Christian B.
Yelp
First time here. It was packed on arrival on a Tuesday night; a good sign, though keep in mind it's late night so many restaurants are closing. None the less, the pictures do seem accurate and this place is busy for a reason.
When I entered the restaurant I noticed people picking up their food, about 3 groups in total ahead of me. When it got down to just one group ahead of me, the restaurant was understandably still packed, but I wasn't expecting a group of people to be pushing me from behind while trying to gain more comfortable territory in the small waiting area near the hosting booth. Not only did they keep pressing against me from behind (with their backs or bodies while talking, inching slowly back), but one of them decided to push past the people who had come in before them and after me and were second in line, maybe not knowing that none of us had had a chance to speak with the very busy waiting staff so far. I noticed after turning around - no longer wanting to feel the pushing behind me, that they were all young women from another country, undoubtedly somewhere in Europe. My guess was Poland or Russia, not that it matters that much really, but them being foreign I don't expect them to..wait I guess in line to be seated like we would here I guess? Maybe they assumed we had all been helped and were waiting for to go. Anyway. They either assumed automatically upon arriving that everyone had already spoken to the host, even though none of us were seated, or the prior conclusion. Luckily a nearby server was able to discern the situation, seeing the first hostess answering calls, who had talked to the new group of people before talking to any of us; but I don't blame her for doing so, from being super busy, answering calls and just looking up.
Anyway, the server asked me if I had been helped yet, I politely said I had gotten here first. Then the group got confused, wondering what was happening. So I told them I didn't want to be rude and that I was here first. The people who came after me and before them agreed, much to the group's confusion and dismay. There was some sassy tones and remarks when they eventually passed my table, but who cares; it's not last come first serve here my dudes in America. Cue cry me a river by Justin Timberlake. On to the food.
As someone who rolled sushi for 7 years, I have high standards. So here goes.
Fish: The quality of the fish was comparable and fresh to other places - no crazy impressive choices like toro belly, but not a super tiny limited menu either.
Rice: the rice quality is about a 7/10. It's not mushy or crunchy (over or undercooked) but I've had it better in other places as far as flavor and overall texture goes.
Hot food: crunchy/crispy and tasty. No complaints, but I only got the rock shrimp.
Ambience: the restaurant looks pretty, music isn't too loud, the lighting is nice.
Space overall/sidenotes: very small area for dining, which is fine. But the waiting area to be seated is very condensed as well, making it easy for people waiting to pile up. On a Tuesday with two hostesses both having their hands full, it can be both a good sign in business and a bad sign in managing how many people are working. Luckily fellow customers had my back and I had theirs so we were seated in the proper order - and lucky also that a nearby server was able to jump in and help the hostesses who were each doing multiple things at once for a good amount of waiting time.
Staff rating: everyone I saw was working hard. Service side and sushi chefs both, always moving, always doing something to get stuff done. The sushi for example also didn't fall apart, and had beautiful presentation. Just the quality I recommend be raised to compete with restaurants nearby that do have salmon and tuna belly, as well as the rice quality with the vinegar taste, but that's just my opinion (I think it needs more Kombu and sugar/salt) However, people who enjoy sushi in general will definitely enjoy this place.
Cam was my server and she was amazing! Not only did she notice I hadn't been seated yet and wanted to clear the wait up, she was super thorough and attentive, polite and professional, and knowledgeable/friendly. Fast too!
Thank you for dinner. Best of luck!