SUSHI 101 / Ramen Haus — Restaurant in Fayetteville

For a land-locked state, they have pretty good sushi. It's always fresh, the rolls are always at least as nice as the picture on the menu.

They have a good variety, and some creative rolls they have invented, themed around the University of Arkansas and local history.

It seems they don't get to do omakase orders often, because when they do, modern art fish sculptures arrive at your table, often actually on fire at the time. Go during a slow part of the day when the chefs are bored, and give them $50 for your table, and you will get more than your money's worth. My dragon roll had pink seaweed wings and was, I repeat, breathing fire.

For me, the 5-star rating comes because:

-Good fast service.

-They always offer free soup, salad, and edamame.

-For the price, it's a very fair deal, with good portion sizes and good quality.

You can go up the street to the other sushi place on Dickson Street, and pay twice the price to sit in a fancier atmosphere with better cocktails, but really only get sushi that is maybe 20% better.

They seem to hire a lot of local college students, and it is kind of a fun place because it also functions as a cultural exchange in a way!

They teach the students working there about Japanese sushi bar traditions, and even teach them a little bit of Japanese, definitely enough to be able to greet customers as they come in the door.

The kitchen staff and wait staff also wear traditional Japanese restaurant uniforms - folded headband in a flat knot, belted cotton jackets...

Years ago, the same location under different management used to be really old-school. Dining alcoves on raised platforms screened off with paper folding screens, hot towels for your hands, chopstick rests, paper candle lanterns... (Just a bit of Fayetteville history, for fun)

These days they are a fun blend of modern and traditional.

Also, for some reason, they seem to have added a lot of Pop Culture comic book stuff to their decoration, but in a subtle way. It works.

Some people may not like:

-the k-pop and 90's music choices... It's less music and more just something like a hail storm or a street mime, something uncontrollable and odd that is happening at you.

-The bathroom hallway. At some point there was a flood... Or a glitch in the Matrix. Not sure. The wood floor is a physical representation of how a funhouse mirror looks. It's safe, but if you're not expecting it...

-The actual sushi bar is small, like 4 seats, so you may have to sit at a table right across from it. The service is still...

Edit: It has switched owners again and is back to fantastic sushi. I originally gave three stars.

The new overhaul is something that from an outsiders point of view, was unnecessary. When Miso used to be toyko sushi, you were waited on, cared for, and you could watch the sushi being made. Now, you get told to sit anywhere (which is fine), get brought some menu's, and that's about the last you will see of them. You have to go up to the front to order, the chefs preparing your sushi are in the back now out of sight, and when they bring you the sushi, they don't even bring you soy sauce anymore. You have to walk up to the front and get it. If they had lowered the prices or the sushi had improved, it may have been fine. I'm not sure that the price had been raised, but it definitely didn't feel worth it. The quality of the sushi was not as good as it used to be and quiet frankly it just didn't feel as welcoming. Don't go there expecting toyko sushi, the place has changed into a fast food...

This is the greatest ramen place in the NWA area, never have I had better Japanese food in Arkansas than this. They had machines where you could make your own ramen and the service was the best service I’ve ever gotten, the owner named Jason was absolutely the nicest person I’ve ever met, he showed us the machines and all the ramen we could buy and he even made us a free big bowl of ramen for us to sample, it wasn’t that expensive for how much food we got. This place is amazing and all the workers there were so nice. Our waiter was very nice and showed us all the drinks and food we could order. They let us pick our flavor of ramune and then they give us our sushi. The crab was so good and delectable and it had the best spicy miso soup I’ve ever had. The ramen was smooth and cooked perfectly. There is nothing wrong with this place this is the greatest place to eat in Arkansas and I will definitely be back thank you Jason for the food and I hope we will see you again! Your...