Chris V.
Yelp
Fool me twice... ugh.
Ono Sushi is a well-reviewed all you can eat sushi spot near Flamingo and Eastern. Sorry to all of my friends who have enjoyed this place, but I did not leave with a very positive impression.
I actually first tried Ono Sushi years ago around the time of their soft or grand opening when they were still an unknown. That meal left enough of a negative impression that I abstained from leaving a Yelp review at the time, hoping to come back in the future to experience significant improvement. I thought that seeing them at 4.5 stars on Yelp and being named a favorite AYCE spot from one of my close sushi friends would be enough, but somehow it wasn't.
I typically try to focus on nigiri at AYCE sushi spots, and absolutely none of the nigiri were remarkable now that I think back on what I had earlier this afternoon. I had yuzu(?) yellowtail [neither my friend nor I tasted much yuzu], ono (aka super white tuna), amaebi (sweet shrimp), and ocean trout and was not particularly impressed. The salmon belly was fine but not as rich and fresh at other spots. The unagi was a little mushy. The scallop was sea scallop and not the tiny bay scallop but tasted too dirty and metallic. The uni was easily the worst uni I've had in years. Even the amaebi head was a disappointment because it wasn't fried long enough to make it tender enough to chew.
Uni aside, it seems like they're still merely trying to impress with huge cuts of fish, forgetting that it's quality which really needs to be on-point with people who aren't diving headfirst into sauced-up rolls. Considering that I ponied up extra ($28.98 dinner vs $23.98 lunch) for premium nigiri and other items, I was not impressed.
The starters were not that great overall either. I was recommended the baked green mussels, and they came out unusually dry. So did the puny pieces of bay scallop in the overly salty dynamite. The poke tacos were pretty bland too, as were the three fish of the sashimi appetizer (tuna, salmon, super white). The blackboard special pink salmon was colorful but utterly bland aside from the orange supreme garnish. Both pork belly and pork belly skewers were pretty solid because of how tender they were, but they just didn't bother to utilize any searing or even caramelization. The best one item by far was the dinner menu oyster, which was a huge, plump, clean-tasting monster. That mostly just makes a strong case for their Oyster Wednesdays ($1 each).
There were some fun bites within the rolls, which really were more of a blur due to my focus on my priorities. The bagel really had some fun with salmon belly, bacon, cream cheese, and other appropriate components. I tried 4-5 others too, but nothing stands out without having to look back at the menu... but is it really worth noting them at that point? And finally, my one-per-person choice of dessert was the green tea affogato, which was authentically bitter but lacking the appropriate sugar level to be called a dessert.
Reviewing my above comments, I honestly don't see why I don't give Ono Sushi a 2-star review. Maybe it's sympathy, or maybe it's because I did enjoy enough of it to get full. But my dining companions and I all agreed that it was the worst of the three AYCE sushi spots which we've tried recently around Vegas/Henderson, and none of them even match up to my favorite, so this feels appropriate. Whoever is giving this place 5 stars or even 4 stars needs to wake up and check out the competition, and that includes my dear friends.
