Kashi — Restaurant in Town of Oyster Bay

Kashi is a sushi restaurant on Jericho Turnpike in Syosset. As expected, the menu features a variety of sushi, sashimi, rolls, and more. The ambience is modern and I imagine it is nice for dining in the evening. Expect to pay ~$20 for a lunch, and $30-40 for a dinner.

I came to lunch with a party of 11. I think we all enjoyed our food and the presentation was excellent as well. Personally, I had the sushi lunch box with a salmon roll, and two pieces each of yellowtail sushi and spicy tuna gyoza. Everything tasted nice. I quite enjoyed the ginger salad starter, which was yummy.

We felt that our service was unusually slow. It took just under 2.5 hours to go from sitting down to leaving. I'm not sure how much of this could be attributed to the waitstaff, the kitchen, or other factors.

We could tell things were going south right from the start when it took ages for our drinks to come (literally just a bunch of diet cokes, waters, and iced teas), and ages again to place our food order. It was disheartening seeing other small parties who were seated after us receive their meals first!

The level of attentiveness for our large party was substandard. The restaurant was not even particularly busy at this time, so it was anomalous what was happening. We did receive some complementary mochi ice cream to make up for the significant delays, which was a nice gesture.

In sum, I'd probably eat here again with a small party but I would have reservations suggesting to eat here with a...

Ambiance (4/5): The high ceilings with the hanging decorations makes the place seem very trendy. I was a fan of the music. We were seated on the secluded side of the restaurant near the bar. By the bar are TVs with sports playing. The large U shaped booths faced the bar and walls on the sides that blocked view of the other patrons as well as work staff. The other side was open and overlooked the sushi bar and chefs. Service (3/5): We were seated immediately on a Saturday evening around 8pm. Due to our seating in the establishment, we were out of sight from servers and as a result had very slow service. When asked for requests, the servers were quick to provide! I had to often flag down the wait staff as they attended to our neighbors. I attribute the experience to location of our dining and their short-staff. Food: Spicy Tuna Gyoza (5pc) $15 (4/5): I was expecting more of a dumpling but it was presented in a fried wonton. The portions of the tuna were small but the Thai mango chili aioli was pretty good. Takayama Roll $18 (5/5): The roll was flavor was overpowered by the ranch wasabi aioli but I felt like everything tasted really good. Sushi and Sashimi for One $33 (4/5): The dish was presented in a large iced bowl with a decoration of a mermaid. The serving size is plentiful for one person. I don’t think that the white tuna was very fresh but everything else...

I’m not here to bore you with the usual “nice ambiance,” “convenient parking,” or “friendly staff with digital name tags that is like they’re about to launch a spaceship.” Nor will I dwell on the classy little squirt of hand sanitizer at the table, the bold menu items that screamed “we mean business,” or the surprisingly good appetizers. Yes, the Long Island sushi was very good, and the desserts were… there. But let’s get to the real heart of the matter: the men’s room. Now that was an adventure. It looked like a crime scene from a low-budget detective show complete with a rusty trash can that may or may not have been alive, a mysterious puddle (water? spilled drink? Bad aim?). The choice of black tiles? Genius move if your cleaning strategy involves turning off the lights and hoping for the best. The sticky floors, though, those told the real story. Every step sounded like I was walking through a flytrap. I left with one shoe slightly more bonded to the earth than the other. So, kudos to the kitchen, but dear management, please send a search-and-rescue team into that restroom. Or at...