Iron Fish Sushi & Grill — Restaurant in Pflugerville

To be honest we chose this place because of the 4+ star reviews and was incredibly disappointed. We were 3 people quietly celebrating a birthday for one of us and had looked forward to this evening for a while. The service was fair at best. The " crunch " appetizers had little flavor and where more soggy than crunchy, the calamari was obviously frozen from a bag . We ordered 2 rolls with the thought of ordering more but found what we ordered to be mediocre and just decided to order a dessert, honestly had thought to get dessert elsewhere but we were enjoying each others company so decided how bad could dessert be.... well lets just say we don't recommend the green tea cheesecake. The real reason I am so disappointed in this place is not the lack luster food so much as the fact that who I assume is the manager came to our table after we spent over $100 ... yes over $100 on two rolls, 2 Small appetizers and 1 dessert that was so small it was almost laughable and we all had water! This man informs us that our table has a reservation???? Little info here it's Thursday night we got there at 6 and he's pushing us out at 7:45, we were not loud in any way definitely not doing anything out of the ordinary.... I'm furious! We went there for a celebration, to enjoy each other's company and have a nice experience. We definitely didn't get that. We decided to walk up the shopping center to see the other stores and continue our conversation and I purposely watched the door to this restaurant to see those who reserved our table and after over 30 minutes the table we had been spitting at was still empty along with the other table that was empty before we were asked to leave. I can only say if you're looking to have a good meal in a place that appreciates your business don't go here! TO ADDRESS THE RESPONSE, OUR WAITRESS WAS VERY AWARE THAT WE HAD A BIRTHDAY IN OUR GROUP.... NO EXCUSES FOR BAD FOOD...

When my wife and I first moved to Pflugerville several years ago we were surprised and delighted by this place when we first discovered it. A strip mall sushi place with actual quality? You had to taste it to believe. But it was truly excellent. I could taste how each kind of fish had been treated and prepared differently with love and dedication. Our favorite appetizer, the garlic edamame, was incredible! They were always the perfect texture, no mushy beans in the batch. Iron Fish used to be our special place, the restaurant we went to for special occasions. But when we came here today, I walked in and immediately knew something was different. I didn't recognize any of the employees. The sushi chef that used to always be behind the counter (the previous owner??) was no longer there. The garlic edamame was now mushy and overcooked, the garlic flavor didn't permeate the beans anymore. The sashimi wasn't cut with nearly the same care or precision as before. Also each fish was no longer prepared uniquely with different balances of seasonings. My favorite roll, the salmon skin roll, just didn't pack as much flavor and was dressed with a bizarrely sweet sauce. Even basic things, like miso soup and ginger, were clearly of lower quality. Just to sum it all up, something has changed here. Clearly whoever is overseeing the food has changed. Everything just didn't have the same quality or flavor that I loved. They've also gotten rid of many of their more unique dishes. The food actually isn't bad, and the waitresses that served us were kind. But this place is just average now, it lost the flavor and people that made it special. It's so different now that I can't believe they have the audacity to keep the same name. I wish I had gotten to know the old sushi chef better. I hope they're still out there making delicious food. I just wish I could follow them wherever...

It's... Okay. I have a sliding ratio of price to quality for sushi, and with Covid prices in effect I'd say Iron Fish is borderline. The fish was all soft and flavorless. People who "don't like fish" probably think that's fancy, but truly great sushi should use vinegar and soy to accentuate the natural flavors and textures of the fish. What I got was... fine I guess.

I was also puzzled by the plating. We got appetizers with no serving plates. The only thing we had was a tile that the chopsticks were laying on. Am I supposed to eat my appetizers over the tiny tile? We want plates. The sauces for the appetizers were served in random tops or bottoms off the miso soup bowls - is there a national shortage of condiment bowls or something? Instead of having soy sauce on the table, someone came around and poured a giant mess of soy sauce into a three part tray in the middle of the table. What are the other parts for? I've only seen those trays at hibachi places where they put spicy mustard and sweet chili in the other slots. So this was a weird experience. Trust me I've eaten authentic Asian - the setup is weird here.

I ended up feeling like they work too hard on looking fancy to impress locals who don't know that much about sushi. The actual sushi is... Fine. I wouldn't mind going back, but for the price, I'll just pick up takeout sushi at HEB...