The lobster roll, I used to love. However, the newer staff is unfriendly. They always run out of the proper roll paper. No lobster in the roll. The price is outrageous and no longer go. The atmosphere is haphazard. My meal, sloppy rolled and great flavor but for $18 a roll. I expect a ton better. The rolls used to cost $12.85... read more

The service was a little slow but overall it was nice. The sushi was nice and the chicken was crispy. My friend loved the sauce but I wasn't a huge fan of the after taste , I tasted fish oil or something. Later it did upset my stomach but the food was good but it was a little pricey for what they offered. read more

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The food wasn't bad, but the astronomical price you pay for what you get is ridiculous... I posted a pic of the $9 poke bowl. I was stunned at how small this was. You can get a basic roll for $8, but their "specialty" rolls usually just add cucumber and avocado for nearly double the price ($15+ per specialty roll). I would suggest going to "go fish sushi" in Burlington instead. You get better quality and more reasonable prices for what you get. read more

Shokai Sushi - This is a $9 poke bowl they have on their menu.... Incredibly small and minimal for the price. - Japanese Near Me

Good service. Not very creative in roll creation. Skimpy on the actual fish. Ordered Kamikai roll- not bad but not as hot as we expected, Fire Dragon - pretty good and Rainbow - not good. Inside is supposed to have BBQ eel and avocado but barely any eel and the avocado was old. Pretty loud in restaurant. Sadly for us, they ran out of egg rolls at 6:15. read more

Shokai Sushi - Either a poor choice for a roll - barely any eel and an old avocado (rainbow roll), or a bad night for the sushi chefs. - Japanese Near Me

This place made me a sushi fan! Always fresh and creative rolls. I love their plum wine or saki aswell. Godzilla roll is forever a favorite

I would like to give this place a 5 for food- delicious sushi!!! The service was also great and would give a 5 as well! However, the ambiance was not good. The place seems to be in the middle of a re-model? Duct tape, unfinished mis matched flooring with parts missing, cracked window glass, parts of the drywall missing...looks like it could be cool someday???? I have to give ambiance a 1 rating. Also, not enough seating and ventilation. read more

The staff was friendly, some other reviews mentioned issues but when I was there they were cool. The food, I kinda expected that from the location of the city I wasn't sure of the volume which may effect the freshness of the fish. The raw style pieces weren't as fresh as I would have liked. Had a bit of a fishy after taste which wasn't pleasant. They didn't smell terrible but it wasn't as nice as higher volume places. The miso soup was pretty bad, the broth, tofu, and what every they used to substitute the traditional seaweeds pieces need to be changed. I wanted to like it since it's nice to have another sushi spot to go to in rural Iowa, but based off this experience I can't recommend. read more

Shokai is the only sushi restaurant in Burlington. However, it's great for an Iowa sushi restaurant. Chill atmosphere but a smaller space. They don't have a gigantic menu, but that's expected since they are a smaller locally owned restaurant. I'm a huge fan of spicy mayo and asked for a lot of it. The server only brought one, but when asked for more, he was happy to bring some. When the sushi craving hits ya- this is a great place to go. read more

Shokai Sushi - Spicy mayo - Japanese Near Me

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Only sushi place in town. Not anymore! Can't wait to try out the new sushi place opening up in Downtown Burlington, IA. Service used to be better, but it has gotten worse since that cook who had insects crawling all over him had to be seen by ambulance. Made the sushi extra crunchy. Get better service and maybe we'll try you out again sometime. read more

Delicious cooked quickly reasonably priced. Always get the Matzu Roll - Asparagus, shrimp tempura, and mayo, topped with seared beef, spicy mayo and unagi sauce. $12.95. read more

The best sushi in the area by far! Other sushi places in the area the sushi is tasteless but not Shokai. They have a awesome menu that is split up into cooked and uncooked sushi which is really great for first timers. They also have some very inventive rolls. I get random cravings for sushi and this place fills the need. The staff is super friendly and very knowledgeable about sushi. They often have weekly specials that are not on the regular menu such as oysters, prawns, or fresh fish. This is a nice restaurant addition to Burlington! My Favs at this place: Firehouse roll (keep in mind its spicy and fried!) read more

If it were based on the food, it would be a 4.5. Delicious, unique and tasty. My one problem is that sometimes the sushi can take FOREVER and that's when there are maybe two other tables in the place. I would rate their sushi as the best around. The atmosphere is OK. Its an older building and kind of seems cobbled together to make it passable. Do not sit by the door in winter, it is freezing! My main problem is with the service! Servers there seem to take forever, will talk with their friends while your food is sitting there and never ask if you want more drinks or even how the food is. Put simply: the service sucks. read more

I LOVE the matsu roll and the yuokobi shrimp, idk how to spell them and I'm not looking them up. But I've really given them the benefit of the doubt but. I used to think of them as a higher end place to go in town, but that has quickly changed since the moved to the new location... it looks run down and not appealing to the eye, and is not very kid friendly as all the tables are up very high, one time they didn't have enough high chairs so I had to hold my baby the entire time, another time they didn't have enough tall high chairs so my baby had to sit in a short one and I would have to reach down to feed her. I waited 2 hours (waited at home as I called it in) for a carry out got there the 2 hours after I ordered to STILL wait another 30 minutes! I ALWAYS request no ginger or wasabi, to still get it every time, one time my daughter grabbed it off my plate and put it in her mouth!!! My carry out most of the time is all messed up when I get it home and I'm VERY GENTLE with it! Also they have posted if you pay cash you get 4% discount and we did that and didn't get the discount and when we asked she said they didn't do that anymore, but the signs are posted everywhere! Also I've called a straight 20 times in a row several times with no busy tone, I think they just don't answer. The customer service has gotten slightly better, the last few months but before that I hated going in, they were rude and basically ignored you...but it's gotten better the last few months for sure!! If I didn't love the matsu roll this would be a 1 Star!! read more

Shokai Sushi - Japanese Near Me

The best sushi in Burlington. The octopus salad is amazing! If you go with more than one person try the love platter (its fabulous!). Their sashimi is the best I've ever had anywhere! read more

My parents live in the Western IL/Southeast IA area, and I like to come here when I visit home. I will admit, the first time I came here I was NERVOUS. I know what the Chinese "food" in Burlington tastes like, so I was afraid that the sushi would also reach similar levels of vomnacious. I was more than pleasantly surprised - Shokai was delicious and interesting. Still a little blown away that it tasted that good. The only downsides to this restaurant were the mediocre service I've had before and the poor ambience. Restaurant supplies are stacked in their boxes on ugly industrial shelves right across from the tables. The building doesn't have the best layout for a restaurant, but I think Shokai could do a slightly better job of improving their feel for customers. But since this is Burlington and I'm still so surprised that it was yummy I'm willing to give them 4 stars anyway. read more

It's some of the best sushi around here! I don't have one complaint about this restaurant! Service was good and super clean place! It's moderately priced!$$ definitely recommend!!!! read more

Shokai. Yes. We like sushi. We love the staff, and my kid won't stop eating salmon roe. read more

Sad to say this place has gone WAY DOWNHILL since my trips two years ago and last year. This was a go to place for me last year during my month of work in town. I've been back twice this time and the quality has slipped significantly. The sushi rice is dry, plating is uninspired (put on the plate with little to no garnish), the seafood is either being cut against the wrong grain or the quality has gone down (chewy). Just don't see myself going back again unless the Yelp reviews show a major turnaround. read more

I waited a little over 40 minutes for a to go order, and was ignored by staff until other patrons started noticing.

First- they were out of vegetables for Tempura... Ok. Then I ordered a hand roll and when it came out I almost asked how much it was because it looks like a bite a baby might take. It was 6.25! I wish o has asked before I ate the one.l bite it was. One of the advanced rolls was quite tasty but overall food was way too expensive for the quality. read more

I am extremely disappointed with this restaurant. I am traveling for work and staying at the Fairfield so I decided to order take out. I visited the website and they had a "special" listed as the Bento box. When I called to order, I was told it is only a lunch special-- when I mentioned to them online it was only listed as "special" he said that there isn't even someone there right now who can cook it?! I ordered a cooked roll and asked for a ginger salad. He had to put me on hold and then told me they had ran out of ginger dressing. When I picked up my soup and roll, they didn't give me a spoon to eat my soup. I asked for hot tea and she said, I can give you a teabag but it's $3?! Finally, I ordered a cooked roll because I am pregnant. The roll came with raw fish on it?! This restaurant knows nothing about sushi, has uninformed staff, and didn't follow through on serving raw fish to a pregnant person. I would give it zero stars if I could! read more

Shokai Sushi - Japanese Near Me

This place was just a bunch of kids and possibly the 2 worst rolls I have ever had as they were soggy and had little taste. The wasabi was even bland. read more

The Sushi is actually really good, however the service is pretty terrible. Its not like they are trying to be terrible, the staff is just THAT clueless about customer service. The Sushi guy is always back there flying around trying to get stuff done and there are forever 3-4 people standing around on their phones etc acting like they are confused or there for fun. When the owner is there the service is A+ but you never know when that will be. I would recommend getting it to-go and skip the crappy 1-1.5 hour situation you will inevitably be stuck in by eating there. read more

Food wasn't very well prepared and had a very long wait time when it wasn't very busy. The sushi is overpriced for the quality. Would recommend for someone who'd never had sushi before to give them an idea of what it is but not much else. read more

The quality of the sushi has really gone downhill. The service is not that great either. The younger workers had a bad attitude because no tip was left on a pickup order. read more

This isn't good sushi. Perhaps I am spoiled from eating sushi in urban areas, but the rolls at Shokai were big city sushi prices with Chinese buffet style and flavor and dive bar ambiance. read more

One of my favorite places in town! Great food and great staff! Fun and friendly environment! Perfect for a nice lunch date or a fun night out with friends on the weekend to get the night started! read more

Great food! The spicy beef ramen soup was amazing tonight! We always love the sushi... I always get the best kapa roll and my husband loves the spider roll. Actually, we have never had a bad roll here ...fresh and tasty. This restaurant has the best service. The people who work here are amazing! read more

Meh pretty much sums it up We went with a friend who lives in the area and she said it was really good, so we tried it. I think that a lot of the stuff was OK, but it wasn't anything special. For the area there isn't much around, so I guess if you need a fix then it's alright, but if you don't really NEED sushi I would look elsewhere. The fish wasn't super fresh. Being a "real" sushi eater (meaning I mostly eat the fish and not 'rolls') I feel like the freshness of the fish should be the most important thing at a sushi restaurant. The Rolls were pretty good, they even had one with steak on it that a friend had, but it's not really sushi. Overall I wasn't happy with the freshness of the fish. It was a little too firm and smelled ever so slightly fishy, which means that it's not fresh. Everything else seemed to be pretty good. Everyone else was happy with their meals but me. I think it was partially because most of the other people had cooked food or rolls with a little fish and a lot of 'stuff'. If you're an amateur sushi eater, or don't really get the rolls with fresh fish in them, then I would say you'll be fine. If you enjoy having a nice, buttery soft, no smell fish I wouldn't eat here. read more

Best sushi place in town. Priced reasonably. Super friendly staff.

We lunched there. Our hostess was friendly and attentive. We ordered egg rolls and sushi rolls where were rather small and overcooked. Sushi rolls were mediocre. Do I go back again. Yes, they just started a half price on all rolls between 5 to 8 pm on monday only. read more

Best sushi in Burlington. I have tried most of the rolls. The snake is still my favorite. Service can be slow, sushi is good. The wings are also excellent. read more

My entire family eats here a few time a month. One of the top 3 places to eat in Burlington Iowa. Quality of ingredients are Great. Usually staff is great once in a while they seem distracted but overall legit. Owner is knowledgeable and friendly read more

As a 30 year resident of Japan my expectations might be a tad high but this was horrible sushi! I wouldn't give it to my neighbor's dog and I hate their dog!!! Prices were high, service was abysmal! Never ever again!!!! read more

The food is soooooo good! So fresh! However, the wait is terrible. I would have given 5 stars had the wait not been so long. The wait staff are very friendly and helpful. Atmosphere is nice. Make sure to make reservations as there is very limited seating. read more

The Sushi is great, and they have a pretty good selection. The service on the other hand needs work. Had to wait over twenty minutes for drinks and the restaurant was only half full with six people behind the counter. Again good sushi but service needs work. read more

My wife and I ate there yesterday. The food was good but the waitress brought my wife a chipped glass and we ask for another. She brought another glass of soda , this time it was cracked. She exclaimed it would be ok n that the dishwashers were young and not careful with the dishes and said again it would be alright to drink from... Not very profesional help at all . My wife left the drink n said she wouldn't go back. The resteraunt itself looked reneck and thrown together n stacks of beer boxes next to the bar area, again not professional.. for one three piece sushi meal ,one shrimp side and 2 soda it was $25 . Kinda cashy .. would rather eat at the Great Wall buffet for less money, and professional help there .. read more

Great food, good atmosphere and friendly, attentive staff. Each dish is Instagram-worthy and delivered in a timely manner. They have even had our food waiting for a quick dine-in experience on a few occasions when my coworkers and I call ahead for our lunch breaks. I suggest the Yorokobi shrimp and the Jungle Fever roll! read more

Really good sushi, wish they had regular tables instead of all high tops. The egg rolls are really good as was the plum wine. Skip the green tea it's just a a tea bag in a cup of hot water. read more

The service is horrible. We were the only diners in the restaurant when we arrived at 5pm. We were greeted and had a waitress take drink and appetizer orders and then waited for 20minutes for drinks to be served...they actually arrived with the appetizers. After 30minutes, the dinning room started to fill up and we kept seeing to go order after to go order being filled and then the orders of other diners who came in after us. After an hour, the waitress cleared appetizer plates and refilled our water at our request; she informed us our order was being started now. It took nearly 2 hours for service and food when we were initially the only people in the joint. Oh, we also waited about 20 minutes after we finished eating before we had to go to the front to ask to pay for our bills as we hadn't seen the waitress again since she left the food. I would like to say this was a one time occurance and I cannot. This was worst it has been and the last time we go to this restaurant. Iowa City is only and hour or so away and with the time it took us to be not served in this establishment, we could have driven to IC, got carry out, and been almost home. read more