Inoko Express Athens Ga — Restaurant in Athens-Clarke County Unified Government

So very, very, very disappointed. This used to be my absolute favorite place to eat lunch, second lunch, and dinner. Seriously- I was obsessed. The free soup was my favorite part. Getting the kids meal was a staple for me because the proportions were perfect and the price was just right for a college kid such as myself. Unfortunately, management has changed. They've ripped everything apart in the seating area and changed it. The past two times I've tried to go (first time was when they just changed the area and still remodeling) they had no soup and everything was in a Styrofoam box. The second time (when I literally make a trip from where I live in Atlanta all the way to Athens specifically for Inokos Express) the staff has been changed, there is no longer any soup, you can't order a kids meal inside without having a kid with you so I ordered mine over the phone, and the meal? Ugh.

Before- the veggies were my favorite. You would get cabbage, zucchini, onions, broccoli that would easily match the rice ratio. This time? I got about 13 slivers of onion and 2 small broccoli florets. Pathetic. I'm already upset that there is no soup. I'm upset that the staff changed and are no longer as friendly as the last. But now the food portions are changing... and I'm being charged more for it?!?! No. Also! Why is everything in Styrofoam boxes? Even when I eat inside? That's incredibly bad for our environment. There is no reason for all the styrofoam.

This used to be my favorite place to go. I would travel an hour out of my way just to eat here. I grew up eating this food! Every birthday and every occasion I could make up would be celebrated at inokos express. Normally I can always find an exception to keep going to my favorite places. Not anymore, I'm afraid I'm going to have to let go of Inokos Express for good now. So...

Original Review:

I've been coming to this location for a very long time and still frequent this Inoko Express. As some other reviewers have noted, there was an ownership change a while back. Since then, there have been some cosmetic (which I'm not a huge fan of) and staff changes. I've never had a bad experience with the new staff, but the old friendly faces that i saw for years are now gone. They do still offer free soup (if you ask for it), but the soup seems like a lower quality than before and they not longer offer the shaved onions for your soup. Admittedly, the food still taste great (in my opinion) though the price of the food has increased a little. It is no longer as good of a value as some of the other Inoko locations. However, I keep coming back to this location for the convenience and the taste of the food.

Update as of 8/5/18 This establishment has let itself slip tremendously and my visits are often hit or miss, more than often being a miss. Some of the front staff is very unfriendly and the new cooks are so slow at getting the food out. I used to be able to get my food pretty quickly, regardless of how busy it was. Now, it seems like a 10-15 minute wait, even during slow periods. Additionally, the quality of food has gone down. The chicken is often very dry and not appealing and the vegetables lately have come out almost undercooked and sometimes still cold. Out of loyalty, I've given this Inoko many opportunities, but today will be my last visit. I'll start going to the one on Eastside in the future for...

Place was clean inside, but on my two visits I chose takeout so I didn’t pay too close attention to all the details. I can say they are on point with being accurate on how long it will take to make the food so good on that part too. Both occasions I ordered chicken teriyaki, which the chicken was good but it was very basic as they just poured teriyaki sauce on it. Most other Japanese take outs always marinate their chicken in teriyaki sauce to give it more flavor. The food was still tasty though and reasonable priced. My biggest pet peeve though is both times I went they never put in plastic ware in the bag with my order so both occasions I was without a fork and no napkins. Not that it is a huge deal, it’s just an inconvenience that maybe the management there should just take in mind it’d be a smart idea to start putting plastic ware with orders that are takeout. So with that being said if you do takeout here make sure you tell them to...