Sushi Jin Next Door — Restaurant in Dale City

I've eaten here many, many times & enjoy the food, but today was my last thanks to the greedy owners who are violating state & federal laws concerning tips. I worked in the service industry for 12 years & now own my own business & I know the law. Upon tipping my server a $20 cash tip, they returned the money & whispered to me very quietly that they do not get to keep the tip. I told them it was for them & I wanted them to keep it. They again stated the tip wouldn't go to them. I asked if tips got pooled & everyone split them & they said no. I asked who keeps the tips intended for the servers & our server said "the restaurant." The server stated they get paid a minimum wage & are not allowed to keep tips, even when a customer specifically wants it to go to the server. My server was very quiet & spoke softly because they obviously want people to know this, but are probably not supposed to be sharing it since it's lining the owner's pockets. Nowhere on the menu or anywhere in the restaurant does it state that servers are paid a minimum wage & tipping is not necessary. So customers are deceived into thinking their tip is going to their server, when it is not. I consider this theft. In my opinion, all the servers should get together & sue the owners for theft of wages because customer tips are intended for them, not the owners. Even if the restaurant is operating under the state tip credit law, the owners can only "count" all or part of the employee's tips towards its minimum wage obligations. The owner IS NOT allowed to "take" the employee's tips, the owner only gets to count some tips as if they had paid the server directly. Virginia allows employers to take a tip credit, but does not allow them to take the tips of their employees. If I want to tip my server, they should be allowed to keep their tip, regardless what their hourly pay is. Sushi Jin needs to either put up signs indicating that tips are not necessary or stop stealing them from their servers & deceiving the public into thinking their tips are going to their servers. Many restaurant owners have gotten in big legal trouble for this & I hope someone who works there will speak up & speak out so the owners stop stealing their tips. Absolutely greedy...

Upon entering, the place felt a little cramped as the service desk was next to the single entry door with people going in and out of the same little area. I liked the decor of the place but the music was a bit loud to the point where the staff just went ahead and turned off the music. My wife ordered a soft drink and with a soft drink costing $3.50, I thought it would come from some place better other then a can.

After we received our Takoyaki appetizer, I was unpleased how un-authentic it was. The Takoyaki had no 鰹節 (katsuobushi) topping but was replaced with red cabbage to make it look like katsuobushi and the mayo was replaced with something else that wasn't authentic to the dish. Prior to my order arriving, I noticed a table beside me was using a small plate to use for their soy sauce which I thought was odd. I ordered the Nigiri Dinner but once I received it, I again was very disappointed in the dish since its only raw fish.

The rice was not seasoned and did not taste like sushi rice. It tasted like they used regular rice that had been sitting out for awhile since the rice was dry and chewy. I had to request my waiter to bring me a soy sauce dish since one was not provided, but what they gave me instead was what looked like an old school dipping cup that looks like it should be holding ketchup, not soy sauce. So it was very agitating trying to dip my nigiri in the soy sauce in this deep container. My opinion, part of the great reviews this place receives is from its rolls that are drenched in sauce which may help with the dryness of the rice.

My wife had ordered the Spicy Jin Ramen but again, the dish was not authentic to what is normally served in a Japanese ramen. My wife found they served her quite a bit of onions in her ramen along with a boiled egg instead of a soft boiled egg. My wife and I didn't finish our meal but before I left, I went to use the restroom.

The restrooms are tucked away in what appear to be in a storage area and when walking into the bathroom, it was a single bathroom that was also used for storage. Unless the restaurant decided to serve authentic Japanese food, I don't believe I will...

I was in the mood for sushi while visiting a friend in the area. She suggested this place along with the “Mutant” sushi rolls which I ordered “well done” because I did not want the salmon raw/undercooked. The person that took my phone order was very curt and unpleasant which was making me second guess my decision from the beginning to eat there. My friend however acknowledged that “the guy” there is usually rude (as though this was normal for them) but the sushi was good.

I arrived and picked up my food without incident. I then drove home to discover that the salmon on the sushi roll was raw. I was very disappointed so I decided to call the restaurant to discuss my first experience ordering/eating from there. To my surprise I was greeted by a different “guy” who was equally, if not more ruder than the first “guy” that took my order.

I explained that the sushi was not cooked as I requested. He tells me that I am incorrect and that the sushi was baked even after I literally tasted, touched it and was looking at it with my bare eyes.

He then dismissively states that “we’ll just give you a free sushi roll or something when you come back”. Annoyed by this whole interaction, I advise him that I don’t think I’ll be coming back. He then says okay and hangs up.

I call back annoyed and very offended at this point. The same guy answers the phone. I explained if this is how you treat your customers, I’ll be sure to let others know. The guy continued to remain dismissive and unfazed. You could tell that this was probably not the 1st time this guy has treated a customer like this.

Before I came here to write my own review of this place, I looked at the other 1-2 star reviews left behind by others, just to see if anyone else has had a similar experience. Surprise, I was not the only one!!

Take my advice, if you’re in the mood for sushi (or probably anything this restaurant offers), do yourself a favor and steer clear of this place!! Spend your money where it will be appreciated! To make matters worse, the food was mediocre at best!

Trust me this place isn’t worth the headache or the money! You can definitely find...