Fusion Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi — Restaurant in Mauldin

While on a mini date night before our second child is born, my wife and I visited Fusion during their early bird special time which was around 5pm. We had never been there before and we expected it to be like most hibachi experiences. When we were seated, we were sandwiched between two families that filled the table to capacity by themselves. Yes there were two chairs and two place settings left, but my wife is 9 months pregnant and we were squished between strangers (that were very nice people, by the way). The seating isn't much different than any other hibachi restaurant, but there were more than enough people at that table without us there.

Across from our packed table was a family with several kids. Just a word to the wise...If you are looking to have a date night as a couple away from the kids, don't got to a hibachi restaurant. The kids at the other table were screaming and carrying on while the parents just let them do it. It was annoying to say the least.

Even though the table was at capacity, it still took a while before anyone showed up to take drink orders. One waitress got our drink order and then another one came to get our food orders. My wife and I both ordered the steak and shrimp hibachi dinners as well as a volcano roll and shrimp tempura roll. The sushi rolls were pretty good, however the volcano roll was a lot smaller than I expected but the spice level was spot on. The shrimp tempura roll was just okay.

When the chef came out to start his show and to cook the food, he was pretty annoying. He had comments about food choices, food temperatures and food allergies that one teenager at our table had, not to mention he was grabbing for compliments and attention the whole time. Don't get me wrong, he did a great job at keeping the one small child at our table entertained, but he became annoying by the end of his show. He even put shrimp on the teenagers plate that had a severe allergy to it. He never apologized to the kid or his family and the waitress was upset and said something to the cook and apologized to the family. It was like the cook didn't care about his screw up. I hope that the restaurant at least took that meal off of their bill!

Those of us that got steak basically had to share one thin, hand length sized steak per two people. You are paying $16-$20 for half of a small steak, just to let you know. Then those that ordered shrimp only got 6 shrimp on their plate. So to sum the food up, you get a small bowl of rice, about 1/4 of a cup of mostly onions along with a few sprigs of chopped zuchini and mushrooms, half of a tiny steak and 6 shrimp. Now we paid $16+ for this! Per person! Thank God that it was the early bird special because had we paid any more for that, I would have been highly upset. I'm just a little annoyed by it all now. The steak and shrimp both tasted good, but I would have appreciated more food for what we paid. It definitely wasn't...

Hands down by far the worst Japanese Steakhouse we have ever been to. We have been to many steakhouses in many states, and across the world and this is hands down by far the worst, quite possibly the worst restaurant experience we have ever received. The wait staff and service was absolutely abhorrent. We all waited at our table after being seated for at least 20 minutes before we even got anyone to take drink orders. They do not use garlic, sesame seeds or any other seasoning you would expect at a Japanese steakhouse and when I requested sesame seeds I was told I had to request them in advance and then they would charge for them because they do not use it there. We also asked about garlic for the food and they said that they do not use that either. The food was way overpriced for the quality. By far the most bland Japanese Steakhouse food we have ever received. They do not season their food which shows a lack of confidence in being able to properly seasoned food. They Grill it and then they dumped sauce on it after it is grilled and then put it on your plate. It is by far the worst food we have received, reqardlesss of price point. I did not eat any of what was placed on my plate in front of me because by the time it came to eat I had lost my appetite. My wife ordered the steak and salmon. They grilled the salmon and then chopped it up and dumped yum yum sauce on it which my it inedible. Her steak was full of gristle and of poor quality so they had to re-cook the steak which was still subpar due to lack of seasoning. I ordered steak and scallops to which the chef could not even read the server's writing and consistently got my order wrong. They "forgot" the scallops repeatedly after asking about them and I told them to take them off the bill and they would not. After I got my check and had my entire portion of food boxed up to take home to my chickens, they finally brought out the scallops that had been cooked in the kitchen in the back for me to put in my to go box with me. Also, in what is supposed to be included in the Hibachi dinner is dessert and it was never offered to any of us at the table, so the few that remained around the table after we paid asked about our dessert and they told us it was a combination of vanilla and green tea ice cream if we would like it, to which we replied yes we would like it to go and the server told us that they do not give the dessert to go we would have to eat it here. The all-around dining experience was the absolute worst we have ever received in any restaurant! Steer clear of this restaurant because apparently they are under new ownership, and what used to be a decent Japanese Steakhouse for the area is now probably by far the worst restaurant... possibly anywhere. No Miso or clear soup either, only chicken broth...

Tonight (06/12/22) we came to celebrate someone’s birthday with dinner and it ended with a poor experience. The majority of the party had never been here before and elected to try it out instead of our usual Miyabi’s birthday dinner(s). The food was great. Our cook was personable and funny. But our waitress (Elaine) was not good. She went missing quite often. We took notice when our cook had to flag down another waiter to refill our drinks and clear the table of dirty bowls. After that Elaine came back one other time to refill our drinks and went missing again until after the cook was finished. This is where it goes downhill. She asks how our checks are split (again). Comes back and hands out checks and leaves to get boxes. When she comes back with boxes we simply ask for togo white sauce cups and a few bags. We start getting ready to pay and notice all of our checks are mixed up. My particular check had a daiquiri on it though I didn’t order one. When she returns with the sauces I make mention of it and she asks me who all had a daiquiri and I told her that I’m not sure about everyone else but I know that I didn’t have one only a tea. She gathers everyone’s checks again and leaves. She comes back with the revised checks and just stands there waiting on us. Another person in our party asks for one more bag because the one that was given to her was defective. Elaine walks off and huffs with a eye roll. When she returns another member in our party asked if we can have our desert (ice cream)like the other patrons and Elaine does the same thing as before. We start reviewing our checks again and notice this time Elaine has included a gratuity in the total which was not there before. We do not appreciate feeling forced to provide a tip to a waitress who was apathetic, missing, and who seemed to have a attitude. One person in our party didn’t even noticed she included the tip in their total prior to adding a tip themselves! So she got a double tip on that check! It is rather deceptive and now we understand Elaine’s tactic. To do the bare minimum and not care about the customer’s experience because she will sneak in the gratuity on the check and hope that no one notices and leaves an extra tip. We would have been considered rude if we asked her to re-make the checks a 2nd time without gratuity included because honestly speaking with our experience she would have gotten nothing. Date: 06/12/22 Time: 8:47PM Table: H-91-1:4 Order: 9417...