samurai japanese cuisine & sushi bar

terrible place. i'm sitting here right now and steaming about how pissed off that i am because i got hibachi vegetables and got a plate full of onions with just about maybe 4-5 other veggies. ridiculous....

thesushiwas so terribly bland, and we waited forever for the check and drink refill...one refill....

i waited two weeks for my birthday to get hibachi because i wanted yum yum sauce, and this place ruined it.

this resturaunt is the ultra climax to asushifantasy! every roll i've order and have seen come out to other tables, is too gorgeous to even eat! i make sure i take photos to remember the delicacy of every created roll! thesushichefs are so kind and knowledgeable in any question you have for them on any roll. i'm so very allergic to soy, so thesushichef knows this by now, and he's so very carful in handling and preparing my special rolls. my aunt also is highly allergic to shrimp and the owner knows this so he personally prepares all her hibachi just for her, which he makes quite special! everything we have ordered is always served in generous portions on a plate with beautiful presentation, in which the chefs take time with to garnish. i can tell this family owned restaurant takes pride in their dishes, and business. they are some of the kindest, friendliest owners i've ever got to meet and talk with. this is why i myself and my friends always continue to patronize this establishment!


-----28 mar, 2015-----

the very bestsushiand hibachi in the columbus and phenix city area!!...everysushiroll is filled to the max with outstanding ingredients! every hibachi dish filled with an abundance of meat, vegetables, and rice. your surly going to leave with a to go box as i always do. the waiter staff are all very helpful and efficient, i've noticed how clean the whole restaurant is from the floors and tables. i've seen the owners always on hand doing things to help make every guest satisfied. this is over all a family atmosphere where you can come with family and friends to relax and enjoy the retro music from the classic eras and enjoy a variety of many beers, wines, and sake to choose from. i plan on having my 50th birthday party here, close to 30 people which i have booked for upstairs. i know it will be a party to remember. thank you samuri for all your accommodations to our big family and friends! your an outstanding resturaunt and added gem to columbus downtown and to the north end of columbus now where you are much needed for us who live up there and want a greatsushiplace to come to!!

sushi. eachsushiroll is filled with top perfection, with the up most fresh cuts of fish..topped with homemade sauces. never once disappointed. they never skimp on thiersushiroll ingredients, they are abuntly filled! these rolls are huge, and never skimped on. they top the rolls with special homemade sauces to die for! the hibachi is outstanding! they use top grade top of the line beef, and chicken. the vegetables i can tell are fresh cut, they don't use the frozen pre-cut vegetables here, all cut fresh. i know for a fact the sauces are all homemade. this is a family owned business who is very personable with the guest. times are very busy, but worth the waite. so much food on everything you order for the price. i love sitting, and having a few beers to which i can choose from their 130 different beers, wine, and sake while listening to thier great music, it's so different here, it's not like the run of the mill japanese resturaunts in columbus, and decorated quite hip! the owners are so welcoming and kind when you talk with them. if i've ever had a problem, they are so kind to get it worked out, and very acomidateing to my special request when i was on a special diet! the servers are always helpful and always doing their best to make you satisfied. i've had serveral parties upstairs to which all was made so perfect with the food and service. this place goes above and beyond to please and make thier guest happy and satisfied! my most favorite place to eat downtown and my favorite japanese restaurant for superbsushiand hibachi!

my girlfriend and i came here for the first time a couple days ago. i must say that the food was outstanding!!! the only thing better was the service; our waiter, jay, did an outstanding job to accommodate us and make our experience great. we enjoyed it so much, that we came back the next day and requested the same waiter. in short, this is a great place to go for some goodsushiand great service! i'll definitely be visiting them again very soon.

amazing sushi!.sushiwas delicious and service was great!

very friendly service and amazing sushi! i've been 5 times this week. if you're new tosushior just giving this place a try for the first time, go for the francisco roll at lunch, or the japanese bagel roll at dinner. expect to wait a little bit, they take their time, and seem to be a little short handed, but it's well worth the wait.

this is my favorite japanese resturant in town. the food is awesome, thesushiis the best and the service is wonderful. i recommend it to anyone.

also....located in the heart of columbus, ga....the atmosphere is amazing!!


-----09 jan, 2014-----

this is the absolute most amazing japanese cuisine i have ever eaten and this comes from someone with a japanese grandmother, who also has eaten at and loves this place. i was raised on authentic japanese food. so take it from me....samurai japanese cuisine &sushibar is fantastic!! very friendly, knowledgable staff and owners. this place is the real deal!!

from san diego and eat lots ofsushiand loved it.

disgusting.. creepy waiter and there was way too much rice on thesushiroll. awful experience.

embarrassed. i usually don't write bad things about a restaurant, instead i just don't return but the service and treatment my husband and i received there was so bad that i had to warn other people.

we just moved to this area and i was dying for some good sushi. i had high hopes for this place because it was in uptown and seemed like a nice place. we got seated and there were little things about the service that was bad but we overlooked them because we wanted to try the food out first before we had any opinions. plus, you never know, it could be the server's first day or maybe she had a bad day.

first, i'd like to say that the restaurant was 1/4 to 1/3 full. most of the people were drinking at the bar. we put our orders in and waited...and waited...and waited...

while we were waiting we had time to really observe. the table next to us were having problems with their meal and thesushichef came out to address them.

by this time 30 minutes had passed and my husband wanted to leave but went back to thesushibar to check if our food was being prepared. we didn't want to have the food ready and waste it. so he was addressed by a lady who was sitting at a table in the back. she asked him if he needed anything. not knowing that she was someone who worked there, manager or co-owner--we still don't know. he saw the server and said, "never mind i'll speak to my server." he asked her when the food might be ready. the manager/co-owner flippantly said, "don't you see how busy they were?" and pointed to the emptysushibar. but you see, by this time the restaurant was empty. she then followed him to the front of the restaurant and told us that "table 2 needs their check." she threw us out.

it took forever so i went up to the front desk. i sent my husband out because we both were getting upset. it took them 15 minutes to get a receipt and when my husband was walking out a server ran from behind the counter and yelled at him for trying to bail out on the check while i was standing there with my wallet out paying for the water and beer.

after her restaurant didn't serve us, and kicked us out she had the nerve to call the cops on us! they followed us down the block to the next restaurant and asked him to have a word with them as we just got seated. i'm sure that was eventful to the tables all around us.

never have i had to deal with such an rude and short sighted manager/co-owner. i feel really bad for the unfortunate diners and employees.

i used to be a server at samurai. i would not recommend anyone to apply/work at this restaurant. the managers treat you with zero respect; they promote bad workers and punish good workers. i've seen a manager personally victimize both customers and employees in front of me.
as far as the food goes, it's okay. the hibachi is mediocre while thesushiis a bit better. however, if you are in a rush and they are busy, do not order sushi. i've had tables wait over an hour to get their sushi. this is not the waiter's fault; it is the management's fault. there is only onesushichef for asushirestaurant.
in conclusion, this is a good place to eat if it's not busy. ultimately, the managers have absolutely no idea how to run a business, and it's sad because the place has potential.

i really wanted to like it.... as a downtown business owner, i really wanted this to be a greatsushirestaurant. i was excited to see the neo-contemporary decor and the wide-open floor plan in our beautiful historic district.
the staff and management was friendly- no complaints at all in that department, and leniency is given for the tardiness of the food delivery as they are just opening and are likely working out the kinks.
the food quality, however, is the worst i've ever had in a japanese restaurant. (point of reference: while living in japan, i was a traditionally trainedsushiapprentice and hibachi chef).
starting with the miso soup. flavor was instant miso and dehydrated (still crunchy) tofu, quite watered down and salty due to the abundance of wakame/kelp in the miso soup.

the tenpura appetizer was dripping with oil, the broccoli floret, sweet potato, and zucchini was still raw and cold in the middle.

we ordered the largest sushi/sashimi platter. the tuna, salmon, and hamachi quality was fine, however, the mackeral, yellowtail, and abalone was rubbery. the ebi was overcooked and dry. no eel or octopus was included and this was their best platter. the nigirisushiwas formed all wrong..3-1/2' slab of sashimi (all cuts) on a 1" ball of rice.

everysushichef takes pride in making rice properly. i tasted very little mirin and only a slight hint of suu (rice vinegar) in otherwise dry and flavorless rice. the rolls included were philly roll and california roll. i've had better from publix.
the sashimi was cut into cubes and odd-sized pieces and thrown on the platter. perhaps the chef was trying to hurry and finish as i had already been waiting for half an hour.
my overview is this: the decor and atmosphere are great; i really do like it. the servers and staff were friendly and attentive, so no complaints there. thesushichef however, was apparently not properly trained or just unskilled. no apparent knife skills, basic nigiri forming standards weren't followed. thesushirice wasn't made/seasoned properly.
if this establishment hires a skilledsushichef before everyone catches on, perhaps they'll survive here. if not, they'll be just another statistic.

i really hope that the owner will read this and take positive action; i would love to give them another chance, but not with the currentsushichef.

this is by far some of the worstsushii've ever had in my life. apparently they are moving out of their current location (they use to be a chinese buffet?) & had construction mess everywhere. i went for the more safer options such as a california roll or shrimp tempura roll because you really cannot screw these up. it was awful! the avocado was brown & who puts asparagus in a shrimp tempura roll? the tempura batter tasted like the oil had come from mcdonald's. my husband got the roll tide roll, ate two pieces, & couldn't eat another bite. publix has bettersushithan this! while we were dining we got to watch a waitress (?) paint the tables black?!?!? & then they screwed up the tax on the charge recipes & tried to add it in their price of the meal? hibachi was just as bad & over cooked with too salty vegetables & rice that tasted like it came from a box. they would have done better as a chinese buffet. don't let their commercial fool you. never ever will i got back!

stopped by for supper and to try some different rolls. as always the chef was fast and efficient. thesushiwas great. really enjoyed the samurai roll.