Sushi U — Restaurant in Crystal Lake

met some friends here on a saturday night and was less than impressed, unfortunately. we were so excited for another sushi joint and are happy we tried it, but to be honest, felt robbed. my husband got a sushi combo that came with various ...types... of sushi and a california roll and i got the all you can eat. to start, the cuts of sushi were off. the colors were off. everything was just, off. there were serrated edges and thick chunks with rough edges and marks sloppily folded over with a soft, gummy texture. it was all warm- not room temperature, but warm as if the rice was fresh and the sushi had been sitting out at room temperature all evening and was then thrown onto a hot chunk of rice. the smell was pungent and the taste was swampy. it was very unfortunate, though there was no food poisoning which was a plus. the soup was fine, and the salad had a strange ashy taste to accompany the expected ginger flavor. my husband compared it to accidentally drinking a beer that someone had ashed in. we weren't into it. my husband took maybe 2 bites of his nearly 30 dollar platter. the all you can eat was a combo of the previously described sushi and overly fried sams club looking appetizers. from spring rolls to shrimps, everything had been over fried- im assuming at least double the amount of time. i had 2 bites of awkward sushi and a few pieces of fried shrimp and just couldn't stomach anymore.

the service didnt make up for the poor food quality. our server hardly came by. they were not busy... i assume she just knew the food was going to be terrible and decided not to ask "how is everything?" in fact, when she noticed at the end that my husband didn't eat any of his food she asked "do you want a box?" when he replied "absolutely not, this was the worst sushi i have ever had" she replied "yeah, okay" and came back with the super high bill. no attempt to apologize or make things right. it should be illegal to charge such high prices for such poor...

A close tight knit group, seemingly a husband and wife work and own the place constanting yelling in their language...an extra waitress non-Asian is treated very second class, not getting tips or tables. I studied the sociology of the place. The Asian waitress tries to get away with acting like she doesn't speak English...repeatedly saying "very popular". But she get increasingly animated with groans and grimaces and loud comments everytime someone orders more all you can eat sushi than she thinks you should. Tested this and things got more dramatic the morning ordered as if I couldn't understand what was going on.

Now let's talk sushi...aÿce ìs the only option because the quality is so bad that you would get cheated bÿ standard menu prices if paid individually. The sushi barely contains any seafood...the chefs knows how to add cucumber...crunchy deep fried sprinkles...cream cheese...anything fried...fake crab...mayo...sauces...fillers.

The rìce is easily double what should be used and what little seafood is used is weird...zero texture...like biting through nothing. Not fresh, not tasteful, i wasnt even sure i ate seafood. No fresh ocean flavors...nothing "off" or dangerous just no flavor. In my opinion too much time getting deep frozen and thawed out.

Not good...not generous portions. But do go there to watch the waitress make fùn of how much you order and eat...she must hate her job and have a very boring life. The place belongs in an isolated strip mall with the mundane...

We liked this place. The servers were efficient and courteous, very friendly. Portions were normal sushi portions at typical sushi prices. We loved their hot tea. Fresh brewed, not tea bags, and smokey good. We had sushi lunch special - ginger dressed salad, miso soup with green onion, and 2 maki rolls. The salad was crisp iceberg, a few garnishes, and a really nice ginger dressing - sweet and tingly. The soup - I loved it. A great flavor profile and nicely prepared. The rolls. We enjoyed them. The taste was good, but for us, spicy rolls might have been spicier. My husband commented that some of the seafood seemed to be not as perfectly fresh as he likes it - maybe they keep it a little longer than they might. We enjoyed the meal in general. If there is a single reason for the dropped star, it is the nori - the seaweed wrap. I have never had nori that was tough. This could not be broken through with a fork - and it was extremely chewy, not tender. Not much flavor. Maybe they need a new vendor. Anyway, we'll go back - they have other items we'd love to try. Not the BEST sushi we ever had, but good, and I'm looking forward to trying the rest...