The Sushi Bar, for Adults Only in Del Ray - From The Owners of Mango Mike's

[Simul Parikh]

Went here and had an experience that made me livid. It was a few weeks ago, and I wasn't going to post it, but I find myself still disgusted.

I got here on a Sunday evening and ordered a drink and a sushi dinner, chef's choice. Something like $30-40 for 12-14 pieces of nigiri. Not terribly pricey for sushi, but not terribly cheap, either. The food came and I asked the guy serving what the fish was. He said "Japanese fish" several times. I asked what type of Japanese fish. He muddled through and couldn't come up with any thing. He then used "yellow tail" twice on two different fish. I think he called something rock fish (please somebody tell me if they have ever been served rock fish at a sushi place). I think he NAILED the salmon, but I don't remember for sure. Got a positive ID on maybe 3-4 fish. 

At the end of the meal, I told him that if he works at a sushi restaurant, he can't just point at fish and call it a "Japanese fish". He either learns what the fish is, or he asks someone the name of it, or maybe he grabs someone that can identify them and he, oh, I don't know, tries to learn something once in his life. There was no one in the restaurant - not pinning this on a busy staff. I told him that this was unacceptable. Because I'm such a mensch, still left a 20% tip, b/c I still don't get the humanity of paying people $2.66/hr (different thread, I know!).

But, man... I can't believe that. The chef should not be pleased that his staff is performing at this level. I mean, shit, half of the omekase or sushi chef's choice is to know what you are eating and maybe a little bit about it. 95% of places that serve sushi are absolutely horrible, compared to out West in LA or SF or Seattle or Hawaii. Disgraceful. 

I don't think one fish on that plate came from Japan. 

EDIT: Rightly noted below that blaming the server is incorrect. The restaurant leadership/management/chef are to blame. But, it's a sorry situation.

[Finatic]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience, but I think you are mad at the wrong person.  Ownership and management are responsible for training their employees!

[Simul Parikh]

18 minutes ago, Finatic said:

Sorry to hear about your bad experience, but I think you are mad at the wrong person.  Ownership and management are responsible for training their employees!

Yeah. That's true. I guess I am targeting the wrong person. Whoever is training the staff is bungling things over there. I liked it a lot before. And it's progressively gotten worse. 

[DonRocks]

55 minutes ago, Simul Parikh said:

I think he called something rock fish (please somebody tell me if they have ever been served rock fish at a sushi place).

Now that you mention it, I *think* I've had rockfish sushi sometime this year, but I'm not entirely certain (of course, you're talking with someone who has eaten raw skate). Also, just because I was told it was rockfish, doesn't mean it was (and also doesn't mean it was Chesapeake Bay rockfish).

Feb 18, 2016 - "Careful What You Fish for: Is Local Rockfish Safe To Eat?" by Jessica Sidman on washingtoncitypaper.com

[anhdeluxe]

Closed, sadly.