Sushi Babe Karaoke Bar & Grill — Restaurant in El Paso

Ok. So I will start off by saying that the sushi was phenomenal! It was delicious!

Now for the not so great. To begin with, my husband and I came by ourselves but ran into 3 friends (only 5 of us if you wanted to say we were all “together”) and we were the first people in for the night. It took at least half an hour to get our first drinks and took about an hour to even have our order taken for the meals. We would go to the bar to put in our food and drink orders because it was taking so long, and we were told to go back to our seats, that our order could be taken there. That’s a-ok, and completely fine, but if there are only 5 people in the whole restaurant, it shouldn’t take her (the bartender) 30+ minutes to even come over there.

I went for my birthday and fully expected it to be a breath of fresh air in terms of environment, which the physical environment was, but everything else was far behind the environment the place gave when it was Duets. I just wanted to sing karaoke, eat great sushi, and have great drinks. I feel like that was too much to ask for with this facility. The bartender didn’t know how to make most of the drinks and had to google them, which took her even longer than she already had been taking. Then with karaoke, we waited an hour before anyone even went to start it. We showed up at 7:15pm, and waited until 8:30 before it began running. And then, once it began to get busy, the people that got there earlier to be able to sing more were completely pushed to the end of the line in karaoke like we didn’t put our song requests in hours before others that went before us.

The worst part was when we went to pay our check. No one ever began a tab or took a card from us. Our bill was $220 and it was from things that we didn’t even order. People around us ordered different food/drinks, and it was put on our bill, so we stood there with the bartender for 20 minutes having her fix it. Our bill total was about $70, again which is just fine, but then automatic gratuity was added? When I asked, she said any party 6 and above had added gratuity. We came in with 5 (even though we didn’t even originally come with the others) and someone that we knew that came in by herself sat near us to talk. They counted that as 6? But also, from the very beginning, I told the bartender that it was just me and my husband, everyone else around us came on their own and happened to sit near us. Why charge the automatic gratuity? You’re gonna have to serve everyone anyways. But since people sat too close to each other, you count that as a group and charge that much PER COUPLE? That is a money grab. Anyways, we were still charged the automatic gratuity. So the $70 bill became over $90 now. I wasn’t even going to leave a $20 tip because of how bad the service was. The automatic gratuity felt like a scam because the bartender would’ve been lucky if I left her $10. It seems INSANE to me that someone can add their own tip that they clearly didn’t earn or deserve. Don’t expect a tip if you can’t do the bare minimum. Even if the excuse is that she’s inexperienced, as the owner’s daughter (I believe. She said this but I could’ve misheard), she should know how to make drinks without googling and how to multi-task as a bartender.

I do apologize for the long review; however, it was a lot for one night. Was the food absolutely amazing, 100%, yes! But the delicious food didn’t make up for everything else being so bad. In the future, we may or may not go back. I like giving people a chance. But for that to happen, the automatic gratuity has to stop, the bartender has to be knowledgeable about the drinks the bar serves, the service has to be better, and I would start tabs from customers to eliminate the need for a 20 minute chat about the bill when checking out. Happy bday...

Sushi Babe Karaoke is hands down one of the best places to go and gather with friends and relatives who like delicious, flavorful food in a relaxed, clean and friendly environment. I highly recommend the place because as soon as you come in the ambiance welcomes you with a cozy and inviting feeling that gives you a sense of belonging. Edward the bartender is the first one to greet you with his warm smile and refreshing drinks while Christopher cooked one of his special dishes off the menu. As I looked at the menu I saw a burger that caught my eye, it was called the Juarez burger. Much to my surprise it was one of the best burgers I've ever tasted. Aside from a thick meat patty it had hot dogs and ham. I could barely finish my fries after devouring the burger. After feasting on the delicious burger and washing it down with a couple of vodka cranberries, I took the courage to grab the mic and sing off key at the karaoke that was Veejayed by Nicole. Well, after making an ass of myself and as soon as the song was done, the staff made me feel like a rock star and cheered me on. Believe me when I say that when the evening was over, I never felt more at home at any other place than that evening at Sushi Babe's. I dedicate this review to all the wonderful staff and to the lovely owner Zaphyro who made me feel more than welcomed at their establishment, they made me feel like family. God bless you all and whenever I'm back in El Paso believe me when I say, I will definitely go back and visit my home...

After Duets closed down, a lot of us regulars held our breath for what would follow, and we couldn’t have hoped for better. The owner and her family have breathed new life and light into this place - once dark and moody and strictly a bar, now flooded with color and light and brimming with delicious food and drinks in addition to the delightful karaoke pastime we all grew to love. There is a requirement to be a customer (seems obvious, right) by purchasing at least $15 worth of food OR by paying a $15 cover charge if you’d like to sing karaoke. By far one of the most affordable outings in El Paso (for the minimum, at least. The delicious food and variety of drinks might have you spending more than that though). The owner and her family are consistently checking in on customers as well, striking up pleasant conversation when time allows, but otherwise absolutely on top of everything within the establishment. They are efficient, professional, friendly, respectful, and all around a perfect fit for this incredible business. I’d give it 10 stars if I could, and thoroughly recommend this place to anyone with a song in...