Imi Japanese Cuisine — Restaurant in Burlington

Avoid this place at all costs.

I’m writing this after spending 12 hours in the ER because of how sick I became after eating here.

My boyfriend and I ate at this place Sunday evening. There were red flags right away pertaining to the cleanliness of this restaurant. First off, I needed to use the bathroom and was immediately taken aback by the heavy smell of urine that was being masked with Febreze. Like literally as if someone peed all over the floors and it was just mopped up sloppily. But it’s a public bathroom, so I just brushed past it.

Then, while we were eating, I noticed some of the meat and fish dishes had strange smells, tastes and textures. But I thought I’d give them the benefit of the doubt. That maybe some of these dishes were supposed to taste and feel and smell that way.

Then, I saw a short hair as soon as one of the dishes we ordered was placed on our table (how did no one see this before bringing it out? I have no clue). I’m not usually a confrontational person, so again, I thought I’d give them the benefit of the doubt. That maybe it’s just this one time.

But after hours of stomach pain, chills, nausea and vomiting on Tuesday morning, finding out that my boyfriend also has been sick since that morning, and finally reading the reviews. I can confirm this isn’t a first. In fact, this issue - with quality, smelly and rotting meats and fishes, and hair in dishes, goes allllll the way back and has been persistent for YEARS.

This place made us severely sick. Intense stomach pain, chills, fever, and uncontrollable vomiting. We couldn’t keep anything down, felt extremely weak, and I had to go to the ER, where I was given medications to help stabilize my symptoms. My boyfriend, who ate more than I did was violently throwing up for hours and is still dealing with abdominal pain days later from how violent his symptoms were.

This place is a health hazard. The fact that after years of customers leaving reviews that repeat the same concerns, you still have yet to fix these problems is alarming. I don’t know how you’ve stayed in business. This is completely negligent and quite frankly, scary. I usually have a strong stomach, I haven’t thrown up since I was a kid. You have to be absolutely careless in how you make and serve your food if even I’ve been affected by it.

So please, to whoever is reading this and many other reviews like mine. Do not assume you’ll be the exception. Don’t think “it’s fine. That “they’ve probably changed”. Or that “it’s probably a case by case scenario or bad luck”. I read back to 8 years worth of reviews saying the same complaints. KEY WORDS: “rotten”, “smelly”, “slow service”, “hair”.

They haven’t changed. They won’t. They don’t care. In fact, my boyfriend wrote a review days ago and they haven’t even bothered reaching out.

Please take the negative reviews seriously. Do not risk your health...

Unfortunately this may be the first and only time we will come here. Initially, we were excited about returning here to try several more options that perked our interest, but the overall experience has soured (literally) our appetite to go back. We ordered three lunch specials and two dim sums. We will give credit that while the presentation of the meals weren't particularly enthusiastic, the portions and quality were reasonable (with exception). Being accustomed to typical sushi places that would serve up lunch sets in a bento box, a divided plate or at least nicer dinnerware, it was a very "no frills" type of presentation on a plate lined with lettuce provided some disappointment. However, we can overlook presentation matters as it's the food that goes in the mouth that truly makes or breaks the experience.

Our first issue was the lack of service (service was actively provided only on entry/ordering/bringing of the order), as everything had to be requested and not once during an hour of staying did anyone come to check up on our needs. The second issue, also partially related to the service, is the matter of spoiled food. As part of the order, we got the Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf. Our young child was the first to find upon eating it that it "tasted weird". With some doubt, the adults also took a small bite and there was a noticeable 'sour' scent (that of where meat has spoiled). We called the server over to indicate the problem and asked to take it away. There was no apology, watching the server report it to other staff where they nonchalantly ignored the problem. It would normally be expected to, 1) offer an apology, 2) ask if it would be satisfactory to replace or substitute the problem food, and/or 3) a supervisor/manager usually comes to mediate/remediate the problem - none of which were present. The fact neither the server nor the management took any concern over spoiled food is a great worry for any food establishment and customer.

Finally, when asking for the bill, I would have expected the cost of SPOILED FOOD would be removed from the bill and it wasn't. This is dismal on both the server and the establishment's part, so I would never recommend anyone I know to come here nor will we be returning as we had hoped to in order to try other items on the menu. I hope anyone ordering the Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf take care in ensuring the product is fresh and to adequately voice...

AYCE lunch April 4 2023. Would avoid. +1 star for decent customer service, but the food was inedible. I felt bad for sending plates of food unfinished, but the food was really, really bad. It is my first time here, so I wonder if there was a food quality/food prep issue today, but my food was not good. I eat AYCE sushi regularly and am truly not that picky with regards to Japanese food, but this was a rare exception. I hope it is an exception for them as well and that no one has a similar experience.

Ramen and Miso soup - normally, two completely different dishes, but here they used the same base broth which had a really unpleasant spoiled fish taste that was common between them. The ramen noodles were also undercooked and not very pleasant (not al dente, but one step before)

Sushi - the unagi (eel) sushi was fine (usually cooked and vacuum sealed), but the other pieces I tried were lukewarm, served on warm rice. The sliced fish (tuna, salmon, butterfish and mackarel) were as expected, but the salmon roe and the "spicy" variants of salmon and tuna (chopped and mixed with mayo) were certainly off/spoiled. I had to spit out the food, a first time at any sushi restaurant in Canada.

Tempura - the worst tempura I've ever had. The tempura batter itself had no air bubbles, which means the tempura items felt like they were coated in a slightly crispy uncooked pizza dough. Gummy and soaked in oil, with no flavour.

Grilled squid - first batch was nice, albeit drenched in a strong sauce. Second batch was surely spoiled.

Beef donburi - well done steak with sauce over rice. Was nothing special.

I didn't have the appetite for dessert after that.

Again, I would avoid. If you choose to try it, please don't say I didn't warn you, and best of luck! August8 and other restaurants have never failed me like Imi has today. I paid the bill in full, but that was certainly a waste of $30.

Thank you...