Sushi Samurai — Restaurant in Orchard Lake Village

I have been coming to this restaurant for as long as I can remember. The food is usually very good, and that is exactly why today hurt as much as it did. I stopped in with a friend, and a little into our meal two more friends arrived. There was an open table for four right next to us. We politely asked the manager if we could move so we could all sit together. The answer was no, because we were seated at a two-person table and they planned to seat four at the open table. Not even five seconds later, the manager looked straight at me and seated two people there. It felt like a slap in the face.

I even offered to give up my seat for another couple and keep waiting. They would not consider it. A simple and honest “we cannot do that” would have been disappointing but understandable. Instead, we were given a reason that was contradicted immediately, as if our request and our business did not matter. That kind of behavior is rude, unnecessary, and it ruined what should have been a relaxed meal with friends.

What made it worse is that I watched the same favor granted to someone else minutes later. Another guest asked to switch, and they allowed it. The inconsistency was obvious. It felt like there were favorites, and we were not on that list. My money spends the same as anyone else’s, yet we were treated as if we were an inconvenience. I like the food and the atmosphere, but the service today was cold, dismissive, and unprofessional.

The staff on duty were short with us and brushed off reasonable questions. This is about basic hospitality and respect. You can say no and still treat people with courtesy. You can enforce a policy without talking down to guests or giving them the runaround. Instead, we got clipped answers, eye rolls, and a manager who would not own the decision. They could have put our friends on the waitlist for a four-top, taken our number, moved us when available, or at least given a realistic timeline. Instead, we were told one thing and watched the opposite happen in real time.

I have recommended this place to many people because the menu is solid. After today, I will think twice. If this is how they treat regulars who make a polite and reasonable request, I worry about first-time guests. Good food can only carry a restaurant so far. Respect and honesty matter just as much, and both were missing today. I hope management addresses this and raises the standard for how guests...

Update 1/26/2019. This place has really gone down hill to the point where we won't be coming back. Placed a fairly simple carry out last night with some miso soups, tako su salad, some California roll and few speciality rolls. First, the staff were absolutely stupid about using simple Visa gift cards to pay for the carryout. They were rude to us and couldn't figure out how to use these and wound up overcharging me by 10 bucks. Not even a concern about making it right. "Must be activation fee, they said." The place has been around for ten years...this isn't the first time they've seen prepaid Visa cards for payment. They surely know how to do this. Finally got the food home and the soup was so salty it was inedible. The tako su had two pieces of octopus in it and was swimming in vinegar. Even the California rolls tasted ok, not like we've come to expect. The only thing that was moderately good was the futomaki. My advice, this place has gone from being a fairly good local sushi place, to a less than average, overly priced wanna-be sushi place. Won't be going back their...

This was the most disappointing and disturbing sushi experience I have ever had. Long story short there was mold on my food. My wife took a picture and you can see the fur if you look closely! This was after we experienced no kids menu, one menu was left with us a family of 4, they never asked us if we wanted drinks just brought us water, and was unable to follow the simplest of requests for our 2 year old that we asked because there were no kids options. After showing them the mold, they told me I was incorrect and that the inside of the vegetable was black. This was not what this was. It was black with a furry white top. I’m more disappointed at the fact that they completely dismissed it and wouldn’t say a word to us after the incident. The manager didn’t even come to the table. They just took our food like we were trying to steal from them or something. It was suppose to be my birthday dinner…. No apology, nothing. After we walked out I went back in and asked to speak to a manager who just dismissed everything and said “you must know more than me...