Sushi Bar Bloomington — Restaurant in Bloomington

For the first few years I was in town, Sushi Bar was my sushi joint of choice. The decor is lovely: mellow, soft lighting, with booths that, while not enclosed, give the illusion of privacy. The clientele was never really my scene (lots of long tables packed with sorority girls) but the consistency of the product made up for it. I can't comment on the freshness of the fish as it's been a fair amount of time since I've actually eaten it, but from what I recall it seemed fresh and well-made. At any rate, it wasn't the food or the decor that brought me here.

I usually give restaurants the benefit of a doubt when I get bad service. After all - one server's bad day shouldn't tarnish an entire company's image. However, I think Sushi Bar deserves the call out. I had a bad experience over a year ago when I went during their rush. My sushi took over an hour and a half to come out, as I was watching other (huge) tables that had come in after us receiving their meals. A couple of other smaller groups were having a similar experience, and I remember distinctly sharing annoyed glances with those also suffering without their food. But, being that I hate walking out on a meal (especially sushi) I stuck it out until our server finally delivered our food. It was fine, except we had gotten a wrong roll. We, being mild-mannered despite our crankiness, asked if there was something that could be done in the way of taking the roll off our bill, being that we didn't want it and we'd already waited forever. What we got, instead, was an argument. The woman (the manager?) said that it was, in fact, what we ordered, and that we wouldn't have anything taken off our bill. Well, okay. We dealt with it, left, and I hadn't been back since.

Until last night, on my birthday. It was a little after 9PM and Sushi Bar closes at 10PM. Usually I'd go to Asuka, but they close at 9:30PM, and I didn't want to be that person showing up minutes before they close for a labor-intensive meal. I hadn't been to Sushi Bar in a long time anyway so I figured I'd give it the benefit of a doubt. Poor choice.

We got there before 9:30 and there were no cars in the parking lot. We went in and the place was empty - not a single table there. We could feel the kitchen and the servers staring us down as we went in. We were given a booth. The server (a guy) was alright, not exactly jolly but not unpleasant either. He got us waters.

The next fifteen minutes were an exercise in surveillance. While we sat, deciding what to eat, I watched the same woman who I'd encountered in my last visit pacing back and forth, glaring at us from various positions around the restaurant. They were clearly very annoyed that we were there, and they did not hide it. I could hear her and the kitchen bickering in the distance. While we were looking at the menu an our server, suddenly exasperated, came by to tell us that the kitchen was closing at 10 and that we'd better get our food in. It wasn't a kind warning, and it wasn't that late. We did put an appetizer in, and while that was in the works another couple came in, who the manager-woman tried to shoo out the door, even though they were still open. I don't know what ended up happening with that couple.

We got our appetizer and returned our menus. It was fried tofu, and it was alright - I don't like tofu, but it was well-presented and (according to my roommate, who ordered it) tasty. We didn't get any entrees. I was still being watched from around the corner by a very angry group of workers, which wasn't exactly the atmosphere I was looking for on my birthday. So, we left.

Bottom line: The food is good, and the atmosphere is my favorite of all the sushi places in town, but the service has completely turned me away. Asuka is my place of choice now, because despite the gamble that is ordering sushi from them (I've often received a wrong roll) they've always been accommodating and pleasant when they make a mistake, or even when they don't. That's what service is, and Sushi Bar...

We tried this establishment for the first time on a fairly calm Friday evening and the main takeaway we got was: order online, don’t dine in. This restaurant seems to prioritize online orders rather than in store orders, or that’s what it seemed like when we ate there. There were maybe 3-4 tables seated including ourselves so it was not busy but it took 1.5 hours to get our food. We didn’t get an overly complex order either; just sushi and rice. The food was good but not worth the wait. They were very on top of online orders however. We saw several go out quickly while we were seated. After 1.25 hours we asked if our food had even been started yet because if it wasn’t we’d have left but they basically started it immediately after we said something. The server only waited on us for the drinks and then we never saw him again. We had to flag down a different server to ask if our food was coming or not and to get our check.

The sushi was good but not worth an hour and a half wait. Overall the service was very poor but the food was decent.

Also side note: the water has a really weird strong...

Good sushi from landlocked Indiana? You really have to compare it to what is possible for a place like this, and when you do, it's pretty good. You're not going to find fish like you would in California or even Chicago where they can get fresh fish daily. But they work with what they have and they make it pretty tasty. Rolls cost around 4 dollars for normal ones and 6-8 dollars for their specialty ones. It's on the cheaper side of sushi places in Bloomington I beleive. I would recommend trying at least one of the specialty rolls to see their creativity. The Sun roll, Dragon roll, and Spider roll are all really good. Service is decent. Sometimes it feels like they rush you when ordering, but I've never been treated badly. Due to it's price and proximity, it seems to be a popular place for sororities. Sake bombs can get pretty loud and obnoxious quickly. Aside from that, decor and atmosphere is nice. They have 3 rooms in the back that can be used for parties and fit about 10 people, more if you're creative. It would be a good place to try and it's my go...