Roji — Restaurant in Cincinnati

I applaud the chefs for bringing an omakase concept to Cincinnati. There were some nice bites. That said, I think the hype for this place is largely attributable to novelty.

If you've never had a high-end omakase experience in Japan, New York, Miami, or D.C. (e.g. Hiden, Nakazawa, Yasuda, etc.), this will be a fun experience that is worth doing. I think if you have had omakase before, though, this will be a bit of a letdown. I just don't think it measures up on freshness of fish, service, or vibe. That said, this is also 1/3 the price of those places, so it is certainly more accessible.

The main hiccups for me were on the reservation system, service, and quantity of food.

Overall, I do like the reservation system because you don't have to plan things out months in advance. That said, 6am feels a bit dramatic/designed for hype. And once you do book, there are no changes allowed, even to adjust the time. The restaurant seems not to have a public phone number, so that makes things more difficult. I was disappointed when I couldn't book for two, couldn't call to ask if I could add a person, and then the seat next to me was empty the whole time.

On service, it felt cold and awkward. They use noren (Japanese curtains) to wall off the dining area. These are lovely when used correctly--i.e. opened graciously to welcome the guest. Instead, I just waited awkwardly behind the curtains while no one welcomed me in and I wasn't sure if I should enter on my own or not. Not a nice start. Once I entered, the vibe felt stuffy but at the same time not elegant or typically Japanese. I think, honestly, they would benefit from a woman's presence. One feature of counter style dining is watching the chef work and interacting with the chef, and I didn't feel that element here.

Finally, the quantity of food was too little for me. I applaud them for keeping the price low (relative to other similar concepts), but I did leave hungry after paying ~$80. Another hand roll or two, a small cut of wagyu, and a desert would have been good, even for a supplement.

I'd be more inclined to recommend a place like Matsuya in northern KY, which is more authentically Japanese and will leave you feeling full. But if you want to try omakase, fresh wasabi, and the counter style seating for the first time, this is your chance to do so at a low cost and without...

The chef was great and put wasabi on the side for my friend and I and the pairings were amazing for every nigiri, especially the mackerel (though the fish changes based on the day). The vibes and the alcohol (not included with the price) were great. I did want to share a couple downsides, considering the cumulative $250+ I spent for 2. First was the salmon roe, it was extremely salty so it was hard to enjoy the hand rolls (included) and our sea urchin add on (we paid extra for that). I am a salty and savory fan, but it was overpowering. Additionally, I was extremely cold throughout the evening, likely due to where I was seated. Heads up, you cannot choose your seating, even if you are there first. It isn’t based on order of arrival or preference. We sat on the far left, but ended up extremely content with our seats in the end (other than how cold it was). Dress warm! Just a few FYI’s for people planning to come early, we came about 10 minutes early and were not able to come inside until nearly 5 minutes after our reservation. I went with my friend, both of us young women, and it is downtown Cincinnati. There were a number of people in the area and we stood outside for 15 minutes, so we were approached for money and didn’t feel very safe during that time. We asked to come in early, but there isn’t any seating for waiting, so we were told we had to stay outside. Be sure to come right on time, but also not too early! Unfortunately, a group misread their reservation so we had 3 empty seats in our group. So we were met with some distractions for us and the staff. Be sure to double check the reservations! Overall, it was a great experience, we are thinking about returning on a Friday to see what it is like with the sushi chef, since it will...

Food good, service bad. Ok so I loved this for the food but I had a one off experience and the service was not what I expected and I will probably not go again. Basically, my boyfriend and I were waiting to be seated and the other party waiting to be seated was outside. Since we were inside and we were going to be seated first, I requested to sit in the middle so we can see what the chef was doing versus in the corner with a more obstructed view. Since we were first I thought this was okay, but they said no. In any other restaurant this makes sense. We were inside first while then the other group comes in later and they get in the middle. Picture of view in description. Not awful but customer should definitely get view. Then I come to find out that one of the women in the group is the chefs wife and the two others are their friends. I felt so upset after paying 100$ plus parking and stuff for his wife to be able to sit up front when she can see this any time. They talked a lot to each other like maybe they could’ve saved it for a nice hangout another time. Super disappointing experience due to the lack of customer service, only saving grace of this restaurant is being the only omakase in cincy and having cool records playing. Also I feel like I had no idea what was happening really or know about the fish because he was taking to his wife and stuff. Kinda worth it for the food but like honestly just weird experience and I feel like my chance to experience it was ruined...