Sumo Sushi Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Iowa City

Enjoyed the meal my wife and I had here. Since I moved from California I have been very skeptical of any Asian restaurants that look up and try. We have been looking for solid Chinese and Japanese cuisine in Iowa City and if I could give this place 4.5 stars I would. First off the name, Osaka made me think that this was going to be a Japanese restaurant that served sushi, bento boxes, and ramen/udon/soba type menu. This is not the case. Osaka is really a Chinese restaurant, owned by Chinese (Mandarin speaking). They have a full on Chinese menu with a wide variety of dishes.

This isn't a knock on the establishment in any way, I was pleasantly surprised to see such a variety of food. But if you're expecting a Japanese restaurant, don't expect purely Japanese cuisine when you dine here.

Since it was our first time trying Osaka, we wanted to taste a variety of options, we ordered a sushi roll, their fatty beef noodle soup, and two dishes; their spicy fried chicken and their garlic green beans.

Dragon Roll: this is a hot deep fried roll, it was good, tho I should have ordered something with more sashimi as I'm big on the quality of raw fish. 4 out of 5.

Fatty Beef Noodle Soup: this was a big bowl of soup with thin cut slices of fatty beef brisket, an abundance of egg noodles (I loved the egg noodles, my wife doesn't prefer them, so noodle preference is up to taster), spinach, thin cut tomatoes, all in a savory but not to salty broth. The soup was good and wasn't oily. 4 out of 5.

Spicy Fried Chicken: this dish was deep fried with Szechuan peppercorns (mala), red chilli peppers, garlic, and other traditional seasonings showered all over light crispy bite-sized deep fried chicken. I love Szechuan spices so this dish was tasty and delicious. 5 out of 5.

Garlic Green Beans: these green beans were cooked perfectly, it reminded me of some of my favorite restaurants in Taiwan and up and down California. The beans were still crispy at the core and had a nice texture to them. The only complaint would be that they seasoned these beans a little too much. Great flavor but at the end the seasoning was over powering the dish. 4.5 out of 5.

All this to say, I would definitely recommend Osaka, just know that it isn't just a Japanese restaurant. It's a little misleading, I would say that Osaka is really a Chinese & Japanese restaurant that serves more Chinese food...

Subject: Feedback Regarding Recent Experience at Your Establishment

Dear Management,

I am writing to share my recent experience during a family road trip. Originally from Bangladesh and now a permanent resident of London, UK, I was disappointed with the service we received at your restaurant.

Firstly, the front staff member was unprofessional and dismissive. She charged us $3 cash for a Fanta but did not provide a receipt. We also paid a further $85 by card. We waited over 40 minutes for our order, which had not yet been delivered—despite paying separately for the Fanta in cash. After approximately 35 minutes, I personally retrieved a Fanta and asked her to open it, but she claimed she needed more time. Ultimately, our takeaway was delivered after about 45 minutes, but the experience was far from satisfactory.

Additionally, I strongly believe my family was subjected to prejudice and racial discrimination. The staff member’s rude attitude and apparent discomfort around us made us feel unwelcome. I attempted to communicate with her in British English, as I am from London, but she pretended not to understand.

The food quality was mediocre, and the overall atmosphere was acceptable. However, the service was disappointing, largely due to the rude behavior of the front staff member. I will never return to this place.

I urge you to consider training your staff to provide respectful and professional service to all customers, regardless of background. Customers deserve to be treated with dignity and courtesy.

Thank you for your attention to this...

Sooo disappointed after looking at the photos online. Not sure if they buy the photos but if not they should seriously be a photographer, not a restaurant owner. I ordered the Edamame, Dragon Roll & Chicken Hibachi (because they don't even have Chicken Fried Rice). I also ordered Hot Tea but the waiter never brought it! There was only 1 other table for a short portion of the time we were there but our waiter asked me to wait TWICE when I started to talk, simply wanted to know if the crab in a roll was real or imitation. It was imitation of course but I'm not sure any of the crab on their menu is real. Which to me is an indicator of lower quality ingredients across the board. As you can see in the pictures the Dragon Roll was not prepared w/ Avocado inside per the menu. Which of course made it dry but the Shrimp Tempura that was inside was also 90% breading. If it wasn't for the Eel & Avocado on top it would have been inedible. The Chicken was really dry and the Edamame tasted old. With numerous significantly better (quality & service wise) sushi restaurants within blocks there is literally NO reason to...