Sushi Ya — Restaurant in East Lansing

My wife has been asking to go here for months. As she has said it is her favorite sushi place from when she was in college I finally obliged her yesterday.

Starting with the service... Though the server was friendly, he was the ONLY server there, and seemed overwhelmed handling both the dining room and take out. So it was a bit slow. Which is fine, he was overwhelmed.

My wife got some tofu for an appetizer, and one of her favorite rolls, the Sleepy Hollow. She seemed to enjoy both a great deal.

As I am not a huge Sushi lover, and not super hungry, I got the Bulgogi Don. What I thought would be a small bowl of Bulgogi, with veggies and a side of rice. Let me preface this by saying that I LOVE a good Bulgogi, it is maybe one of my favorite Asian dishes. Unfortunately, this was not good. My wife tried a bite of it, and said it tasted like Bulgogi "light" or Diet Bulgogi. To me it tasted like someone made Bulgogi, then immediately tried to rinse off the sauce and threw it in a bowl. Two bites in, and I could not do it. I was disappointed. I ended up going home and making a bag of trader joes bulgogi fried rice...which though not great, was infinitely better than the "Diet" bulgogi they offered me.

The server did take it off the bill.

Then there was the bill itself. It came out to 22 and some change, and I put 40 in cash down. Only to be told by the server that they had no cash change??? Which seemed...odd. However, I was by this time just ready to leave, so I told him to keep the change and we left. I know I could have pulled a card out and saved money...but my impatience got the best of me.

My wife did say, that though the Sushi was good, it was not the WOW factor she remembered from her college days. And though we will most likely come back to get her a roll every now and again...I can't see trying it...

This use to be my absolute favorite Sushi spot in East Lansing. I've gone there for years and it was amazing. But, over the last few years this once renowned little secret spot of mine has gone WAY down hill. From lacking service to not-so-fresh food there has been a serious decline in my appreciation for Sushi Ya. Tonight, 11/25/22, was the last straw. We recommended this place to some friends a while back, they were in town and wanted to get dinner with me and my fiancé, so we went. Never have I ever had such terrible service in my entire life. The entire hour and a half not a single drink was refilled. Although it sucked, it's simply what it is. She even messed up the order, what can ya do. But that wasn't the bad part. What was bad was my friends girlfriend finding a MOLDY GRAPE on her plate with her food. It was all over it and disgusting, revolting even. I took it up to the waitress (seeing she never came to the table) and asked her what it was. She apologized and said she would get her a NEW bowl. Why in the world would we want another bowl?! I told her we would not be paying for the plate of food seeing after that our table lost their appetite. She said, "Oh well I would need to make sure it's okay with the manager," I don't think it should be a question seeing it's MOLD on FOOD in a RESTAURANT. But fine. I didn't see the waitress till she finally brought the bill and took off the moldy plate. Not a single apology or visit from the manager, the one who is suppose to watch over operations and make sure it's all up to code?! From were I'm standing they're not doing their job all that well. I don't recommend this place. It's become a very disappointing meal and no longer our favorite spot. Look elsewhere and I hope this helps the next innocent employee who wishes not...

If you’re looking for a quick fix and decent prices, give Sushiya a try. They have a good amount of flow of people coming in and out and though they don’t have parking here they do have street parking/ paid parking for everyone. This restaurant is right across from MSU so there is easy access and they do know how to get things done and well on those busy days, especially games days, look out! I always try to venture out in what I eat here but I always seem to fall under the power of the bento box. Though I do love sushi, bento here is my go-to for something filling, different options and no hesitation for keeping the tongue amused. It’s a hot meal, good price, and does come with a lot and there are options to have a portion of sushi made out for you if you don’t want to miss that taste as well. It’s easy and fast, seeing how I’m usually on the go it’s a good place to grab food from. Most of my meals are to go and they are done efficiently, but I’ve dined here as well and have always been treated well with staff who are more than happy to give out...