in the raw Brookside — Restaurant in Tulsa

I never make negative Google reviews. I prefer to just not go back again. This time felt different. I have previously worked as a server, so I typically give a lot of grace towards the service industry because I know how it can suck. If there’s issues (kitchen behind, short staffed, double/triple sat) just tell us and I’m more than happy to be patient. Flat out, this was just bad service and given the price paid for our food, left a lot to be desired from a value perspective. We paid about $90 for 3 apps, two cocktails and a miller lite.

Went to ITR to enjoy a drink on their patio - we live nearby and it has always looked like a cool vibe. We wait probably around 20 minutes for a table, which on Friday night with no reservations I have absolutely no problem with.

We get sat, and it is noticeably long wait before wife and I get greeted. We got some cocktails and some beers, and they were fine. Tasted okay but they were pretty generic fruity drinks. Unsure if they serve draft beers, everyone’s I saw around me were all bottles and cans served with a chilled glass. We also ordered a few appetizers - calamari, edamame, and the ahi tuna poke.

Calamari and edamame came out quickly, which was nice. Calamari portion size was pretty disappointing for the price paid. Edamame was the standard portion size, but in my opinion was way over seasoned. I’m not even a generic Karen who doesn’t season their food - they were truly dredged in salt and pepper.

Our server came by once and asked my wife if she wanted another drink, when she still had about half left. She declined, and the server just began to run off without saying anything to me. Had to flag her down and ask for another drink after mine was sitting there empty. She never asks how the food and drinks are or if we need anything.

We snack on the calamari and edamame and wait for the tuna to come, but it never does. We’re completely done with them just sitting there with empty plates for another 5-10 minutes and nobody seems to notice. Finally at this point we don’t really even want the tuna anymore, but we flag down a separate server to see if they’ll check on it since our server is MIA. It comes out a little bit later.

Again, no acknowledgement or explanation, and again the bowl is just dropped off and nobody comes to check up on us. The tuna actually tasted great, but only took a bite or two. At that point we were tired of sitting there and were ready to go. We AGAIN had to flag down a server for our check and a to go box. Server brings them both, no acknowledgement that we’re taking a fully uneaten dish to go, and goes about her way. They processed the check pretty quickly (gotta flip the table, of course) and we leave.

We’ve lived in Tulsa for about a year and this is the worst experience I’ve had at any restaurant here. If we want sushi, we’ll just go...

Pros: Food Was great. Cons: Service, cleanliness, management, bar drinks

Our waiter never introduced himself, was slow to refill drinks despite the restaurant remaining mostly empty, barely spoke and was in a generally sour mood. Seemed unaware, or on autopilot, but I can't tell whether he was high, hungover, or just generally exhausted.

My bar drink had 2 ice cubes in it, half melted by the time it made it to my table. My dates old fashioned hadn't been muddled at all. Instead what was brought out was a whiskey, with a cherry and an orange peel in it.

The restaurant wasn't "gross" but general debris and unpreparedness throughout the premise contrasted the otherwise nice ambiance and lowered the overall quality of the experience.

Management is my biggest issue here. I informed my server at the beginning of service I was there for lunch in order to use a discount I had been given for half off of meal (excluding drinks, apps, desserts). The server acknowledged he heard me, and service continued "adequately", but slow. At the end, I noticed I had not gotten the discount, so I asked the bartender about it who told me that this location doesn't honor that particular discount. No problem. The bill was $40 so i paid $50 (keep the change) and asked my server if he knew I would not receive the discount, and if so, why he didn't bring it up. To which they told me, "I didn't ask for the discount TO BE APPLIED", so they never sought to inform me I couldn't get it at all.

I told them (at this point, a bartender and who I assume to be a manager had joined the server) it would have been nice to know that information when I asked, but didn't even get to finish my sentence as the "manager" interrupted me mid sentence to tell me, "Not to be like that."

Overall, just extremely unprofessional and unsatisfactory service. With two other In The Raw locations in the Tulsa area, and other sushi locations on Brookside. I would...

I went to this place around 6:45 last night as a single person just wanting some sushi and beer. They seemed busy when I arrived so I said I don’t mind sitting at the bar to save them their open seats. Once seated it took over 20 minutes for a server to come by. I placed my entire order at this time. 5 minutes later my beer shows up, and another 5 after that my miso soup shows up. I remember thinking to myself “this is some fantastic soup”. This is where my good experience ended unfortunately. They seemed like they where understaffed or poorly managed because I was witnessing huge piles of sushi lined up on the counters to be served, with no servers in sight and the pile just getting larger with every roll the chefs completed. This pile was also located on the counters you have to walk past to get to the bathroom. That last point will be important momentarily. I waited for my food to show up for 50 minutes without being checked on once, updated once, or given any acknowledgment that I was actually there. As I was waiting in my frustration I witnessed a lady walk out of the bathroom, sneeze on the sushi waiting to be served, and continue on her way to her table like she didn’t just contaminate about 30 dishes. At this point I paid for my miso soup ($4), and my beer ($4.50) with a $20 bill and told the server to keep whatever is extra, leaving promptly after. I will not be back and seriously doubt the sanitary practices of this establishment after what I experienced...