The Sushi Room – a new concept from the owners of The Living Room – will open its doors at 4 p.m. Friday.
The Sushi Room is located at the opposite (west) end of the same building as The Living Room in the development known as Downtown Ocotillo, on Queen Creek Road west of Dobson.
Living Room partner Tony Eden, who will manage The Sushi Room, says that while the new restaurant is the same size as its sibling, it’s “more restaurant than lounge, but it’ll have the same lively attitude as The Living Room.”
The menu offers appetizers ($3-$12), sushi rolls ($7-$12), sashimi ($11-$15) and entrees ($12-$18).
Came here for my wife’s birthday and had the worst experience I’ve ever had at any restaurant in my lifetime. No exaggeration. We go out to eat all the time and I spent many years waiting tables, so I’d thought I’d seen it all, but this experience takes the cake.
Many details follow, but the worst moment came when after a comedy of errors, we complained to our server and she explained that it was our fault. She specifically explained that she *warned* us that the restaurant was poorly run and then walked away.
Specifics:
– Barely saw our server, couldn’t get drinks or plates cleared.
– Had a reservation confirmed for a week, but they couldn’t seated us for 45 minutes.
– Friend ordered the ribs as an appetizer and was served a plate of bones and fat. (This did get corrected and a plate of decent ribs was later presented.)
– Friend ordered a draft beer that was “undrinkable”. After sending it back, was presented with a bottle. When he asked if he could have a glass, our server said “No. That was the problem the first time. Something is the matter with all of our glasses.”
– After ordering, no food 45 minutes later. Server came around to say “there is a big problem with the sushi. I yelled at them, but they’re not moving very fast.” All food except for sushi was presented, and literally 45 minutes after everyone had finished eating, we still had no food at all. (See previous about being warned.)
– When the meal was over, we asked to speak to a manager. We were told by our server she was a manager. When we asked to speak to an owner, our server explained that all the owners “had left”. She literally left us with the impression that we had no recourse.
We were so incensed at the end of the meal, that one of our party went over to the Living Room (which we love and attend frequently) and asked for someone there (they’re owned by the same people). At that point we actually got an owner that was really cool. He apologized profusely. He said that our experience was “unacceptable”. He took our phone numbers and promised to invite us back to correct the problems. I hope he actually does this. The fact that it took over three hours for someone to apologize was unbelievable.
I would highly recommend you stay away from this place. That the restaurant is running poorly is bad, that they look at you dismissively and tell you that they warned you they don’t know what they’re doing is unacceptable.