This is a newer sushi place right on W. Broadway near Oak. It is small. Seats around 15 people. They have a little sushi counter that seats 4, and several tables seating 2-4 each. The sushi chef stands behind the counter working nonstop making sushi, and he has an assistant. There is 1 waitress for the entire place. I sat at the counter.
The food here is pretty classic sushi with a few westernized rolls typical in North America (e.g. "dragon rolls" and "rainbow rolls"). This place serves "mid-tier" sushi. It isnt like the high end omakase places by any means, but its also a step above the common cheap sushi all over town. Their pricing is not cheap but still reasonable.
Their sushi, is good. I judge a sushi place by their Nigiri. The rice was cooked well. Not too mushy, not too firm. Packed just right. Well seasoned too, with the vinegar coming through just enough. The fish to rice ratio was good. The seafood on top was well-seasoned and cut well.
I had their deluxe sushi combo, assorted sashimi plate, rainbow roll, and seaweed salad. The seaweed salad is the same generic stuff you get in a big jar that is served all over town. Nothing special about this. The rest was good. For this tier of sushi, a solid 4/5. Dont expect the "show" of an omakase counter, but the food is good.
They do have a problem with their service though. It is inefficient, slow, and they have some kinks to work out. One of the rate-limiting steps is their sushi chef, who is working efficiently and nonstop. Cant fault him for that, and my respect to him for working hard. But it seems he needs more help with prep. But that's not even the main problem. Their customer flow and restaurant layout makes no sense. They have a whole sushi counter, yet every time the chef finishes preparing a dish, he has to put it on the back counter so someone can put on finishing touches (e.g. ginger and wasabi) and then the waitress brings it around the counter to serve you from behind you which is super awkward. Why not just serve you straight from behind the counter? Efficient, less clutter, and way less awkward. This is how every other sushi counter I have been to is run. Why reinvent the wheel? They do the exact same thing with refilling your tea. If you're at the counter, they approach from behind you. Funny enough, for one of my dishes, the chef DID serve me direct from the counter where he was standing, except he missed the ginger and wasabi. Because those arent put on by him. They're done by the waitress at the back counter.
My main gripe was when I first arrived, on time, with a reservation. But they let some lady picking up a takeout order sit in our reserved seats, while she reads a book and sips tea. I was delayed 15 mins from my reservation time solely because of this. So they told me I have to wait until they finish preparing her pickup order and she leaves. This is just a major service blunder. Reservations take priority, period. Customers picking up, especially during busy times, should not be occupying any of your seats for diners, let alone a reserved one. They can wait by the door or outside the door. They didnt come to eat. They came to pickup.
Anyway, there is street parking on the side streets if you can find it. Or in one of the nearby paid lots.
Overall food, solid 4/5 for this tier of sushi. Its good.
But service is 3/5 at best. just OK. Needs some work.
Overall they are a 3.5/5. Theyre not quite at the 4/5 level overall and you cant give half stars, so they get 3/5. read more