Zen Sushi & Grill — Restaurant in Beloit

Upon entering the hostess was chillin on her phone but she did get off of it as soon as we entered (several staff memebers were on their phones at every opportunity then handling food and drinks which I personally dont like). After being seated the waitress never asked us if we wanted drinks so I only had water which I found that a little weird but they did refill our water a few times for us (mind you I would have drank so thats at least $50 profit this company missed out just because their waitress didnt take the time to ask). I got a rainbow roll (which has raw fish) and it was really warm and fishy tasting and crumbled to pieces when moved. The California roll was good and so was the mango tango but I probably won't get raw fish there again if we went. Neither of us finished even half of our food and the waitress didn't ask if we wanted box or if we didn't like it and honestly I didn't. The pork was super chewy in my Ramen so I ate the noodles and left it at that. The restaurant was clean openly but my menu was sticky and had something smeared on the inside cover and I did let the waitress know so they could get it cleaned so the next customer wouldn't have the same issue. She was polite and accommodated our request when asked but did not check in on our table, offer drinks, or even suggest anything when we told her it was our first time here and we weren't sure what to get (also frequently...

Had reservations at 6pm for our 6 year old daughters birthday. Was at the establishment promptly at 6. Stood in line behind 3-4 other parties waiting to get to the hostess desk (No room, everyone was basically standing in the open door and on the entrance steps). The parties in front of us didn't have reservations and were seated. By the time we waited in line as they seated the non-reserved guests it was nearly 6:15. We get to the desk finally and check in telling them that we had rsvp for 6pm. They tell us they won't seat us because we are "late for our reservation"! We were there at our reservation time and were made late because we were standing in line while you seated non-reserved folks. I was very frustrated and pointed out this fact. The hostess was unapologetic and sticking to her guns telling us "too bad", a manager or owner overheard me pleading my case and came over and got us a table. This set a very sour tone for us for the rest of the evening, as they made us feel like it was our fault that we had to stand in line and be late, when in reality they were not handling the dinner rush in an organized way and giving proper precedence to those who had reserved. I don't know that...

The spot hits different when you're craving Japanese - it's a solid local option, even if it's not mind-blowing. Their raw fish game is usually on point (though I've had one iffy experience), and the sashimi platter comes through with that Instagram-worthy presentation. The fried stuff? Absolute fire. But if you're eyeing the Korean menu, maybe keep scrolling - which is kinda ironic given the Korean ownership.

Service is where it falls apart when it comes to consistency; it can be painfully slow, with staff chatting instead of focusing on customers. Some servers seem untrained and uninformed about the menu.

The atmosphere is good, but the seating layout is packed and feels cramped, prioritizing quantity over comfort. A little more effort in customer service and ambiance could go a long way—smiles and attentiveness would make a big difference.

The prices are steep, especially considering what you get but that's what happens when there's no other competition in town.

Overall, would I go back? For sure! Is it perfect? No. But when you're craving for sushi and don't want to drive a distance, it gets the job done. 3/5 - its good enough to keep me coming back, but there’s room for...