Robata Grill & Sushi — Restaurant in Mill Valley

Tried this out based on decent (not great) online reviews. Giant sushi bar where you are separated from the chefs by some sort of rock display. To cross the rocks, food is thrust at you on paddles. The point of this entirely escapes me. Doesn't make for the best atmosphere but not a big bad point either. Sushi - slightly below average. Fish is not the top grade. rice is sloppy and not well done. Pretty obvious they don't have an all-star sushi team. Prices - average, except for the quality I would put it a little high. Definitely no bargain even though the food looks and tastes like it should be. Worst was the waitstaff. Apparently they have been trained to rush you out. I don't get this at all considering the bar was almost entirely empty. The rest of the large dining area had only about 10 customers. While there is still food on plates they are trying to take them away. Bill is presented awkwardly in front of you while you still have food and drinks. Then they kept checking to see if I put a credit card inside. No, we weren't dawdling - dined in about 30-40 minutes.

Btw, I didn't get the cooked plates but I couldn't understand the basis for those either. They ran in the low-20's, and looked like something from a diner.

Not many options in Southern Marin but I'll definitely cross this...

Two stars (not one) because the manager came out to discount our bill and actively tried to remedy the situation. Thank you.

Otherwise:

Overpriced; small portions (e.g. $18 for a special roll, frankly it is the same as a normal roll elsewhere) Mediocre tasting; nothing special Incredibly slow. We came at opening time (5.30pm), were seated fairly quickly, but it took ~30 minutes for the food to arrive after ordering Waiter decided to argue with us: one of our dishes did not arrive, but apparently that was our fault because he claimed we never asked for it (We were over-charged for something else, but in fairness he corrected that straight away)

So, not a good experience. Only mitigation is that we got a significant discount; but then taking that in to account I still cannot recommend. It is...

Overall food is pretty decent The location is right off the freeway so easy to get to during the day since it is inside a business complex. Parking can be a challenge, especially if you have any walking restrictions. The restaurant is moderately clean and atmosphere is beautiful with all of the glass surroundings however, service is very lackluster. We had to wait a few times for someone to bring us water and utensils and no one ever checked on us during the entire duration of our stay, we had to ask the hostess a few times to bring someone to the table for the check and The aforementioned water and utensils. Also for one beer and three main courses with an appetizer it came out to about 130 bucks before tax and tip. So definitely not something that's casually priced but in Marin County don't expect...