Aji Sushi — Restaurant in Citrus Heights

Our usual all-you-can-eat sushi Raku Sushi is currently closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays so we decided to try out all-you-can-eat at Aji Sushi.

The overall experience here is a bit rigid:

1. they're open about the same hours as Raku Sushi, but somehow you feel time has flown by because the process at Aji eats up some time.
2. They take about 5-10 minutes to explain their all-you-can-eat process to you because it isn't all, all-you-can-eat. There are items where you have to pay a discounted, ala carte fee for. Then, there is order by tablet which makes you feel like your order should magically make it to the chef, but 1/2 our order was ignored.
3. You only get 3 rounds to order. This isn't actually an issue because in one round you'd think you'd be able to order as much as you think you need to order, but because only 1/2 our order made it the 1st round, it was rather confusing. It makes you wonder because you are ordering from a tablet so how would your order not complete, right?
4. the food is good as you'd expect. And, it comes out in an impressive round mini-sized lazy Susan platter. However, they do stuff plenty of rice in their rolls and Nigiri. I think Raku does a much better job at balancing rice and sashimi.
5. You feel like you lose a lot of time because the food takes longer to get out to you and by the time round 1 is done they are announcing last call for orders...so essentially, you won't have much time for rounds 2 and 3. At Raku, they can take orders throughout the night so they make it as you order so the action moves right along. With the process of ordering by round, your whole table has to agree to the order before you place it together so it takes a long time because there is always someone in the party (especially if it is larger) that needs to know all the details of each menu item and take all the time.
6. towards the end of the night they shut down fast and you get that rush to get out. First, it is last call for orders. Then, it is about the dishwashers leaving for the night. Then, the bathroom is shutting down. Etc...you get the idea. Hurry, up and get out.

Don't get me wrong, you can get pretty full here and their rolls aren't bad at all. I just prefer a less complicated process. I want to go to dinner with my guests and enjoy my time and company. I don't want to have to figure anything else out. At this place , I feel rushed. So, if you need to have conversations cut short it might not be a bad place to go to keep it short and sweet. I prefer Raku as it is more straight forward an experience. No complicated ordering process. No additional charges for certain items. You don't...

I've been here probably about 7 or 8 times over the course of the last year alone. Let me just say that Aji doesn't leave much to be desired, both as an all-you-can-eat restaurant and as a sushi joint in general.

Service. Host(esse)s, waiting staff and cooks are always presentable, polite, and have been able to answer most of my party's strangely specific questions over the months. They are attentive, but do well to respect your space as guests without ever feeling cold. In general, we get a vibe of appreciation and hospitality.

Food. The volume and quality of the food are both superb. I've brought multiple big eaters with me, multiple times, and we usually ordered around a dozen rolls at once, with the pacing being perfect. About as soon as we were almost finished with one roll, another was brought to us, even with things moving quickly. Nonetheless, the quality of every item I've tried so far is impressive. I don't consider myself a connoisseur, but with seafood, you can tell when you're getting not-so-fresh of food; everything tastes extremely fresh and bursts with flavor.

Many all-you-can-eat options don't make significant changes from lunch to dinner; usually it's just a bigger price tag, but I feel like Aji actually balances it out fairly. Even doing lunch, you're met with a pretty huge selection, but dinner seems to just about triple that, especially on Wednesday night's sashimi selection, which is where the quality really stands up to the test of freshness and flavor.

Atmosphere. I've been to many sushi eateries where you're met with hokey, tacky setups as well as some that feel like a really odd twist on authentic that is too situational. In general, the atmosphere here is modern, remaining true to an elegant but reserved theme that works for several different occasions, without feeling pretentious or cookie-cutter in nature. I've brought folk here in dress attire, casual street clothes and everywhere in between and it just always works.

All in all, I highly recommend giving this place a shot even if you're simply coming to split one or two rolls with someone, because it's not just an endless sushi bar.

If you're looking for specifics, I recommend the following rolls: Hurk, Volcano, Aji, Spicy-Scallop, Yakitori, Mexican, Spider, Honey Walnut, and Philly; don't forget green tea ice cream and sesame...

I visited Aji Sushi on Dec 4th to place an order for togo. This is my 3rd time visiting this restaurant and I was hoping I would have better visit than the last. When I arrived the host at the front was in a call, so I grabbed a menu to mark my order and waited. When she was finished with her call about 5 min later she exited to the back area so I continued to wait patiently. When she got back a few minutes later I placed my order and was told it would take about 15 minutes, that’s fine. I went to use the restroom (which smelled foul) and came back to the waiting area at the front of the restaurant. As I was the only customer in the restaurant at this time, more customers started coming to dine in. 15 minutes have passed from the time I’ve placed my order. The host started to seat the other diners and their orders were taken promptly. At this time there are 4 tables filled (appx 12 people). I watched their orders come out very fast as 20 and 30 min go by I look by the sushi bar and the host is flirting with a fellow co worker and my to go order is still not completed. 45 min have gone by, she tells me my order is still not done ( but everyone else in the restaurant had been served multiple plates) I expressed how this was not acceptable and she responded “ I know”. No apology to follow no manger to apologize. My order came out an hour later, after everyone who came in after me was served within 20 minutes of being seated, after 10+ plates & rolls were served. I will never refer or dine at this restaurant ever again. I always get poor service with no resolution. For the pricing they charged, food quality and the service they have I am not impressed at all. I would rather driver further to Sushi Hook...