Izen's Drunken Bento — Restaurant in Cincinnati

This restaurant had terrible service I ordered from a co-workers phone the guy kept telling me that I was someone else I gave him my number he took my order and then told me it will be 15 mins for my lunch order I said that is fine I work 10mins away I ordered at 140pm on July 12, 2017 I get to the restaurant at 1:52pm I let them know I had a call in order the guy told me to have a seat at the bar so I did usually when I order they have my food done by the time I get there but no not this time I believe mainly because the guy that was on the phone kept telling my I was someone else I kept telling him my name is Key so I sit there at the bar for another 5 mins I ask the guy how long because I am on my lunch break I had to be back at my office at 2pm he didn't say anything to me and kept on work.. at this point it's 1:57pm and I still don't have my food he has no solution to getting me my order that they said will be ready in 15mins from the time I called. At this point I am about to be late going back to work because they decided to make it when I got there and kept assuming I was someone else. It's ashame that I had to experience such descrimination for trying to order my food and have to justify I am who I say I am.. one tall white guy tells me I can just leave he's not the one that took my order which I found to be very rude never the less I had to cancel what they didn't make and rush back to work with no food to eat.. I called the restaurant to speak with the manager and the short guy answers the phone and tells me "oh you just left yeah we don't have a manager try calling back later" I the. Again tried to express my frustration with him over the phone and he cuts me off to tell me "oh just call back later" it wasn't a sorry we apologize or anything it was like they didn't care about me being on lunch and them trying to tell me I was someone else horrible service they don't even deserve a star...

Normally have a wonderful experience here. HOWEVER, I came in on Monday 12/19 for lunch with a coworker. There were a handful of other guests inside. Was seated right away and our server was attentive. The issue we had was the fact that they began making wasabi while we were there and didn’t tell anyone. There’s absolutely ZERO ventilation in this small restaurant, so it quickly turned into a torturous experience. Watering eyes, runny nose, scratchy throat. I looked around and saw everyone was having the same painful experience. I thought I was having an allergic reaction at first (I have no known food allergies) so I was ready to drive myself to the hospital. Then I thought maybe the cleaner they were using for the tables wasn’t diluted and the symptoms we were experiencing were from the chemical fumes. Nope…wasabi. The food we ordered had to be packed to-go, and we rushed to pay the bill so we could get out into fresh air. I felt terrible that I recommended this place for lunch and we couldn’t even eat our lunch here. Definitely soured my experiences with this establishment. I don’t think I’ll be back for quite some time. If you have to do this during normal business hours, PLEASE TELL YOUR GUESTS! Better yet, do this with your morning prep...

As others have pointed out, the half price sushi is a steal. Usually you think cheaper would be paired with lower quality, but that's simply not the case. It's about as good as the other sushi shops that are much more expensive. Drunken Bentos makes sushi affordable and not just a luxury. Their service is quick and the waiters are pleasant. There's a wide variety of sushi as well as other items if you're not a fan of sushi. Overall there's something for everyone and I don't think I've had a "bad" sushi yet after trying out almost the entire menu.

There are several negatives that aren't a deal breaker, but do detract from a full 5 star. The location is a lot smaller compared to the other shops on the same street. This causes difficulty in seating as it's very cramped and also forces people to wait outside in the cold during the winter. They also don't seem to have a reservation policy so if you have a large party, you would have to wait for however long the wait time is once you get there rather than having it opened up for you. My last issue is that appetizers frequently come out after the sushi does. This seems pretty backwards as an appetizer is supposed to be just that - an appetizer for your main meal. Makes you wonder why you even...