Jake G.
Google
My partner and my experience at Saji Ya was not what we hoped for. We were genuinely excited to try it and made the trip to St. Paul, specifically for this dinner, but it ended up feeling like a wasted drive. The service was inattentive, the staff came off unprofessional, and the overall experience was poor. Honestly, we could’ve stayed in Minneapolis and gotten better sushi with friendlier service and saved ourselves the hassle.
We came in for a 7:00 PM reservation on New Year’s Eve that was labeled “bar reservation.” We only even considered making the trip because Saji Ya was recommended to us, and we were also given a holiday coupon to try it. We live North of Minneapolis, so getting to St. Paul is a bit of a trek; we were genuinely excited and looking forward to it. We also assumed we probably would not be able to use the coupon on New Year’s Eve, but we figured it did not hurt to ask.
Once we arrived, though, the experience was disappointing and confusing. We assumed “bar reservation” meant the sushi bar experience, but it ended up feeling like a completely different level of service and overall experience than what we were seeing in the dining room. Sushi is as much about presentation and pacing as it is about the fish; we eat with our eyes first, and we didn’t feel like we received that same intentional experience at the bar.
Early on, I asked multiple staff members what the best way to order would be because we wanted a chef choice tasting style meal, we did not want to decide item by item. We were steered toward the sashimi and sushi “chef choice” combos, but what we received was essentially the standard assortment you can get anywhere: salmon, red tuna, white tuna, tamago, and one other red fin fish, plus a roll that wasn’t memorable. Meanwhile, we kept seeing more interesting dishes coming out of the kitchen that we didn’t even realize were options.
The most frustrating part is that toward the end of our meal we found out, due to the staff doing leftover shots from the drink pairing menu in the bar area, they had a tasting menu and drink pairing running that evening. Despite us explicitly asking for something like that, it was never presented as an option and we were pushed back to the standard menu. That should not happen; we should be able to access the same experience regardless of where we’re seated, especially when we made it clear we were looking for a curated experience.
Service was also inattentive throughout the night. We understand it was New Year’s Eve and staff were celebrating, shots and all, but we still felt ignored. Our soup and salad that should have come with the combos never arrived. We ordered a bottle of sake to celebrate, but that was driven by us, not the staff. To make it worse, my partner asked for soy sauce and requested a container so he could have it on hand; it never came. The staff also left us feeling judged for even asking for soy sauce that was out at almost every other table or bar seating spot, which is not okay. People should be welcomed to enjoy their meal how they like, especially at this price point.
We still tipped $50 because it was New Year’s Eve, but candidly, the experience made us feel like we should have tipped $0. We’re sharing this because we wanted to love the night, and we’d like to see the bar experience match the quality and hospitality you appear to deliver elsewhere in the restaurant. Clearer reservation labeling, consistent access to specials like the tasting menu, and basic attentiveness would have changed everything.
I think Saji really missed the mark here over basic things that one should not have to ask for at a restaurant.
Sincerly,
Jake
