Arigato Sushi — Restaurant in Roseville

I remember the first time my wife and I slipped into Arigato Sushi a couple of years ago. The place had a very edgy feel. It was hip. The music was current; a kind of industrial new age sound. The lighting was great, and I always loved how sports was on the projectors with no sound. It was like you could watch it if you had to, but why? There were so many other interesting things to look at. Like the people: There was many a weekend night that we waited forty-five minutes to get a seat. Arigato was popular.

I’m pretty sure we contributed to that crowd. I think we told everyone we knew about Arigato Sushi. We met friends there for dinner many times. All told, I’m guessing that we ate dinner there at least 5o or 60 times over a couple of years. And we probably called in for take out at least a dozen more. We were regulars. We even had a waitress that knew us by name, and we always asked to sit in Gina’s section.

Oh, the food! The one thing that I always told our friends, which had not been to Arigato before was that, although they could get “half priced” sushi rolls just about everywhere, Arigato did not scrimp on quality. While other places were cutting back on the portions of fish and even avocado, Arigato always had generous portions and the plating was top notch.

I guess it’s true that all good things must end. Over the last few times that we had been there, we noticed that the projectors were fading out, the music had changed and most importantly the quality of the sushi was definitely falling off. It looked like the crowd was too. But we kept coming because Arigato was like an old friend, a place we had made so many memories in. We went there for birthdays, anniversaries or any other reason to celebrate. Most nights we left there with a tab approaching $100, and sometimes more.

Friday, December 6, 2013 was the last time. My wife and I made it in there to have a quick dinner before heading out to the Kings game. As we sat there, we realized that “our” Arigato was no more. Gone were the dimmed lights and games on the projectors. Gone was the edgy music. It had been replaced with old-fashioned Christmas music. Horrible! There were even those gross tacky icicle lights hanging over the bar. The place had been transformed into Wal-Mart! When we asked for our waitress, Gina, they said she didn’t work there anymore. Pity, she was a hard worker! Our sushi rolls were what they had been the last few times; small slices of fish, very light on the avocado (we love avocado), and no fancy plating with sauce decorating the plate. Overall it was below average.

So, this is goodbye. We hope to find a really cool sushi place in the near future that we can begin going to. When we do, we’ll be inviting our friends to join us. In the meantime, we’ll be spreading the word that Arigato just isn’t the cool place it once was. I turned into average. It’s too bad. But I hope that someone will read this: Someone with the business sense and the power to make change. Because it is always sad to drive by a place that is closed and say; “Oh, I remember that place…too...

I came here 2 days in a row, and yesterday I would have given 5 stars, but today, the service was honestly a 1! The food was about a 3.5/4 today, but the service was terrible from our server in particular.

First, if you have extra items that you add to a dish, like Bonito (fish flakes) , the menu should say so; my niece ordered Agadashi Tofu which came very late (was supposed to be an appetizer) and was covered in Bonito flakes which she doesn't eat. We asked them to redo it and the manager tried to show me that the fish flakes were mentioned on the menu, instead of just removing and remaking the dish. She realized as she was trying to show me I was wrong, that they were not mentioned in the description, and that she was wrong. When the dish came back, the tofu was not crunchy and had a weird sticky film around it. It was really pretty gross and my niece didn't care for it. The garlic edamame came out late and was also lukewarm, is was also a bit blegh and not very tasty. We asked them to reheat it and it was better when it came back out hot, but either the server forgot to bring it when it was ready or it was not heated enough initially. There was also not enough garlic on it and we had asked for extra garlic when we ordered. The server forgot our miso soup and when we asked her if she forgot the soup she told us they were remaking it or it wasn't ready but surprisingly when we reminded her, it suddenly appeared. The other issue is that my daughters soup spoon had a sticker on the bottom. She had to peel it off but who knows how much of the paper or adhesive had come off into her soup, again, eeew!

The sushi was fine, and the cucumber salad was delicious, but the service and attention to detail just brought down the whole experience. Our server was not friendly and was in fact rather rude in how she ignored us and disappeared for long periods of time, and either she was new of just had no idea how to wait tables or serve. Trash and dirty dishes piled up in front of us and not a single server took the plates away. They sat in front of us for most of the meal and I couldn't understand why. Isn't this like serving 101, and younremove dirty dishes from the table when they are obviously finished?!

We had to ask for a number of things that our server should have been asking us if we needed. Extra plates, napkins, ginger, additional food, and on and on. It was one of the weirdest dining experiences I have ever had and the owners really need to instruct their servers to ask customers what they need as they go, as well as to work together as a team to remove dirty dishes and napkins from the tables, even if the tables aren't theirs. That sort of thing brings the whole...

After a brief moment of awkwardly standing at the front counter, wondering if we had somehow mastered the art of invisibility, a friendly host finally appeared and swiftly guided us to our seats. We placed our order, fully expecting our spicy edamame to arrive as a warm-up act before the main event. However, the universe (or rather, our server) had other plans. Instead of the anticipated edamame appetizer, our drinks made a grand entrance, immediately followed by the sushi. By the time we realized the edamame had been forgotten, we decided to wave it off—after all, a full day of fasting had turned us into ravenous sushi-seeking missiles.

Speaking of sushi—this place never disappoints. The rolls were generously sized, packed with flavor, and beautifully presented. They say you eat with your eyes first, and our eyes were definitely feasting before our chopsticks even got involved. Every bite delivered a burst of fresh, satisfying goodness, making it impossible to stop at just one.

The restaurant had a steady flow of customers, but it never felt overwhelming. People trickled in and out, and by the time we were ready to roll (pun intended), we noticed a few open tables. Service was prompt, and despite the little mix-up, our server was polite and attentive.

Now, let’s talk ratings—I don’t throw around four stars lightly, especially when it comes to sushi. So, if you haven’t checked this place out yet and you happen to be in the area, consider this your official nudge. Go get yourself some sushi, and thank me...