OiShii — Restaurant in Chapel Hill

Had several issues while eating here for the first time with my kids and their grandmother. Rate this establishment a 3.0 on food with value and Asian ambiance driving to an overall rating of 2.5 (only allowed to list at 2 whole stars. First the sides included with dinner were the Japanese salad which was good and consistent with prior experiences in other US Japanese restaurants; however the miso soup was very light on seaweed, tofu, and while the broth was NOT consistent with miso I've had in Japan and the US --the taste was off. I couldn't tell if it was that the miso was diluted, just could not tell, but it wasn't good. I've had 100s of miso soups since I was 19 and lived in Japan ... this miso was off -- simply put.

I also ordered a steamed gyoza appetizer which were very good, but the gyoza sauce appeared to be simply low salt soy sauce and some scallions. Gyoza sauce should have soy and rice vinegar in equal amounts with the option of a chili oil to spice things up. So that was disappointing. This is the type of sauce you would expect in a knock off restaurant, not one utilizing Japanese recipes.

For the main course, I chose Tonkatsu which included two flattened pork pieces which were excellently done ... panko was consistent and fried to just the right level. The vegetables included on the dish were good ... excellent stir fry; however, the tonkatsu sauce given was too little for the amount of meat provided as well as the portion of rice was quite small. Tonkatsu is best done with a combination of rice, tonkatsu and sauce. Furthermore, given that chop sticks were the only utensils on the table serving Japanese rice on a plate is not appropriate ... it should be included in a rice bowl so that one can press it against bowl sides to make sure it can be picked up with the chop sticks provided. Again the amount of rice provided was not near appropriate given the size of the tonkatsu. It took awhile for me to get another portion of rice and was charged an extra $2 for an amount of rice I should have gotten with my meal. Additionally, at the start of the meal I was charged for green tea which should be provided in Japanese restaurant to anyone who wishes to drink it. In Japan it is provided for free everywhere you visit, so charging for it in a Japanese restaurant seems contrary to practices that the restaurant wishes, I believe, to purvey. Moreover, I do not recall ever being charged for it in any Japanese restaurant I've been to in the US.

Finally, I was stunned by the bill, which included the charges for the green tea and "extra" portion of rice. Why not charge for the use of the oxygen in the restaurant as well? Thus two meals, one set of nigiri sushi, an order of gyoza, and green tea cost nearly $60 -- no alcoholic drinks were ordered. No matter how oishii the meal was ... the ancillary issues I've noted here have settled me on the fact that I won't be visiting again and won't recommend it to other patrons considering it.

UPDATE: Have received no feedback to my review which I think speaks volumes on the ownership of restaurant. I've attended better establishments in Chapel Hill and would recommend you find...

A lovely spot that has been in the area for years living up to its name (delicious). I arrived a bit early and found no wait for seating. Everything was freshly prepared and the staff was both attentive and helpful. The menu is rather large and offers a good variety of tasty things. I've tried the green salad with ginger dressing, eel nigiri, new heaven roll, and veggie tempura and it was all wonderfully made. The veggie tempura tonight included sweet and regular potato, asparagus, broccoli, and onion; the tempura batter was fairly light with a nice crunch. The new heaven tuna was soft and delicious, and neatly made with the cucumber so it kept its structure and didn't fall apart in the chopsticks. The eel portion of the nigiri was generous and larger than at other establishments....

Wish I could write a review about the food itself but I never got the chance!

I ordered on their great online system. It's easy and quick so I was excited! The online system said my food would be ready in 30 minutes (that would've been 6:50). I arrived at 6:45 and was told my order was next but it'd be another 15 minutes. I told the server I'd wait. At 7:10 I asked for an update and was told the chef hadn't even started on my order. But there were other to-go orders waiting to be bagged on the bar. It had been almost an hour since I'd placed my order at this point! I told the server nevermind and that I would go...