Isohama — Restaurant in New York

Beware: they inflate your bill or fraudulently add an "extra" tip. It happened to us once months ago and again a few weeks ago. Nobody speaks English. Most of you think they are Japanese; they are Chinese.

Pay close attention to your bill. The food used to be very good. It is now just ok. The fish is not super fresh and the cuts are fatty and crude. They do not care since the neighborhood has countless customers that keep on going thinking that they are getting good Japanese food. So many other options in the area, you are better off going to a REAL Japanese restaurant.

It's time to report them to the NYC Department of Consumers and Worker protection, the NYS Department of Taxation, the Federal Trade Commission, , the NYC Department of Investigation , the BBB and 311 for their fraudulent business pratices.

After we left the restaurant, they added 50% of the total of my bill as an "extra tip". When we noticed the extra charge on the credit card statement we called them to notify them. The person who picked up the phone barely spoke any English, which is OK but a bit challenging the trying to have a conversation. We spoke for a bit and then she hung up on us. 2nd call: She and another person peak to us and then hang up on us. This is getting funny. 3rd call: The same 2 people speak to us for a minute and then hang up on us. 4th call: We finally get to speak to a lovely young "underage" (HER OWN WORDS) 15-year-old-girl who speaks English and tries to resolve the issue.... When I pointed out that an underage girl cannot legally work in a restaurant she explained that she was ding so in part of a school program. There goes our case against them for employing underage kids :) Note that the "Manager" and "Owners" are constantly referred to as being present and the restaurant + heard in the background but not willing to come to the phone. Good thing we recorded everything from the first call because this had happened before and we had let them, get away with it thinking it was a mistake. This time, we saw it for what it was all along: It was fraud!

They suddenly agreed to refund the fraudulent charge after we told them that we had been recording the calls. It says enough.

This is not the...

Disappointing Decline at Isohama Under New Ownership

I used to eat at Isohama at least twice a week—sometimes even more—when it was under its previous ownership. The quality, consistency, and overall experience made it one of my go-to spots. Unfortunately, that all changed when the restaurant came under new management.

I gave them a try shortly after the transition, and the difference was immediate and disappointing. The gyoza I ordered was of noticeably poor quality—nothing like the flavorful, well-made version they used to serve. The entire experience was subpar, and I didn’t return for about eight months.

Tonight, on my way home from work, I decided to give them one last shot. It was late, I was hungry, and I figured I’d stick to simple items that are usually hard to mess up. I ordered an asparagus salad, shrimp sushi, and avocado rolls. Sadly, things have not improved.

The asparagus in the salad looked unwashed and was sloppily presented. The avocado rolls had barely any rice, and the avocado itself was overly thick and a bit under-ripe. To top it off, the wasabi was grainy—something I’ve never seen before. It even broke apart strangely when mixed with soy sauce. The meal was less than mediocre, but I ate it anyway out of hunger.

Big mistake. About an hour later, I had intense stomach cramps and ended up running to the bathroom multiple times.

It’s truly shocking that someone could inherit such a well-oiled machine—a thriving, quality-driven business—and run it into the ground so quickly. The food quality is now drastically different in the worst way. If you're looking for good sushi, do NOT eat at Isohama. It's no longer even halfway decent.

So sad to see a great spot fall...

We came here for a quick dinner and really enjoyed our experience.

Food: We ordered the fried veggie gyoza and fried tempura for our appetizers. They were both delicious. The gyozas and tempura were crispy and the tempura batter was also very tasty. The dipping sauces for both could have used a little more salt. For dinner we ordered 3 rolls - sweet potato tempura roll, ume maki, and Phoenix roll. All three were tasted good. It was our first time trying plum sauce and for us it was too sour so I don't think we'll get the ume maki roll again but it still tasted good. The Phoenix roll was delicious! The tofu skin was cooked to perfection. And of course the potato tempura roll was nice and crispy, exactly how you'd want it to be.

Drinks: The beers are great as always as they are great Asian beer choices. I got the pomegranate margarita and it was not good at all. I think the syrup was clearly very artificial and you could taste it. If I go back I'd probably order a beer or a glass of wine instead.

Atmosphere: Inside the restaurant, the decor is really nice and upscale. It's great for a date spot. The outside dining area is not so great, more of a casual hangout. We sat on conference room chairs which I always thing is odd for a restaurant.

Prices: The prices here are very reasonable especially considering NYC prices. My husband got a large beer (22oz) for only $7. I got a pomegranate margarita and it was only $9. And these are regular prices. They also have lower prices for lunch specials and "early hours." Our entire meal came to less than $60 (included 2 drinks, 2 appetizers, and 3 sushi rolls).

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