Okinii Japanese Restaurant & Impressive Noodle — Restaurant in Town of Oyster Bay

My initial rating would have been 5 stars, but currently, it stands at 3 stars.

Before I delve deeper into this review, I want to mention that I plan to give this place another try and will update my review accordingly.

I have visited this restaurant three times, each visit approximately 1-2 months apart. My first visit was phenomenal: excellent customer service, minimal wait time, fresh and tasty food, and a feeling of being a valued customer. The interior is very pleasant, with comfortable booth seating, some in more private areas of the restaurant, which I love to request if available. The waitress was incredibly kind and respectful, always checking in throughout the meal. I ordered a ton of food, sushi rolls and a main meal. I left very happy and full.

However, my last two visits completely changed my view of the restaurant.

This place seems to be popular for takeout. I have only dined in, but during my last two visits, they were always busy with takeout orders. Prioritizing them over customers in house.

Visit 2/3

There were three other families in the restaurant, and I was the fourth customer, eating alone and doing some work. I was seated after a 3-5 minute wait. Once seated, it took almost 10 minutes to receive a glass of water. After that, it took another 10-15 minutes to place my order. They were out of a few drinks I enjoy and another menu item, so I had to adjust my order—no big deal. The waitress was busy with takeout orders and only checked in once during my meal which was a bit upsetting.

Visit 3/3 (the worst experience, 2 months ago)

I had the same waitress all three times, and she was WONDERFUL and respectful. I do not blame her, but it seems the other staff members aren’t pulling their weight.

I waited a bit to be seated. The place was EMPTY except for one other family, but they were busy with takeout orders again. After being seated, the waitress had to answer multiple phone calls, attend to the bar, and disappear into the back. Meanwhile, two other staff members were chatting while I waited patiently to place my order. **OVER 30 MINUTES went by before she could take my order, with no other staff members offering assistance.

Items were out of stock again, so I adjusted my order without any issues. My order took forever to come out because they prioritized takeout orders. The waitress did not come over ONCE during my entire dining experience. No water refills, nothing. I had to stand up and wave someone down for water after waiting almost 20 minutes.

The whole experience was terrible, and I wasted over 30 minutes just watching them prioritize takeout orders. The service was lacking due to how busy this one waitress was while others stood around.

As mentioned earlier, I want to give this place another try since it’s been over a month since my last visit. The food is great, the atmosphere is nice, and overall, it's an enjoyable experience. I have tried something new on all three visits and enjoyed everything.

I have never gotten takeout from them, but I assume takeout would be the way to go since it seems to be their priority.

Overall, I would rate it 2/5 stars for dine-in at the moment and assume a 4-5/5 star rating for takeout.

Hoping my next visit...

I usually order California roll with spicy Mayo on top and on the side, if I order on the Google or Grub Hub I’m able to put it in the notes and they always comply. I also get miso soup and put in the notes spicy please, which makes it more flavorful! Not spicy hot, but with flavor. 👍🏼 The last time I picked up, the lady who brought the food out wanted to make sure my soup was made spicy, so she double checked and was very nice & friendly to me. The salad and ginger dressing are delicious too! If you see my edamame photo I added chili lime seasoning at home, it’s sooooo good! I haven’t dined inside, but it looks nice and I like the sweet goldfish in the seating area, but it could use a bit of decoration. I...

I came here after an interesting discussion with their Twitter account regarding craft beer. While their own beer selection is limited to a few American and a few Japanese brands, I did find that I enjoyed the selection of Japanese beers that I tried. I was here with a couple of friends and between us, we tried several sushi rolls and a bowl of beef Ramen. We enjoyed everything! Speaking for myself, the two rolls I tried (Sunny and Wasabi) were outstanding, especially the Sunny roll. I also had some really delicious green tea ice cream for desert. The decor is really nice and our waitress was very pleasant and attentive. I'll definitely be back to try some Ramen for myself, along...