Akai Hana Sushi & Grill — Restaurant in Goodyear

The waitress everyone keeps talking about who is overtly rude is there all the time and you will likely experience her horrible attitude EVERY TIME. You probably won’t enjoy the experience just dealing with her presence there. It’s truly that bad. She is a middle aged dark haired larger but short woman. My boyfriend and I went there for my birthday dinner back in February. That night only one couple was there. She tried to seat us right next to the couple when there was all other open tables. She huffed and threw a fit and said we now had ‘messed everything up’ like moving over a table or two meant she couldn’t serve us. She was rude taking our orders and only got nicer towards the end hoping for a tip.

It’s been a while so we went tonight and already talking in the car the way there hoping she wouldn’t be there. She was except we were lucky enough to get a young waitress who was very friendly. Towards the end of our meal a black man in his mid thirties maybe came in at 8:40. She said in front of other customers as he waited with the door still open that they were about to close at 9 (they don’t, they close at 10) and tried to make him feel bad repeatedly saying ‘I don’t know man it’s up to you’. He sat at the bar and ordered to go as she literally walked away while he was still ordering and asking him a question about what he wanted literally with her back turned from him. She completely snatched the menu from his hands so much he looked up at us like what the hell. I out loud in front of the chef and hoping she would hear said ‘she’s known for that’. He shook his head and went about his business. She brought him his food and bill and when he paid for it and signed w no tip (as it was a to go order) she rudely said ‘that’s it? That’s because it’s your first time here’ and rudely walked away like he was supposed to tip her for his to go order. We spoke to the man after and he was sweet as can be. I however would not have been so sweet had she ripped the menu from my hands.

Our waitress brought us the bill and I put my card in it when the rude lady comes and picks up our young waitresses book and then brought it back. I’m sorry but when I waitressed no one is supposed to touch your books, take payment and bring back. The check said ‘cashier’ and not a name so we thought maybe she was trying to get our tip from the young girl because then I heard her in the back ordering the girl around and we didn’t see her for a while and normally we would have already left. Then saw the rude lady hanging around scoping us. Finally our waitress came out and we handed her 10 cash.

This woman is truly horrible and as I said just her presence ruined the entire experience as we are here at the end of the night reading all the other bad experiences with this wretched woman. She is so miserable I cannot even imagine what she possibly does to peoples food.

Side note that the food was totally not up to par from when we ate before the pandemic. It was absolutely delish before, this time very greasy and just simply...

So, today, while driving to a store that is way out of my normal travel areas, I decided to find a place for lunch. We both like sushi, and I happened to find this place on google maps. It was close to where we were headed, and we decided to stop and try it, we were both very glad we did.

As we walked in, we could see the dining room funny shaped, so the tables were cozy but not on top of each other. We were immediately greeted and seated shortly after. Our server came and took our drink order, which gave us a few minutes to look over the menu.

We started off by ordering the goiza, which was very tasty. The dipping sauce was a little different than any other I have ever had, but it was good. I say tye sauce was different, but its texture and taste were similar to others, but it had a slightly different taste. The dipping sauce was still very good, just a little different. We also ordered a mixed tempura plate that was very good. The tempura dipping sauce was also very good.

Next, we ordered 3 different rolls. We ordered a California roll, a Crunchy California roll, and a Golden Buda roll. All of the rolls were fantastic. I realize these are all pretty standard, no frills rolls, but what made them stand out from others is that you could tell that all of the ingredient were fresh and well put together. There were no "fishy" smells emitting from the restaurant or coming from the food on our plates. It was just fresh, fresh-made sushi rolls that tasted great!

The staff was very friendly, professional, and attentive without being overly attentive. The restaurant was very clean and obviously well taken care of. Even the bathrooms were clean.

We will be returning to this restaurant as it immediately became one of my favorites in huge part due to how fresh the ingredients...

I am a reasonably experienced sushi junkie so I tried this restaurant for the first time tonight with both apprehension and an open, optimistic approach. I was not disappointed.

Cons: The head chef seemed a little distant and not quite sure how to handle my openness. No biggie though. A Japanese chef who hasn't learned English very well can be a good sign. They were out of ankimo. The dish with the "sea bass (new style)" on it was chipped (about 2 cm squared). The scallop sushi was not served quickly enough after preparation, making the nori (seaweed) wrap stale and very chewy.

Pros: Ankimo (monk fish liver) was on the menu! This is a real treat when you can find it (and if you ever find it freshly prepared, you know you are at a top shelf restaurant). I hope they have it next time I visit, even if it's from a tube. The "sea bass (new style)" was a heavenly carpaccio delight! Worth another trip by itself!!! The (nigiri) sushi (salmon, tuna, and yellowtail) was very good. The rice, always the under-appreciated ingredient, was perfectly prepared, not cold and sticky at all. The fish was fresh and well cut, if a tad on the large side (a bit too big to eat each piece as a single bite in traditional Japanese style). Above average sake menu, including a half dozen selections of cold sake. Well above average dinner and sushi menu -- many, many things to try here. Pleasant, quiet atmosphere.

The head chef clearly has quite a bit of experience up his sleeve. Next time I am going to learn his name and maybe a little more about him. I'm looking forward to trying Akai Hana again with my...