Mikado Downtown — Restaurant in Central Core

I work in Oliver Square and I would order takeout from Mikado 2-3 times a week for lunch. I have been doing this for almost three years now. I always love their food and service. If you eat there long enough, you would know that they have some of the freshest sashimi in the town. Not to mention that their customer service; it is always world class.

Until recently something happened to me.

Same as usual I ordered food through phone and then went there to pick up. I went inside, waited, and was ready to pay for the food. However they said they have never received any order/phone call. I was like, "That's impossible because I am sure I called like 15 minutes ago," and they were like, "It's okay, we can rush it for you! Just give us 5 minutes." Around 5 minutes later, the food was ready and I paid and left.

I was happy because they went above and beyond. I was amazed by the way they handled a customer issue. It was fast, no question asked, and they just took care of a customer in a very efficient manner.

Two days later, same routine, I ordered through phone and went there to pick up the food. I went in, the food was ready and I was ready to pay. Suddenly this receptionist started to lecture me like he/she is a judge, "I checked with the (Mikado) South side. Last time when you ordered food, you actually called them (South side Mikado) instead of us (Downtown Mikado). Just be careful next time because we do mention which location we are every time a customer calls ... Hope you do not make the same mistake again because if someone orders food from there (South side Mikado) and doesn't pick it up, it is a waste of food." The entire time, this receptionist was giving me a not impressed face. After he/she was done talking, I just walked out.

This is exactly what this receptionist said to me. I am not paraphrasing any words here. This person literally said this to me.

First, I have never been treated like this before in any restaurants here, not in Edmonton. I do not even get service like this in Waaaalmxxt or MaaaacDxxxld'x. Second, I admit that I have made a mistake but this is the only mistake I have made in the past three years. There were several times that Mikado would forget to give me a salad for the bento box or dried seaweed for the chirashi. I totally understand that people make mistakes and it is lunch hour and it is probably the busiest time of the day. I never really give a faq as long as they do not do that all the time. Third, even if this receptionist is new, he/she is not young. There is no way you would talk to a customer like that, I guess? maybe not lol. Well, at least I would never released my angry or hatred to any of my clients or friends lol. This receptionist is probably related to the owner of the restaurant and that explains why he/she was so arrogant the entire time.

I believe it is just an individual issue. Anyways, I still love you guys and thank you for being one of my favourite places to get food from for lunch. I guess I will have to look for some other places...

The food was undeniably delicious but the service from Ai was horrible. She was rude and insistent on making us give her a tip. We ordered separately and one of us already gave a tip. When it was my turn to pay and she realized I had given none she said that the service charge wasnt part of the bill -- Which the restaurant SHOULD HAVE INCLUDED if it was really necessary. My friend then paid for hers but didnt include a tip because we only stayed there for less than 30 mins, we practically rushed our meal because we know and respect the restaurant's hours. I should also mention it was rude of her to tell us before taking our orders, that we have to be finished by 9. Seriously?? We arent dumb to not know that we should wrap everything up by 9pm because we were told by the receptionist already that the place will close soon. We were there 35 minutes before they close and we just really wanted to have dinner. Its not like they gave us a favor by taking us in because we still made it before the place stops taking orders. Now this Ai girl, when she saw again that she hadnt gotten a tip from my friend she said that the next time we come we should consider tipping because now she has to give her portion or whatever to the staff from her own pocket etc. Do servers really have to tell their customers that? How humiliating! Me and my friend are actually students and we just really wanted to have a nice dinner. Wont ever go back because of her. She is so...

Surprised I never did a review on Mikado DT before. I've been going to this Mikado for over 10 years now and I have never had a bad experience here - I feel like that says a lot in and of itself.

Mikado is located on the corner of 104 ave and 109st beside the Best Buy. There is lots of parking and surrounding overflow parking. Every time you walk in, regardless of how busy it is, there is always staff to welcome you. The restaurant has booths and some bigger sliding door rooms for bigger parties.

The food at Mikado has also been fairly consistent in the last decade and the quality and taste has always been good. I have found their ingredients to be quite fresh, including the raw ones. I want to say one of their most popular rolls would be the Dragon Eyes and if you haven't tried them, then you should. This is always a must order item/dish when we go to Mikado. It is essentially a deep fried salmon roll with "Dragon sauce" (like a southwest chipotle sauce) but the warm and crunchy with the sauce really seals the deal. Mikado also comes out with new rolls or items being introduced every couple of months as a marketing or seasonal thing (i.e summer specials, Christmas specials, etc).

Mikado Downtown has been my go to sushi place for the last year and likely will continue to be. I would say it has some of the best sushi in Edmonton. Must try and always...