Miyo's — Restaurant in Columbia

I’m extremely disappointed with the treatment I received at this restaurant (Miyos - 340 Columbiana), and I feel compelled to speak up about what appears to be a pattern of racial bias.

I came in to pick up a delivery order, following the standard procedure used at nearly every restaurant—providing the name and information needed to confirm the pickup. Despite this, I was made to wait over 10 minutes without an update, even though the restaurant was not busy and I was standing well within range for someone to communicate with me. No one approached me until I initiated the conversation.

When I asked about the order, I was told they had something, but “it didn’t look right.” I immediately contacted the delivery support team, who confirmed that the order in question was indeed mine and instructed me to inform the staff. When I relayed this, the bartender (a white woman) responded with clear reluctance, growing increasingly short and dismissive with me—while remaining pleasant and courteous with other customers around me. The contrast was obvious and unsettling.

She then called over another employee (a white male server, not a manager) who was even more rude and gave clipped, sarcastic responses. At no point did either of them attempt to resolve the issue—instead, they acted as if they wanted me to leave without the order I was there to pick up.

Despite my calm demeanor and patience throughout, I was met with passive-aggressive behavior. I asked again if they had an order with the name provided. The bartender admitted they did—but still refused to release it, citing mismatched information, even though the initials matched exactly. Again, I showed her proof from the delivery service support confirming that it was my assigned order. Rather than acknowledge the error, she became more visibly irritated, as if I was the problem for following protocol.

Eventually, she brought over an actual manager (an Asian man), who immediately treated me with professionalism and respect. He calmly reviewed the situation, verified the details in under five minutes, and confirmed that I was indeed picking up the correct order. I informed him of the treatment I had received and, due to the hostility, told him I would prefer to cancel and still be paid. He assured me the order was mine, and his professionalism is the only reason I completed the pickup.

This experience wasn’t just frustrating—it was dehumanizing. The behavior of the two initial staff members (the bartender and the male employee she called over) felt racially motivated. This isn’t the first time I’ve noticed biased behavior at this location, but this was by far the most blatant. At one point, the bartender even told me they don’t offer delivery through the platform I work for—which I know is false because I’ve successfully picked up from there before.

I had to apologize to the customer for the delay—something that wasn’t my fault but stemmed entirely from the staff’s attitude and reluctance to treat me with basic respect. The customer understood and was apologetic for what I had to go through.

To management and corporate: racial profiling and passive-aggressive disrespect toward Black delivery workers (or any customers of color) is unacceptable and legally risky. I urge you to address this behavior swiftly. If I ever return to this location for a pickup, I will be documenting the interaction, and I will not hesitate to pursue legal action if this discriminatory behavior continues.

Everyone deserves to be treated with decency—regardless of their race, role, or reason for entering your establishment. This is 2025, and no one should still have to...

6/14/17 was my third time eating at the Miyo's on Bowers Parkway here in Columbia SC. I enjoyed my first two visits. The sushi was good and the service was ok. On my third visit I ordered the spider roll. To me the crab was fried way to hard... and the flavor also was not good. I hate sending food back but I did because it was not enjoyable. My server takes it to the back and within about 6 minutes I believe the owner comes out. I explain to her what was wrong and she begins to explain to me the differences in shrimp tempura and soft shell crab tempura and that soft shell crab is fried differently and is supposed to be hard like that. I go on to say either way I did not like the flavor and would like to trade it out for a roll of equal value.( I'd only eating 1 1/2 pieces of sushi) She then goes on to ask me if I am going to pay for both rolls? I let her know that if that's the case I want neither and she goes back to the back. She comes back and tells me that she took the spider roll off of my order but then goes on to say "you've already had enough to eat so I will not be giving you the shrimp tempura roll" gesturing to the fried calamari APPETIZER that was shared between me and my friend. How dare her. There has never been a time I've gone to a restaurant and the owner/manager has not accommodated what I asked for. I am very disappointed . Not only does she own the miyos on bower parkway but I believe she also owns M Kitchen on columbiana drive and M Vista downtown. I will never spend a dollar in any of these places again not because the service was bad but because the owner was flat out rude. No customer service...

Tried Oolong tea for the 1st time. Had Jasmine type of floral smell and very subtle floral nutty taste. Was okay. Eggdrop soup was great. Spicy Asparagus Sushi roll everytime I have ordered always had Chewy Bottom Last part of the stem in some or most Sushi that I have to remove from mouth or remove from Sushi before I eat..! So annoying! WHY DO CHEF PUT THAT BOTTOM HARD CHEWY STEM PART OF ASPARAGUS IN SUSHI I NEVER UNDERSTOOD..! However, it tasted really great! Fried Rice with Vegetables and Without Eggs was done well..! Excellent as usual. Kung Pao Tofu with Bell peppers actually had good amount of sauce (unlike other times when there is barely any sauce) that tasted Really good. Proper blend of spices. I could taste spiciness which was perfect. SPICY GARLIC EGGPLANT INITIALLY CAME OUT WITHOUT ANY RED CHILLIES ADDED TO IT..! I couldn't believe my eyes as everytime we have ordered SPICY GARLIC EGGPLANT, there has ALWAYS BEEN RED CHILLIES VISIBLE..! So WHAT CHEF THOUGHT TODAY I AM NOT SURE BUT NO CHILLIES VISIBLE. I tasted and it was blend..! I returned the dish and requested to redo it. They did and the dish came out and I could smell garlic and saw very few red chillies. Even the sauce was not as usually I have tasted. It used to be on lightly sweeter side but I wasn't tasting that subtle sweetness either. It still tasted a bit blend and off than usual taste so I had to then keep eating that with chilli paste which is still not the same as actual chilli garlic eggplant curry/paste that it is prepared in..! I WONDER WHAT WOULD HAVE MADE THE CHEF MAKE SUCH A...