Osaka Sushi Cafe — Restaurant in Granite City

I hope I don't get sick.

Incredibly bad sushi. (Tuna) It was very obviously old and had gone bad. It was brown- not dark red, but brown, and smelled strongly fishy. (Not in an appetizing way). I've eaten at Drunk'n fish, Kyoto, King and I, Wasabi, Sushi AI and more. I have NEVER seen sushi this poor in quality, aside from maybe a buffet that's been sitting in the open air for too long. After politely bringing my concern to one of the owners, she began to rather condescendingly explain to me that this is how sushi is supposed to look, with varying shades of red and pink (correct! This I already know!). I explained that it is not pink, but brown, and it smells very fishy. She acted incredulous and said "we'll take it back and not charge you for it". She took my plate before I'd finished my philly roll, which also was not the freshest.

I also have a strong suspicion that the "yellowtail" that I ordered was actually "white Tuna" otherwise known as Escolar, aka snake mackerel or waloo. It's cheaper and has very high oil content. It can make you sick because it's not easily digested. I really love yellowtail sushi, so this is not familiar or what I was expecting at all. The color was different (no apparent purple/pink hue that is normally visible on yellowtail) The friend I was with was given something other than he ordered and they explained "we didn't have any left, so we have you extra of this" without first asking if that was acceptable. So I really think they didn't have yellowtail, and instead figured I wouldn't know the difference if they subbed it out for "white Tuna".

The prices are so high! They are easily as high as the Drunken fish. I should have been able to take advantage of the buy 3 get 1 free, but because my tuna was inedible, I lost out on my "free" sushi.

Take a look for yourself: Sushi should not look this dark brown, or be this dry looking. You can even see where the lighter pink side was not yet oxidized on one of the pieces. Some browning or greying is "normal" despite looking unappetizing, but should NOT smell like spoiled fish.

I would have appreciated a more genuine apology (or any apology!) Instead I was treated as though I were ignorant.

The gyoza was good.

I won't be...

So lets be very clear here. I went here several times and had only sushi and it was great every single time. Today I decided to try their chicken teriyaki lunch special. What showed up at the table should have been an absolute embarrassment to anyone who calls themselves a chef and especially someone who considers themselves a Japanese chef. For $15, it was about a 3-4oz portion of chicken thigh swimming in a disgusting brown sauce with a tiny scoop of rice. And sorry, but the sprinkling of raw sesame seeds didn't help the appearance or taste of the dish. Worse than the sauce, small portion and appearance of the dish, was that the chicken was clearly past its date and no longer safe for human consumption. I have cooked chicken at least 1000 times in my life in a lot of different ways and there is no question that I would be violently ill if I ate this dish. It was literally the worst tasting food I have ever gotten from any restaurant, hands down.

Where it gets even worse is that when I asked the waitress to remove it from our bill, she sent the owner over. The owner proceeded to cut the chicken into pieces and eat one of them. Then proceeded to tell me that I was wrong and that is how it is supposed to taste. Decided to also announce across the dining room that it was "perfect chicken". Perhaps the fact that I ate exactly one bite of the chicken should have been an indicator to how awful it was? How anyone can taste the crime against taste buds that was my chicken teriyaki and proclaim it to be "perfect" and keep a restaurant in business is beyond me.

So needless to say, I will not be returning to ever give them another dime. Which is a shame, because as I prefaced prior to this polemic, their sushi is fantastic. Hopefully they will get it together and learn that above all, don't argue with a customer and especially not in your dining room. And that maybe a lifelong customer is worth more than protecting your misguided sense of pride in a plate of food that I wouldn't...

Great little spot for sushi, especially considering it's in Granite City & we don't have anything else like this out there. The staff are extremely friendly & kind which is rare these days to find, so big kudos to you all there!

The sushi itself is pretty good, but there is better in the area in my opinion. I think the biggest let down with this particular spot is the fried sushi - it's always a little over done which takes away from the flavor & texture - & anything with cream cheese in it is just a little overboard on the amount that is in the roll itself. I think if they can adjust/fine tune a few of their ingredients/processes they'd be that much better! The inside ambiance also needs warmed up a bit; we've never stayed to eat in just due to that it feels very uncomfortable & cold.

They are a bit pricey as well; not so much with the rolls, mainly when it comes to the single serving pieces (~$8/piece) where typically these are $1-$2/piece. My boyfriend & I went for the first time thinking that for the price, he was also getting a buy 3 get 1 free "rolls"- once we got our order it turned out he had only gotten 4 individual pieces so we ended up sharing mine. I understand higher prices right now especially as a new business, but the quantity, then, should be noted on their menu, especially when we ordered "correctly" the next time & it was the same price - that blew my mind.

Overall, great little place, wonderful staff and location, just needs some adjustments as with any new spot starting out. I think if they can work out kinks & listen to their reviews they'll be a great little spot! We'll definitely continue going back & supporting them, but do hope to see some improvements in the future as well so we can adjust...