Watami Sushi — Restaurant in Barrington

This had been our favorite AYCE sushi for awhile until an unfortunate experience that really left a bad taste in our mouth! We went in for all you can eat, the waitress didnt even look at us, told us to grab the menu's ourselves from the back which was very odd..... (this was a different woman that the usual girl that is there.) We noticed the restaurant was full of flies that day. We asked for napkins, she told us to go and grab them ourselves as well... that area is near the kitchen. So, when we went to grab them, we saw a trail of ants leading to where they preparing our sushi. If this is what your front of house looks like, I'm scared to see the cleanliness of the kitchen. Then, a really nice African-American guy came in asking if he could sit to eat and the waitress rudely told him no because they had a party of 15 coming for a party in 10 minutes. He kindly asked if he could come back later and she told him they were only doing takeout for the rest of the day. We felt so bad for him, it was clearly a lie and she did not want to serve him because of the color of his skin. We were there for another hour after she told him that and NO party ever came and plenty of other families sat down that were not people of color. So sad to see that! It also seemed very unsanitary that while we were also there, the waitress got her lunch out from the drink fridge where they sell drinks for those that are there dining. Any fridges used to serve drinks should not have personal belongings of the staff with their soups they brought from home. Disgusting. I simply cannot support a business so who was so blatantly racist to a customer and had me questioning how clean my food truly was. Will not be...

Overall, a disappointing experience.

I called to place an order and was told that there was a $2.00 charge to swap out the California Roll in the bento box for a Tuna Roll. I explained that this was due to an allergy, and the woman on the phone still told me I would be charged. The charge doesn’t make sense considering that when you order these two rolls from the regular menu, the difference in price is 50 CENTS! I’ve never had a restaurant charge me to swap out the sushi before, but a 50-cent charge would have been more reasonable.

The teriyaki sauce for my chicken was watery and flavorless, not to mention it spilled all over the sushi because it wasn’t packed separately. (I know it’s part of the bento box, but I’ve seen places pack it separately.) The chicken itself just tasted like pure salt.

The tuna in the roll did taste good despite the sauce spilled on the bottom of the roll. But, the rice from the roll fell off every time I grabbed a piece. It was falling apart everywhere.

The 3 shumai pieces were good as well. Wish there were more.

But, tasty tuna and shumai don’t justify the price and experience. I thought the food would at least taste good due to all of the positive Google reviews. Won’t be ordering from...

Begrudgingly, I must rate this place three stars. Firstly, the quality of the food was excellent. The portions were good and the flavor was as well. However, service and cleanliness are lacking. Throughout our meal, flies were buzzing all over the place. After we were served our soup but before our edamame, the waitress came to our table and said " If you said like something to drink, you can go to to the front and get it." Having ordered the sushi lunch and an appetizer, I thought that meant the drink was included with one of those items. When I went and picked out a drink, I asked the waitress if it was ok and she said yes. At no point during the meal were we given water.

When I got the receipt, it showed the drink on there. When I asked about it, she said I was welcome to get a drink and pay for it as it was not included. Had I have known that, I would not have gotten the drink because I didn't want one. I would of course not turn down a complementary drink though.

Fix up the softer side of things and this restaurant is great. Just be very clear about what you are ordering and what you...