Shogun Japanese Steakhouse Naperville — Restaurant in Naperville

Either I came at the very wrong time, or the people of Naperville have very low sushi standards.

I was in the area for an event and stopped by Shogun, based on positive reviews. The experience was awkward and the quality of the food was sub-par, and the overall experience was in-line with what you would expect from a suburban strip mall sushi joint, not the 4+ stars as indicated.

When I first arrived, the man standing next to the host station in a windbreaker jacket gave me a strange look. I couldn't tell if he worked there or not, he didn't seem like a patron, but he also didn't say anything to me, so I wasn't sure, and the whole experience started off strangely.

I was alone, so opted to eat at the sushi bar. The waitress was friendly and attentive, brought me my beverage right away and got my order going. I was also disappointed to see there were no lunch specials, as every other sushi restaurant I've dined in offer, but nonetheless, chose a few simple rolls (spicy tuna, salmon, the basics) and waited for the 4+ star deliciousness to start.

To my surprise, Mr. Windbreaker stepped behind the sushi bar and began to make my meal, still in his jacket, which I now believe is a post-modern version of a chef's jacket. But really, it just extended the initial awkwardness. Stay awhile, chef. Make yourself at home.

I received my food, and the disappointment really kicked in. The quality was minimal. The fish didn't taste fresh, the volume of fish per roll was minimal, and the whole experience just crumbled. Stellar sushi can make up for strange service, but when the only positive things are the waitress and the Coca Cola, you're not worthy of so many stars.

People of Naperville, raise your standards. This was a sad, sad experience and I wish I had tried one of the several other nearby sushi...

Another new restaurant that we tried, my husband chose it for a new experience and new location. First impression was good and bad. There were so many past customers party pictures sticking on every wall. So we thought it must be a good place. But at the same time, those old photos make the place look old. We just walked in and the hostess told us to take pictures of the menu at the check in without telling us why. I didn’t want to take it since I was expecting to look at a physical menu at the table. But no, there was NO physical menus. After seating, I had to walk out from my table to the check in desk to take the photos. Did not look good. Seriously?!

We ordered the family meal for two, the lobster with steak and shrimp with egg yolks. We ordered steam rice instead of fried rice. We had to share the table with two strangers/teenagers who were not conscious about the language they used in front of young kids (F words). They were overall nice but they were not suitable to share table.

The show was just ok. The chef was not really interactive or funny. The food was not bad but it was just too pricey for the amount of food we got. Plus, they forgot to give us steam rice at the beginning. Until the show was done and the chef left, I was like where is our rice? We were still hungry. They brought us two bowls of rice after we finished eating all the food already. So we just mixed the rice with leftover sauce to finish it. What an experience! They did not even have the thought to apologize for their mistake. Yet, they added $15 tips, plus extra charge for egg yolks, to our check making it to around $130. I would not give this much tip for poor services...

I had pretty high expectations because of the high Google ratings with this restaurant. However, I was shocked at the overall experience that we had. In all fairness, the food was pretty decent but very salty, just like other hibachi style restaurants.

However, the "chef" looked like he was previously washing dishes. He was wearing a baseball cap and none of the typical Japanese style chef clothing. Yet, other chefs in the restaurant at other tables were wearing the typical Japanese style hibachi chef clothing, which was very strange. Our chef did very few of the typical tricks and maneuvers experienced at a hibachi style restaurant, yet the chefs at other tables were performing those maneuvers.

Then the chef prepared chicken for me and my son with the same ingredients even though we ordered two different styles of chicken. He plated the cooked chicken with the same ingredients, and then my brother informed the chef that my son and I ordered two different styles of chicken. The chef then took a bottle of some sauce and squirted on my son's chicken presumably to correct his mistake rather than remaking the chicken correctly.

The worst part of the experience was that when I told the lady that seemed to be our waitress, she was completely indifferent about what I told her.

The other part of the issue was that the fake wood floors had some type of slippery coating like oil or grease, so as I would walk, it felt like an ice rink or a slip and slide.

I came with high expectations and left completely shocked with...