Misaki Sushi & Grill — Restaurant in La Quinta

We were from out of town and decided to try this place based on reviews. It was Friday evening, so of course we expected some waiting. They said 20-30 minutes, so, no problem! But while we waited they seated at least a whole page of customers after us. 50 minutes or more later? They supposedly had only one place for a party of 6 waiting for a party of 2 to leave, those persons “had paid their bill.”

Honestly they could have asked us if we wanted to split our group or they could have worked something ( it’s a big place with many tables) (we asked several times even suggesting we squeeze into a booth) finally they asked if we wanted to squeeze into the table they were holding all this time for us! (They we’re hoping to expand our seating when another couple left next to us) It turned out there was plenty of room and that couple didn’t leave until just before we were done! If they had been more on top of things, we wouldn’t have had to wait more than about 15 minutes.

About the food: My family is Japanese American so we eat a lot of Japanese food. For the most part, The food was fairly good, pretty typical with Bento boxes and sushi. They also have udon and some other dishes. We ordered a variety of items and the food was tasty and well prepared, a little pricey though. The rolls were fairly large and they had a huge variety: clearly their forte. One of our group had to ask three times for her beverage to be served and came when we were almost done.

They were clearly under-staffed for the busy time and a better method for juggling larger groups and seating would have been appreciated. Had they handled our seating situation better and not charged my friend for her very late beverage, I would have given them...

FYI, my 4 stars means good and 5 stars I reserve for exceptionally good places.

I ordered salmon sushi, mackerel sushi, salmon egg sushi, California roll, and beef udon. In the past, I ordered similar sushi and different rolls.

Salmon sushi and mackerel sushi were really good and those are what I usually order at sushi restaurants. Salmon egg sushi was okay, but it was the first time I ordered it in my life so I can't compare it with other places.

California roll was not that good though it was my mistake for ordering something that's usually mediocre almost anywhere. I don't remember which rolls, but their other rolls are better.

Beef udon was okay. If you like bulgogi, the bulgogi itself was pretty good, it has a lot in it, and the soup tastes like bulgogi sauce. The noodles itself was just okay and it didn't have much of other udon ingredients. Only get it if you really like bulgogi and have an itch for udon at the same time.

Service was on the good side. My server was paying attention at good intervals and was friendly.

I would come here again and when I do, I'll just focus on just sushi, sashimi, and rolls with ingredients...

Not sure why I’m even giving 2 stars. Maybe bc the food looked absolutely beautiful. Everything else about this place is over rated. Table was filthy when seated (clearly had not been wiped after previous patrons)We asked to have it wiped and she wiped about 1/3 of the table. The whole place is just drab and dingy. Absent of any decor at all. We were not given utensils. When I asked, my husband got them but I did not. I asked again. Didn’t get them. Husband got 9 pc sashimi. The salmon was good, red tuna ok, yellow fin mushy old and inedible. When he asked about it waitress said it just comes like that. My Golden California roll looked amazing and was ok but some kind of ground salmon mix on top rather than fresh. Were told soup and salad “came with” my husbands food. Side salad was fresh and delicious and soup was fine. It did not come “with meal” bc we were charged extra for both (we inquired and it was removed). The help there is unfriendly and unhelpful. No one checked on us, refilled water, nor said “thanks for coming in”. Other than the beautiful presentation it’s hard to find anything...