The Goblin Detroit — Restaurant in Detroit

TLDR: Deeply unimpressed. The space is cute, the sushi rolls are pretty good, but everything else was mediocre. If you go, just get sushi rolls and drinks for takeout.

Service is styled like a fast casual restaurant, but with prices like a proper sit down restaurant. Order at the counter, but they bring it out to you. The folks that work there are great, but the price for the style of dining experience felt overpriced when so many details felt cheap - paper soy sauce containers, cheap horseradish wasabi packets, plastic cups of ginger, and no individual plates.

The sushi rolls were the best part; my only criticism was that the spicy tuna roll had no spice (pretty minor). They had a good variety of basic and special rolls, and all of the rolls we had were delicious. Their drink selection was super cute and was generally reasonably priced.

But the shrimp tempura tasted like air fried freezer fish sticks, the miso soup came from a machine and tasted like water, the masago roe was frozen and ended up mushy, and all of those disappointments add up.

I just don't understand the concept or pricing of the space. The branding is disconnected, the weeaboo vibe feels borderline culturally appropriative, and it's all very emblematic of the New Detroit culture in Corktown. I was hoping for something closer to Noble Fish, but ended up with a bizarrely wannabe-bougie experience that I am not interested in...

As a sushi lover, this place was quite disappointing. My friend and I decided to grab a bite to eat since Ima wasn’t available for service. The minute we walked in, we fell in love with the ambiance and decor. It’s a small restaurant, but it’s charming. However, the ordering process is confusing. The server asked us to sit down at a table and use the QR code to order our food. 5 minutes later she comes back and tells us to go to the front to order, leaving us completely thrown off.

But here’s the kicker, the food was surprisingly atrocious. We ordered the tempura shrimp and the avocado sushi rolls. The shrimp was completely burned to a crisp. They have an open kitchen concept where you can see the cook prepare the food. They literally had a small toaster oven to heat up the frozen tempura, which looked like it came from Sam’s Club! The avocado in my sushi was so hard; they kept falling out the rice roll. Each piece of sushi broke and fell apart so easily. Nothing about the food was authentic, which was quite disappointing.

We appreciate the cleanliness and charming decor of the in-dining area, but we’d never visit this spot again because...

I was so excited to try this small business, however I felt very unwelcome, so I have concluded from my personal experience that , if you are black or brown skin, we are not welcomed in their establishment. I came in to order, requested a substitute (nothing of the extreme) , they looked at me crazy and annoyed. I wouldn’t have thought anything of it hadn’t , 2 minutes later a Caucasian woman walks in and the cashier becomes really friendly and polite with her, they say “hello” , “thank you”, and “goodbye” to her. I pay for my food, and tip , shortly after he tells me my food is ready…doesn’t even look at me , I say very directly “thank you” no one says a word, neither is anything said as I’m leaving. So, basically my position is, if you are of African American descent , do not spend your money and patronize places that we are not welcomed. For what it’s worth, it’s a very cute...