Chopstix Wallburg — Restaurant in North Carolina

This used to be my favorite Japanese restaurant around. The week before July 4th I placed a rather large Sushi order, along with one plate of hibachi jumbo shrimp. I called ahead they told me to give them 20-25 minutes which I did. I get there pay $84 dollars for my order only to be parked. I waited an additional 30 minutes being parked and still no food. There was nobody in the drive-thru so I pull back to the window. The girl said my order was not ready still so I asked to speak to the manager. Jamie the manager came and said the 25 minutes that I was told to give them when placing my order was just an estimated time and proceeds to park me again. I wait an additional 10 minutes and finally my food was brought out. I proceed to drive back to Thomasville only to find my jumbo shrimp plate were baby shrimp. So I call back asked to speak to manager again, Jamie came on the phone and asked if I wanted to drive back ty o get the correct order or she could put me down for a side of jumbo shrimp. I said no, please let me speak to the owner, Jasper. Jasper gets on the phone and Jamie had explained about the jumbo shrimp plate mess up, however she forgot to tell him about me waiting for 40 minutes in addition to the 25 minutes I had waited before arriving. Jasper was very upset and told me he really appreciated me letting him know and on my next visit to ask to speak to Jamie or himself and they would take care of me. So yesterday I call up and asked to speak to Jasper he's not there. So they get me Jamie, the manager. I reminded her of how my order got messed up and she said oh yes i remember you. I placed my order and she proceeds to tell me she will replace my jumbo shrimp plate and that's it. I said Jasper said he would take care of me she said he meant the jumbo shrimp plate only which is definitely not what he meant. I asked if she could call Jasper to confirm. She said she could but Jasper was no longer the owner that he had sold a week and a half ago. I asked to speak to the new owner she said they are not here. She told me that I ordered much more sushi this time than the last, which was not true as I ordered double the first and half this time. She ended up giving a 10% discount on the sushi. The food was good but the customer service not so good. Had somebody had the experience that I had at my restaurant I would've went above and beyond to make it right, especially after the owner, Jasper, gave me his word. Where I'm from you're only as good as your word! I did tip the person at the drive thru both times, it's not...

Overall, I’m extremely disappointed with this experience. For most items to cost $15 or more—plus tip—you’d expect a much higher level of quality. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

We arrived within the first hour of opening, and the tea was already spoiled. This means it likely sat overnight, and they didn’t clean the liner before making a fresh batch. That alone raises concerns about how clean the rest of the kitchen is.

I ordered the Steak & Shrimp Hibachi with Miso Soup for $18, and the quality was shockingly low. The shrimp were tiny—no bigger than a dime—and the steak was maybe 2 oz in total. The portions were disappointing to say the least.

For fried rice, which turned out to be anything but. It looked and tasted like old white rice, warmed over, with no flavor, sauce, or sear—nothing about it resembled actual fried rice. As for the vegetables, the carrots were unmistakably canned—perfectly round, overly sweet, and soft. That’s just unacceptable for an $18 dish.

The miso soup was overly salty and oddly cloudy, suggesting they added water to a concentrate rather than fresh miso paste without balancing it properly. The hibachi sauce? Straight from a bottle—not fresh, not made in-house.

To be clear, our server was kind and the atmosphere was fine—this review is entirely about the kitchen’s lack of care and quality control. With no lunch specials and prices this high, I expected much better. I hope this feedback is taken constructively, but I won’t...

Chopstix is a place that does some things really well while others have some room for real improvement. They also, when comparing other options within a 20 minute drive from my house, have the unfortunate burden of being only the third best restaurant of its kind in the area. I've eaten from here a few times now, always hoping for better results, but at this point I think they are what they've shown me to be. The good: the appetizers here are excellent. I love the crispy crab wontons, as they have a lot more filling than most places offer up. The sweet chili sauce they serve with some apps is absolutely delicious, too. Like to the point where I would consider eating it with a spoon. The grilled dumplings are really tasty, too. The problems are primarily with the entrees: I love a good, hefty plate of hibachi, but I've had it several times and there are always issues. The chicken is always overcooked. The carrots that come with it just...aren't great (and there are several similar restaurants that do some killer sweet carrots in this area). The fried rice was overcooked and kind of clumpy and mushy yesterday. And the shrimp sauce is, honestly, the blandest I've had, and I've had a lot of shrimp sauce. All in all, I don't think I'll be giving it another try, as this has been my consistent experience at this point and Shoto in Lexington isn't that much further of a drive. This place is okay,...