Sora Japanese Cuisine & Sushi Bar — Restaurant in Romulus

Sora, which translates to ‘sky’ from Japanese, is as an appropriate name for a sushi restaurant in an airport as I can think of. But, as the old adage goes, a name only gets a person in the door. The rest is up to the execution of the itamae, kitchen, and service staff. Unfortunately, Sora is failing its diners across the board.

Due to a scheduling quirk on one of my transcontinental trips, I had 2 hours to kill in DTW Airport, so I was looking for a leisurely-paced meal. I did not communicate this expectation unfortunately, and as I was sitting at the sushi bar, they brought me both my gyoza and soup at the same time. I would argue they should have asked about coursing before plopping down two hot plates in front of me, but I was willing to forgive and forget on account of it being an airport restaurant, and the expectation of most people being to get in and out as quickly as possible. I tell my waitress that I’m not in a rush and ask to slow down the pacing.

Then, 5 minutes later, they throw my sashimi dish down in front of me, in addition to a separate nigiri dish, and I’m not even done with the soup. I am now working on four dishes at once, which means my food is taking up 3 seats at the sushi bar, my hot food getting cold, and my cold food getting warm. At that point, UGHHH. I let the waitress have an earful. Not only was this so off-point and inappropriate for a meal I was paying nearly $100 for, but I had specifically told her to slow down.

My “Crispy Pork Gyoza” pan-fried dumplings were nothing special, and most definitely not made on-premises. That said, I’m willing to excuse greasy previously-frozen dumplings. I knew what I was ordering.

What was less acceptable was that my “Yellowtail Carpaccio,” was served to me completely dry, merely decorated with a small slice of jalapeño, with no sauce or oil. As someone who has had similar dishes hundreds of times in my life, this was surprising, so I asked the waitress if this was the way this is supposed to be served and was told it was. Look at the photo accompanying this review and tell me if this is not bizarre?

The “Spicy Beef Udon,” was nearly $20 for a small bowl of soup. But beyond that, I can’t complain. This is one of the few things that Sora did right, with thinly-sliced beef, udon noodles, and seaweed in a dark dashi-spiked soy bean broth and other savory additives that created deep and satisfying flavor and had a calming effect – perhaps preventing me from going nuclear for all of the issues I encountered here.

Finally, the nigiri I had included Unagi (river eel), Hamachi (Pacific yellowtail), and Akagai (surf clam). Not the best sushi. The dried-out surf clam was the most palatable of this trio. The sea eel was obviously taken from a vacuum-sealed bag. The ginger was gross and looked nothing like ginger, tasted nothing like ginger. Definitely pulled from a can.

Overall, I do not recommend Sora in DTW Airport. Total damage exceeded $80, and not only was the food not great, I was still hungry at the end of my meal. Afterwards, I went next door for PF Changs for some fried rice and a fruity cocktail with a big straw.

Three whole stars only because I’m grading this one on both the “airport curve” and the “sushi in...

Fast-paced sushi bar with 100% of bar seats (counter and high-tops) occupied. Fast turns to boot (folks aren't milling around - they have flights to catch).

Five Itamae banging out the basics with throngs of Midwesterners and foreigners alike marveling at their uncanny ways.

A quick google search reveals that, historically, there has been a relative depravity of sushi in the region (notwithstanding Windsor's abundance of solid options). Coincidentally, a section headline in the Freep suggested that Detroit is poised to be "swimming in sushi" by year end, suggesting this 1970s gastrolution has reached the MoTown.

It would have been preposterous to expect Uni here - but at the very least, Sora should do what so many emerging sushi joints do: put it on the menu (to give the illusion of being the real-deal) but, naturally, be "just recently out-of-stock" with it. That's the #1 "fake it till you make it" indicator of emerging Sushi establishments.

Ok. I'm being a wee bit hard here. Let me rein it in and offer up the details:

Top-tier pricing for mid-range output. Expectedly, given its the only sushi option inside DTW security.

Ordered 2x sashimi of the following: octopus (a novel and gelatinous center bite), surf clam (so thinly sliced, I could have mistaken it for razor clam (get it?)), salmon (fine) and tuna (fine)

The itamae at scores of full service grocery stores (Publix being my reference) across the land produce virtually identical output.

Need a sushi fix? Sure - come on in. Expecting a "big city" sushi extravaganza? I'm sure one day you'll have it here -...

CAVEAT: one visit

FIRST IMPRESSION: LOADS of personnel milling around, most not doing much while a few work hard; menu is fairly pricey ($8-$19 rolls and entrees mostly $20-40) so I expect the product to match a decent non-airport location. Nope.

After ordering, I watch the sushi chefs pre-slice fish (very thinly) re-plate and put them back in the case. I realize that more than half of the product in the cases is pre-sliced. Ummm...

I had a snow crab seaweed salad. Soggy, clearly previously frozen snow crab. Seaweed and sliced cucumbers are fully submerged in 3 inches of vinegar water (not much vinegar, mostly water.) No seasoning of any kind beyond a hint of vinegar. Tasteless, soggy mess of a dish ($16.)

Also had a basic yellowtail and scallion roll ($9.) Serviceable at best. Not much yellowtail and what there was looked like coarsely chopped leftover trimmings.

VERDICT: Not good food. They are spending a ton of money on labor and none on product. Service depends on server. Whether you eat sushi rarely or often, this is not recommended. If it's your first try, definitely stay away. This won't make a great first impression.

Best thing I had was a $7...