Sushi Palace — Restaurant in Town of North Hempstead

Since there are many similar names, I want to be specific to refer the review to Sushi Palace at 148 Middleneck Road in Great Neck. I hope (actually I beg) the owner/management to read the reviews and makes some improvements! This place in the PAST was a 4-5 stars between value, food, and service. Now it's only good value only if you can deal with the poor service that comes with good food.

First the positives: Good value - AYCE price range of $22-$24 plus tax and tips depending on weekdays versus weekends. It has a combination of hot appetizers and sushi/sashimi orders.

Good food - This isn't a fancy joint like with $100 omakase, please don't expect that. For the most part the sashimi, sushi, are good quality and they aren't HEAVY on the rice ("wink"). The hot food has enough variety with some hits and misses. But that's assuming you get what you actually ordered. They often forget certain items on the list. I take photos of my order sheets and reference them.

Saving the negatives for last (for the management): Horrible service - the order takers, servers, busboy/busgirls all need to be addressed by management. Perhaps it's cultural or language barrier, but for a start, please put on some SMILES! If you don't like your job, don't work there. My constructive advice:

1. SMILE and think of each happy customer $ in your wallet, and possibly a returning customer (seems like they hired all the unhappy faces)
2. LISTEN to your customer on basic things like if they want tea or water (ice or not), fork, knives, etc (I always ask for green tea and I'm given water, and it takes 2-3 attempts to get it)
3. KNOW your customers by asking "have you been here before?" The regular customers will usually be ready to order in 5 minutes) and the new ones will tend to have more questions.
4. COMMUNICATE often and let them know you will back with the beverage, food, refills, check, etc.
5. NEVER IGNORE your customers especially hungry ones. I have managed raise my hand and look me in the eye 3-5 times during my visit and to have them walk right past me.
6. ORDERS should be 90% accurate, not 75%. You should really try to fix this with your sushi chef and COMMUNICATE if things run out. It's really silly for customers to re-order items and to find out it's NEVER coming.
7. ASK your customers "DO YOU NEED ANYTHING ELSE?" before you walk away. If they want the bill, get them the bill immediately because it's an open table for the next group.

TIPS for vegetarian - check out the a la carte menu. Their avocado rolls, peanut avocado rolls, kanpyo rolls are great bargain values since it's unlikely a vegetarian can down more than 5 rolls (30 pieces) in one sitting. If vegetarians order the AYCE, you have cold sesame noodles, ice berg lettuce salad, seaweed salad, vegetable gyoza, vegetable tempura, teriyaki tofu, vegetable udon, and the sushi rolls.

I'm happy to answer any...

Updated review after coming here a second time within a week period.

Went here twice during different days of the week and different times, once during the week for a late lunch and once on a Friday night during higher customer volume during dinner hours.

So, I just have a couple of things to say.

The price for the all-you-can-eat option is reasonable in terms of Great Neck. 2 to 3 people seems like an ideal amount of people to go here.

Sushi is fresh.

Not a comfortable dining experience. A. Not greeted, nor left with with a friendly response from the restaurant host. B. There seems to be pushiness to eat and leave, whether it is when no one is there or during dinner hours when people want to enjoy longer meals. The check wallet was thrown onto our table without much of any spoken word to let us know. C. There is no mindful eye on patrons, which happened to me and other tables I witnessed, in regards to offering more drinks or refilling water. My friends and I, who had our phones down, hands on the table, and looking around did not receive immediate attention. D. Waiters are consistently dismissive, whether you call out to them or hold up your hand for service. It's very embarrassing and rude. Took very long to actually leave the restaurant because of the inattentiveness.

Food very oily, including the gyoza. Disappointed in the taste. Also, the "mushroom soup" was, to put it lightly, also a disappointment (see photos)

Even though both times my experience was a party of 2, we tipped 20% the first time and 15% the second time, as a courtesy according to their receipt.

I personally will not be coming here again. This is not the kind of service I expected, especially during dinner hours. Will be looking into other restaurants within the town of...

I Enjoyed their all you can eat option. Because there is just so much you can eat, I enjoyed assorted sushi and rolls from their extensive menu. I enjoyed a tasting of appetizers, and focused on variety rather than quantity, although I did consume enough of an assortment. My focus was enjoying the meal, rather than being an episode of Man v. Food.

It is Best to go with a couple of friends so you can order different rolls. The rolls come in quantities of six and eight, so as one person you could only get one or two, but with a group, you can have a great variety of a selection. The big surprise at the end of my satiated night was the fried Oreo. I just got one. At first bite, you are not sure, but with each successive taste, it gets better and better, until the last bite leaves you craving for more. They should be a controlled substance. After eating an assortment of food, I forced myself to end the evening wisely, or I could have had half a dozen more of this delicious surprise; Fried like tempura with a moist delicious chocolate interior, it tasted like an exquisite chocolate lava cake. I am Looking forward to coming here again. My colleague on this adventure was a vegetarian, who easily found enough options. He had the restraint to not sinfully indulge in the fried Oreos after enjoying a feast and so was able to miss the gym the next day, I gladly payed my dues for a dessert...