Minato Sushi Bar — Restaurant in Baltimore

Back in December Minato suffered water damage from a fire in the building next door. They were closed for repairs for nearly six weeks, reopening in mid-January. I stopped in for lunch two days later to treat myself to some sushi, lend some support, and see how the place looked.

Minato has been my go-to place for sushi for as long as they’ve been there. My partners, friends, and I have had many satisfying meals over the years, and I’ve sent many of my prospective clients there for lunch or dinner (I own a wedding venue a couple of blocks away). The food has always been consistently good, the service competent if not always the most attentive, and the environment delightful.

There was one more item on my agenda for that lunch visit. The last time I had been in, in the fall of 2019, I had a disappointing experience. The sushi wasn’t up to their usual high standards. It was, in a word, boring. Could ownership have changed? Was quality control slipping? I feared for the worst.

To my delight, everything was as it had always been, if not better! The food was excellent, both the front and back rooms looked fantastic, and the service was, well, as usual.

By the way, I like restaurants where I can carry on a comfortable conversation with my dining companion without shouting to be heard. Minato always fits that bill, even when it’s busy and full.

I’m a big fan of their seaweed salad and miso soup. Both were just right and served attractively, in perfect portions. The sushi was exactly what I expected, which is to say as good as any found anywhere save for restaurants that are significantly more expensive. Speaking of money, the aforementioned salad and soup, ten pieces of sushi, and some delicious strawberry mochi ice cream came to less than twenty bucks. I was perfectly happy with that for a fine lunch in a beautiful place ( I love their decor!). I think you...

Seafood is big here in Baltimore, so I wanted to make sure I stopped by a few seafood and sushi restaurants. Minato was one of the highly touted sushi/happy hour restaurants in the city, so it was a no-brainer to go. Also, it was within walking distance from my sisters apartment, so that is an added bonus. I loved how the restaurant was decorated. It is huge despite what it looks like from outside. The restaurant is long and narrow pause and there are, what seems like, an infinite amount of seats there. The ceilings illuminate different colors, and the walls have a way blue pattern. The whole restaurant is extremely pleasing to the eye. From the decor to the color pallete, everything is gorgeous. The service was great. Our server Cherry was extremely attentive. At one point, my sister expressed displeasure with her drink, and Cherry was quick to make another right away to my sister's pleasure. I think the server was new, but was knowledgeable and extremely present. The happy hour menu is huge. There are a ton of options to choose from. We had quite the spread including: Edamame, Spring Roll, Shumai, Curry Chicken Dumpling, and the Rolex Sushi Roll. The food was decent, it is not the best sushi I ever had, but for the value, it is well worth it. Their prices for everything are great for your pockets, even the drinks are extremely cheap, which I find is a lost art in the happy hour game. I should mention, however, the drinks are not strong at all, so this isn't the place to get wasted when you had a bad day at work lol. Perfect hang out place for friend groups or a calm...

I wish I could put zero Stars. A friend and I had the displeasure of eating at this place this evening. We were one of two tables in the entire restaurant, and neither of the wait staff could be bothered to pay attention to us. We tried to place an order but were completely ignored until I got up from my seat and waves at the waitress who is on her phone, and the waiter, who was making a drink in the back. This being a sushi place, I would have higher expectations of the purported sushi chefs, both of whom were playing with their phones for the entire duration of our stay. I should have taken that as a sign. When finally we were able to place our order, the food that came out was largely flavorless, overcooked, and disappointing. My friend's entree literally came out cold. Not tepid, COLD. Neither of the wait staff could be bothered to refill our water glasses. My friends martini was weak. Really weak. Whichever sushi chef made my sushi evidently did not wash his hands between playing with his phone and barehanding my food. I am now sick as a dog at 3 in the morning when I should be asleep for work tomorrow. If you enjoy spending your time being neglected by apathetic servers, who divide their time between arguing with each other, playing with their phones, and drinking in the back, this place is for you. If you enjoy cold, flavorless food, that should be served hot, this place is for you. if you enjoy salmonella and food poisoning, this place is for you! if you have any semblance of expectation about service or quality of food, to justify the exorbitant prices, go...