Samurai Sushi Boat — Restaurant in Oakland

I would like to begin this review by saying I have been a long time patron of Samurai Sushi Boat on Grand Lake Oakland. I began going here to eat in 2013 and have had nothing but positive opinions regarding the quality of food and service in this restaurant. Over the years I have developed a kind rapport with the waitresses and also the owner whom is referred to as "Mom" within the establishment. On my most recent visit which is today 2/14/2020 I visited the establishment with my wife and 3 week old newborn to enjoy sushi after taking a beautiful drive through the Oakland Hills as we have done for the past year together. I regret to say that we had an experience today that will prevent us from ever returning or referring anyone else to this establishment. Long story short: My wife ordered a Salmon Roll and a Dragon Roll to which the Salmon Roll tasted spoiled enough for her to be fearful to continue eating it. Since we have never had an issue with quality here I asked my wife to taste it again to be sure it wasn't just a bad piece or possibly bad sauce and she confirmed that shrimp and the salmon were indeed less than fresh. We alerted the waitress to the issue early on in our meal and she stated she would tell "Mom" the owner about it. The owner came approximately 10 minutes later to address the issue as we were nearing completion of our meal. We explained to her the problem and since we were so close to being finished we asked to either return the roll and remove it from the bill or to provide us a different roll of equal value in exchange for the foul tasting one since my wife chose not to eat it. She insisted that all of the fish is fresh there and that they do not return food there. "Mom" told us that a lot of people complain about the food and still decide to eat it over returning or exchanging. She stated that maybe there is something wrong with the sauce to which we replied that it is specifically the seafood within the roll and she became very defensive. "Mom" was going back and forth table side with customers all around about exchanging a $14.50 sushi roll. My wife and I were amazed at her behavior as we had never complained about anything here and had never seen this side of her. Furthermore we would not expect this behavior from the owner of a rooted food service establishment. Eventually after some verbal sparring between myself and "Mom" she agreed to exchange the roll for another of equal value to my Wife. In between the time she submitted the order to the chef and the order becoming ready she stopped numerous times at our table to explain how she does not do this for anyone because poor people come in and put hairs in the food and attempt to get free food. Myself being a health inspector in SF am aware of many things customers attempt to do for a free meal but I would never expect her to treat a 7 year non complaining customer as if I were one of those type. Each time I have been to this establishment I have never spent less than $50.00 or left less than 18% as gratuity. "Mom" continued to stop at the table and say that "those" type of people only return food and I listened for clarification to what she meant by that but she only replied her English was bad. My hope is that it had nothing to do with our brown skin that she would say these things and refer to people that return items as "poor" but it was difficult to be insulted and remain silent about it. My wife and I remained Jovial but stern about our wants and received our replacement boxed and left immediately. We were completely embarrassed by her actions today and will not be returning to this establishment. After reading other Samurai Sushi yelp reviews for the first time today I see that many people have had similar issues. My only hope is that the next people they treat this way are as friendly and patient as my wife and I or their behavior could definitely lead to unwanted confrontation. They exhibited severely poor customer service, combativeness, and a complete lack of accountability for poor quality food...

Samurai Sushi Boat was a fun experience. You get to sit in front of moving boats that carry different types of sushi and other delicious treats around in circles. Prices are designated by different color plates which helps you decide if you're on a budget. It's also a nice way to slow down as you eat as you mindfully think about what plate to grab next and whether you're still hungry or not before getting more. Overall I loved the sushi boat experience and the food was delicious, unfortunately, I felt that the variety was a bit limited on the boats (maybe it was just this particular visit). This led me to order one of the rolls off the menu. The menu had very delicious looking options and I was very pleased with the Mama San Roll (I'll be going back another time to try their Vegas Roll). Definitely would recommend this restaurant and the sushi...

I won't be going back. For the first time in my memorable experience eating sushi, I got incapacitating food poisoning. 22 hours after our visit, I still had chills and cold sweats. I had intermittent bouts of vomiting for about 14 hours after getting home and trying to sleep, after which I was still unable to stand without feeling lightheaded and nauseated. It's unfortunate, because the other experience I had at this location was a good one, but it by no means outweighs this one. There are plenty of other places in the area where I've had sushi far more than twice and haven't experienced such terrible after-effects. Maybe it was a fluke, but I'm not gonna risk it again. I wish you all the best eating...