1 STOP SUSHI EXPRESS — Restaurant in St. Louis

I don't like writing negative reviews, but I am in awe of the very weird experience I have had with this establishment. I discovered them about a month ago, and have returned about 10 times since because the sushi is good and affordable. The quality of it exceeded my expectations given the neighborhood, however...

There is something very off about the male employee, who identified himself as the owner. Not sure if English not being his first language is causing miscommunication or there are cultural clashes at play, but he comes across as though your patronage is burdensome to him.

You can't order in-person or over the phone (weird, but whatever), so orders are placed through their website or a third-party courier service. Since I have a perfectly functioning vehical, I don't see the point in paying someone else to deliver it to me.

Once the order is paid for with a credit/debit card, the site gives you an estimated pick-up time...and oh my God, you better be there exactly when it says or face the wrath of His Sushi Highness.

My last visit, I was given an estimated time of 55 minutes to I believe an hour an 15 minutes. I made the mistake of arriving at an hour and 30 minutes. 😱 The gentleman had a look of annoyance on his face as per usual, but he really became upset when I simply inquired if there was a utensil in the bag.

Upon his reaction, I finally worked up the nerve to ask why he is always so upset. He said that my habit of arriving later than the estimated pickup time (typically 20 minutes or so) is "rude"...?? As someone who has worked in the food service industry for 15 years (including two Japanese restaurants), it is not unusual nor have I ever seen it perceived as rude for someone to give themselves leeway on time when picking up a to-go order...

ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S ALREADY PAID FOR. Not to mention, I always leave a tip despite being met with attitude. His reasoning is that it gets cold, which makes no sense as it is takeout and the temperature is of my concern.

The defensiveness is extremely off-putting. Even so much as asking to tie the bag tighter (or doing it myself) so the soup that's stacked on another container doesn't fall over apparently offended him, as he referenced that request several times afterwards. WEIRD.

I attempted to reason with him because I was genuinely confused and wanted to deescalate the situation, but as I did so his tone grew more hostile. He told me he doesn't want me ordering there anymore and to use the courier services.

Wow. Just wow...and all because I requested for a bag to be tied bit tighter and not reporting for duty exactly as instructed. So weird!!

There's another sushi joint off Grand and they seem to be much more grateful for your business. A tad more expensive but at least they're appreciative you choose to spend your money with them.

I will say that the female who works here, who I presume to be an owner as well, has been nothing but kind. I like supporting local businesses (even promoted this place to a couple friends) and I do not want to be unnecessarily fussy...but good lord. In any case, I wish 1 Stop Sushi all the best.

YOU...

Pleasantly surprised at the quality of ingredients and generous portion sizes! I ordered through GrubHub.

I typically order for multiple days. I got the shrimp tempura, miso soup, a jalapeño-tuna appetizer, Sake Don bowl, and Sweet Wonder roll.

The shrimp tempura also comes with vegetables and was the heaviest of the boxes. Probably 20 pieces of shrimp and vegetables, plus dipping sauce. The batter was sweet and tasty.

The miso soup was nice and strong, not watery like I've had elsewhere. I could have eaten a quart of it.

The jalapeño-tuna appetizer was just the perfect level of spiciness, with spicy mayo, wasabi mayo, Sriracha, tuna, all in a hollowed-out jalapeño. I love the kick of all those sauces, but wisely saved most of it for another day so I wouldn't get heartburn.

The Sweet Wonder roll is my favorite sushi roll in all of St. Louis. It's absurdly large in diameter--since I was eating at home, I stopped trying to use chopsticks and picked it up. The crab, salmon, avocado, and cream cheese go just perfectly together.

The Sake Don is in my fridge untouched, but certainly looks delicious. It's salmon on sushi rice with sprouts. I have no doubt it will be tasty.

I thought I'd have enough for 2-3 meals but it's likely double that, which makes this an extremely good value. Hooray for...

Before I get into a big story, just know this: this place is INCREDIBLE. If you like sushi, I'm telling you, GO HERE.

OK, I moved to St. Louis after leaving an incredible sushi restaurant in my previous city. When I got here, I tried almost every sushi place in town, and while their sushi was "fine", none of them that I tried were high quality and consistently so. I had been going to another sushi place for the past year or so as it was the best sushi I could find that was consistently good... until now.

I found this place almost by accident as I was searching through Google and gave it a try. It blew my mind how good the sushi was. I've gone here for several weeks now, and it's consistently this amazing each time. This small, unassuming place off Gravois is THE BEST sushi restaurant in St. Louis - hands down - in my opinion. It truly lives up to the reputation "hole-in-the-wall" restaurants have. Go here, eat the sushi (I love the Celebration Roll), and...