Nassau Sushi — Restaurant in Princeton

I'm usually hesitant to share details about a bad experience, primarily because the potential damage a credible negative review can inflict on a small business often outweighs any harm done.

However, it's fortunately rare, but every once in a while I'm left thinking more about my responsibility to do what I can to prevent like-minded consumers from suffering the same or similar bad experience which I recently lived through.

And my experience with Nassau Sushi was bad enough to make this one of those rare times.

Having never personally made any sushi I shouldn't say things which might give the wrong impression, but I can say over the last 3-1/2 decades I've enjoyed eating a small ocean's worth of sushi at Japanese restaurants all over the country.

So, I cannot claim to be any kind of sushi chef, but when it comes to knowing what good sushi looks and smells and tastes like, I'm at least a seasoned journeyman, if not a legit expert.

Few types of food are more influenced by its presentation than sushi. This is especially true of the ubiquitous "special rolls" or "signature rolls" as they're sometimes called on a sushi restaurant's menu.

But when it comes to sushi, or Nigiri Sushi, which is a slice of raw fish atop a mound of vinegar seasoned sushi rice, my impression is that presentation is kinda hard to screw up.

Thinking that, as I do now and long have, has created an inflexible expectation. Perhaps more so than any other type of food, I'm convinced I know exactly what the Yellow Tail sushi I ordered is going to look and taste like before it's delivered.

It brings me no pleasure to report Nassau Sushi is the only sushi restaurant I've visited in a very long time which somehow found a way to fail at matching my expectations.

I'm sorry to say it wasn't even close.

Thank goodness the fish hadn't actually begun to spoil and smell rancid yet, but every piece of 4 different varieties of fish was rubbery and tasteless.

Not even the best, most truly inspired service can fully overcome lousy food, but man oh man how much worse lousy service can make bad food taste.

It also gives me no pleasure to report the service at Nassau Sushi, at least for tonight, was terrible. Good help is harder to find now than I remember it ever being. I'm starting to think Princeton NJ is the kind of town where finding good help, especially that of the food service variety, is next to impossible.

It takes a lot to make me angry, but the server I was saddled with tonight was so damn bad at his job...well, it frankly pissed me off. If the proprietor is aware of this hapless individual but chooses to do nothing about him, then he or she will deserve no consideration, and only a tiny bit more if the proprietor isn't aware.

Now that I'm thinking about it, I'm not sure which is worse: not knowing how pathetically bad a member of your wait staff is, or knowing about it but ignoring it.

Regardless, I'm absolutely certain of at least 2 things: tonight Nassau Sushi's lousy food was being served up to angry disappointed patrons by an even worse server.

If the cost of a sushi meal was on par with a burger and fries this bad experience would mercifully end here, but that's never the case at even the most generous of sushi restaurants.

Unfortunately this is where this sad story eclipses the negative connotations of "bad". The cost of Nassau Sushi's lousy food, at least in my experience, was simply outrageous.

I've eaten at way too many sushi restaurants over the years to possibly remember for sure, but I seriously think this place may have been the most expensive sushi restaurant I've ever visited. It's doubtless within the top 3 most expensive sushi restaurants I've personally visited, but the really expensive sushi at other top tier places I've visited was good enough to be justifiable.

At Nassau Sushi, at least for tonight, the outrageously over priced lousy food left me feeling somewhere between gouged and robbed.

I'm hoping they just had a really bad night, but I suspect mine was an all too...

If you say "I'd like some tea," then four others say "me too"...be prepared for a $25 charge to your bill. They bring you EACH a pot of tea...VERY suitable for sharing, but they don't tell you this. The only way to see the menu is to scan with your phone. If you want a cup of tea you are not going to check the price of the tea with your phone first... It was my birthday and a not so nice $25 surprise for leftover tea. I think it would be fine if the customer was AWARE. No one expects an add on of $25 for some tea with a light dinner. At least put a drink menu on the table, or let the guests know that FIVE POTS are coming to their table for $25 Seemed like a practical joke. We just paid and left, didn't say anything...technically we COULD have seen the prices if we thought to look it up before saying "I'll have some tea," but I think this is wrong. Nice place, good food...watch out...

I would give a 0 or negative star if possible. Stay away from this place. This was the most terrible service and worst experience I’ve ever had at a restaurant. When we walked in the restaurant, we saw the restroom right at the front door. My daughter wanted to use the bathroom so I let her go directly in. The guy from the restaurant came immediately and stopped my daughter. He said the bathroom is not open to public, only for customers. This was fine, but he was very rude. I said how do you know we are not customers? After my daughter use the bathroom, we’ll buy stuff here. He still said no. Basically, we have to eat first before my daughter can use their bathroom. How can a restaurant at Princeton been managed by such a mean guy! Stay...