Sushi Ai — Restaurant in Saint Charles

My boyfriend introduced me to this restaurant about a year ago. I've eaten at many sushi places across the country (I really like sushi and other Japanese cuisine). Over the year we've gone maybe 3-4 times to Sushi Ai, and while there may be quite a few local sushi places to choose from, this is by far my favorite local place, and really in the top 3 of my favourite sushi places I've ever been to. I'm not counting high-end super expensive sushi places, since I consider those a totally different experience. Sushi Ai is comparatively affordable, it's comfortable, the staff are always friendly, the sushi and other for items we've tried addres always fresh, good quality, and great tasting. They also have a buy 1 - get 1 - 1/2 price, all you can eat sushi, special on Tuesday nights that offers a really great array of menu options ro choose from, and is currently $19.99 per person any night, but BOGO 1/2 of on Tuesdays. You initially get an appetizer of your choice from about 20 options (the shrimp shumai is great btw!), separate from the appetizer selections, you can also get a ginger dressing salad and bowl of miso soup (you can choose to get both, just one of these, or neither, it's up to you), you get to choose 4 pieces of nigiri from a pretty large selection of options (the list is really one of the most diverse I've seen even on some sushi places regular menus), 3 sushi rolls (again, just a ton to choose from, from a basic tuna roll to rainbow and spider rolls. Nothing super crazy, but definitely all the classics and then some on this list), and a bit of ice cream (I've never gotten it, because I never have room left, but I think there's 3 flavor options, vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry?) After you finish all of that food, if you still have room, you can go back and choose more. I think you can choose from anything on any part of any of the BOGO menu at that point. I know my boyfriend has gotten one additional helping of the shrimp shumai appetizer, but that's all we've ever had room for. Overall a cozy, bustling, friendly sushi place with great quality sushi at good prices, and definitely a great deal on Tuesday nights. Be prepared for a bit of a wait Tuesday nights though, just fyi. Tonight we got there about 6:15, and only had a 20 minute wait, to give you an example. Definitely will...

Food, service, quality, and price are always great. The atmosphere is dark and a little dingy. Don't make the mistake of expecting to impress a date here; you are bound to see ball caps and occasional overalls here (I may be the guilty party, so consider this both fair warning and me making apologetic amends to the young couple who looked like they were dressed for whatever milestone event your adorable fledgling relationship was marking this evening). And everyone be on notice: there are chairs at the sushi bar, and they are willing to seat you at the sushi bar, but do not make the mistake of sitting at the sushi bar. Here's why this is a bad idea: imagine a restaurant where the exchanges between the kitchen and wait staff all take place over something akin to a counter of approximately four and a half feet, and the kitchen staff is constantly placing dishes on this counter to be picked up by the wait staff. And this same area is where they seat an individual, or couple, or maybe both a couple and a couple of individuals, yourself included in this mix. But the kitchen and wait staff don't change their routine because they act as precisely crafted cogs in a finely tuned machine. There is no other way for the wait staff to get their dishes for there tables. You find yourself to be an unwelcome third party to an otherwise harmonious relationship. You are asked to scoot or lean in many cases as you are now an obstacle or hurdle to the flow of sushi. And in other cases you are simply leaned on or utilized as a brace, or you unsuspectingly turn and find your nose in a server's armpit. Sure you can get your food just the same, but it's simply not a situation you need to put yourself in. Even if you're by yourself and have to wait a bit for a table, your better...

Our family has been loyal customers of this sushi chain for the past five years, and it's usually a place we truly enjoy. However, our recent experiences at this location have left us quite disappointed. On two separate occasions, my boyfriend and I were served by the same individual, and unfortunately, the service was significantly below the standard we've come to expect. The first time, the server seemed distant and inattentive, leading to long waits and the need to repeatedly ask for basic items like refills and napkins. We hoped it was an off night. However, our concern grew when we returned with my sister and her boyfriend and were served by the same person. This second experience was even worse. Our server inexplicably skipped over my sister's boyfriend when taking drink orders, left before our entire food order was placed, and generally seemed dismissive throughout the meal. Ironically, the food runners were more attentive and helpful than our server! Lastly, when attempting to pay, we were told that our card was declined and had to use another. When we later contacted our credit card company out of concern, we were notified that the server tried running our card 5 times in a row, triggering our fraud protection to decline the payment. We genuinely value this restaurant and hope these recent experiences are not representative of a decline in service.

This experience happened on Saturday April 5th at around 6:30-7:00 pm. We were seated in the booths that are right next to the entrance hallway. For other patrons, I recommend requesting alternate tables if sat in this section.

We would love to continue dining here and hope that in the future, we might have a...