Mint Tapas and Sushi 5 (Draper) — Restaurant in Draper

(Update) we went back again, and it was even better. I can't emphasize enough how good the tapas are. The only reason I'm not giving a 5 star is because the sushi is just ok at best. Some of the tapas can be made at home for cheaper but most of it you will have to come here unless you're a really good chef.

(Old review) We came here on a recommendation from a co-worker. Overall, we liked it, but it was a bit too pricey, and the place felt a little pretentious. We were told beforehand that the rolls were average, but the small plates were really good, and I would have to agree.

For the rolls, we got the Nova and something with wagyu inside the role, but it wasn't the comet, and I can't seem to find it anywhere online. They were both ok. I've had much better sushi in other places for about half the price. We also got the sashimi player, which was really good. The fish tasted so fresh that you could practically taste the sea. My fiance was also very impressed with the Wasabi that came with the sashimi and insists that it was real Wasabi.

The small plates were great. We tried the sexy shrimp by recommendation of my coworker, and we liked it a lot, but we would have liked there to be more shrimp and less crab mix. We also tried the pork belly, which was really good as well. My fiancé got the squid salad, which was also really good.

The service was great. Our server was very friendly. Even when one of our rolls was taking a while, she checked in on us and let us know we were not forgotten about.

The atmosphere was a bit stuffy. It looks like they are going for a more upscale look and feel, which would explain the overpriced sushi, and I hated the chairs. I felt stuck to it because of the material.

Overall, I would recommend the place for their small plates and their sashimi, but if you want great sushi rolls, I have a couple of other places that I would recommend. We will be going back to try other small plates, but next time, we are going to...

To be clear, this review is from a dinner on Valentine’s Day night. It was a very busy night for them, so I’m giving grace for the mishaps. Over all I’m excited to go back again on a less busy night to try it again!

We booked a reservation at 8pm and didn’t get seated until after 8:40. Within 10 seconds of walking through the door you could tell that the restaurant was very short staffed. The waitresses were friendly, kind, and as attentive as they could be with how busy it was. They were trying their best, but things will obviously slip through the cracks when there are half as many on the wait staff as there should be.

I know they are a new restaurant and are probably having growing pains, but when they charge such a premium price they should have premium service.

For how busy it was and how late they were to seat us, I expected the quality of the food to suffer and I expected to leave disappointed. But I was pleasantly surprised when the food finally came out. It was great! I specifically loved the Luna sushi roll!

I’m sure that if I went on almost any other night I would’ve had a much better experience. I’m excited to go back and try it again when it’s less hectic.

My notes to the managers, 1: Find a better reservation system to check people in and get walk-ins on the waitlist. Yours is needlessly complicated and causes more anarchy than necessary at the entrance to your restaurant. 2: Increase your waitstaff. Significantly. You have your waiters covering way too many tables at once and it’s negatively impacting their ability to provide the service your customers expect. It also slows down the service, which doesn’t help with the long wait on your busy nights.

Once this restaurant gets the kinks ironed out and they’re operating smoothly, I’m sure this restaurant will become a...

Confession: We’ve been to four different mint locations. So, we love the “franchise”. (I think they’re all owned and operated by the same family).

With that said, the Draper location is the best of all of them. The food is 5 star quality, and the tapas orientation is such a fun experience. Pro tip: dine with four people, no more no less. All dishes are designed to be shared, and with 4 people you can try a decent number of them.

I’m also really impressed with how all of the servers we’ve had here so far know the menu so so well. Also this location is the most open with the most seating. Yes!

A few recommendations: the jalapeño hamachi, every single time. The Wagyu steak tapas too is such a great value. Also the aurora and Luna rolls together make a nice combo. And you have to finish with the Ube ice cream…trust me,...