Sushi Joa Restaurant — Restaurant in Mercer Island

My husband and I really enjoy the food at Sushi Joa. Unfortunately, we don't enjoy the food at the same time. On two of the three times we have dined in the restaurant, my husband's food was brought out significantly earlier than mine. So significant that he was done eating before mine even arrived at the table. Also, they only brought out part of his food...we had to ask repeatedly for them to bring his sauce and rice that came with the meal.

On both occasions we received little attention from the staff and were told my food would be out soon, but that it takes longer to cook. Totally get it. I really do. However, that's not how a restaurant is supposed to work. The food comes out all at the same time. So the food that takes the least amount of time to prepare gets made last and it all gets brought out together.

I don't know how they keep getting this wrong and still feel good about the absurd amount of money they charge, and I definitely don't understand why they have so much business. I don't plan on going back...the sushi isn't THAT good.

To add to the poor dining experience, it was very cold in the restaurant when we were there. We thought it was because we were by the door but several people across the restaurant from us were dining in their jackets, and I even saw one woman ask for them to turn up the temperature. Fortunately they did. I'm not sure that helped (because we were by the door and were catching a breeze every time it opened), but at least they were considerate enough to listen to the customer.

One last thing - we both ordered hot tea to go with our breezy chilly seats, but we really didn't want caffeinated tea at 7pm. We didn't think that was unreasonable to not want caffeine with our dinner. We were told the only hot tea available was indeed caffeinated. So we opted for water. But seriously... How hard is it to offer a non caffeinated tea during a dinner service?

I will close out on a positive note - the food is good, and if you plan ahead and order for pick up over the phone, you get the delicious food all at the same time and you don't have to deal with the drafty poor dinner service. We will probably order from them in the future, but I don't see myself...

Pretty good sashimi and rolls all around, with nothing spectacular and nothing terribly negative. I think if one wants to look for a quick bite while craving sushi instead of looking for anything exquisite or amazingly delicious, which was what my friends and I did, then this establishment would be a good option.

We ordered the sake (salmon) and o-toro (fatty tuna) sashimi, and we were given a reasonable amount with the price that was charged. The sashimi was pretty good in a standard manner. We quickly devoured it. The chicken teriyaki and chicken katsu bento box was also pretty standardly good, with a fair amount of chicken and basic salad with dressing, along with two pieces of oranges and a little bit of rice. Once again, good in a standard way. In fact, I could say the same about everything else, from the red dragon roll to the Seattle tempura roll and to the tempura ice cream. I thought they all resembled what I have had elsewhere in the United States when looking for a Japanese food place located in an outlet-looking type of place, so if you know what I mean, then this is what you would expect here at Sushi Joa as well.

That's about it! One plus I will give was the playlist, which I even asked about. They put "Snooze" by SZA on Apple Music and all it played was R&B songs by similar musicians and I was totally down for that haha. But of course, that is purely my personal preference so I just want to throw...

I had an interesting lunch here while seated at the sushi bar.

Although a few tables were occupied, the dining room was very quiet. There were no beers on tap, but the bottled Echigo came highly recommended and proved to be a pleasant surprise; light and refreshing. The hot sake, however, arrived far too hot and seemed as though it had been microwaved. Two sushi chefs were behind the bar. The older chef, dressed in a black coat, was warm and engaging, and I enjoyed chatting with him. The other, by contrast, was awkward and unsettling. He mostly stood idle, watching me with a peculiar expression; when our eyes met, he’d pull a goofy face and suddenly begin scrubbing cucumbers with a curious vigor. To top it off, I was overcharged for the otoro sashimi. The menu listed it at $26, yet the check showed $28. When I pointed this out, the waitress matter-of-factly explained that the owner had raised the price but hadn’t updated the menu. When I suggested that they correct it, she said she would “let it go this time,” as though she were doing me a favor. An odd response considering the discrepancy amounts to false...