Kinjo Sushi & Grill South Common — Restaurant in Edmonton

I usually don’t leave reviews, but our experience at Kinjo Sushi & Grill was so frustrating and disappointing that I feel it needs to be shared.

We arrived around 6–7 PM with our two kids. My husband ordered food for dine-in while we went to get some takeout items because our kids were really hungry and needed something to eat right away. I got them a few crispy chicken pieces and a chicken burger from the takeout area. About 10 minutes later, as we were eating, a server came over and informed us that takeout food wasn’t allowed in the dine-in area. We were surprised but immediately apologized, as we genuinely didn’t know.

Then the supervisor came over and repeated the same message. I explained that we were just trying to feed our kids while we waited for our dine-in food. The supervisor responded, “Yeah, that makes sense,” but still made us feel like we had done something wrong. The interaction left us feeling uncomfortable and unwelcome.

After we finished our dine-in meal, we returned to the takeout area to buy 5 more crispy chickens and 2 Oreo ice creams for the kids. When I tried to purchase the ice cream, the cashier told me it was only available for dine-in—which made no sense, since just last week we had bought the same ice cream for takeout with no issue. The cashier checked with his supervisor, who confirmed that ice cream can be sold for takeout, and that only certain items are restricted to dine-in. Eventually, they allowed us to purchase the ice cream.

Unfortunately, the situation continued to go downhill. The supervisor came over to adjust the till but didn’t bother to confirm or double-check our order. I had to ask whether the ice cream had been charged, because she walked away without saying a word. I finally received the ice cream and returned to the table.

Meanwhile, my husband waited over 10 minutes for the 5 crispy chickens we had already paid for. When he asked the cashier about the delay, she questioned whether we had even paid. He explained that we had, and that the supervisor had given us change from a $20 bill—we received $13.75 back. Despite that, the cashier continued to insist on seeing a receipt.

We never received a receipt, and since there were two cashiers and the supervisor present during the transaction, we didn’t expect there to be any confusion. But the fact that they didn’t give us our order, questioned whether we paid, and seemed completely unorganized made the entire experience incredibly frustrating.

This restaurant seriously lacks communication and proper organization. For a place that appears busy, their internal systems and customer service are poorly managed. We left feeling upset and disappointed. While we’ve had better experiences at Kinjo in the past, this visit was unacceptable.

We won’t be returning...

This is quite a large restaurant. Think almost like a cafeteria. Lots of seats. It is super busy. Getting a seat is a bit haphazard with the honor system or lack thereof on who came in and when. They really need to either have people take a number or have someone there as a hostess at all times to sort things out. People were cutting the line, people who needed to sit were neglected and didn't realize it was a queuing-honor based system. Let people take a number and have a board up and who is being served to remove the insanity, confusion and lack of awareness and common courtesy in the busy, crowded doorway.

Food is good. The red tuna was mushy and not fresh though. The scallops were fresh. The ramen, female dragon roll, the octopus roll - I can't remember the name of it - were all tasty. Portion sizes are good. So much variety on the coil bound menu! The ramen is well priced and tasty. The golden fried chicken is delicious and so tender and juicy. Would definitely order it again. We would order almost everything again - minus the red tuna. Price for an extravagant lunch was about $45 per person. We ate our fill and were very grateful to pop over to the IKEA which is just around the corner and get in a much needed walk after lunch. The atmosphere is very much like a food court or busy cafeteria. It's noisy with the din of a bustling food court. There is ample seating. Think food court, but just for Kinjo. Our food arrived quickly. You will have multiple staff bringing out your food and one main server. One server dropped off a dish and had no interest in removing the large empty plate from our table to make room for the new, smaller dish. We were seated at a table for two. The lazi and unconcerned attitude was a bit of a surprise. Perhaps people who deliver food don't clear dishes away from the tables? Even if there is no room on said table without clearing the dish? 🤷‍♀️ Our main server was the opposite. He was attentive, friendly, and quick to help us with two missing dishes at the end.

In the back there is a take out section where you can get premade sushi packs or pick up the fried chicken. It is really tasty and the price is very reasonable for take out. There are also Japanese candies, drinks, frozen treats and toys in the same area at the back. Even some pokemon themed building block toys.

We went in right at the tail end of lunch. It took about 10 minutes for the doorway insanity to get sorted out and for us to get seated. Not a long wait at all, at the end of lunch on a Wednesday.

We will...

I was very disappointed with the kind of service I had from this Kinjo branch… First of all, they have a horrible system for the wait time. Yes we came in a group of 12, which I must admit is quite huge, and we have expected we would wait since they do not offer the reservation service. We were initially told that the wait time would be an hour. After waiting for more than an hour we followed up from the staff and we were told we have to wait a while, like we have not waited a while already. We got called to sit after another hour. Secondly, the servers are very unorganized. When they delivered our orders to our table they just placed them on one end of the table without even verifying who they belong to. Unfamiliar with some of the foods, some of us just took them and in the end some of us were waiting for foods that were already consumed by the other members of our group. Last but definitely not the least, some of the staff of this branch have horrible customer service skills. Our server asked us whether there is someone in our group who is celebrating a bday. I told him that I am celebrating my bday and he asked whether I want them to sing me a happy birthday song. I said yes. Thereafter, a guy named Joshua approached me and asked who the celebrant is and I said that I am. He asked me for an ID and I told him that today is not my bday but we are getting together to celebrate it because I wasn’t here in Edmonton on that day. He seemed reluctant after he heard that and he excused himself and called Daniel, a Korean guy, who is supposedly the manager of the place. They came to our table and Daniel was trying to explain that they will do it for now but they are not supposed to because my bday was not today. I didn’t like how he delivered his statement. He made it appear like I was asking for too much and that he will his let it go for now but it is against their policy. Why is it a big deal for them whether my bday is today or not? Moreover, they sang a song for someone in a table next to us and they never asked for an ID from that person. I am celebrating my bday today because now is the only time we could do that! Because of this I said don’t bother about it … I don’t need them to sing a bday song for me! I was so embarrassed because people at the nearby table were looking at me and they were grinning. As a manager, if he really is, he should have said it in a better way and not in a way like he is lecturing to me which is humiliating! I have sensed some discrimination...