Ai Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in South Pasadena

Wish I could give ALL 0's. Let's put it this way I grew up in San Marino and would go to the Ai resturant often but tonight I went in to eat and the woman at the counter didn't acknowlege me or my father for 5 minutes. She was too busy writing up a bill for some table. I saw a waiter and said, " Could we eat at that booth over there"...he said he would have to clean it. We were ready to seat ourselves when he told us you need to ask the hostess to seat you. When I went back to the busy hostess she said nothing and still wouldn't give us the time of day. Finally I asked if I could have the booth she said how many, I said two and then she said how many again in a rude tone...yes two I said, and then told me to sit over there and wait. There were plenty of empty tables! So I told my dad we don't need this and we got up and left! Why should I pay good money to be abused. Save your money the owner and the food both SUCK! By the way they have a sign right on the hostesses stand that states "WE REFUSE TO SERVE ANYONE" Many resturants have this sign hidden but not Ai they have it promptly displayed...guess they hate serving people!...

I went here for the first time this last week. The restaurant itself has a fun atmosphere, but they had a bunch of chairs stacked at the front of the restaurant which took away from the ambiance. We ordered a few sushi rolls and a $23 dollar crab roll (which was breaded and I can’t eat breaded items). It was probably my mistake, but when I asked the server about the crab roll, she just said that yes it’s breaded and walked away.she really didn’t offer any solutions. Since it was probably my oversight, I gave it to my friend since I couldn’t eat it. The server was not friendly in the least bit. She came to our table one other time only, didn’t say thank you when she brought the bill and never smiled. Very unfriendly. There was an older woman that was very nice and smiled when we left. Our bill was $85 with tip for two people and I just don’t want to spend that kind of money and have unfriendly servers. I won’t be going back sadly. The bar looked fun and the sushi bar looked very cool. I think going and sitting at the sushi bar may be...

I decided to try this place on a whim. I just picked it via Google search. Here is my take… Pros: There is ample parking in the back. Parking is shared with other restaurants next to it. Wait staff was nice. The sushi chef came by my table to say hi. The ambiance is pretty nice. I had the green beans in garlic sauce appetizer and it was really good.

Cons: I hate to say it, but the nigiri sushi was some of the worst I have had in my life. It was cut very thick and sloppy. Pieces were inconsistent. It was fresh. It won’t get you sick, but the presentation is bad as though there is little care taken. Sushi is an art. This was not art. When I ordered, the waiter did say they do not have a sushi menu, but they are happy to make it. Maybe that was a red flag, I dunno. So maybe this is a great place if you want combination plates with teriyaki and tempura, etc. Maybe even their specialty rolls are good. Not sure. I wanted traditional sushi though. This is just not the place for it....