Maru Sushi & Grill — Restaurant in East Lansing

The food is okay, about what I expected as far as seafood in this town. The reason I'm writing this review is to talk about the hospitality aspect of my visit. I went there last night, after spending most of the last 3 days at the hospital, various labs, and doctors offices, to address some serious issues with my health. I was dog tired, and just wanted to get a quick drink, some to-go food, and go home, and to sleep (I was operating on 6 hours total, in the past 3 days). I arrived at Maru, sat at the bar, and placed my order ($83). I had a couple of bowls of miso soup, and a whiskey while I waited (25 minutes, but they where pretty busy). Some of the fault of my issue with Maru lies with me. As I said, I was beat. I guess I closed my eyes, and nodded off for a second, next thing I know, the kid working as bartender (I overheard him say it was his last day there) slapped his hand on the bar loudly, and when I opened my eyes he was trying to stare me down (it was a little funny, and kind of adorable). The thing about it is, I've been a Chef, longer than this kid has been alive. I've owned half a dozen restaurants, bars, and clubs in another state. I guess he thought he was doing the right thing?? I don't know. But I would ask him to read up on HOSPITALITY. You Don't treat guests that way. I wasn't some drunk who wandered off the street (and even if I were, you have handled it better), I was just a tired guy, who should have gotten the benefit of the doubt, and have been treated with a little respect. If this review somehow gets to you, read Danny Meyer's book, you'll learn a lot. The rest of the people who waited on me were very nice, apologized for the wait, and were very attentive, thank you. I apologized for being drowsy at the bar, and tipped everyone who served me 25%, even the bar slapper kid. Bringing unnecessary attention to a situation doesn't benefit anyone, not the other customers, not the restaurant you work for, not yourself, and certainly not yourself. And once again, the food...

The reason for 2 stars is that the sushi chefs are great and the food IS good. However, we have had such bad experiences each time we've gotten take out here that we will not be returning after todays final experience. The first time we used their carry-out option, the girl overcharged us an extra roll AND charged a tip, in spite of it being carry out. We were in a hurry and I failed to notice it until we were driving home with food-in-hand. Strike one. The next time we ordered ahead, double checked the price we were told when I picked it up. At that point I paid, only to be told (after I paid) that the food wasn't even started yet. I waited for 30 minutes for our food to be made, in spite of having waited already* before coming. The hostess asked me if i wanted to "sit at the bar and have a drink" while I waited- like what? I ordered food ahead of time so that I could quickly get it to take home to eat, and not to spend more money or time there. 2nd strike. Then today, we ordered when happy hour started (25% off signature rolls). On the phone we double checked that it WAS happy hour/discounted, double checked the final total, and then asked how long we should wait to come. We were told $35, and 20-25 minutes. We left our house about 20 minutes later, even arriving later than they said it would take (about 35 minutes). My husband went in, where they tried to overcharge him ($47 instead of $35). A manager had to be called out to fix this, then he paid, only to AGAIN be told "oh wait the girl put it on hold and none of it is made yet". I was sitting in the car, waiting, while this was happening. We will not be coming back for these issues alone. The are plenty of reasonably priced sushi places in Lansing and East Lansing. I suggest trying them first, because at least you'll GET your...

Maru used to be one of my favorite places for sushi, period. Both the Okemos and East Lansing locations had great rolls, great ambiance, and good drinks. However, in recent years, the quality of the food has noticeably declined.

My past few orders over the past year or so have been inconsistent and not as fresh as they once had been. My favorite rolls, even the one named after them (the Maru-velous), have disappeared from the menu.

The service is always good and the people are always nice, though.

Details of my latest takeout order below:

A side of tempura sweet potato - 4/5 Can't go wrong with fried sweet potato.

Crunchy Shrimp - 3/5 Pretty standard roll.

Ocean's 11 - 2/5 Very skimpy on the fish. It's like when you compare the Big Mac in the picture to the Big Mac in the box...what you see isn't what you get. Not sure if the proportions were wrong in the roll, but the balance was off and it was like they replaced the fish with more pickled daikon.

Miss Saigon - 2/5 Was missing the cilantro entirely, which is a big part of the flavor profile for this roll. Probably an honest mistake, but the rest of the roll just couldn't make up for it.

Cosmo - 4/5 This was probably the best roll of the entire order and it was nice to have at least one roll that was decent today.

Food Overall - 3/5. However, our order also included a request for a side of dressing and eel sauce, which were forgotten, even though it was listed right on...