Osaka Sushi & Steak — Restaurant in Virginia

Way to destroy a Mother's Day, Osaka! This was the worst restaurant experience we have ever had. You simply do not rush your patrons like this.

We made a reservation for 8 people 5 days in advance by calling and speaking to the manager, Joe. We were told there was a time limit for 2 hours due to the high amount of reservations for Mother's Day Weekend. We all arrived prior to opening at 5 and were waiting at the door when they finally opened at 5:05. We were seated promptly and within a minute were confronted by the waitress and asked for drink orders and something to start with. When I explained we needed a few minutes to look over the drink menu I noticed she was a little annoyed but she left and came back a few minutes later. We ordered a few drinks, my older daughter was very rudely turned down for a drink when the waitress asked for her ID and she didn't have it and then the waitress asked again about food. I ordered a few appetizers for the table but mentioned we may want another couple depending on the size and I was promptly told that we had a time restriction because another large party was booked at 6:30, she said "oh, didn't the person who took the reservation mention that?" She left again for a few more minutes and came back and again explained that yes, in fact we would only have another hour or so because of another reservation. We already were feeling extremely uncomfortable because we felt like we were being pushed out before we even ordered, so I explained that we were leaving.

We got up, the manager Joe came over and attempted to explain to us that we only had an hour and half and that he explained that on the phone. This was inaccurate and we would never have agreed to that time limit with 8 people trying to enjoy a nice meal out for Mothers Day. Absolutely no restaurant I've ever been to would try to limit such a large party to just an hour and a half and judging by some of the other reviews, it seems impossible that they would have ever been able to even get all that out in time. We left, they lost out on a $500 check, the waitress and staff lost out on a $100 or more tip and they lost a loyal customer for life. Do better Osaka, customer service is about the only thing that separates restaurants these days and you fell on your face with that. Richmond has plenty of great restaurants to frequent and poor customer relations, the inability to manage your seating chart, staff and reservation times will quickly be the demise of even the best...

Last night around opening time, we came to your restaurant for the very first time. Not the type of place we normally go to but I had a $25 gift card and someone had just given me and unexpected $100.

We drove from across town (we live near the airport) to one of the best experiences we ever had.

The food was amazing ( we had lobster dumplings, a Jedi Roll, Lamb and Tempura). We had to take half home.

What amazed me most was the service from both staff and management!! So nice and so attentive. I had to laugh when they kept apologizing about our hot plates taking so long. We hadn't noticed because we were enjoying ourselves and so stuffed from the appetizers. I assured the gentleman who I assumed was either the owner or gm that since we were the only folks eating cooked food in sushi place we didn't expect it but so fast. I also assured him that the only reason I had my arms folded is that I was a little cold.....the next thing I know he was turning up the heat. I loved that guy.

And our waitress was incredible. I can't remember her name but I believe she was sandy blonde with a long pony tail. Very sweet. Very welcoming. Took our request to move our table with grace. Never missed a beat and made great suggestions for these new comers.

I was shocked when the bill came because the appetizers were taken off. Again there was no need as we were not the least bit unhappy. But since we added that amount into the waitress's tip, we still won. Lol lol.

I am a recent breast cancer survivor, so taking the risks of going out these days is rough. But I couldn't pass up a blessing. Wow. You made the experience worth the trip and the risk.

We hope to come again when the world behaves! But for now it is 4 am and I am chomping on my Lamb chops. LOL.

Thank you again Michelle Gillison-Robinson

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The taste of the food is spectacular. The cuts of sashimi are of excellent quality. The salmon in particular is melt-in-your-mouth perfection. My wife and I split the fried calamari appetizer which came over a small bed of crispy noodles with some small chili pieces and a dipping sauce. The calamari was perfectly cooked, excellently crispy and tasted great.

The only negatives are nitpicky and not enough to give less than a 5* review, but I will list them just in case it helps others.

Octopus Salad - the flavor of the octopus was great, but there wasn't nearly enough of it. The bowl was, no exaggeration, 6 slivers of octopus each approximately the size of a nickel, and approximately 50 pieces of cucumber, served in a tasty seasoned vinaigrette. When I mentioned that there was hardly any octopus and that it was basically a bowl of cucumber, they brought more octopus over at no extra charge. They were friendly about it and it isn't worth mentioning, other than hopefully the ratio of octopus/cucumber improves in the future.

Table height - I am 6'0 tall (not incredibly tall by any means). The table was short enough that it was slightly uncomfortable, and I found myself having to lean down to rest my forearms on the table. As someone with lower back pain, that was a negative worth noting, and comfort is the only thing that would make me hesitant to come back.

Table size - The table itself was also surprisingly narrow. For perspective, putting my elbows on the table meant that each elbow was on the edge of the table with no room. This was slightly inconvenient, as we had 2 appetizers to share, 2 drinks each (water and a cocktail), a large plate of sushi/sashimi, dishes for soy sauce/wasabi and plates for the appetizers. In a restaurant where dishes are often shared among tablemates, a larger surface area would be...