SUGARFISH by sushi nozawa — Restaurant in New York

I can’t believe this popular, hip sushi chain flat out refuses to carry a bottle of gluten free soy sauce in their establishment. Instead of gluten free soy sauce, I was offered lemon. Which is a blatant slap in the face, an idiotic combination, and frankly insulting. If the Lesley University food court sushi kiosk can carry gluten free soy sauce, so can sugar fish. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

For a restaurant chain popular among socialites with multiple locations in NYC alone, to not carry gluten free soy sauce is completely deliberate. No explanation was offered to me in the restaurant, nor is there any justification provided on the allergen page of their website. I am clearly not the first person to ask for this, and to continue to make the decision to not stock a minisculeeee amount of an extremely low cost item is abhorrent. I honestly wish I had asked for a manager and expressed my upset in person, but hopefully this tirade will suffice.

To make this choice sends a clear and deplorable message: that anyone with celiac or a gluten intolerance is not wanted at sugarfish. You should be ashamed of yourselves. There is no justification for this. Mind you, I am not asking for any alterations to the menu, nor do I think those are necessary in principle. I am asking for the locations to carry a singular separate bottle of gluten free soy sauce so people like me can enjoy sushi (a food which naturally lends itself to being gluten free ANYWAY) the way they like it without discomfort or worse.

To the sugarfish management, I would greatly appreciate an explanation as to why you refuse to make this change. Why make gluten intolerant individuals bring their own soy sauce, or go a meal without it? It’s simply dehumanizing and unacceptable. I truly think it’s inhumane.

Before you attempt to justify this in the name of authenticity or tradition, is squeezing lemon onto my sushi traditional? Is New Zealand pink lobster traditional to Japan? No. And yes, I see that sugar fish makes its own soy sauce. That’s great. I think any gluten sensitive person would be happy to use tamari or otherwise (or even pay a slight surcharge!!!!!) and sacrifice the so called quality you speak of.

I see the allergen note on the website says “We love serving all of our guests, but if you have a severe allergy, we recommend not eating in our restaurant.” How simple of a fix is it to have a bottle of gluten free soy sauce so I can enjoy my meal in comfort like everyone else? And for the record, I don’t have celiac. I do not have a severe allergy, but one where it’s best for my health and comfort to avoid gluten as much as possible. Are you recommending I don’t eat at sugar fish? Is it now MY responsibility to bring gluten free soy sauce with me wherever I go? I can, and often do, bring my own gluten free soy sauce, but I definitely should not HAVE to.

Sugarfish claims to stand on quality. As a lifelong cook and gourmet, having worked in a Michelin star kitchen, I can let you know that quality food is about more than unwavering ingredients. It’s about stocking ingredients that are considerate, making decisions that are kind, and listening to the requests of countless individuals who involuntarily suffer from intolerances with SIMPLE fixes. Such a simple fix. It’s a bottle of fermented soybean water. It’s so easy.

I said that by doing this, sugarfish sends the message that gluten intolerant people are not welcome. And until this policy changes, I will proudly be taking my...

If you're fond of hair on your nigiri, obnoxious wait times, exceptionally rude service and fingernails in your face…this is the establishment for you.

A local favorite back home in Los Angeles, so after a black tie event I was happy to see and suggest to my significant other a familiar restaurant to satisfy our sushi craving.

We waited approximately 30 minutes for a table that was fully available from the moment we arrived. We were then given a very long drawn out explanation of the menu that was less about the menu and more about a performance of clacking newly manicured acrylic black matte nails in our face and establishing very hardline rules from the chef, rather than setting the tone and expectation for a pleasant experience to come.

When our first plate arrived I inquired with our waiter if they would be so kind as to provide additional ponzu sauce considering my s/o did not eat soy sauce. Our waiter was insistent that this could not be accommodated and added this additional hardline rule to the already lengthy list of do’s and (mostly) don’ts. However because he demonstrated his first moment of human decency and customer service by empathizing how much in spite of the “rule” it “hurt his soul” to deliver such news, we happily accepted the rejected request and laughed off his original personal invasion of space and militant delivery amongst ourselves. While the delay in service was excessive, we took it with a glass half full approach but the glass spilled over when I was presented with a thick black hair decorated with sesame seed laid across my nigiri. (Needles to say I later saw while passing the open kitchen, not one hair net in sight amongst the chefs).

I returned the plate to the only waitress in sight and moments later we were approached by assumingely the manager who apologized and reluctantly asked if she could get us anything else. We declined and she returned with another nigiri of ‘her’ choice, at which time I requested additional ponzu sauce. It seemed this would be a minimal request considering the unsanitary circumstances. We were told not only could this not be accommodated but that “I would be literally fired if I gave you ponzu sauce.”

The tone of our experience was as if we had to prove to them that we deserved to be there and it’s simply not how people should be treated. We were never made to feel appreciated, accommodated or given the very bare minimum of customer service as a consumer of this establishment. The entire experience was extremely pretentious and by far one of, if not the worst restaurant experiences we’ve ever had by a wait staff. I really left with such secondhand embarrassment after so strongly suggesting this place …I had to take the time to...

It doesn't matter how good the food is when you have shady management.

I left my credit card and the next day I went to get it, but they would not give it to me. They stated that my card was allegedly "locked in the safe" and they did not have a way to open it because a certain manager is not there. I let them know that I don't live in New York and that I'm flying home the next day. They assured me they would mail it. Since I had my credit card memorized, I dined there for a second day in a row. And I needed to use it for other things, but luckily other places took Apple Pay!

Well as it turns out, the company now refuses to mail my card as promised ( & I flew home). I was told by the guy who called me back "I don't feel comfortable mailing it." And an email was sent stating, "Unfortunately, we cannot mail the card for safety reasons and to prevent any frauds or scams."

So let me get this straight: I show up and you don't give me my card. Then you take back your word that you'll mail it because it's unsafe? So is safer with you holding onto it?

"Frauds or scams" mailing my cc? Really?! Because every single credit card company has mailed every single credit card that ever went out to any single household, ever!!

I feel crazy here but it seems to me that if they lock cards up in a safe, then they need to have someone there at all times to open the safe so that when a customer arrives, they can actually get their card. Or if not then maybe make amends and mail the damn card!

And if a customer asks for their card to be returned via mail, then that's their call. Don't hold the card hostage because you don't "feel comfortable."...