So I've been here for both hibachi and sushi. imho, hibachi is never really worth it and Oishi's no different. If you like the theatrics of it and standard food, then sure go for it. The time I've been here for sushi, though, that was a game changer. The fish I've had here are SO fresh, and the flavors are pretty spot on. I didn't think this would be a good place for sushi, but I happily stand corrected. The jimmy sexy roll and spicy crunch scallop are SO flavorful and tender that my boyfriend wanted to get seconds. The soups (miso and curry) are pretty big, but you do pay like $2-$3 for them. read more

We went here on our last day of our weekend visit to Champaign-Urbana and we really liked it. I love these Benihana style Japanese restaurants. Our chef was really cool. Very engaging and had a lot of fun with all of us at the table. One thing I have to say is here in Indiana, at Kumo in Greenwood, the food quality is a little better, but at Oishi, quantity is much more. I ordered the steak and chicken with a side of noodle and my wife ordered steak and scallop. Both of us were blown away by the amount of rice, veg and meat we all got. I think it was well worth the money, which is about $22/person, give or take. I have a mushroom allergy and they were awesome in catering to that minor annoyance. Overall, I'd say it's a good place for a family to enjoy. read more

I ordered takeout a few days ago for a few sweet potato sushi rolls. They were incredible, they were filled with tempura and were crisped perfectly. Each roll usually comes with 5 ginormous pieces. The staff are very friendly and were happy to help with my dietary restrictions to fish and meat. The only criticism I would have is that they put sesame seeds on it the first time I ordered when I requested the latter, but It's completely fine because the next time I ordered they were perfect. I would completely recommend ordering from here. read more

Nice presentation, nice interior, but the food is a bit underwhelming and expensive. If you're just looking for a nice place to sit around for a bit and chat this would be great. But if you're expecting the food to taste as good as it looks you might be a little disappointed. read more

See all

Came here for my friend's birthday. Knew this place didn't have great reviews but it was the only place we saw that had hibachi. We sit down at the table and as we are waiting, a COCKROACH crawls across the area where they cook. One of us flicked it on and didn't mention it to the staff (not sure why), but our stomachs were not feeling too great after this meal. Food was sub par. Do not recommend coming here!!! read more

Oishi - Japanese Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

Oishi was just good for me. It wasn't great. The server was attentive and nice. The atmosphere was chill, but kind of confusing. It's like in between romantic because of the lighting and I don't even know what with the tv turned to espn. That, however, wasn't bothersome. I ordered sushi and it was good, just not great. I like to order certain rolls at different restaurants just to be able to compare and Oishi's wasn't too bad. The food is definitely pleasing to the eye, but the taste wasn't exceptional. It was just good. However, their rolls are sufficient for the price. I ordered unagi ($2 ea) and the pieces of eel was really big! I was pleasantly surprised but, again, didn't love the taste. Just felt like there could be more to it. read more

Oishi - Top to bottom: Eel cucumber roll, spicy tuna, unagi, dinosaur roll. - Japanese Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

Enjoyable hibachi experience. Pretty standard from what I've seen in other cities, but always a great time. The chef at the table was funny, made some good jokes, and also cooked the food really well, while keeping us engaged. I had the filet and chicken combination, and they always give everyone a few shrimps as well. Starts off with salad and soup, and the ginger dressing on the salad was really good. Soup was beef broth with mushrooms, also really good. Yum yum sauce and ginger sauce were a plus and I enjoyed dipping the meat and veggies in there. read more

Absolutely TERRIBLE customer service. Ordered through the app and got the hibachi lunch with comes with a soup and salad. Got to the restaurant to pick up my order and noticed that there wasn't a soup or salad, so I asked the lady if I could receive my soup and salad and she went on to tell me how I didn't option for it. On the app it doesn't have an option for it and I literally showed her how the app worked in my phone and she continued to make me feel uncomfortable by berating me. She finally went back to get what came with my order, and only brought the salad! I then asked for my soup and she continues to tell me how I didn't tell her I wanted soup?! Seriously!!! Thank goodness I was just driving through here... HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE. Haven't even tried the food due to this awful experience read more

My family and I were sat at 7 at the hibachi table. Around 7:15 waiter came to take our tables drink order. At 7:30, I pointed out to my husband that we still didn't have a drink half hour after being sat. Drinks arrived, sort of... We ordered a bottle of wine. I got a glass if wine. Husband got nothing. I ABSOLUTELY clearly ordered bottle. I pointed this out to waiter. He brought me bottle with another glass. Left the other glass of wine. Later charged me for glass and bottle. He dropped the gentleman's bottle of beer that was at our table right in front of all of us. Then, gave spilled beer to the guy like it didn't just happen. He had to say something to the waiter to get another beer. He was brought another beer begrudgingly, and ended up charging the guy for an extra beer! He brought the wrong beer to another guy at the table. He never corrected it. Ordered our appetizer, sushi roll. Also, ordered our dinner. Ordered my son's meal, (child,) and husband made sure to point out, (literally pointed on the menu,) our son needed the kid's meal. Chef arrived. Food served up to each of us. No appetizers. Everyone else's apps came out after food was being served. Ours did not arrive. Flagged down waiter. He said, "Oh, I'll go get it." Since we were already eating dinner, had it cancelled, (as though it were ever coming.) Got our bill. 3 adult entrees instead of 2 with child's meal. A glass of wine in addition to the bottle. A sushi roll that never came. Tried to explain this to the waiter. Female (manager?owner?) came over. Waiter said in front of me that he didn't make a mistake. Uh??? Well, to be fair it wasn't singular. He made multiple mistakes. He told me that my child got the combo and that isn't available on kids menu. Yes it is. We read and ordered it right off the menu. Pointed to the item! She asked if my kid ate it, and gestured to the to go box. Seriously?! I explained repeatedly that we ordered the kids menu. Apparently, he was served adult portion, and they felt that we should pay for the mistake. Regardless, we DIDNT ORDER IT! Take the to go box for crying out loud. She also tried to insist that I drank the mistake glass. So, I should have to pay for it . Incidentally, when he brought glass to me, I handed it back to him. He set it back down in front of me. I guess I should have poured it out or left a glass worth in our bottle... She finally conceded, but grew very irritated with waiter, (join the club.) So, she started berating him in front of us. She corrected the bill. I thanked her, and she scoffed. Alrighty... Rest of table had errors on their bill, too. All in all bad experience. Will say that the food was good, chef was alright, but not worth all the trouble. Tried to give only 1 star, but won't let me post with less than 2. Place didn't deserve any stars! read more

One thing that sucks is your entire party needs to be present to before we could be seated. We had 7 and all 6 was here and yet would not seat us. So 9 yo a habichi table so I don't get it. Lastly is was 5:15pm, early enough to dine and leave for more dinners. The good is great, pricie but good. read more

I first found this place some time ago and I have thought of it often when thinking about great food in Champaign. I used to take my exgirlfriend there on occasion, always surprised at the huge portions of food that will definitely be taken home. The food also tastes rgood and, as with many hibachis, you get a show before your meal. The service is exceptional and we usually make a friend at the table when we go. My rating does not include the price because I think that it is worth the expense of the restaurant: It is a little pricy but worth it. read more

I love coming here for hibachi. Similar to what you'd find in other cities, but they seem to do everything right. The chefs are engaging, the food is cooked with a perfect proportion of teriyaki sauce, and the yum yum and ginger sauces in the table are addicting. I'm personally a sucker for the ginger. You'll also get some extra shrimp no matter what you order. They made birthdays extra enjoyable as well as they make you wear a hat, give you dessert, and post your picture on the wall (I know from experience). I usually alternate between hibachi chicken, filet, scallops, and salmon when I come here. The shrimp as awesome but like I said, you get a couple pieces anyway. read more

Our experience at Oishi was by far the worst that I have experienced in a very long time. We were seated relatively quickly at a Hibachi table. Their food was decent but their fried rice leaves a lot to be desired. It's just rice soy sauce and egg. Never during the course of the meal were we asked if we wanted another beverage or were waters refilled. The elderly lady across the table to get up and find the server to ask for more drinks. I had ordered the vegetable tempura appetizer. It was terrible and it was served with the sweet chili sauce and not Ponsu sauce. I had to get up find our server and ask her for another beverage and some Ponsu sauce for the tempura. The beverage came but never the sauce. The chef came and made everyone's meals except one of my daughters. He totally forgot her. He was cleaning the grill and saying goodbye and she had to ask him for her meal to be made. Then right after she received her meal. It was very obvious that clearly we were still eating, we were given To Go Boxes and our bill. See the pictures I provided. They had never cleared the appetizer plates. It was my daughters birthday and we had mentioned it to the chef. Every other table that had a birthday they came out and made a big deal. Nothing was done for my daughter. I finally called the Manager over and showed him that the appetizer plates had not been cleared the water glasses were empty and we had just started eating dinner and were already given to go boxes and bill. And he said okay and took away the appetizer plate before I even finished was I saying. Then the server comes over angrily. Apologizes for never bringing the Ponsu sauce and takes it away and adjust the bill. When she brought back the bill she said, we should be done eating everyone else was done. I told the chef forgot to make my daughters meal and she was just served. And mentioned about my daughters birthday. She argued with us, raised her voice and then said so do you want me to the birthday thing. We said no don't bother. Overall it was a horrible dining experience. I personally would never go back read more

Oishi - The bill is right next to the to go boxes my daughters drinks are empty and plates are full. So terrible - Japanese Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

Food is good. Was sitting at the bar and my buddy looks at me and says he saw a cockroach in the floor... I kinda brushed it off as "Hey, one cockroach in a restaurant... you can't expect everything to be perfect..." low and behold we were finishing our drinks and I paid my $125.00 tab and another god for saken cockroach crawls up onto the bar right between us. I didn't say anything or do anything. I killed it and we left. Come on Oishi... I used to like you.... wtf. read more

I'm lowering my previous review because when I've gone back lately it's been consistently meh. My husband and I used to enjoy ordering food at the bar but that's not allowed anymore. Service lacks at time and have experienced our table being forgotten about. Also, I know for families it's loud and nice in that way but as a childfree person it's cheeky and just not suitable for what I want in a dining experience. read more

We've been here several times always a great meal. But last night was the Best ever, my wife's Birthday, we had 11 guests. The food and entertainment were the BEST! We will definitely be back for more great food, read more

I ordered Pad Thai was tasty. The crab Rangoon was good. We sat at the Hibachi table and was very enjoyable. I doubt I will return it was too expensive. read more

Came here for lunch on a Saturday. So right off the bat this place does do hibachi lunch specials on Saturday. 8.99 for chicken hibachi lunch is a fair price and I think if they charged anymore I would not come back. The service was fast, the room is very open and a little loud when there is a crowd. The portion was incredibly small and a little bit of a disappointment. The saving grace of this place is their yummy ginger salad dressing. Overall a pretty average hibachi place, with average to play food. read more

I decided to try Oishi for lunch. When I saw that this restaurant was located on north Prospect, I expected it to be similar to other family-style restaurants in that part of town. Instead, I found Oishi to be quite sophisticated; a restaurant that probably would have fit in comfortably with the nightlife of downtown Champaign. The interior is furnished with black leather, glass artwork (of scandalously bare-chested geisha...?), and flat-screen TVs. There was club music pumping in the background throughout my meal (kind of annoying/inappropriate for lunch?). As a fair warning for those "foodie purists" out there, this is not a traditional Japanese establishment, but an Asian fusion restaurant, much like KoFusion. There are options for "exotic" fare (e.g., sushi, Thai red snapper) and also more familiar, conservative options (e.g., fried rice, General Tso's chicken). Unfortunately, I've only sampled the sushi here, so I can't comment on the quality of the stir-fry items. My impression is that they take popular Asian dishes and "elevate" them with a few fancy techniques. The presentation of dishes is quite impressive. On my sushi plate, there was a small floral arrangement and an artistic drizzle of sauces (including some kind of Asian "barbecue" sauce and spicy mayonnaise). The rolled sushi was compact, neat, and divided into manageable sizes. The sashimi was cut beautifully, showcasing the color and texture of the fish. I had no problem with the freshness of the fish, either. As part of the lunch combination, you're offered a salad and a choice of different soups (miso, wonton, and hot & sour soup). The salad was standard (iceberg lettuce, cherry tomatoes, etc.), but the ginger dressing deviated in an interesting way from the usual recipe (I think I detected a hint of grapefruit or other citrus...?). The soups, while dished out in generous portions, were forgettable and bland. Overall, I found the experience to be lovely and enjoyable. The service was professional and the food was quite good, especially in terms of presentation. I'm sure I'll be back to dine here again soon. read more

We had 2 California Rolls presented beautifully and shared the General Tao's Chicken...everything was fresh and delicious! Very prompt server too! read more

Oishi - Generous portion of General Tao's Chicken! Hot & Fresh ;) - Japanese Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

ok, so trying a sushi restaurant on a Sunday afternoon might not be the best idea (everyone knows that fish is delivered on Tuesdays and Fridays in this part of the mid-west)... Decor=excellent. Service=Excellent. Value for money=exceptional (I'm thinking of my friends who like quantity in this line). Food...well...variable. The crab cakes are made with fake crab, and are actually delicious, but I wish they would fess up about it. The sushi itself tasted pre-frozen, which in this part of the world is understandable, but it just wasn't great. Sushi rolls were better, so I look forward to trying more of their 'cooked' food!. I wish them best of luck... read more

Went with friends to a teppanyaki table. If you've been to a Benihana or similar you know the drill: food related puns e.g. "egg roll", the onion volcano, challenging diners to catch flipped up food with their mouths, etc. The experience is fun. The food itself was underwhelming. Steaks, shrimp and fish are all well overcooked, resulting in rubbery shrimp, and dry, tasteless steaks and salmon. The cook pours waaay too much soy sauce on the food, destroying what little remains of the flavor. It was almost too salty to eat. The soy sauce itself tastes and smells like a discount "soy" sauce of salty water with caramel coloring. I don't expect 5 star dining in Champaign, but skimping on soy sauce is just weird. I give an extra star because they're very willing to split an order into two plates. read more

I decided to try this place after a friend told me they had a good experience. I'm glad I picked up an order to go, because if I was in the dining in, I'd probably had an involuntary scene. The sushi was inedible. This is no joke. I've had better sushi at Meijer. The only reason why I gave this place two stars and not one, was the crab Rangoon was pretty good. Although anything tasted better than the sushi. Needless to say, I threw the sushi away and made a 5 stars pb&j. read more

For those who did not know, Oishi just reopened with hibachi grill areas. We have tried to take the kids to another local hibachi grill numerous times, but that place had restrictive hours and poor service. For those in our area who have had similar experiences, Oishi is your new answer. Hostess staff was friendly. Server was attentive. Hibachi chef was wonderful, and the food was great. We liked the decor and the food before, and have put this on our permanent list because of our experience tonight. Thanks Oishi and to everyone reading, go and enjoy! read more

Food is okay. Some of the hostesses are very "selective" of who receives their attitude and impatience... Got attitude after asking how long a wait was... So, honestly probably not going back. Its not like its food you cant do without. Costumer service is #1 for me. read more

I really enjoyed eating here. As one reviewer mentioned, their presentations are excellent. The soup was just OK, and I thought the ginger dressing on the salad tasted bitter, but the entree and sushi made up for it. The sushi roll was so beautifully presented with separate little plates and bowls for individual dipping. I especially enjoyed the ginger sauce on the ginger chicken I ordered. YUMMM!!!! I absolutely have never had any ginger sauce this good. They added some unusual items, like cubes potatoes and eggplant, to the stir-fry. Surprisingly, it worked! The portions were generous and prices are really reasonable. You get so much food for the money. I enjoyed the atmosphere--very classy. I felt like I had dined "fine" on a very inexpensive ticket. I really hope they stay in business. I highly recommend. read more

I had a very bad experience before I even picked up the first order I had placed with this restaurant. I tried to use a voucher that I had purchased for the business. I did make a mistake in assuming it was for both carry out and dining in, but it was only for dine-in (why the distinction, I have no idea). When I questioned the person on the phone further and asked if he could make an exception, he became very rude, interrupted me repeatedly, and basically called me stupid for not reading the fine print. The initial mistake was mine, but that did not deserve the rudeness that I encountered. I will never order from there, and I am trying to get a refund for my voucher. read more

Apparently this is one of the hottest restaurants in the area? It's VERY average quality and has quite high prices for what it is. Their sushi rolls are ones with lots of mayo and tempura.. (*very americanized-type sushi // basic sushi eaters*). Japanese food is my favorite cuisine and I'm unimpressed, but if you are basic, you might like it! Their pork chop dish was alright, but again, nothing to actually write home about..? After I left, I realized the waitress didn't even bring me my miso soup. WTF. Granted, for Champaign-Urbana standards, I guess it's okay.. so I will add a star. I honestly wouldn't be impressed if I was taken here on a date. Lol read more

I have had pad thai here. The food is OK, definitely not great. Asked for a spicy one; got served a bland one. The noodles was greasy as well. No idea about the sushi or the hibachi. Overall, the yum factor is missing. Somehow the restaurant has maintained an upscale vibe. But not impressed enough to recommend this one. read more

Oishi - Pad thai - Japanese Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

Good, not great. Everything was fresh, but just needed a little something to make you say 'yum'. My friends Z & A weren't much on sharing, so I can only say my food was good. read more

The rating of 3-stars is only due to GRUBHUB and not this wonderful restaurant. This is a 5-star rating restaurant but ONLY order takeout via phone and NOT GRUBHUB . If you order via GRUBHUB they charge their fee even though they don't do anything and you pick it up yourself. The restaurant has amazing service and MUCH friendlier and faster. read more

Worst customer service that I have ever received. I took my 2 sons here because they have never been to a Hibachi grill before. We waited 20 minutes and still had not had our order taken. I had to request to have the server come to our table to take our order. We then waited over 1/2 hour and they still had not come to the grill to start our food. We decided to leave. I wanted to do the right thing and pay something since we did actually get our soup and salad. They charged me over $18 for the small salad and soup. I paid but will never go back due to the horrible customer service. If the restaurant actually cared about their customers, they would have not charged that much and apologize. There are plenty of other restaurants who deserve the business. read more

I had a great time at Oishi! Last night, I walked in right as they were closing. And, they still gave me good service and great food! Everything tasted great and the atmosphere surrounding the cocktail bar was the best! If I could split things up in three I would give the service 1.67, food 1.66 and the ambience 1.67. The reason I gave the 1.66 for the food, is because the portions of soup and salad are small however cheaper than any other place I have been. The amount of wonton soup and seaweed salad was a tease. But, very tasteful! Maybe if the price was .50 cents more they could give a few more bites. I still HIGHLY recommend Oishi. It is convenient for where I live and the building is clean and fairly new! The price for my plate of a 3 sampler tuna rolls, 2 piece wonton soup, and very small cup of seaweed salad with water to drink was $25, $30 after tip. This puts this restaurant in a Spendy range for Champaign according to Yelp. I am not sure if you include tip in the price range. Any input on the price calibration would be great! read more

Amazing place to eat!!!! Loved it! I went for lunch today with my husband and 9 year old son. It was my sons first time at a hibachi grill, and he had the best time. He asked to go back before they even brought the bill. The chef ( a gentlemen named ritchie) was wonderful!!!! He even came back out to talk to my son after the meal to make sure he had a good time. I will definitely be going back again and again! Thank you very much for making my sons 4th of July even better! read more

Went to Oishi with my family who are residents of Champaign. It's a place they love going to because with 5 kids under the age of 14, and 5 adults, they like going to places that will have something to make everyone happy. Also, my nieces and nephews have been eating sashimi and maki since they were 5 and have developed quite a sophisticated palate ;). Because, it's Champaign, this is place they come often to get their sushi fix :). And Oishi does deliver on that account. They have a habachi, hot entrees and quite the selection of sushi, sashimi, and maki making it a place for the sushi and non-sushi eater alike. Our party of 9 started with the shrimp shumai (very good), crab rangoon (more cream cheese and barely any "crab", but what can you expect for $4??). My nephew had the Grilled Sesame Crusted Tuna: Served rare with peanut sauce marinated soba noodle with spicy mayo & wasabi sauce. I had a bite and it was quite tasty! My husband ordered the pineapple fried rice. It was sooooooooooo bland and boring. No flavor and the rice was overcooked. Big miss. For our rolls, we ordered: 1. Spicy Tuna - This was nicely executed simple but classic roll. I could detect a hint of spice which made me happy. 2. Ocean Fourteen: Rock shrimp tempura, avocado topped with crunchy spicy snow crab. Really enjoyed this roll! The rock shrimp and spicy snow crab were a marriage in heaven! 3. Pink Lady Lobster: Lobster tempura, avocado, cucumber, tobiko wrapped in pink soy paper with spicy lobster sauce. Also, very good! I liked the fact that they weren't stingy with the lobster :). 4. Red Hot Dragon: Shrimp tempura roll topped with spicy tuna & crunch. Good but nothing memorable. 5. Toro Dynasty: Crunchy spicy tuna, avocado topped with tuna toro, salmon toro & yellowtail toro. This was also good, but nothing memorable. 6. Golden Dragon: Spicy yellowtail, tuna, cucumber topped with fresh mango & honey wasabi sauce. The fresh mango was a delicious touch and the honey wasabi sauce was a new flavor profile for me and I really enjoyed it! We wrapped up dinner with dessert. They have a pretty big selection of miniature sized desserts for $4. They're just big enough to satisfy a post meal sweet tooth without pushing you to the edge. We got the chocolate fudge cake, which was warm and fluffy and the perfect sweet treat to end a nice meal with the fam. Our server was a little odd and abrupt, but we realized it just might be her personal demeanor and nothing we needed to take personally. If this big, bad city gal wouldn't mind returning to Oishi, then why would anyone else? read more

So when I went to dine here I looked at the pictures and based my order on what I saw, first mistake! I ordered what looked like steamed bok choy and then I asked for some grilled shrimp to go along with it. What was brought to the table was Bok Choi swimming in a brown sweet sauce and then a plate of shrimp tofu and vegetables which was a stirfry in brown sauce with a bowl of white rice. I don't eat rice I limit my sugar but the point is it wasn't what I ordered. The waiter then said he basically interpreted what I ordered and brought it to me. My daughter went and told them we refuse to pay for it and they took the stirfry away! This is the hopefully last time I will dining there because I don't enjoy it. I don't enjoy the food and I didn't enjoy the service! read more

I think this place is pretty good. The food is tasty and it's not as expensive as some sushi places I've been too. Today I had Edamame and Indian Pancake with curry dripping (did they mean dipping?) sauce for appetizers to share. The amount of Edamame was LOTS with just the right amount of salt. It was the first time I'd ever had Indian Pancake and I thought it was QUITE good. For my meal, I ordered a Salmon, Jalapeno, Avocado roll and it was excellent. This is one of the few places I've been where they have Jalapeno offered to put on rolls and I love how it spices them up. All in all, a very good lunch. read more

Went here with some friends and it was great! My steak was cooked perfectly and their rice is amazing! Our tae chef was a blast and seemed like he was having just as much fun as us. Our waitress did a great job as well. In spite of a few people in our group acting obnoxiously, she remained calm and professional. This review is downgraded to 4 stars because my beef and onion side of soup literally had 3 small onion slivers and the rest was beef broth. That aside great food, service and the chef we had was awesome! I'll be back for sure. read more

I came here just for sushi takeout but the woman was very polite and they had everything packaged up really nicely the second I walked in the door less than 20 min after I called in my order and drove over :) I got the sashimi dinner. The 16 pieces of fish were nice and thick and delicately flavored. You get your money's worth for just $18. read more

I am able to get quality sushi here slightly cheaper than the other quality sushi serving places. It's not trying to be exclusively authentic Japanese, it's great if you want to eat at a fusion-Asian place and have your pineapple fried rice, sushi and spring roll all at the same time. My fav items here are: house salad (good dressing), spider roll, sake-tini (they use cucumber vodka, AWESOME!), lao san roll, and Thai lettuce wraps. For some reason I didn't like the rolls that included spicy tuna or spicy salmon rolls - it seemed more liked canned tuna/canned salmon. The staff has ALWAYS been great with our baby - It looks to be a fancy place that is too high class for families but that is not true, and I will always feel welcome with the whole family. read more