Ocean Samurai Blacksburg | Japanese Sushi & Hibachi | 海の侍 日本料理 — Restaurant in Blacksburg

Ocean Samurai

Good service from our waitress… horrible food and even worse kitchen staff… kitchen staff yelled at our server after we sent back a dish. We felt extremely unsafe and uncomfortable. We were famished after a day of driving and were looking for a good Japanese meal. What we received started out so-so and turned dramatically worse after the main dishes came out—problem is that they use cheap, low quality ingredients. Yellowtail appetizer was not very fresh… fish was starting to give off a fishy smell and had that “sitting in the fridge too long” look. Udon soup broth was made with canned or boxed beef broth—ultra salty. Beef was stew quality, tough beef—not the steak quality beef found in good Japanese (or Vietnamese pho) restaurants.

The biggest problem was that my wife couldn’t eat beef or any red meat, so she ordered the chicken udon soup. What came out was cooked in a canned beef broth that gave her the gag reflex. Our server was kind enough to take it back to replace with a stir fried (instead of soup version) chicken Udon, but she came back a minute later saying the kitten asked if it was ok if they used “ox oil” in her replacement dish… our spider sense should have come up at that point, but we explained that my wife couldn’t eat any type of beef product or any byproduct related to cows… not oxen despite the fact that the only oxen oil used in production I’m aware of is lubricant for firearms. We kindly declined. Half a minute later, the kitchen staff yelled loudly at our server in the back… at that point, we couldn’t trust what was going to be brought out. I couldn’t trust my wife’s health or safety, so my son and I finished our food and my wife finished off the appetizers that had come out earlier. We strongly suspected if we had agreed to the use of “Ox oil,” the kitchen would have just refried the udon and chicken from the beef broth soup they sent to us at first and claimed the beefy smell was from the ox oil. To make matters worse, the sushi cooks behind the bar started glaring at my wife after the loud yelling from the kitchen.

We felt unsafe and definitely uncomfortable after the yelling in the back and the glare from the sushi cooks behind the counter.

Definitely be wary if you come in and give any hint of dissatisfaction with the kitchen…. There are better options...

Salad was literally just lettuce carrots and watered down dressing. The soup tasted like someone had added water to it to cut back on costs also had a faint smell of cleaner and dirty dish water to it not sure if it was the soup or the bowl that smelt that way. I ordered crab rangoons which is an appetizer but my entree came out before the rangoons so I asked for them to just take it off the bill which they very kindly did. Everything about the entree was bad. I ordered the hibachi chicken. The vegetables had no taste and were hard and uncooked. The chicken was bland also had no taste and everything was sitting in a pool of water that looked like sauce but was really watery and again had NO taste. I’ve never had anything so plain tasting at a restaurant before not even at home would it be so plain. The fried rice didn’t taste fried I’m assuming they took white rice and put the tiniest amount of sauce in the rice to make it look like it had some sort of sauce in it but you could barely taste it. It also had no egg, carrots, or peas in it so it was basically just plain rice. My friend got teriyaki chicken that tasted EXACTLY like mine the only difference is they put it on a different plate and cut it up differently. On top of all this the service was really slow even though it wasn’t busy and even though it took forever to get the entree I still never got the crab rangoons so I’m assuming they just forgot to put the order in or at least I hope that’s the reason. I can’t believe how bad the food was for something that wasn’t exactly cheap. I’m a terrible cook and I have made better tasting hibachi than this. I would rather go to the store and buy frozen hibachi and fried rice to eat rather than this. Seriously no taste whatsoever. Will never go back and would...

Traveling and find this place! I’ve seen a lot of restaurants，Ocean Samurai has quickly become one of my absolute favorites. It’s rare to find a place that balances quality, creativity, and community the way they do.

From the moment you walk in, the atmosphere is warm and inviting — not too flashy, just thoughtfully designed with a clean, modern aesthetic. It’s the kind of place where you can just as easily bring your family for a quiet dinner or meet up with friends for a casual night out.

The sushi here is consistently fresh and beautifully presented. I’m not someone who’s easily impressed by rolls — but Ocean Samurai’s signature rolls are something else. You can tell they put real care into each dish, both in flavor and presentation. Even the rice is seasoned just right, which says a lot. I also appreciate the range of options for folks who don’t eat raw fish — their bento boxes, hibachi, and cooked items are just as good.

One of the things I really love is how they’ve made an effort to connect with the community. It’s clear they care about the people who live here, not just the students. The staffs are friendly and down-to-earth, and they always greet returning guests like family. I’ve had several conversations with the owners and it’s obvious they’re passionate about what they do.

Whether it’s a lunch break during the work week or a relaxing dinner on the weekend, Ocean Samurai is the kind of place that makes you proud to support a local business. I hope it stays for...