Niji Sushi Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Springfield

I am writing this review of Niji out of disappointment and frustration with this food establishment.

For those who do not necessarily want to read the entirety of this review, the shortened version is as followed: the company is at this point refusing to refund me (when it was promised-- the WHOLE bill) for our meal after 4-5 weeks with several phone calls, we had to throw out our food and could not finish because it was so bad, and overall poor presentation/meal/customer service for a ‘fine dining’ establishment. Below this will be elaborated.

My fiance and I decided to try Nji for takeout on April 24th after our favorite ramen shops were either closed or had a long wait. The online menu looked promising, and we ordered two bowls of ramen as well as a roll of sushi. Pickup was fine, but the disappointment for the meal started when we got home.

First, how the food came. Our noodles, vegetables, and meat came in a 3-compartment styrofoam container, which was cold. I first thought we picked up someone else’s order, as this looked more like a stir fry than ramen. The broth came in a small plastic container, which meant that we HAD to pull out our own dishware to eat our food. For reference, EVERY other place we have ordered ramen, the food comes in a large plastic bowl to-go container where you can mix everything together. Again, the food was cold and we had to warm it up.

Second, the contents of the ramen. Our ramen came with corn, peas, and green beans- the latter two I have never seen in ramen. My ramen, the spicy tan tan, came with ground pork. Attached is a picture (I wish I took more)-- there were maybe 3-4 pieces of this, maybe 1 oz of meat. Prices are increasing, but if an establishment is charging 13+ for ramen, more than 1 oz should be expected. The pork honestly tasted like hamburger helper and was so dry that, again, we had to throw it out. My fiance ordered the miso ramen- Maruchan ramen has more flavor than Niji’s. My fiance had to add miso flavoring to stand it before we decided to throw it out and get food elsewhere. If this was served to me in the restaurant sit down, we both would have asked for the food to be sent back.

After me being so upset with this meal that I was crying, my fiance called to ask for a refund-- the gentleman on the other end of the phone stated there would be one soon. After a week with no refund, my fiance called again- different person, she stated she would be looking into it and took my fiance's number and name to keep him updated. No update. Called AGAIN- stated they would be working on it. After checking about 2 and a half weeks from ordering, they finally refunded only one of the ramens, about $14 of the $40 spent. My fiance called for the 4th time- the woman on the phone stated that Niji doesn’t do refunds and could only give a gift card instead. Tune changed once my fiance stated that a partial refund had already been initiated. Transferred to a manager. Manager states we only asked for one of the ramens refunded- fiance stated we had to throw the food out and we wanted a full refund as it was promised to us ~3 weeks ago. Manager stated he would be working on it and should see a refund within the next couple of days. It’s been a week. No refund. At this point after 4 calls and nothing being done after a month, the communication and customer service at this facility is atrocious. Normally I do not do reviews, but I feel like this is necessary; we were looking forward to eating here and were hoping for a new regular place to go to, but we will never return, as the food is not worth it and feeling like I’m pulling teeth to get the refund I was promised.. Please consider other places to eat such as Sakuras, Omo, and Karai for better food...

Loved it! My husband, two young kids, and I decided to try this place on a whim for my husband's birthday. We were a little skeptical since the location isn't as traveled as other sushi restaurants. As soon as we walked in we were greeted pleasantly, sat at our booth, and handed menus. Our waitress, Britney (spelling?), was with us shortly after to ask for drinks. She was super sweet to one of our boys who was indecisive on a drink (later, he decided Root Beer but they were out. Finally, he chose Dr. Pepper). Being our first time there and looking over the menu, we were taking a bit to order, but Britney was very patient and nice and continued checking on us. We ordered Chicken Teriyaki for the kids, squid nigiri, and 6 rolls (Spicy Yummy, Niji Fried ?, Rainbow, King Kong, Cherry Blossom, and the last I don't remember). Everything was delicious! I didn't care too much for the squid nigiri, but that's personal preference. Britney checked with us throughout our dining and was a delight. My only negative is that none of the appetizers appealed to us. They just sounded a little bland for our usual taste. My recommendation would be to add something that has some spice to it. Overall, I absolutely loved that we chose Niji. It was clean, the atmosphere was ambient and well lit, the staff were friendly and attentive, and the food filled that part of me that only...

It's beautiful inside, clean and inviting. You are greeted promptly and seated. Extensive menu with many options. Service was great. They even have a Kangan alkaline water machine for your water which is amazing! The prices for food are good. Not bad at all to give you a chance to try multiple items. We got edamame which was cooked beautifully. The seaweed salad was great as well as the fresh salad. The dressing for the fresh salad was the best I've ever had. The miso soup wasn't to our tastes. It was made with chicken broth base and it overwhelmed the miso flavor in our opinion. No big deal, it wasn't for our tastes. The sushi came out beautifully presented. It again, wasn't for our tastes. The sushi rice was way more soft than what we are accustomed to. The spicy tuna roll was very soft and had a fried chicken flavor (idk how that was possible) I loved that it had sliced green scallions on top! The rest of the Nigiri and sushi rolls were soft and if it wasn't for the sauces on top, flavorless. Not what we expected or like, but it's our opinion. We paid without complaint and went on our way, as there is no reason to complain if something wasn't to our tastes.

Didn't get a chance to try the pineapple fried rice, it comes out in a pineapple! ...