Koi Sushi & Hibachi Steakhouse — Restaurant in Trenton

On Friday, June 27th, I dined at Koi Sushi & Steak with my son and niece. Unfortunately, our experience was deeply disappointing and left us feeling undervalued and overlooked as Black customers.

From the moment we were seated, it was clear that we were not receiving the same level of attention as others. Although we were technically seated in a position to be served first, the waiter continuously bypassed our party. He took orders and served drinks to others—specifically a white group sharing our table—even when some members of their group arrived after we had. When he eventually brought out the waters, he served the entire other party, including their late arrivals, before returning for ours.

This pattern of service made it apparent that we were not being treated equally. I was especially disheartened that my son and niece had to witness and experience such exclusion. It’s painful to think that in 2025, we would still encounter this level of racial bias—especially in an environment where we remained nothing but polite and respectful throughout.

Interestingly, the gentleman working the front—who was more formally dressed—provided noticeably better service, despite not being our assigned waiter. His attentiveness almost felt like a silent acknowledgment that we were being mistreated.

Our total bill came to $130.35 after I reminded the waiter that one of my cocktails had not been included in the initial amount of $116. Normally, I would have tipped around $40 for a bill of that size, but due to the poor and frankly humiliating service, I left a $15 tip instead.

I sincerely hope this establishment takes this feedback seriously and reflects on the importance of respectful and equal treatment for all patrons. Excellent customer service should be a standard, and mandatory training in inclusivity and professionalism should be a priority. You never know who is sitting at your table—and every guest deserves to feel...

My husband and I LOVE it!

We have only been once so far. They have a lot of items we still want to try! Def a favorite spot!

Beautiful atmosphere. We accidentally parked in front of the building and parking is on the side. My husband and I love the artsy zen modern farmhouse look to it.

Nice staff.

Food was hot. Very delicious. We had to bring some home because we ordered a few appetizers. So full from the experience but very happy.

Appetizers:

Agedashi tofu: crisp tofu with a savory sauce.

Edamame: crisp and salty.

Bao-bun: (you get 2) choose either veggie or tender pork belly. We chose the tender pork belly. It had veggies and had this tangy bbq sauce. Soooo good! And finally a place in our area with bao!!! Yes!!!! Highly recommend this item!

Chicken karaage: fried pieces of chicken. Small but bigger than popcorn chicken. These were so good!!! (Ps. We had took some home and next day heated them up and were soggy and very salty. They kind of tasted the same. But turned into a 1/5 ⭐) So eat ALL of this right away - do not have left over. Idk if it would have been different in an air fryer. But we had a microwave. Not same experience when right away. Lol. Oh well. We know for the next time.

Now for dinner:

We both had ordered: chicken teriyaki. This was Soo good! It was amazing! Chefs kiss.

Give chefs kiss for the whole meal. We both loved the whole meal. I would order everything all over again.

Even our bill was $90+ with tip too. But dang it so good and waitress deserved a good tip too. The place beautiful. The dishes were artsy with brush strokes on them.

Next time ... I am going to get some sushi. The waitress said we should. I am planning...

I ordered Crab Rangoon and Filet Hibatchi carry out. They told me 35-45 min. I arrived about 20min later expecting to wait. I gave the man at register my name and he walked over to carry outs where one bag was sitting and came back empty handed(I was quite early). He then rang me up. I hadn’t tipped because I hadn’t gotten my carry out yet. We stood there a minute and then he walked back over to the same lone carry out on counter, picked it up and handed it to me 🤨. We are about 25 minutes into my 35-45 minute wait. I tipped and left. As soon as I got into my car I just had to try a crab rangoon. They were cold, not warm or luke warm but cold 🥶. I went home and heated them in the oven as I dove into my filet hibatchi 🥴. This hibatchi meal, along with the crab rangoons was the worst hibatchi I’ve ever had 🤢. I’d go so far as to say it was the worst meal I paid 50$ for in my life, and I eat out often🥵. I’m wondering how anyone can say the food at this place is even decent. Don’t waste your money or time. One ⭐️ for food because I couldn’t give it zero. One ⭐️ for service because he didn’t want to give me my food until I tipped. One ⭐️ for atmosphere because it was had an...