Ohana Sushi — Restaurant in Sparks

First I think it's important to point out that AYCE sushi is not what it used to be. I am a big fan of the classics and prefer the more elegant and simpler combinations over the extravagant complicated creations with dozens of ingredients. I'm not impressed by menus that list a ton of wildly creative rolls with an ingredient list a paragraph long. Distinctive characteristics of flavor get lost in one generic mud flavor. All the different rolls start to taste like the same generic mud roll with your choice of sauce/garnish (hot, sweet, sour...with lemon or with cream cheese....) Recently, every AYCE sushi place I've tried is a disappointment compared to my favorite sushi places in the past. The changes I'm talking about are the new seafood conservation menus. Intended to reduce the amount of expensive fish that can be consumed per meal by replacing it with cheaper ingredients, eliminating choices that contain a high percent of expensive seafood and replacing them with choices that contain a lot of everything else or anything other than seafood. It's the choice to sacrifice the premium for a price that fits the average income. I would prefer to go out to sushi less often and pay more to actually "go out for sushi". But I don't have that choice anymore. In the past my first choice for eating out was always sushi. Now it is near the bottom of the list. Nothing special and disappointing. Because I can't help but remember what it used to be and it just makes me miss it even more. Unfortunately this may be the only way AYCE sushi can stay in business.

Since it appears that every AYCE sushi place has followed the same trend and there are no survivors still doing it the old way, I will try to make my rating only relative to the current competition and say they are probably the best I've tried yet. The reason they lost a star is because they made one mistake that will cost them many stars in many reviews (and may be the reason for most of the complaints you see about not getting what they ordered or getting rolls they did not order). My advise to Ohana Sushi is this: It is a mistake to change or re-make the classics. If you list the classic names on your menu, serve the classic roll. If you want to serve something else, NAME IT SOMETHING ELSE. Arizona is my over-all favorite roll. Whatever that thing is that you make, it's NOT an Arizona roll. If you don't make an Arizona roll then don't put Arizona roll on the menu. If you invent a new roll- invent a new name for it. Arizona is already taken. Same goes for Alaska, San Francisco, California, Dragon, Philly, Caterpillar, Godzilla.... you can assume any roll that was on every sushi menu 20 years ago...

WOAH!

So, after eating at copious sushi locations, not just country-wide, Commiefornia, and ALL over Reno, I have just found my favorite, and "go-to" spot for sushi,

I am not kidding, I've eaten at quite a few high-end (real) award winning sushi joints, and this place is DEFINITELY in the top 3, and being an AYCE place, that says a LOT.

We went about noonish on a Saturday. They were PACKED, and a 30 minute wait for a table of 3, unless you didn't mind sitting on the patio, which i must say this is the very first time I've eaten sushi outside,

I kid you not,I was tempted to circle the building because of the absolute freshness of the fish, I could of swore they were plucking fish straight out of the ocean, and directly into the sushi chefs hands

YES, IT WAS THAT FRESH. The freshest fish l've had in Nevada, and pretty close to the high end places I've been to in So-Cal over the years.

Just looking at the fish in and on the rolls, you can just see the robust color teeming throughout, especially the Ahi, like I said, appearing not more than a couple hours old.

I really like the diversity in the rolls. A lot of originality especially the Texas Roll. Lots of complex flavor profiles.

Our server was top notch. Even tho they were slammed, she still managed to make time for small chit chat and answer our rookie questions. Place was SUPER clean also,

My only gripe was that, when dining inside, no one is able to sit at the bar. I guess they're still spooked by this whole Coronahoax SCAMdemic, but our server said they would eventually be sitting people at it in the near future

Outside of the restaurants in the casino resorts, that I obviously eat at as a guest, this is, and willbe my normal spot for sushi, so i hope the quality doesn't tank, and they keep the bar high!!

And for the "naysayers" talking about the quality of the fish or "fake sushi", keep in mind, these are probably people who buy a lot of gas station sushi because they have no idea what they're talking about, so take it...

I was really excited to try this place as I've been searching for an AYCE sushi place since I moved here. Let's start by saying, maybe it's just me. That said I did not feel exactly welcome when I walked in as a solo diner. You get used to that so not to big a deal. Then i asked for a mix of sauces which they obliged me and I thought ok great. I asked for lemon and was never brought any. Mind you they were not overly busy. What ruined it for me was the lack of communication to me while there was clear conversation about me amongst one another. I own that I can eat and I look like I can eat. So I ordered everything I knew I wanted off rip as I figured if there was an issue it would be communicated as has typically happened in my experience at an AYCE. Instead, they talked amongst one another and made it obvious they were managing which rolls they gave me. I finally asked to speak to a manger and wouldn't you know it, that was my server. Well I proceeded to explain how I felt and she did her best to express receptivity and to be apologetic by explaining her processes because of XYZ. I told her I wanted my check and I wouldn't be wanting the rest of my order. She asked if I wanted it to go or ice cream to which I made clear I did not want. I just wanted to leave. She took my payment and it seemed to take longer than I expected which turned out to be because she had the food I stated I didn't want made Togo along with providing a discount on the bill. I attempted to express my position again but she wasn't wanting that conversation. Respected. I left the food as I expressed not wanting it and tipped according to the original price of my meal. I took the time to express all this because I would have been a regular customer and brought in alot of business but now I don't feel comfortable at all. Really sad because the food is top tier no doubts. I hope that when you go it's a different experience and no matter what, at least the food...