Sushi Jako — Restaurant in Harrisonburg

I'm not typically a person who leaves a nasty review if I had a substandard experience but this place was an exception.

Earlier this evening, my girlfriend and I stopped here to get some sushi. We were returning home to Maryland after a very long drive from Georgia. This establishment has very good reviews, so I thought I could trust it. Boy, was I wrong.

We walk in. Nobody is there to greet us. There are a few people seated, but the waitress is nowhere to be found. The sushi chef is the one who's having to help check people out because the waitress couldn't do her job.

After almost 15 minutes of standing, the waitress finally seats us. She gave us menus and said she'd be back with us shortly to take our order. I kid you not, we sat there for another 20 minutes. My girlfriend and I promptly left, disgruntled that we wasted over a half an hour that could've been put toward our drive back home. In addition, multiple other tables who were already seated were also looking around waiting for the waitress to take their order. We didn't even have a drink to sip on while we waited.

The overall atmosphere of the restaurant was mediocre at best. They have about 8 moderately sized tables but nothing at all eye catching or worthwhile.

I can't speak for their food so I will not be rating that but their service was by far the worst I've ever experienced. For those who haven't been, go ahead and give this one...

Starting with pros: Great atmosphere, good quality fish, fantastic drink options, nice service, great basic selection of dishes, beautiful dish presentation.

But wow, this place is overrated — coming from someone who’s been to a lot of sushi places outside of VA. These reviews sell the special rolls way too intensely.

Based on our dinner alone, I’d give it a 3.5 stars (4 if the reviews weren’t already so high) — the special rolls were lackluster, heavily featuring imitation crab, and very pale on flavor. The rolls didn’t mention kani, only crab, so it felt like a bit of a gamble if we were going to get imitation crab or actual crab. There was a lot of rice in each roll too. The seasonal special roll we chose - Bird Roll - was most lacking in flavor.

I wonder if the sashimi or more basic rolls would showcase the high quality better? If you’re used to flavorful, fish-first, creative special rolls for your sushi… don’t have high expectations for their menu. Stick with the basics here to enjoy the fresh fish. And...

Let down by my recent pickup order experience given the good reviews this place has. Bruised/brown avocado used in sushi is unforgivable. Sashimi roll cucumber knife skills need work. Sushi looked nothing like the photos. Sushi rice was not seasoned enough. Tempura fry breading was too heavy/oily. Tempura shrimp had black spots inside. White spots on seaweed. I called at 4:30 and was told 20-30 minutes, arrived at 5pm with only one party dining in and still waited 10 minutes for my order. If this place got slammed, they’d be in trouble for sure. I was excited and wanted to like this place for convenience sake but unfortunately I felt uneasy...