Midori Sushi Austin — Restaurant in Austin

Friday Jan 18 2019 I used to live by this restaurant about 5 years ago before moving out to Cedar Park. This was a regular stop, sometimes several times a month, and I have still made occasional trips back over the years for a really good lunch time sashimi and sushi. Over the last year I have taken out lunch, but today was the first time I have eaten in, in at least a year. The first thing I noticed upon sitting down in the booth was the shelf where the condiments sit was dissolving. The entire surface of the shelf had expanded and apparently has years worth of spilled soy sauce soaked into the crumbling fiberboard shelf. I next noticed the walls of the booth were covered with food splatter, and the drywall is crumbling where the table has rubbed against it. I started looking more closely and noticed that all the booths were black on the top rail where people place a hand as they are entering the booths. I was really shocked. This did not look at all like the Midori I had enjoyed so much when I lived nearby. This place was filthy for a mexican restaurant, and they serve raw fish in this filth. I probably should have gotten up then and walked out, but I was craving my sashimi plate that I have always gotten in the past. The soup came and tasted as good as I remembered. The salad came and the ginger dressing was thin, watery, and tasted store bought. I don't think there was any fresh ginger grated into it, just some watery ginger flavored liquid. My L17 Sashimi combo plate and my friends L12 Spicy Crunch Roll orders arrived and they were only sort of as described in the the menu, and not at all like I remembered. My Sashimi combo arrived without the sashimi, which the waitress went and got on a separate plate. It was cold. The pieces of fish served on the rice balls were all room temperature and tasted questionably safe to eat. I received twice the amount of sushi than what was supposed to come with the order. The Phoenix roll arrived dry, without roe and no orange sauce. My friends arrived with orange sauce, but like mine, no roe. My Phoenix roll was stale, like it had sat for a while before being plated. Over all this was a disappointing and gross experience. I doubt I will ever come back. I hate to see a really great restaurant decline, but this one apparently is past its prime. It seems like the pride and passion that was previously clear in the meals served is gone. I would love to see it restored to its...

The next time you are decide to eat here, then think again...I came with family to have late lunch today 11/22/2017 @ about 12:35p CDT (I did not order since I can’t eat sushi) but I came to pay for my family lunch. Only my wife, my daughters are 22yo, 9yo, 6yo. The entire meal time no one came to check us out whether to refill our drink or assist us anything else. When the bill came the 20% tips included on top of the tax. I spoke to the guy name “Henry” he claimed he is a manger with broken English. I asked him why is the tips auto included in the bill for only 4 person eating? He couldn’t answer me...I don’t mind to tips if we receive a good service.

Here are some notes customer Beware: Automatic Gratuities Are Considered Service Charges and Not Tips

With an IRS ruling effective January 1, 2014, however, restaurants may want to reconsider the use of automatic gratuities.

Revenue Ruling 2012-18 classifies automatic gratuities as service charges, which are considered restaurant income. If these service charges are distributed to employees, they are considered wages and not tips. This disrupts the long-standing restaurant industry practice of treating automatic gratuities as tips.

In its ruling, the IRS clarified that an employer’s characterization of a payment as a “tip” is not determinative. Rather, four factors are considered to determine whether a payment is a tip or service charge:

The payment must be made free from compulsion; The customer must have the unrestricted right to determine the amount; The payment should not be the subject of negotiation or dictated by employer policy; and Generally, the customer has the right to determine who receives the payment. The IRS concluded that the absence of any of the four factors creates a doubt as to whether a payment is a tip and indicates that the payment may be a service charge. Thus, automatic gratuities—which fail to meet the criteria above—are service charges.

Service charges belong to the restaurant and are considered part of its gross receipts. Additionally, service charges are considered as income to the restaurant. Service charges may be retained exclusively by management or distributed to employees...

Fresh and Delicious with a delicate and regal atmosphere.

Ornate art and beautiful plants and tasteful displays adorn the walls of this quiet hole-in-the-wall sushi spot. Although the menu boasts more than just sushi. It includes savory Korean style bulgogi, a yakitori selection, mochi ice creams, and noodles to satisfy almost any coastal Asian itch you may have. They also have quite the drink menu with many wines , beers, and a beautiful selection of well curated sakes to help quench the thirst of these warm Texas days.

We decided to just explore quality of the fish first. We ordered classic nigiri selection of hamachi, sake, fatty tuna, and sweet shrimp. We tried two rolls, the spider crab and the lion king. The nigiri was awesome! Every piece was big and thick and fresh as it gets, with no tank residue or long frozen residue to note. The sweet shrimp came out classic style with the fried edible head and fresh lemon , and both the fried heads and the sweet shrimp itself was divine . Literally made me drool while I was eating it. The fatty tune was garnished with a little bit of fresh , real wasabi and the flavor just absolutely floored us. Not a single bite was less than fantastic. The Lion King roll was also very unique , although I wish it was spicy , it was a perfect blend of creaminess, savory, salty, fatty, and filling.

Our server was sweet, gentle, and attentive. We really enjoyed every bit of our time here.

Average sushi costs, although, for having no fish tank taste, it’s really a great value.

10/10 would recommend to anyone interested in trying something accessible with guaranteed...