imperial koi asian bistro sushi bar

best sushi and asian bistro food in greensboro! great service, beautiful restaurant!

been here twice...love the ambience and the sushi! haven't tried other foods but sure they are tasty! totally recommend!!

we've been waiting to try imperial koi for several years and finally gave it a go a few weeks ago for lunch.  had the sashimi, which was perfectly fine, but certainly not a bargain for the prices charged.  it's definitely in the top 25% of sushi places in the triad, but it's no mizu.  mizu has fresher fish, more imaginative special rolls, and better pricing.  they also messed up my wife's order, bringing her tempura when she asked for teryaki.  the decor was nice, but the furniture is starting to get some age/use related scuffs and scratches.  overall, a fine meal at 50% of the price charged, but at full price give me mizu instead.

great sushi, but at a price. if you are looking for a low cost sushi meal, this is not your place. they do have nice lunch specials, and on tuesday nights their appetizers and wines are half priced - and they have a decent wine list which they are in the process of upgrading even more. the restaurant interior is nicely done, with booths against the windows, tables in the middle - a lovely, quiet dining spot.

the amazing sushi dinner is a good buy, most of their appetizers are good - although the dim sum platter is only partial dim sum type items. the tempura rock shrimp is especially good. the imperial koi roll (which has fried banana in it) and the angry dragon roll are both excellent. there vegetable fried rice as a side dish is awesome - not on the menu as a side, but just ask, they'll do it.

we tried the imperial koi love boat, which is 25 pieces or so of sushi and sashimi, which is very nice and plenty of it, and the presentation is beautiful. the sushi masters here (there are 2, with 6 apprentices) are artist - it takes 20 years to become a master, i was told. to me the real star of this restaurant is the sashimi.

frankly, their standard chinese dishes should be avoided - they are poorly conceived, oorly prepared.

they have good quality sake, both hot or cold, filtered and unfiltered. the cold may take some getting used to, but it is good. they have a number of oriental beers, as well.

the service here is generally good, depending on who waits on you, some of the wait staff lose focus occasionally.

it will be interesting to see if this upscale sushi restaurant will continue to do well in greensboro, a town that seems to ignore many good restaurants whatever the type or cost level, and seems to have trouble attracting and holding them.


-----02 jun, 2011-----

upscale all the way. if you are looking for a low cost sushi meal, this is not your place. they do have nice lunch specials, and on tuesday nights their appetizers and wines are half priced - and they have a decent wine list which they are in the process of upgrading even more. the restaurant's interior is nicely done, with booths against the windows, tables in the middle - a lovely, quiet dining spot, and a nice long bar.

the amazing sushi dinner is a good buy, most of their appetizers are good - although the dim sum platter is only partial dim sum type items. the tempura rock shrimp is especially good. the imperial koi roll (which has fried banana in it) and the angry dragon roll are both excellent. there vegetable fried rice as a side dish is awesome - not on the menu as a side, but just ask, they'll do it.

we tried the imperial koi love boat, which is 25 pieces or so of sushi and sashimi, which is very nice and plenty of it, and the presentation is beautiful. the sushi masters here (there are 2, with 6 apprentices) are artist - it takes 20 years to become a master, i was told. to me the real star of this restaurant is the sashimi.

they have good quality sake, both hot or cold, filtered and unfiltered. the cold may take some getting used to, but it is good. they have a number of oriental beers, as well.

the service here is generally good, although ome of the wait staff lose focus occasionally.

it will be interesting to see if this upscale sushi restaurant will continue to do well in greensboro, a town that seems to ignore many good restaurants whatever the type or cost level, and seems to have trouble attracting and holding them.

shame on them..!!. large parties beware..!!!

i am quite the foodie and have frequented this establishment since its opening several years back. we are fans of the sunday lunch and patronize the restaurant at least once a month. although the quality of food and service has taken a dive after the change in ownership, we still enjoyed the atmosphere. so much so, that myself and my fiancé seriously considered this for our upcoming wedding reception.
we researched the lunch menu options as well as the seating arrangements before meeting with the "wait-staff". the menu items topped out around $9.50 for what was selected.
first thing when we met with the wait-staff to plan the 1:30-2:00 reception, we were told that we would be ordering from the "dinner menu", which represents an immediate 25% increase in cost for the same food selections. when we questioned why we were selecting dinner items for a 1:30 event, we were told "that's what we prefer". after what seemed to be a bad used car buying experience, between the wait-staff running to the back to "see what she could do with her manager", we finally had her agree that a 1:30-2:00 reception would be considered lunch and that we were to select from the menu accordingly.
problem solved, right.? wrong.!!! very wrong.!!!
we inquired about multiple lunch menu items for $9.50 that were going to work great for our 60 guests, unfortunately we were told that these same $9.50 items would now cost us a minimum of $15.00.!!! confused yet.? we sure were. when we questioned the immediate 58% price increase we once again got, "let me go to the back and talk to the manager again" after returning, we were told that the restaurant would have to have 2-3 additional wait-staff to serve us and that's the reason for the 58% price increase. confused as we were, we questioned "doesn't the wait-staff work for gratuity" (18% on parties larger than 8). at this point we were told, "sorry, we just can’t afford to do your lunch for that price" (the listed price on the menu).
moral of the story: we were willing to bring 60 of our closest friend to imperial koi and share with them what we thought to be an enjoyable experience, instead what we got was what we feel to be an overpriced, under educated ballpark quote from a restaurant looking to exploit a couples desire to dine with them on their special occasion.

beautiful but bland sushi. with all the 4 and 5 star ratings for imperial koi, obviously i'm outside the norm with my review but i'm just trying to be objective.

short-version: we've been to ik 4 or 5 times but hadn't been in long time until last night to use a $12 coupon that was about expire. the reason for the long absence is that we believe there is better tasting sushi elsewhere in greensboro. the place is beautiful with some awesome views, service has been good and portions sizes are some of the best around but all our choices (while gorgeously plated) just seem bland.

long-version: succumbing to one of our regular sushi cravings, we remembered we had a coupon and figured we might as use it and give ik another shot. as we entered we saw that the tuesday special was 1/2 priced glasses and bottles of wine. bonus since i was in a wine mood anyway. the sushi bar was completely open so we sat there since building a rapport with sushi chefs is never a bad thing ;-)

location: ik is off of new garden rd on the 2nd floor of a new, multiuse building. access is a bit confusing as you have to drive around the back to park and find the front doors. we've never had any issues with having ample parking. there is also a nice outdoor patio by the front doors.

food: refreshing ourselves with the dinner menu, we saw a number of categories including: soups and salads, kitchen starters (~12 items), sushi starters (4 choices), main dishes (~8 kitchen items), sushi entrees, nigiri-style sushi (good selection including all the standards), sushi rolls and specialty rolls (both sections have a good variety of options).

we selected 3 specialty rolls, an order of unagi and a spicy tuna hand roll (extra spicy) and a bottle of brancott sauvignon blanc since it was half-priced. almost as soon as we finished ordering, the sushi chef passed over a heaping plate of lightly fried white fish. now, getting a little extra something from the chefs is not completely uncommon but this thing was big and nicely seasoned with spices. major kudos on this perk.

the unagi and hand roll came out next with the hand roll being about as big as one i've ever eaten. the unagi cuts were on the large side as well. though i watched the chef "extra-spicy" the hand roll personally, i still felt both the tuna and spice were muted taste-wise.

the 3 rolls were not far behind and all three were visually gorgeous, excellently plated and as big as i've seen in a very long time. we ordered the angel, angry and new garden rolls and again all the components just lacked a certain pop whether it was shrimp tempura, tuna, salmon or softshelled crab. this is where the old adage of judging a book by its cover is working in reverse - so great to look at but not much to excite the palate. though it pains me, just 2 stars for the food.

service: our server, michael, was very good. he approached us timely after sitting, was helpful with the menu and came back had a good sense of humor and checked on at appropriate times. the sushi chefs were also very nice and checked on us as well. glancing around, it seemed like all the servers were keeping busy and engaged with their customers. no issues - 4 stars for service.

value: experienced sushi fans probably look at the menu and immediately say, "this is on the high side" and they are right. however, the portions are bigger than any of their local competitors that i can think of and artistically appealing. however, i'm just not impressed with the robustness of the flavors. the specialty rolls are in the $13 to $17 range, nigiri sushi 5 or 6 bucks for a two piece order and my hand roll was $6.5. as i've mentioned, portion sizes are large and fortunately we had a friend join us to help us finish our orders! our sushi, half-prized bottle of wine, a hot sake less a $12 coupon came to about $90 (gratuity included). while style and size are excellent, flavor simply isn't - can only give 3 stars for value.

atmosphere: this is definitely an area in which ik excels. the layout is very elegant and comfortable. the views from the windows at night are very nice and i imagine a number of romantic meals have been held here. they keep things neat and clean, including the restrooms and the staff are professional dressed. 5 stars for atmosphere.

overall, i like many things about ik especially the artistry of the sushi chefs and the restaurant's atmosphere, however, we still have other sushi places that we think have more flavorful offerings. if you are not price sensitive and not overly picky about your sushi but want a nice, elegant dining experience imperial koi should work well. if you are more particular about your sushi, there are better options around town, in my opinion.

food: 6/10 (10/10 for presentation); service: 8/10; value: 5/10; atmosphere: 9/10

i have gotten take-out sushi several times from here. the sushi is okay - far from the best in greensboro - and is overpriced. my only experience dining in the restaurant was a business lunch. the service was so bad i was embarrassed to bring my client here. for the prices charged, people deserve much more in food quality and service level.

fantastic place!!! beautiful setting, insanely good food and the staff is phenomenal. if you are looking for a great sushi place, this is it!

if you can find it (2nd floor around back of a nice shopping strip mall), fairly nice view if you have a window seat. i've had great and not so great waitstaff over the year or so... watched and waited until this place opened in anticipation. sushi is either fabulous or a flubbed attempt at excellent. i admit it is rather expensive and a luxury for the lunch girls to get together.

great place!. beautiful presentation and atmosphere. we loved the sushi and the unique menu of options. the garden roll was good and not filling. definitely one to share around the table. the honey chicken dish was prepared perfectly. loved that the atmosphere is casual or appropriate for a "date night" out. we will be back for sure. i was disappointed the restaurants.com deal changed as i waited all month to purchase since last month was sold out. this month the deal changed and i was so upset. the savings pays for a babysitter for a couple wanting to go out alone. consider offering some again next month.

amazing food and amazing service!!! best i have had since moving to the greensboro area! highly recommend checking it out!

my wife and i went for the first time last night and loved it. great atmosphere; music, decor, lighting. casual enough to stop in on a whim, upscale enough to reserve a date and dress up. fantastic food, very reasonable prices. service was great, though our particular waiter could have stopped by our table a bit more frequently for refills. overall, a very enjoyable time - we'll be going back!

best seat in the house!. ate here with my gf for the first time and had the best seat in the house which was the left corner by the window in the last spot near new garden. the food was filling and great. also the ambiance was excellent and romantic...pink candles.

pricey, with 4 people we easily passed $150. but the great unique drinks are great companions to the exotic sushi selection. go if you have the money, if not try red tuna.

i'm not sure what's happened to what used to be a great sushi bistro! all i can say is that i hope i do not get sick from what was supposed to be sushi, but tasted like processed canned fish! never again!!!