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| - Sashimi was not fresh...comments from diners in our party of seven: "mealy," "stringy," "fishy," "mushy." The cuts also seemed poorly executed.
Utterly disappointing for me. I would have sent the platter back, but others didn't want to make a big deal out of it. They also told me that we were in Goodyear (meaning not fresh fish), and it was a Sunday (meaning not fresh fish), and this place probably uses a lower-grade of fish... One diner solved some of the taste problem by dipping in soy sauce to mask the taste, which she said she didn't do with "good" sashimi.
(Note: I have had fresh fish on the west side of Phoenix --and on Sundays...)
I had started by eating salmon, it was okay, but not the fresh, melt in your mouth variety...then the tuna, which was mealy...then I tried the squid, which I usually love, and it was mushy and off-tasting. It was also cut very strangely, like no other squid I have had elsewhere. Its texture was so poor and its taste was off, so I had to spit that out. I tried another piece and had to spit it out. After that, I lost my appetite.
This is absolutely one of the worst sushi restaurants I have eaten at. (I have eaten at sushi places in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Singapore, and of course, here in Phoenix.)
I said something to the waitress twice (early on when I first tasted from the platter, and then towards the end of the meal, when she finally brought over a manager). The manager was rather defensive. She said the squid was frozen... I know that most fish --if not all --is required to be frozen prior to serving in Arizona. Even so, I have had good sashimi out here. One diner, who lacks a sense of smell, ate the most of the fish. But we left squid, salmon, and other fish on the platter. Never in my life have I ever left fish unfinished at a sushi/sashimi place.
So what was good? A firecracker appetizer - had fried wontons, tuna, and spicy sauce. The tempura was good, but I missed kabocha (Japanese pumpkin). Egg rolls were dubbed bland. Gyoza was bland. One diner had fish and chips and said he liked the fish, but the chips were just "okay." Another diner had some sort of fried orange chicken and said the chicken was dried, others in the party tasted it and agreed. A complimentary fried banana ice cream was eaten up (the ice cream was ultra hard, but tasted good).
--I think this place does better with cooked/fried food rather than sashimi. I also think this place has too many things on their menu...and would bet that they have a lot of old food in their freezers. --I think they are trying to appeal to a broad audience by offering a wide menu, but then they fail to execute well...and end up with a lot of old food in the kitchen if demand is low. (Also noted only a few tables occupied when we were there.)
I think some of the positive reviews are more for rolls, which can really mask problems the fish may have.... Also, many of the rolls don't use raw fish.
A raspberry saketini was considered to taste like cough syrup. Some sake and beer were good.
Our server was bubbly and friendly.
Our appetizers came quickly enough, but our meals trickled out....Some diners started eating (the ones with hot meals came first)...as there food would have otherwise been cold. You'd think the hot kitchen could coordinate with the sushi bar.
I thought the place looked nice, with a red and black decorative theme... The big screen TVs with sports playing were a bit odd to me...more like a sports bar than a sushi restaurant.
The bathroom did not smell clean.
I won't be back.
Lesson to self: order a small serving of sashimi to test before ordering a big platter. Pay attention to reviews online. Avoid places that don't specialize in sushi/sashimi (this place tries to do too much).
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