Ju Sushi & Lounge — Restaurant in Grand Rapids Charter Township

In short: The food was lackluster, unappealing, and borderline offensive. The wait staff were considerate and admirable but lacked knowledge of the menu. The restaurant was, for the most part, clean and family-friendly. I was promptly greeted and swiftly seated, which set a positive tone for the dining experience. The table was dressed with a paper napkin rolled upon disposable chopsticks and a fork. I was checked in periodically for my drink of choice and given water. Eventually, I ordered a Reisling and then asked for the Reserve Wine Menu as stated on their menu. I came to find out there was no such thing. The waitress told me that there is a transition of menus; this has left the reserve list in the 'to-do list.' That sounds like an excuse since they have a revolving beer menu, albeit a restaurant in the beer city.

For my main course, I ordered the 10 oz Teriyaki Steak entree with fried rice instead of steamed white rice. The waitress was apologetic about the many options she had to present, such as soup or salad, steamed white rice or fried rice, and steak temperature. This level of service was commendable. I also ordered a Salmon Roe Ikura.

In the meantime, the restroom was dim but seconded as a storage room at the time. The tiling and wooden stall door, combined with the lack of bathroom amenities, did not live up to the authentic and premier Japanese lounge it boasts of.

The most offensive was the food:

The teriyaki steak on their menu should go to court and then prison. When you think teriyaki steak, you think of a steak, normally sliced thick and sauteed in the teriyaki sauce and veggies; not at Ju Sushi & Lounge. I was given a steak with a ramekin of cool-temperature teriyaki sauce on the side. The steak was plain and clearly flat-iron grilled to a medium temperature (not med-rare) but not sauteed in teriyaki. On the side were onions, sauteed bell peppers (no, just no), and an unpleasing yellow sludge on top that looked like an unpleasing liquid turned out to be garlic butter. But it was already solidifying, signifying that the dish was at least room temperature/already cold. The teriyaki sauce was so obviously a Kikkoman/store-brand sauce that I couldn't help but taste it and avert my eyes from it. It was such an embarrassing meal.

I cannot say that the salmon roe was fresh; it did not 'pop' as it should. The fish were dark orange, and many were wrinkled. Although it was a generous size, it sadly lacked the fresh flavors and especially the quality you buy it for.

THE SAVING GRAINS (grace):

The fried rice served with the entree was a delightful, and much needed surprise. It was rich in umami flavors, with the main flavoring being soy sauce, but there were other subtle notes that added depth to the dish. If I were asked to visit Ju Sushi & Lounge again, I would definitely consider ordering this...

Not worth the hype in the reviews tbh. We had to get a reservation about a day in advance just to try and eat here. I wanted to try because the place looked cool. We ended up getting seated in some lonely corner. Not a problem, the reservation thing and the spot we got isn't what's affecting my rating for the place, it's the food. Our server was fine but probably not outstanding as our water pitchers ran dry a couple times. For those who don't know, gratuity is automatically added. However the sushi was just meh and forgettable. I'll probably never be back. It's average sushi at best and here's why:

We had ordered the Iceland Volcano roll and the Fire Mountain. Iceland Roll because we are HUGE salmon lovers. The seared sashimi salmon on top of the roll was cut super thin and the resulting torch on it just tasted like overcooked slivers of salmon. Not good. Very skimpy on the portions and cut of the fish both inside and outside of the roll. Like are y'all running out of salmon inventory? For $14 per roll I kinda expected a bit more, or at least not overcooked salmon due to the thinness of the slice.

I've had similar seared salmon rolls where you can taste an absolutely UMAMI fresh-off-the-yakitori-charcoal-grill smoke flavor. This was NOT it. There was no charcoal flavor, just overcooked, over-torched dried up salmon chips on top of the roll. It was not the thick juicy sashimi slabs of buttery salmon I was expecting from the description of the Iceland Volcano roll. The fried sweet potato bits on top were also bland and squishy. Not crunchy and sweet as I've had in better places. No contrast of flavor, just a bland roll that's not even remotely seasoned properly. This was like sushi for a retirement home. Flavorless and bland.

The Fire Mountain roll for a grand $17 is what you order if you want the people around you to be like "oooh and ahh" because of the table side service with flaming tray display, however the sushi flavor was underwhelming compared to similar "foil boat" rolls on fire I've had in the west coast. We ordered it without the cream cheese because most sushi should be able to stand alone without it. I don't think even if cream cheese was added, it would've added anything to the overall flavor and concept of the roll. Again, another meh choice and steeply overpriced for what it is. Have had similar, taste far better and at the wonderful price point of $13 in much higher end cities.

The overall experience of the sushi was just incredibly disappointing. If you like bland flavorless...

I’m very disappointed with my experience that I have had at Ju Sushi. I visited this restaurant about a month ago and had horrible customer service (waitress forgot about our table) and waited over an hour before we could get service then after that waitresses switched shifts and therefore we were forgotten again! After finally ordering and receiving our food we ate our meals and proceeded to ask for to go boxes as my friend and I both had over left our meals left. We got our food boxed and paid our bill then after going outside noticed we forgot our to go boxes (mind you it’s only been 60-80 seconds from the time we left our table and got to the door outside). We head back in and the boxes in the table were gone. After asking about them we were told they were thrown away and there’s nothing that can be done at this time (they were closing and just wanted us out of there). I proceeded to call the next day to talk to a manager about our experience before having to leave this review and she apologized, took down my name and told me I would be re-compensated for the amount that was spent when I decide to come in next and to just tell them as soon as I come in. So I go in today with my husband and tell the hostess what I was told by the manager. She proceeded to go to the back and “check on it” for 5 mins and comes back to just say “well let me seat you while I figure it out”. We get seated and then the waitress asks again for my information because the hostess “couldn’t find anything yet”. I proceed to give her my information and we were encouraged to order as she “figures this out”. She then comes back to tell us (after we ordered) that less than half of the amount that I was told I would get re compensated on the phone (what I originally paid last time). I then explain again what the manager had told me on the phone and she says she will call a manager over. A manger finally comes over and was by far the coldest, rudest person I have come across in some time has me repeat the story again while she half listens and comes up with every excuse in the book why it’s only a portion of what I had been originally told. At this point my husband and I were so annoyed and hungry that we just decided to eat the food and pay for the difference but I will not be back after these occurrences. This situation was handled so poorly with horribly...