Shima Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar — Restaurant in Sanibel

Horrible experience. We are locals who always try to support local businesses, especially since the hurricane. We walked in to be greeted promptly by a hostess, who told us to please wait and she would be right back. Literally 10 minutes went by, so I decided to walk in further and investigate. The same hostess then greeted me again, as if she had no idea who I was. She laughed it off, and said her “head wasn’t right today.” Ok, I get it, so we were seated, only to open my menu and a roach literally came running out at me!!! I closed my menu, and at that point we decided to leave. On the way out, a man dressed like he might be a manager, was standing with the hostess reviewing the seating chart. I stopped, and explained what had happened. His response floored me. He said, “yeah, Florida bugs.” No apology, nothing. I think he thought I was visiting the island, and I might fall for that, not knowing, but I have lived on or near Sanibel for over 40 years, and it was actually a German cockroach, not even your ordinary, run of the mill palmetto bug. I won’t go into detail, but HUGE difference. I am really bummed that we won’t be returning to a place I’ve been frequenting since it was Windows on the Water, back in the 80’s…would not...

Honestly it's annoying how you have to reserve a table a week in advance when they have multiple unused stations and for some reason they don't take walk-ins??? What the heck... This is very poorly managed and we might not come back. After a week and a half of waiting to sit crowded together with a bunch of strangers in an otherwise empty restaurant, we were not only perturbed by the way we were treated, but also baffled at the gall of this place to act fully booked and as if it were in high demand. What they should do is teach their cook to take two tables at 15 minutes intervals and service one after the other, then increase the pay of the cook and hire a second one. Easy solution. They also need to tell people that they have elected to stop socially distancing. I couldn't convince my party to stay and eat here even after I asked a manager for a separate table and they agreed to it reluctantly. The cook was apparently pushy with the one person in the party I left at the table, which prompted them to leave as well. I did appreciate the host and manager trying to accommodate us, truly, but this could have been handled better far before it became...

Excellent food & chef Sam the BEST! Had a great time here- although it was odd at seating that we had to "wait until the other party arrived"= much confusion w hostess.. we had to cool our heels at the Sea Breeze bar & were not allowed to enter until exactly the time we reserved.. we were 6- but THEN the other party was a group of 4- BUT the tables normally only seat 8, so confusion began. :-( However- it was settled, the other latter group accommodated and the SHOW and FOOD were fantastic. Sam was the chef- BEST show I have seen at ANY Japanese steak house! (& we have been all over the country & to Europe for these) Food delicious and NOT GREASY!- So many places add excessive oil/ butter- but steak, shrimp, lobster, chicken, veggies all fantastic & perfectly seasoned. Sam was delightful with his unique and QUITE FUNNY presentation. In the Sundial Beach Resort & Spa-- make your reservations well ahead. The Sea Breeze restaurant there is good & has an excellent view of ocean- but Shima has no view- NO problem! :-) Overall an...