Tasty Bistro — Restaurant in Crystal Lake

I have done several reviews for this place, ever since they opened. Multitudes of pictures taken and displayed in my reviews. It is a Tasty Bistro of Chinese, Japanese and Tia food. I have been to the establishment on multiple occasions, and am very much a regular patron. For starters... When you enter the place, look to your left upon entering. The water fall feature is very very nice. Moving further in... Your greeted and seated. The decor is very eye catching and unique upon walking in to the place. Little history: They are from out of Las Vegas, and it shows. The lighting in the place is subtle, very cool, inviting and relaxing. It's a little piece of Vegas in Crystal Lake. Now, the food... (Drinks) my recommendations... Oriental Dragon, Midori Colada. I'm working down the list as I go there... (Salads) Avocado -or- Cucumber 👍. (Soups) Miso, Egg Drop or Hot and Sour. (Main Meals) anything I've tried on the extensively huge main menu, has been awesome and great. To many to list on here. However, one of my main reasons for returning... is the SUSHI or SASHIMI. It's All-You-Can-Eat, and it's wonderful. I go after rolls, but they carry some special ones as well, that are worth checking out. And yes, your meal is going to change colors while dining... The atmosphere is great for a romantic dining experience. The staff is very attentive, friendly and humorous as well. It's a great add-on to the Crystal Lake area, and it's very different and unique than your usual dining experience. The normal (not lunch special) menu is huge in choices to pick from. I can't rant and rave enough about the place. However, you got to be a sushi, or oriental food lover to truly enjoy the experience. Awesome job guys! See ya again soon. Stop in, and try them out. I think you'll figure out, why I go there so much. It's that good... And cool. A+ and the reviews...

An overall strange arrangement but the food was above my expectations and affordable. The menu is wildly large. The branding is where it could be considered not as great. Overall: 4/5.

Branding: TastyBistro with the octopus logo. 1/5 Bad. It screams outlet mall cheap. It doesn't match the ambiance, food quality or decor. Yikes.

Interior Decor: 4/5 Nice. Sat in the seating area. The interior is colorful, has that Asian style with lots of color, LED posts that slowly change color, neat looking lamps. Some may think it's too much, kids will enjoy it. Sushi/liquor Bar from a distance looked nice.

Service: ?? excellent but it was very slow when we arrived. So not tested.

Food: 4.5/5 Good, some delicious. Meal included

1. Margarita
2. ginger salad
3. avocado salad
4. Miso Soup
5. adamame
6. Golden Dragon Role
7. Tonkontsu Ramen (Udon) with beef

$65 including tip. Not bad for sushi, ramen, salads, soup and a drink in this cost go up time.

Salads - Ginger dressing was tasty. Iceberg lettuce which is expected, a lot of Avocado in the avocado salad. Very Large portion. 4/5

Miso Soup - simple, cheap. 4/5

Golden Dragon Role - 5/5 Delicious. Has gold leaf (this isn't necessary but adds a peculiar expensive touch).

Ramen (actually went Udon) - 5/5 delicious. thick pork flavored broth. A lot of authentic ingredients. Beef was thin steak cooked to a medium with alittle char which is so much better then the sometimes thin overcooked rubber steak slices.

Overall: 4/5 Bad branding, giant menu, alot of seating, interesting atmosphere, overall impressed with food. It's worth trying since the food...

Update: After I originally wrote this review, the restaurant directly reached out to me within the hour. They were very apologetic for the food and wanted to make things right by having us give them a 2nd try. They offered to make our order again, and we picked it up the next day. We're glad we took them up on their offer because the food was fantastic compared to the first time!! The crab ragoons were crispier, and the General Tso's chicken was juicy and flavorful! We got the Szechuan beef instead of the Beef Thai Spicy Crazy Noodle, and the beef was very good.

Original 1-star food review: First time coming here. We called ahead and placed a carry out order for Crab ragoons, General Tsos chicken, and the Beef Thai Spicy Crazy Noodle. The to-go packaging was great, but the food was absolutely terrible!! :( The crab ragoons were very chewy and seemed old. The General Psos chicken was tiny, overcooked pieces of chicken that tasted like over-microwaved leftovers, and the white rice that came with it was also old tasting and dry texture. The absolute worst was the Beef Thai Spicy Crazy Noodles that were extremely overcooked noodles, very mushy, too salty, and wasn't even spicy at all! We ended up throwing it away!

Sadly, we will not be returning to this place :( it seemed so promising too... the gentleman who gave us our food at the counter...