Sushi Garden — Restaurant in Tucson

This is an update to 2 previous reviews. 11/15/22. Its been clost to a year since Ive been in. This was definitely better than my last 2 visits. Food quality was high. Server was prompt. Someone who I think was the owner was in and was flitting around being helpful and friendly to everyone. Updating from 3 to 4 stars because this was a 5 star visit but lat couple of times weren't satisfying. Hard not to go back to a place I've been frequenting since before it moved to this location. I'm glad my recent experience was better. Adding some photos too!

The 2nd portion of this was a review I had saved from last year but didn't finish. I'm leaving it in because I didn't go there since that time & my review score didn't change this time. Yesterday: The good: The space was clean, seating was quick & the ambiance here has always been nice . Love the matcha iced tea, wish everyone did it this way. New options for combinations to feed multiple people to replace the all you can eat that is no longer available. The bad: Our server was abrupt, cold & not around much despite the fact it wasn't as busy as one would expect on a Friday night. The tempura green beans were soggy with oil instead of light & crisp like one expects from tempura batter. Also the same green beans & other appetizers were served so hastily that the sauce that comes on the side of the plates had sloshed all over the food making the bottoms soggy. The rolls were decent but most fell apart so, apparently poorly assembled. Prices are higher & they could benefit from more variety in the combo options.

Summary: I don't love it the way I used to.

Last year: They used to be my favorite sushi spot, but it's changed. I loved the huge variety on the all you can eat sushi menu & reasonable prices. The price has gone up by $5 in the last few years. I'm not even mad about it, I understand it's expensive & inflation has an impact. BUT they have also cheaped the variety down. My biggest complaints are no more eel nigiri or rolls of any kind & no hand rolls. These were some of my favorites & what kept Sushi Garden on my radar. Today's experience was mediocre. The server wasn't genuine or attentive but passably okay. In the past I've had great service, today's wasn't up to my previous experiences. The hostess also not clear...

We have frequently eaten here but typically dine in and have great experiences. This takeout order was a very bad experience and makes us reconsider returning to this restaurant after eating here many times and enjoying it. We ordered takeout online through DoorDash and picked it up at the restaurant. We checked the gluten allergy box for one of our rolls because someone has celiac disease. Usually they are really good about gluten free and there are no issues. When we picked up the order we noticed there were two boxes, assuming that the gluten allergy roll was separated by the other two gluten rolls. When we got home we realized that the gluten allergy roll was in the same container as a roll with gluten. Unfortunately with celiac disease I couldn’t eat the roll. We took it back to the restaurant and explained the situation to the hostess, given that it was their mistake we thought they would be receptive. The hostess looked very annoyed, didn’t apologize, and was not friendly. Honestly it was some of the worst customer service I have ever experienced. When we showed her the box she didn’t offer to remake it at first she asked what we wanted. I told her I couldn’t eat it and then she suggested remaking it and putting them in separate containers. She asked for the food back, which I was very apprehensive about because I was worried that she would just put them in separate boxes and give them back given her attitude. Also I don’t understand why she wouldn’t let us keep it because my friend could have eaten it without the gluten allergy. It felt like a waste of food as well. They brought the food back in separate boxes. My friend asked the hostess for some soy sauce because they didn’t give us any when we picked it up originally, even though we asked specifically if it was in the bag and they said yes, and after they messed up our order said that they were going to charge us for gluten free soy sauce even though they messed up our order and have never charged for it while dining in. Very unhappy with the customer service because the female hostess with brown hair...

My family had been going to Sushi Garden since the original location first opened. As a child, my family constantly took me to Sushi Garden. As I got older, I went with many different friends. We always had good experiences, however, yesterday was something that deeply disappointed both myself and my mother. We went around 2:30, when we thought the lunch rush would be dying down. We saw that quite a few buffet tables were empty, and it wasn't too busy. However, we were "greeted" by a hostess who seemed to be having a problem with us. She very rudely instructed me to sign into the wait list, and I was having problems with the tech, and she completely ignored me. I eventually got my party of 2 on the list, and she told me it would be a 15-20 minute wait. My mother and I waited for about five minutes before my mom truly noticed how many tables were available. She decided to ask the hostess why there was a wait with so many tables available, and very disdainfully, the hostess retorted that she thought we wanted to eat at the buffet. My mom said yes, there were tables for the buffet available. The hostess then said something along the lines of "fine, whatever, go find a table", and my mom asked "is anyone going to seat us?" and she replied with "you can go seat yourself". Eventually, a waitress came to seat us, and although she was polite, she sat us as far as possible from the buffet. My mom asked if we could move closer since she saw empty, clean buffet tables, but she was told no. This is inappropriate behavior, and my mother had been working with the service industry (being a hostess and waitress) for about 2 decades. She worked at Japanese/Korean owned restaurants before, and she knew that this is not the behavior that anyone on the staff was allowed when she was working. Not only is the hostess' behavior unacceptable, but the experience was so appalling to my mother and I, we decided to leave the restaurant altogether. Next time we're in the mood for Japanese food, we'll take our friends and family...