IOU Sushi III — Restaurant in Tucson

My husband and I went here for lunch today (Saturday). We were greeted and told to be seated anywhere we liked. The hostess/waitress helped us right away and explained the menu to us as it's our first time there. They had two options a lunch time AYCE menu ($26.99) and dinner time AYCE menu ($29.99) which included their signature rolls. We went with the dinner AYCE to try out their signature rolls.

We ordered the following: Godzilla Roll - this was our favorite. It was had a nice crunch and flavor. Arizona Roll - this was good. We liked the tobiko sprinkled on top of the roll. It was a savory balance. IOU Temaki - my husband wanted to try this. It was good, but it was a little heavy with the cream cheese and rice. Rainbow Temaki - this was a perfect balance of fish and rice and tobiko. Yellowtail Nigiri Octopus Nigiri Unagi Nigiri Tuna Nigiri *the Nigiri weren't special. The orders were fresh and we enjoyed them.

Service: the waitresses were attentive and made sure we got our refills in a timely manner. They came by to make sure the order was correct and to get our second order in a timely manner.

The establishment: It's a smaller restaurant. Kind of a mom & pop feel. It's clean and the staff made sure to wipe tables down as soon as customers left...

If you order soup, appetizers, and entrees, do not expect to get them in any sensible order. You would think they would bring your soup, salad or appetizers first. Oh no, that would be too easy. The bowl of miso soup tasted like they could have added two more bowls of water and then it would be good. Otherwise it tasted like it was made from concentrate with no water added. I went there for lunch today with a friend who apparently knew the owners. I thought perhaps that would warrant better service…perhaps?? No such luck. I approached the counter and asked for my soup because I knew (like the last three times I had been there) that it was going to all come out at once unless I said something. When I did say something I could tell that they thought I was an @$$hole. Hey man, I’m paying, I don’t see how hard it is to serve your patrons in the the order of how their food was ordered. Who wants their entree before their appetizers? Additionally, some of their responses to a few of these reviews clearly show us the mindset of the owners (e.g., Confrontational, Defensive, etc.). But hey, a lot of people love them. But sadly, a lot of people seem to settle for less. I wish the all the luck in...

The best thing about this place is the unique combinations of flavors in their hand wraps. You can go here the night after dropping $200 at Ginza on top shelf, authentic nigiri/sashimi and still leave happy. I particularly enjoyed the handrolls with vegetable tempura, the rainbow handroll, and the salmon skin handroll with octopus. The crystal shrimp handroll is also very good. I am usually the type that orders nigiri or sashimi. I appreciate quality, fresh fish and meticulous rice preparation. IOU does not have this. What they do have are simple and clean flavors that work together to make something new. Combine this with AYCE, and you will leave fat and happy.

I am not the type to order rolls covered in sauces, cream cheese and fried stuff. But you can find that stuff anywhere. If this is you, I'm sure IOU has you covered, as well.

A minor note: I am not a fan of their fake crab and mayo mix. It's worse than other places. They also serve tap water. The tables are hard and cheap. Last time I went, our server barely visited our table, and one of the sushi chefs took care of most of our needs. However, this is not enough to...