Sushi Okoku — Restaurant in Riverside

If leaving no stars was an option that's just what would've happened. My family of 7 in which 2 of them drove all the way from Brenton wood area just to have the worst dining experience ever. We waited and hour to be seated once we got there which was ok, they were very busy at 7pm.

Okoku Sushi service was not what I expected. I hoped to have a nice Christmas dinner, but it turned into a frustrating night where I was left unhappy. For starters, they brought out food that wasn't ours. The food was left at our table until they came back 20 minutes later to take it back and deliver it to the correct table; after it sat there with us breathing on it. I understand what being busy is but you can at least come to our table to check on us. We happened to do the all you can eat and they took 30 minutes just to come and pick up the paper with our order on it. After another 10 minutes they brought out only 2 rolls. It took and hour and a half just for us to get all the sushi from our first round. Including the fact we didn't get 3 of the rolls that we ordered just from the first round. After just simply wondering why we hadn't got our sushi, one of the workers claimed we hadn't marked it on the paper when we saw it clearly marked. Another 30 minutes passed by without them picking up the paper for our second round. We then stated we still hadn't gotten the 3 rolls from the first round again. The worker stated let me double check on it with that being about the third time they had checked on those same 3 rolls. After asking a worker why all this was happening he said he could take off 1 of the all you can eats ($30) even though we were missing 5 rolls at this point. After receiving the check I noticed it to be over $300 even though we only got 7 all you can eats ($30 each). This means we would have only spent $210 plus gratuity. After asking what all these unnecessary expenses were, they said they could take it down to $190 after I asked them to remove the gratuity beings we didn't get any service. I'm one of those type of people that always over tip but they automatically add it to your order based on any person over 4 at 18% spiking up your bill with horrible service. Still frustrated we left. On the way out I stated Merry Christmas to the wanna be manager. One of the people from my party made the point on how the customer is always right and how this man was being fairly unprofessional. He had a snarky look in his face as we began to walk out. The best part of my night is when he responded to when I said merry Christmas by saying "Merry New Years." Overall the food was okay but I don't think you should leave an all you can eat sushi bar still hungry. Including the fact the management was bad. By the end of the night we had not been given 14 out of 26 rolls that were ordered over the course of 2 out of 3 rounds they offer. One of my main concerns were when the lights cut off and there is flashing lights during birthday celebration. The reason this is concerning is because someone in our party has epilepsy meaning she could have had a seizure in one of the two times during these birthday celebrations. No where does it state they do this anywhere in their building. Less Okoku...

They charge a 15% gratuity automatically for their hardworking staff. 18% for 5 or more. We stayed optimistic but truth be told this rubbed us the wrong way right after we saw the sign but again stayed optimistic and my son really wanted to try this place. The host sat us and told us to use the QR code for the menu and write down what you want on the paper. This is normal for alot of sushi places. But to be fair I'm already doing part of your job for you which would have been ok had our server been observant and attentive. He came to our table and he was really nice. He took our drink order and I told him that we had 2 more coming. He dropped the waters off and when my son came and we waited a while and then he came and took our order. we noticed that we only had 2 plates so we waited for him to come back. My son also wanted to order another drink but we still waited for him to come back. Finally we were looking around as he was helping all the tables around us but we couldn't flag him down because he kept walking the other way and we still waited for him to come back. Finally, The host saw we were looking around and brought us more plates and Wasabi. We still waited for our server. Then a while later a guy came and dropped two rolls. And then another guy came right after and dropped 3 more rolls. We were still waiting for our server. We were finally done eating. No server. Finally I got up went to the other host and told her that we needed the check. I said that we haven't seen our server so why do I have to pay a 15% AUTOMATIC GRATUITY for a server I haven't seen since he took my order? I'm not doing that. But that girl (me pointing at the host) over there has helped us more than he did. I'm pretty sure she was caught off guard with my question so I said If we could just get my check I'm sitting over there. ( I did not sound happy it was obvious but who would????) Then the server miraculously comes by and asks if we are good and I just said we wanted the check. At this point I wanted nothing to do with the server. KEEP IN MIND THAT I STILL LEFT THE 15% TIP. WHY? BECAUSE IM NOT JUST AN A-HOLE WHO DOESN'T WANT TO LEAVE A TIP.... I ALWAYS LEAVE A TIP AND IF YOU ARE AWESOME THEN I LEAVE MORE THAN 20%. IM A PERSON WHO IS TRYING TO MAKE THE POINT THAT: you were barely serving us, you were barely there throughout the experience and you expect me to pay you for a service you did not give yet alone live up to the "hardworker" your company claims you are to be. But I tipped because I'm not trying to get out of the tip I am perfectly capable of paying my way and giving tips where it is deserved. You did not deserve it but I did it anyways.

• coming from a person who has worked in the restaurant industry from a host to a badass server to an even better manager for over the course of 12 years.* was really trying not to go there .... but I did.

P.S. your rice is really dry! It's the main part of your rolls. facepalm Too pricey for sushi that is barely mediocre... start listening to your reviews they are making...

Have you had AYCE sushi but with a Mexican and Latin fusion twist? I never had sushi like that before so I was definitely intrigued. What makes it Mexican and Latin fusion are the sauces and the limes used on the nigari and rolls. They also have ALL DAY HAPPY HOUR, which means drinks are 50% off anytime of the day! This includes cocktails so make sure to leave extra room in your belly for the drinks too! We were looking for a spot nearby that could deliciously satisfy our growing appetite after walking/hiking on an empty stomach at the Mount Rubidoux Trail, and this spot seemed to fit the criteria. For $32.99 per person for AYCE, they have so much to choose from on the menu that it really doesn’t make sense to order a la carte. I’d recommend getting the AYCE option so you can try out their Mexican/latin fusion sushi nigari and rolls, carpaccios and no rice rolls. I would say the only minor downside was that we ordered the mango tango roll and the popular strawberry cheesecake roll, but both did not arrive. We got an Alaskan Roll instead which we didn’t order, but we didn’t want to waste food so we just kept it. To be fair, we did order quite a few items, so that might have caused this to happen. We were quite full and super satisfied with our meal so we didn’t ask for it. As they serve full sized rolls even for AYCE, it would be nice if they could offer half sized rolls so people can try more rolls. There were so many rolls I wanted to try, but I got super full off my first round. If I only lived closer, I would definitely be a regular here. Prompt service, fresh fish and unique creations are what you can expect at Okoku Sushi. || L O C A T I O N / P A R K I N G || -Cross Streets are Magnolia Ave. and Tyler St. -Located in a shopping plaza with plenty of parking spaces

|| A Y C E M E N U || What this spot has to offer that not many AYCE sushi spots offer is the Mexican/Latin nigari and rolls as well as seasoned seared salmon & tuna. They also got the carpaccios, fresh rolls, baked rolls, no rice rolls and tempura rolls. The carpaccios are limited to one order per person so I would definitely recommend ordering the maximum number of carpaccios that you can to get your money’s worth! I find that the Mexican/Latin nigiri are similar to the carpaccios except they taste tangier due to the sauces. If I hadn’t ordered so many rolls, I would have definitely ordered more of the Mexican/Latin nigiri. A couple of my favorites were the: all of the Mexican/Latin nigiri (tuna, salmon, yellowfail, tilapia, shrimp, octopus and albacore), Angie’s roll (baked sushi), seared salmon ceviche roll and all the seared salmon & tuna! Bring your appetite...