Amura Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Dr. Phillips

Lovely atmosphere and amazing service but terrible food. A couple of my friends and I stopped by Amura to try this place out; it had been recommended to me by my parents (who'd mistaken this place for someplace else). Our waitress was amazing, very attentive, understanding, and helpful. Though the atmosphere was lovely, there were the rudest customers I've ever seen in my life; they were screaming, shouting, and all-around awful. What really took the cake was how expensive everything was compared to how bland it was. Every ranged from $8 - 60 (or 100). I ordered the bao buns (8), a vegetarian roll (cream cheese, cucumber, and garlic) (7), shrimp shumai (7), and a Mexican roll (jalapeno and cream cheese) (13). I could stay within my budget but not without going hungry. The bao buns lacked color and variety; within the driest bao bun I've ever had there was the smallest amount of grilled pork bits and a heaping of sliced carrots, and it was topped with a dollop of spicy mayo. Very basic and could use more pork and a variety of vegetables, and the bao bun was definitely a reheat because it fell apart when I tried to pick it up. There were only two bao buns for the price of $8, which is frankly disgusting. The shrimp shumai was the worst thing I had. It was not seasoned at all; it came with a ponzu sauce but even then, the shrimp was still bland. As well, there were about 6 pieces. Also, extremely disgusting and disappointing for $7. The vegetarian roll was probably the best thing, but it's hard to screw garlic up. 8 pieces for $7 for boring. The Mexican roll was okay, but both rolls had the accumulative effort and taste of gas station sushi: minus the food poisoning. All-around poor food for more dollars than it's worth. As well, I had accidentally spilled clear soup (ginger soup, but it was oddly salty) on my white dress. All good until I use their napkins to help dry my dress: RED NAPKINS. The waitress profusely apologized and was able to get me white napkins and soda to help the stain; however, my dress is now stained red until I'm able to elbow-grease it out.

3/10: would not recommend it. Save your money on...

I am very disappointed with Amura on Sandlake. We arrived at 8.50 on a Friday night and the posted closing time was 10.00. When we were seated we were not given a Magical Dining menu. Just the regular menu. Bait and Switch? Then when we requested the menu we were told that we BOTH had to order from that menu. If not, then the one not ordering from it had to order at least $35 worth of food. Really? I was starving and my wife, not so much, so we had to order from the regular menu. We started with spicy edamame which was excellent. And then had two very good sushi rolls. During our meal a very large party near us was letting their young children scream and run through the restaurant, unceasingly. I get it, kids gotta go with parents...but do you have no respect for fellow diners? The restaurant staff did nothing. My wife was still hungry and so ordered more spicy edamame. By this time (9.35) the loud party had gone and so had most of the other patrons. The edamame came out under-cooked with very little of the tasty sauce. I couldn't eat it. While we sat there, the staff began tearing the restaurant down and cleaning...all around us. They were standing in groups, near our table, and talking and laughing loudly. The waiter came by while we were still eating, told us it was "last call" and did we want any more food. We said no and he dropped the check on our table. Clearly, they did not want us there. As we were leaving, we had to clear chairs out of the walkway between tables as the staff had pulled them all out to sweep. I empathize with a tired staff that wants to go home on a Friday night. Amura can be assured that, from now on, we will choose other restaurants so their staff may go home early...or...

I’ve frequented Amura many times. The food has always been solid. This past week, we made reservations (a day before) for a party of 8 to celebrate my girlfriend’s birthday. Dinner would be at 7:30pm - Friday night. Upon arriving, we were greeted and seated immediately. We sat for quite some time (not a big deal despite it not appearing to be very busy). About 10 minutes after being seated, our first encounter with our waitress included news that they only had ONE CHEF working... on a Friday night.... We were baffled. The chef had just started cooking for one table and there was another large party that was seated before we were as well. We were told that it would be a while until we were served. Confused, we asked if there was another chef coming in to get a grasp on what was going on. The waitress said she THOUGHT so but would check with her manager. She came back 5 minutes later and let us know that another chef would indeed be coming. SWEET. We ordered drinks and started looking at the menus. A few of us went directly to the bar to get some drinks there. Another 10 minutes goes by, we don’t have drinks, AND the waitress comes back to inform us that the chef would actually NOT be coming in. Needless to say, we left and enjoyed a wonderful dinner at a KOBE that was only 1 mile away. I’m realistic. Stuff happens. But absolutely NOTHING was done to try and remedy the situation. It was simply “you will have to wait a long time.” Poor customer service is not acceptable, ESPECIALLY when the surrounding area is filled with other phenomenal fine-dining restaurants. My advice? Save your money and...