Sumo Sushi & Grill AYCE - Burlington — Restaurant in Burlington

Where to begin.. Walking in, the old Shari’s building is definitely updated… like Seattle/Bellevue updated 😬. We were sat in the back on the left side… host spoke really quiet so all I caught was scan and menu so I just pieced the rest together. Server seemed stressed but was nice.. “buffet” was on the right side so we had to walk past the host station where customers were standing to pay or be seated.. not ideal with hands full of plates and sauce but oh well. We ordered as much as possible because after reading the reviews we knew we would have to wait 15 minutes before ordering again. one thing I ordered was the avocado salad.. no sauce no dressing… my husband let me know there’s sauces and dressing at the “buffet” station.. no.. just dipping sauces and Mayo .. the salad was spring mix and avocado.. not much flavor there without a dressing or sauce so I went with tempura sauce.. it tasted better I guess. I think the best thing I had was the shrimp ramen but the ratios are off.. It has two tempura shrimp half egg and two bites of noodles. But those two bites of noodles were yummy, still hungry though.. the deep fried roll was stale (like it was fried in advance and sauce put on later) my tuna avocado roll was nothing short of pathetic.. I’m not sure of what my husband thought of his rolls and I know our daughter liked their chicken wings at the “buffet”. We didn’t like the miso?, tasted like they put too much miso paste in it. The more people that entered the place the louder the music got.. the group of guys we were sat near didn’t care that children were around while loudly dropping F bombs.. Yes yes yes it’s a soft open but soft opens are what could make or break new businesses in this area. My experience could detour friends/family or maybe a reader from not wanting to eat here or they could just say I’m picky (which yes sometimes I can be..) but I guess try it for yourself and see if it’s worth the price/experience.

Oh yeah that robot thing is AWKWARRDDDDD.. it brings your sushi and just stays there and then finally after 30 seconds leaves. Like imagine a server just standing there after serving you.. just… standing…. there… yeah I know I’m being ridiculous it’s a dang robot but ahh...

I was excited to try this new sushi restaurant with a friend, but unfortunately, our visit was more stressful than enjoyable. The booth we were originally seated in felt tight, like as if it had been squeezed in to accommodate more guests in the restaurant, making it uncomfortable for dining. We requested a different table, which was thankfully honored. The ordering process was also confusing. There are no clear instructions provided and it took us about 20 minutes to figure out how to use the self-service system. Only one phone per table can place orders, which essentially turns one guest into the “server” for the group. This setup makes tipping feel questionable, as the customer ends up managing the order submission. A major concern was the lack of food labeling, especially when it comes to allergens. I have an egg allergy and I ordered what was listed as salmon sashimi. However, when the food arrived via the robot server, it was topped with various unidentified sauces, including one that appeared to contain mayo. I later had a reaction after noticing mayo smeared on a different sushi roll (avocado roll) something that could have easily been avoided with proper labeling or ingredient transparency. To make matters worse, we were only given one napkin each, one pair of chopsticks each and no water when seated. It wasn’t until 40 minutes in that we were asked if we wanted drinks. We ordered root beer and received it 10 minutes later, but still no water, even after my allergic reaction, which caused me to cough uncontrollably for several minutes. I had to flag someone down just to get a glass of water. Additionally, the buffet section appeared neglected, much of the food looked like it had been sitting out for hours, dried and unappetizing. While the concept of robot service and digital ordering is interesting, the execution here felt impersonal and unprepared, especially for diners with dietary restrictions. I truly hope this restaurant can take these kinds of reviews to heart and improve communication, food labeling and table service. Food allergies are serious and must be...

So I’m with everyone else that is concerned with the temperature of the sushi. Seemed slightly warmer than it should be. However I still ate it and didn’t get sick. Oh and I had the shrimp tempura roll and the California roll. I loved loved the “avocado salad” it’s literally just some kind of spring tossed with this sesame dressing topped with avocado and I thought it was really refreshing amidst all the heavy things. It’s kind of a cluster jam in there. People are getting up to go to the Buffet which features the appetizers, fruit, and little bites. They were out of spicy mayo for the entire duration I was there. I kept seeing people try to squeeze the life out of it. People are all just standing in either direction trying to get in there and nothing is labeled. So I don’t know what some things were. Actually all the people working were so kind. However I think maybe a little lost sometimes. I think it would be helpful to at least have water out people can grab themselves. We didn’t get half our order. So you order from your phone and we ordered as soon as we got there. We were there about 90 min and finally just kinda got tired of waiting and to be fair to sumo we were full. But we never got any of the hot items we placed. Which I was fine with i enjoy the sushi but my husband was disappointed he wanted like the meat things. And he wanted to try the tonkatsu. We didn’t have an issue with the 15 min wait to order something else because we ordered all at one time. Well about half hour in I did add another shrimp tempura roll cause it was good but that was the only time we added to the order. It was $25.95 per person and I thought that was fair. If they work out the kinks I think it could be great! Was definitely worth a try just don’t be in a hurry if you’re going...