselves to make me return here over another restaurant in the area - especially due to the rest of our experience. We paid about $100 for this meal, which just felt more than it was worth.
Drinks - I tried to order the Yuzu 75, but they were out; not a big deal because the waitress recommended the Haku Rainforest instead, and that was delicious. Definitely would order again. Other half ordered the Bad Mama-San and said he enjoyed it very much. Only issue is that we didn't get our drinks until our entrees were on the table, and then the waitress never came back to see if we wanted another round.
Service: Reservations for 9:30 but we weren't seated for a while and then greeted by waitress until about 9:45. Not an issue, because they said they were busy, and we're generally patient people when out on date night. Until things went even more sideways... before we even received our drinks - at 9:50 the waitress tells us the kitchen is closing in 5 minutes and she needs to put anything in that we want to order right now. She's telling us this as the host is seating other people that I can only imagine had legitimate reservations as you are, in fact, allowed to make reservations until 10:00 p.m. and online everything says they close at 10:30 p.m. Not to argue, we quickly made our selection of one roll each (definitely a loss of money on their end from lack of food order and one single drink order, but again, I don't want to argue with them). Beyond that, the waitress disappeared A LOT, and took forever to get our check even though they seemed to be a in a rush to close. I feel extra sorry for the two tables that were seated after us; can't imagine the experience they had.
