Ninja Sushi & Thai — Restaurant in Ocala

We wanted to try a new sushi grill place today, and Ninja Sushi & Thai was open on Labor Day, so off we went. The restaurant is on the smaller side with about 15 tables. Parking was plentiful on a Monday evening, so we got a spot near the entrance. We seated ourselves in a booth since the hostess was busy and there were no "please wait to be seated" signs. Waitstaff was nice and polite, very accommodating (brunette with really nice nails - Crystal?). Our order was taken soon after we sat down, and food was served about 15 minutes after. Crunchy noodles and orange sauce were served as the free appetizer (the equivalent of bread and a pad of butter at American restaurants). Single-occupancy bathrooms were clean and stocked.

The order (in order of being served): • 2 hot green tea in a tiny metal teapot 4☆ • Miso soup plus salad with ginger dressing 5☆ • Sashimi (4.5☆; fish was fresh, just not as fresh as expected. 20 pieces, 4 each of salmon, maguro tuna, yellowtail tuna, white tuna, octopus) • Veggie roll wrapped in soy paper (4.5☆; last 2 rolls were loose/ fell apart before being eaten like there wasn't enough tightness to the wrap) • Filet mignon with noodles & veggies (3☆ this was my husband's order, and the lower rating was due to the overly oily taste / texture of the food overpowering the actual taste) • Takoyaki Balls appetizer (4.5☆, never tried this and thought I'd give it a try since I enjoy octopus. Crunchy on the outside, creamy filling, with fish flakes on top and some sort of soy sauce paste on the bottom.)

Overall, the service was excellent. The food, location, and pricing were just OK. No offense, but It feels like this place got its better ratings from people that haven't had sashimi or hibachi from authentic Japanese restaurants in or near NYC. People who are somewhat new to Asian cuisine and used to American food might like this place better than we did. Thanks for being our Labor Day 2024 date...

I ordered takeout on my way to work a night shift. Upon calling they asked me how I wanted my NY strip cooked and of course Medium Rare is my answer. The meal came with a basic salad of lettuce and a very small cut of tomato, the meal also came with a mushroom soup that had chives in it and it reminded me of like a warm bathtub flavor from when I was a child. I dug into the main entree hoping that it would salvage this disaster of a start. However, my hopes would soon be completely destroyed trying the steak and finding out it was not medium rare or even close to medium rare, it was beef Jerky and annoyingly chewy. As I eyeballed my take out tray only 3 things remained, Plain white rice, Lo mean noodles and veggies. My thoughts at this time are, "it can't get any worse right?". To my displeasure the white rice was overcooked and was reminiscent of a very fine and soft plain oatmeal and the noodles were slightly stiff with a nice crunch with no flavor. I will say though that the vegetables saved the day and were very good, the only problem was that there wasn't very much of that in the to go box. In fact I counted 6 slices of carrots 1 slice of what I assume was a cooked onion and I'm pretty sure what appeared to be a super thin slice of a mushroom. In my encounters with takeout hibachi this place failed epicly and I wouldn't waste my time or money here. Atleast not with the hibachi, perhaps the sushi is better but I won't be trying that with my just now experience. One last thing, there was no dressing with my 3 pieces of lettuce and slice of tomato which I'm assuming was a salad. Expectations= B+ ...

Very nice clean place, great service. I had never been there, and had told my granddaughter that her and I needed to get together and go have some Sushi soon Well this place was a few doors down from the Place she was going to get her hair cut. So She, her Dad, and another granddaughter, and I had lunch here. Everything we each had was delicious I had Sushi, Dekotah had a Soup with Seaweed in it, it was good, she shared with her grandma. Nevaeh had Shrimp, Rice, and Vegetables, Paul my son had Curry food of some kind, Chicken, green, yellow, and red, bell peppers in it with some type of rice. Red or Orange Curry is what was on the food Paul likes Green Curry better, but said his food was good. Very Hot, and he likes hot food, he said it was the Curry. I did not know there was a difference. Which lets you know I don't know a lot about this type of food I just Love to eat it. Nevaeh did not eat because of the Sauce that they put on her food. Her food was good I had some. This whole experience was great. I am only putting in the extra, to let you know there are many many choices here. And to let you know, you will have a great experience here too. Just know that if you, or a spouse, or your child likes things a certain way, for instance with Nevaeh, if the sauce was not on there she would have ate everything. She is not a sauce person, except honey mustard, ranch, ketchup, and I did not think about the sauce they would put on her food. Please do go and have your own Wonderful experience.

Thank You God...