I have never felt so incredibly misled, or been so disappointed by a restaurant, that I felt compelled to leave a review. I came here with my sibling yesterday evening for a sort of celebration as they will soon be heading off to college. We were both incredibly excited by the menu we saw online and intended to order and share a large selection of appetizers and sushi.
Waitstaff seemed stressed or inexperienced, but the place didn't seem that busy. As someone who has worked in the service industry, I understand that the capacity of the restaurant isn't always the whole story so I let it go, and proceeded with understanding and kindness. I ordered hot green tea, and this should've been my first warning, as it came cold - not even luke-warm. Again, having worked in the industry I let it go, thinking maybe they're busier than they look, and I know how poor those hot water dispensers can be. Cold tea is still tea. Now I wish I'd taken that as a sign of what was to come. We started with appetizers. The ahi tuna tacos were a nice portion, but they were virtually flavorless and I had a hard time finding much besides unseasoned ahi in the tacos. We ordered the ebi shu mai. Again, lackluster and flavorless and tiny; though the broth was okay, the dumpling seemed like something you'd get out of a freezer at GFS. The kaiso salad and the age dashi tofu were fine, though I have had better at other restaurants. At this point, I'm pretty disappointed, but we proceed to order and I am trying to be optimistic. It was our mistake to order one of the most expensive sushi rolls on the menu - the Inyo 2.0. I guess, at $25 and having been to many a sushi restaurant, I expected something somewhat substantial and if nothing else visually appealing, but this was neither of those things. These were 6 or 8 quarter sized, bland looking pieces of sushi - I regret not taking pictures to attach to this review. They were said to contain king crab, if they did it was very hard to find, as was the mango. I should have dissected it but by this point I am just trying to enjoy my sibling's company and our celebration and forget my increasing dissatisfaction and disappointment. My sibling was still pretty hungry after all of this, so they ordered an entree - the ginger chicken, which was a decent serving and the taste was fine. I, not wanting to spend any more money than I already was, ordered a cup of hot and sour and some veggie rolls, they were both incredibly mediocre, as I expected by this point.
All in all, this was a terrible experience. I genuinely feel scammed, or at the very least incredibly misled and overcharged. In the end, it is my mistake for not having left sooner and proceeding to order and eat every underwhelming item we received. I cannot understand how it has so many wonderful reviews - Are Monday's just a bad day? Did COVID destroy what this restaurant once was?
I paid my sizable bill and still left a 20% tip and walked away with much regret, wishing we'd left after those first disappointing appetizers. I hope my review leads some to proceed with caution. read more