Hajime Sushi — Restaurant in Elk River

Update: (original review is still below) I changed from 3 to five stars and here is why: After over a dozen or more visits after the first initial one, I am thrilled with this place. They seemed to listen to the reviews and got better trained wait staff. Every time I have come to dine in, it's been great service. Ordering to go is quick and easy and always have my food ready to go. I have even done large sushi platters for holidays twice now. Pro tip: If you want platters for a party call a week in advance, and place your order one of two ways, either by $ amount or people served. First time I did $100 worth of sushi (not including taxes) and got two huge round platters with a mix of sushi rolls. Next I asked how much to serve about 8 adults and then went from there for how much to spend. Highly recommend!!!

Original review: Food is great. Ordered sushi only and it's very good sushi. The prices are comparable, wine list is lacking as it's cheaper wines priced $$. The reason for three stars is that it took ten minutes for a waiter to greet us and give us water. It wasn't packed, less than half full and you can see every table in the dinning room. Servers were running past out table while no one waited on us. When we did get a server they didn't apologize for the wait. Just asked if we wanted water and anything else to drink. We didn't see the drink menu (at a place like this they should have greeted us and showed us the drink menu first while getting water) we asked for a moment which meant another ten minutes before the server came back. We passed on the drinks even though we planned to since it was date night, but realized at this point we better just order food as we were getting hungry. We ordered sushi, two different plates and after fifteen minutes I had had so much water I got up to use the restroom. When I came back I saw my boyfriend had his dinner but mine wasn't brought out yet. He said the server told him mine would be right out. It was five minutes later I had my plate, which when brought the server didn't apologize for having it come after. At this point my boyfriend was annoyed at the service and told the server that next time you bring the dinners out together, he was taking me out for my birthday and to have my food come late was more disappointing for...

Would give it less stars if I could.... Ordered 3 Philly rolls. I was with a group of 4, only one other group in the entire restaurant... I ordered first everyone else at my table ordered hot food and somehow I waited the longest for my order of only 3 Philly rolls, after waiting more than 25 minutes in an almost empty restaurant for my sushi the first bite was instantly gross, the fish inside the roll was hard in some spots. I ate one of three rolls and only one piece of the entire roll tasted good, not to mention the rice on the outside of the roll was rock hard... The waitress came back when everyone was done eating and asked if id like a to go box, I responded "I'm not paying for this food it was disgusting" she then said she'd get the manager... When the manager came to the table she tried to act like the rice should be hard and the fish having cartilage like clumps in it is normal.... I still respectfully said I am not paying for this food, she tried bartering with me to pay for the 2 rolls I didn't eat cause it's wasteful... I told her I was only paying for the one and my drink, she then finally said okay and gave me my bill which didn't also have the happy hour price... Told her to fix that and we could hear her smacking her finger on the screen of her till from the table. I have had sushi plenty of times at the Blaine hajime, the sushi is amazing every time, the restaurant is cleaner, the staff is amazing... I will never go back to the elk river location again... Worst manager...

I have been a frequent patron of this establishment over the past few years, consistently encountering superlative experiences. I unequivocally assign a 5-star rating, acknowledging the commendable aspects of pricing, culinary offerings, and service excellence. The menu consistently features distinctive items not readily available in establishments beyond those of the highest echelon within the sushi domain.

The inclusion of sea urchin and fatty tuna on the menu elicited a sense of delight during my recent visit. Opting for the fatty tuna proved to be the apex of my dining experience. The specialty rolls, substantial in size, possess the potential to serve as standalone meals. A culinary highlight was the impeccably prepared barbecue squid, characterized by an optimal tenderness that precluded any undesirable rubbery texture.

Attributing culinary prowess to the kitchen staff is unavoidable, evident in the precision of sushi cuts and the artistic embellishments of beverages. Noteworthy knife skills were discernible, indicative of a culinary team with considerable expertise. I extend a resounding recommendation for this...