Sakana Nikkei — Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale

Where do I start? The music, while well chosen, was so loud that I couldn't hear any of the conversation that took place over the course of 3 hours for a 1 course + dessert for the birthday girl dinner. Our waiter spent so much time acting concerned about potential allergies and preferences and explaining the entirety of the menu (which had already taken me 30 minutes to google because most of the menu is in Japanese) that I think we'd already been there for an hour when the first food showed up. The sushi itself was mostly rice, which for $20 a roll, is disappointing. The miso soup was ok enough, but the edamame was terrible. We couldn't eat it. And to top it all off, at the end, the waiter comes over to ask who would be paying for the 5 bottles of water that had been served to the table without our knowledge or consent, at $5 per bottle. Everyone looked around confused, and after some discourse with the manager, they agreed to remove the unexpected water charges. They did not offer anything for the practically untouched and practically inedible edamame. The manager couldn't even hear our complaints without leaning in unusually close. It then took another 15 minutes to get the bill. Three hours total, for one failed appetizer, $20 rolls of rice, and a really uncomfortable birthday dinner where everyone just kind stared at everyone else because no one could hear anything. For reference, I have top 1% of hearing amongst adults in the US - medically confirmed.

If you haven't already, go read the "Kai P" one star review. Our table of 8 was unfortunately by the bathroom as well and it was distracting. Everything Kai says is spot on. The first sentence in Kai P's review reads: "This is one of those overpriced SoFL restaurants that are more about the aesthetics and location...."

In summary, it's too loud, not worth the price, and the service isn't good enough to support the price tag or fill in the gaps. We wouldn't be interested in going back even if the manager reached out to offer a fully comped experience to make up...

This is one of those overpriced SoFL restaurants that are more about the aesthetics and location than quality.

I went here for a date night because it’s a newer spot. We had a reservation, but we still had to wait when we got there. The decor is nice, but the inside layout is not comfortable.

All of the two-person tables were crammed against the wall or stuck near pillars. It felt like they were just trying to pack in as many tables as possible.

We were seated at one of those cramped tables at first and had no space at all. After asking to move, they placed us by the bathroom which was distracting due to the door slamming for every person coming in/out. FYI - ensure you don’t sit near that area.

The menu was expensive, but not in a way that felt justified.

As far as the drinks: they were not good and tasted watered down. I had the macaron cocktail, which was terrible. My date had the pisco sour, which was just okay. I switched to something safe, an old fashioned, but that wasn’t good either.

Regarding the food: the appetizers took a while to come out. I ordered the grilled octopus - I will say, that was good. My partner ordered oysters, which were mid at best. She also loves sushi and was looking forward to trying it here, but was disappointed. They provide overpriced basics and the rolls are just “fancy” names: aka California/Dragon rolls with toppings.

I can’t speak for the full menu since we didn’t stay for mains, but based on what we had, this place doesn’t live up to the hype. It’s visually appealing, but everything else felt underwhelming. Definitely not somewhere I’d go back to but glad we gave it a shot.

That said, I’ve seen a lot of good reviews, so maybe we just caught it on an off night or didn’t order the right things. Either way, it just...

If there were a way to give zero stars, this place would be first in line. From the moment the food hit the table, it was a downhill spiral of culinary disappointment.

The edamame tasted like absolutely nothing—undercooked, hard, and about as appealing as chewing on raw green beans. The miso soup? Imagine dirty dish water with a pinch of salt, and you’d be right there.

The $12 mocktails were each a tragic joke, tasting like watered-down Lipton iced tea straight from the bottle. Then came the octopus, which managed to be both chewier than a rubber band and infused with what I can only describe as a “lighter fluid marinade.”

Sadly, the entrees were somehow even worse. The $46 seabass was a paper-thin sliver of fish, overcooked into oblivion—dry enough to qualify as driftwood. The so-called parmesan crust was nothing more than burnt breadcrumbs, clearly torched in a way that left the butane taste front and center. The fried rice? Mediocre at best, with its sole flavor profile being “salty.”

Perhaps we caught the chef on an “off” day, but if this is their idea of high-end dining, then the prices are nothing short of insulting. Everything was stupidly overpriced for food that wouldn’t pass muster at a food court. To say I was disappointed is an understatement—I would’ve had a better meal buying groceries and cooking at home.

The only redeeming factor of the entire evening was our server, Diego, who at least seemed to care about doing his job well. Unfortunately, good service can’t save atrocious food.

I cannot, in good conscience, recommend this restaurant to my worst enemy. And that is not even including the extremely loud music that played the entire time we were there, but that could be its own review...