Osaka Sushi — Restaurant in Markham

We had been a long time customer of Osaka Sushi Markham for years and even during the pandemic we supported them by ordering take out frequently. We loved their food and although the place is small, it had so many private rooms which is nice. The staff had always been kind and accommodating and this was the first time I had ever encountered such a rude staff member over the phone placing a take out order. This SINGLE experience has cost them not only ONE loyal customer, but TWO as both my husband and I will not be going back here unless that staff member learns to check himself and treat customers with respect. Due to recent health issues, I've had to modify my diet greatly so I needed to find ways to still enjoy the foods that I like without hurting my health AND still be able to support a favourite local spot!!! So I never post reviews... but this experience seriously left me in such a terrible mood. Previously, I had ordered the Osaka Udon noodle dish, but requested to substitute for soba (buckwheat noodles) as it is safer for my health and they were fine with it as long as I paid $2 for the substitute change. I always agreed to it. I understand that soba noodles are more expensive than udon noodles overall so I can respect the cost increase. All of a sudden, this new guy (I don't know if he's new but...) tells me they've never done this before and I explained to them that they had previously accommodated my request (I wish I had the server's name!). Anyway, this male server proceeds to argue and stand his ground saying that they've NEVER done this before and won't do it (I should find my receipt to prove him wrong!). I honestly, don't even understand why and what the big deal is...I even mentioned that the restaurant previously would charge me $2 for the change and I'd be happy to pay for the substitute fee! When a customer agrees to pay extra, why wouldn't you just do it? It honestly costs the restaurant less than $2 for 1 cup of noodles so it's making them more money anyways... If he explained perhaps it was due to limited inventory or something like that and had given me a nicer tone and attitude, I wouldn't be so upset to give this negative review today. It just irks me so badly that someone could be so RUDE to a customer for simply asking to substitute a single ingredient. There are so many people with dietary restrictions and health issues these days, shouldn't you be more compassionate and respectful of that? The experience left such a bad taste with me that I couldn't stand it and left the conversation at "Well, you've just lost a long time customer and I will order somewhere else. Goodbye" and hung up. To the person who answered the phone today, please be kinder to your customers. Customers are humans and you just never know what the other person may be going through on the other...

Pre-pandemic you can forget about, that place doesn't exist anymore. Back then when you ordered a Special Rolls you literally gasped at the size of them, astonished by rolls that had a 3 inch diameter. The amount of fish squeezed in those rolls there was nothing to say other than "oh my gawd". It was too good to be true.

During the pandemic we ordered takeout regularly, it was in our monthly rotation. Staff was still friendly under the circumstances, value continued to be incredible, thought the prices went up a bit the food was still great, still extremely generous portions. If you don't believe me, look at all the reviews that are 6-24 months old. Still all very solid reviews.

Post pandemic I don't know what to say. Reviews that are less than 6 months old, you'll see a pattern. Like most restaurants either the prices have gone up or the portions have shrunk. In Osaka's case the portions are still large but the value is gone. The food just isn't good anymore. It's not really a sushi restaurant anymore, as the fish has become an afterthought. Every roll is filled with huge amounts of cucumber, or massive chunks of avocado. Fish is sparse or isn't fresh. The tough times of food prices have hit Osaka hard.

Look at the cross section of this BBQ Eel special roll. They're calling this a California roll when it is 99% cucumber. There is barely any imitation crab or avocado. Cost savings I guess. This is a laughable attempt at a California roll, to say nothing of the eel topping, nearly non-existent (Not pictured, sorry. There was some!).

On the right you see a Volcano Special roll. What used to be a spicy salmon topping has become 90% tempura batter filling with maybe 5% salmon, 5% roe. In our monthly order my wife and I used to get the Dancing Eel Special Roll and the Volcano Special Roll, and that would be enough for 2 meals and small snack.

Now you can scrape that tempura batter topping aside, pick out the salmon.. there's barely one mouthful of salmon in total. The diameter was down to 2 inches. We finished both rolls and felt like we'd just eaten a vegetarian meal. We were hungry again by the time we got home.

Restaurant was completely empty when we arrived on a Sunday night and the waitress, without looking at me, asked if I had a reservation. She took us to a table with a good amount of privacy, it felt like a reservations-only table even though we didn't have one. When we left the entire restaurant was only half full. Pre-pandemic this place had a lineup out the door every night. There were a few nights we decided to go somewhere else because lineup was too long.

Hopefully, they turn things around when the cost of ingredients levels out and I can update this review. Osaka used to be our favorite Sushi restaurant in Markham. Now we are on the lookout...

Pre Covid, we used to come here a lot. In fact, it was our go to place to eat for MANY years. They used to treat us really well.

However... though ownership has not changed... the food, service and atmosphere have changed for the worst. I'm sorry to leave a "bad" review... but I feel obligated to say the truth. You guys WERE awesome and great. Your food portions used to be HUGE and tasty!...

But today... your service was lacking. It was constant rush rush rush. You gave away our spot / booth to two people who JUST came in, even though we were there first. Your waitresses took turns rushing us to take an order DESPITE telling us to just push the button WHEN WE'RE ready... (so which is it?).

The food arrived on "wood" charcuterie/ cutting boards - which I would not recommend for handling raw sushi/sashimi food no matter how clean it looks like. The sushi was "room temperature" (more on this later), small in size, skinny looking and the rice fell apart easily. This was a far cry from what you used to serve me many years ago... The Unagi was full of bones, quite possibly the worst cut used on that piece of sushi. The Tuna tasted a bit sour.

The "Take Sushi" - was more salmon than anything. Only two pieces of unique Tuna sushi. And... 6 pieces of the cheapest, saddest looking California rolls that makes gas station sushi look awesome to eat.

The sashimi platter was the one that tasted extra funny... like I said, one of the pieces of tuna tasted kind of sour.

The a la carte, Ikura sushi... was not separate pieces of salmon eggs. It was one lump of eggs stuck together... A result of the temperature at the time in the restaurant...

Atmosphere - obnoxious, nauseating "air conditioning" (or lack there of!). It felt cramped, hot, hard to breathe, and just not the right temperature to be eating sushi / sashimi... we ended up eating as fast as we could before the food literally went bad in front of our eyes. Pray for me, for tonight I might be ending up praying to the porcelain gods.

I'm giving you guys 2 star for the food - because I was still "full". And as I am typing, haven't encountered diarrhea yet.

I'm giving you guys 2 star for service because of the rush to get us out and seat new people... otherwise, your wait staff is "ok".

Did I get my monies worth here tonight? I don't feel like I did. If things improve, I'd definitely consider coming back after a few more years - but as things stand right now, I can't say that I recommend Osaka anymore... I'm sorry. It's just not what...