Arashiyama Japanese Sushi & Steakhouse — Restaurant in Town of Union

Update: I did a very honest review of this place when we went a few weeks back. They have had it REMOVED! There was nothing outside of restaurant experience issues we faced. They have also have had a bunch of spam fake pages provide 5 star reviews to hide the customer reviews who have had honest issues, to boost their ratings… really?

Review: when we were here, we have been 5+ times, they always did rice and noodles for their dinner, when we saw the rice only get put onto the hibachi grill, we asked our server what happened to the noodles. He said they never have offered noodles I clarified we have been here multiple times and we have always gotten both with the dinner and the menu still showed it came with both. He said you can ask my manager he’s right there behind you, he tried calling for him to come over the manager waved him off and said no we can ask our server. Our server politely explained this was a change that they made. Thank you to her for being polite enough to talk, we found out from our chef he had just started the week prior.

During the Hibachi experience our chef provided NO show… he didn’t throw the shrimp/ vegetables like in our previous experience, no personality added to our experience he simply cooked and left. No jokes, no fun, while we saw all of the other tables getting the full hibachi chef experience. Hands down the worst experience as far as that part at a hibachi place that we have ever seen.

Following up on them getting rid of the noodles and rice combo you would think they would supplement a little more and provide a slightly smaller portion at the very least of the sides.. nope the rice was the same portion as when we got the noodles too. So compared to Kampai and other local establishments, we get way less of a side here now. They pretty much took something away and now you get half the size of a side. Not a great portion at all!

At the end of our experience our server did not come back for 20 minutes even though we were all done eating.

I still can’t get over that they had my review removed which was all what was stated above.

I would not have added this bottom part if they didn’t baselessly delete my first review:

Overall: lowest hibachi experience in the area, for the same money you get better food at Kampai and the other options. Spend your money at a place who will not cut your portions in half and where the manager won’t delete...

We went here with a large party as we have done in the past a few times.

When our Hibachi Chef came out, they were cooking and we noticed they were only doing rice, our entire party has been here 3-4 times before and it has always come with rice and noodles. We politely asked if the noodles were being done separate.

The chef said that they don’t do noodles and haven’t done them in the past. I responded that we have been here a few times before and the dinners always have. He argued it for a second and then said my manager is behind you cleaning the table would you like to ask him? To which I replied that’s fine we are just curious if he didn’t know or if it changed.

The manager told the chef to have us ask the server instead of coming over so that was a bit awkward. The server then came over and we asked if the noodles are no longer included, she replied they no longer are included and so that was a little disappointing as that’s why we were coming here instead of the other local Hibachi places.

The rice was placed but the portion had not gotten any bigger when they removed the noodles, so you are getting half of a side than you used to. You also are getting smaller portions of rice than the other nearby restaurants, so the value for which you spend has really gone down.

The chef did not put on a show, which we’re also accustomed to when we go. There were no jokes, personality, showmanship other than the initial couple seconds when he got there with the knives. He didn’t throw the food either… this was all firsts for us at a Hibachi restaurant and single handledly the lowest quality experience we have had with the chef and server.

Once we got our food the server also disappeared for 20-25 minutes which was not like our past 3 visits so we were just waiting and waiting…

Between them cutting your side portion in half and you getting way less food now than the competitors, the chef not providing the hibachi experience everyone is accustomed to getting, and below average service from our server. Changes need to be made as this is probably the worst Hibachi experience we’ve had...

I was amazed at the quality, attention to detail and atmosphere of Arashiyama!

Our son (11) is a huge sushi fan and was excited to try the new place while visiting my parents in Endicott. Since moving away from the area, we have traveled all over and been to many Sushi and Japanese Steakhouses and this is probably one of the best. From the time we walked in I was amazed at the atmosphere and layout. It was really interesting to have the one side of the restaurant setup for hibachi and a more lively experience and the other separate side setup for a quieter sit down experience. We opted for the quieter side but I could definitely see us going back for the more lively experience.

The food was excellent, truly some of the best sushi I have ever had. The drinks were excellent as well, with a good selection of domestic and imported beers, wine, sake and a full bar. Our son enjoyed the imported Japanese soda.

Our server was very attentive and provided excellent service throughout the night. The manager or owner, I assume, stopped by during the meal to check on us and ensure that we were happy with our meal. This is definitely more of a European style of dining than American, we did not feel rushed at all. I have seen a few reviews saying that they spent longer than expected eating here but to me it was on par with what you would expect from a fine dining experience. Expect to spend an hour and a half to two hours here, not an hour or less like you might expect at a typical American restaurant.

Overall, I was very impressed with the service, quality and experience. This was the type of dining experience I would have expected in NYC, Toronto, London, etc. and it was in Endicott, New York! I was amazed when our server told us that they had only been open for 4 days when we were talking to him after our meal.

Congratulations for opening a great restaurant! Best of luck and I can't wait to try it again when I am home in...