Sushi Blues Cafe

09/29/08

One of the better Sushi restaurants in the Triangle

by ColKurtz at Citysearch

I had lunch at Sushi Blues Cafe for the first time today and thought it was excellent. I had the salmon lunch set and some yellowtail and unagi. The fish was as fresh as any I've had in the area and the eel was grilled a little crispy just as I like it. The dinner menu looked ovepriced, but lunch is very reasonalble and ala carte sushi is pretty much the same price as every other non-discount sushi place. Waraji is still my favorite, but Sushi Blues is in the top 2 or 3... I will return.

• Pros: quality sushi/sashimi, atmosphere
• Cons: parking maybe

09/04/09

Good sushi, 1/2 price nights

by MES10 at Citysearch

First off, let me say, if your only experience with Sushi Blues is 1/2 price night, and you didn't know exactly what you were getting into, please, please, please keep the whining to yourself. If you don't want to wait some extra time to get your sushi very cheap, most of you are all quick to point out that there are plenty of alternatives. If you have a large party, guess what, you'll wait longer, and you'll watch smaller parties get seated before you, deal with it, most restaurants work this way. If you pester the hostess about getting seated, they will get irritated with you, they have four other parties just like you, all asking when they'll be seated, and all angry at her personally. They have been trained in the routine for 1/2 price nights, they know what they're doing, and no, the manager probably will not kiss your a** and give you free things just for complaining loudly enough. If you do ask, be nice, and polite, the hostess can estimate for you, but she doesn't need your expert restaurant managing advice. Once you get seated, know what to expect. You can see how packed it is in there, if your waiter isn't around every three minutes to wipe your a** and refill your water, flag him down and ask him nicely. Yes, they do pre-make SOME rolls on 1/2 price night, no, the rolls are not old. They pre-make these rolls for a reason: people order them constantly and they will be gone quickly. It is an attempt to alleviate some of the wait time. If you need your sushi to be painstakingly rolled, appraised, and shipped to you with a certificate of authenticity, do not come on 1/2 price night. This sushi is made quickly for people who want to eat it quickly. If this is not what you want, there is a wonderful sushi place nearby called Sono, they make delicious, attractive rolls, have a great atmosphere, excellent service, and are 4 times the price.

Now, if you want good sushi for cheap, and are prepared for the wait, Sushi Blues is awesome. If you put your name on the list an hour early, you WILL get seated at a reasonable time. Do what I do, walk to a bar (there are many nearby) or sit at their bar, drink a few beers, come back in an hour, viola, you're seated in 10 minutes. If you have a large party (more than 5), split it up into two to cut your wait time in half, they will even try their best to seat your parties close together. Be friendly, polite, and understand that for the waiters(tresses) and hostesses 1/2 price nights are hell, and they are probably stressed off their a**es. Come prepared for the experience, and 1/2 price night is great sushi for a great price.

On regular nights, the atmosphere is much more mellow: quieter music, far fewer people, and, of course, shorter waits. You can order entrees and get all kinds of delicious extras. Before you order, you'll get a small noodle bowl, and they give you ginger salad and miso soup before your meal. They make a delicious seaweed salad as well. Their non-sushi menu items are mid-range in price ($10-15 for most items, more for hot ticket items like steak and lobster) and are delicious. Well, that's it, good eating!

• Pros: Very tasty sushi menu, good value
• Cons: Sushi snobs may sneer at this place...apparently.

08/03/09

Good Sushi in an exciting atmosphere

by mkathrynp at Citysearch

I've been going to Sushi Blues for a looooong time. I started going on the Tuesday & Thursday night half priced sushi night--like a $3.00 roll, you can't beat that!!! It's a fun place to go with a group to get some overpriced cocktails in a barlike crowded atmosphere. I personally prefer waiting for my name to be called from the outdoor tables because the bar area can get extremely crowded

.

I have also been during the day. It's a good place to go on a date. I love the theme!!! The sushi is good (by Raleigh standards). It's not Waraji, but you aren't paying Waraji prices. Rolls range from like $4.00 to $10.00. Considering you can get a roll at Harris Teeter or Whole Foods for $8.00 it's not a bad deal! I have never had ANY issues with any of the waitstaff. Even when they are slammed busy (like on Tuesdays & Thursdays), they've always been really friendly, even to my beligerantly drunk friends. It's important to note that I've never eaten any of the food items besides the sushi so this rating is based solely on the sushi.

I would definitely recommend going here any time!!!

• Pros: Decor, Music, Waitstaff
• Cons: Price, Crowded at times

06/19/09

...sigh

by kimbofood at Citysearch

Well, at least I have a place to go when I'm drunk and crave sushi around midnight. I mean, the food is edible and it doesn't taste bad. But I've had MUCH better. I forgot what days, I think tuesdays and thursdays, but they have some sort of special where some of their select rolls are 50% off. But this special starts at like, 11pm? I had to wait like 2 hours to get seated, literally. It is SO packed. They have a "first come first serve" section where the bar is though. But it was def. not worth the wait. The hostess was being kind of mean and told us "well you might not even get seated so.." but I guess i kind of understand since there was a shitton of people that were hungry and mad waiting for a longass time.

But, after waiting 2 hours, we sat at the sushi bar. And they premade A LOT of rolls. At least 20. Sitting right infront of me all stacked into a triangle. Who knows how long thats been sitting. The good thing is that my bill came out to be like $8 for 2 rolls. The bad thing is that those 2 rolls were seriously only worth a meer $8.

• Pros: opens till late
• Cons: edible, but not very fresh.

01/23/09

If I could rate this lower than one star I would!!! A two hour lunch from H*LL!

by customersvc101 at Citysearch

This had to be the worst experience I've ever had in a restaurant! The waitress was rude, lazy and incompetent! She has no customer service skills what-so-ever! Even worse, neither does the MANAGER! The music was so loud we couldn't carry on a conversation at our table in a normal tone of voice. We did ask the waitress if she could request the music be turned down ~ I guess she got confused, SHE TURNED OFF her customer service! The terriyaki dishes ordered came out cold after we waited 45-60 minutes to get them. And as the other reviews have indicated, the food is just okay. When we asked the hostess if we could speak to the manager because of the attitude we had received from the waitress, she promptly informed us "he is busy rolling sushi now". The hostess did finally get a message to the manager, who graced us with an audience about 20 minutes later. When speaking to the manager he was not able to make a decision "without speaking to the waitress"(?). Basically, he didn't want to deal with customer questions/issues/complaints and scurried back to the kitchen. If nothing else I hope the owner of the restaurant starts reading these reviews and corrects the problem before it's too late. I have been to this restaurant in the past and did enjoy my experience there, however, after today - I will not be going back nor will my co-workers!

• Cons: Service from both wait staff and management, food, ambience, parking

12/27/08

Service with a very trendy sneer

by noctambule at Citysearch

Like loud music, crowds of hipsters, apathetic staff, obnoxious managers and overpriced sushi? Sushi Blues is the place to go! The quality of the sushi isn't nearly as high as the pretensions of the restaurant might lead one to expect, and if you have a bad experience don't expect the manager to care once your money has changed hands. There are plenty of other sushi places in the Triangle that have more substance than style -- try any of them, and leave this place to the see-and-be-seens.

• Pros: There are plenty of alternatives
• Cons: Noise, sloppy sushi, apathetic staff, overpriced, ridiculous wait times

10/24/08

Worst Restaurant In Raleigh

by criticalepicurian at Citysearch

Experience from HELL! We waited two and half hours to be seated. This is when you know the restaurant has lost all hopes of providing their own customers and only care about money. Not only did we wait outside in the cold, while other parties which got there after us were seated before us, the hostess was the rudest person i have ever met. The hostess started yelling at my party members when they politely asked her " when are we going to be seated" . She caused a huge scene, flailing her arms around and screaming at the top of her lungs yelling: " we don't care that we sat newer customers before you, that's just the way it is!" Katy asked her, " where is the manager?" and she snapped back " behind the bar, go get him yourself if you want to complain.."

So, we got there at 10, and were seated at 12:30 p.m.. We were the last to be seated. Once we were seated the waitress didn't come for another fifteen minutes. Sushi Blues is the most razist place to ever get served. Please don't go there if you want a good experience.

After the food was prepared, another waitress came to the table and dropped the plates of food onto the table. One plate of rolls spilt all over the table revealing pubic hair inside of the sushi. we sent this back and told them that we werent paying for contaminated sushi rolls. As we were sitting trying to enjoy the company the staff started cleaning with spray bottles all around us. We left as very disturbed unsatisfied customers.

Sushi blues is a joke. They don't care about customers, all they want is your money. I advise anyone not to dine there. The staff is rude, uncivilized, unprofessional, and arrogant, meanwhile the managers are non-existent and indifferent to complaints. And the half off sushi is less than mediocre... be careful if you choose to eat here, you may be eating pubes...

• Pros: you stand outside in the cold
• Cons: inadequate staff who doesn't care about customers

06/13/08

Gone down hill...

by jmh1013 at Citysearch

I used to love this place in college. Returned recently and was largely disappointed. Service was lacking, tempura used in the wolfpack roll was burned and had a strong smoke flavor.

I ordered the Clapton roll and it was clear to the server that it was not what I expected when it was served. Essentially, the roll was poorly executed with a cup of mayo, with some tuna and scallions on top of a california roll. The mayo was overwhelming and dominated the plate. The mayo seeped into the roll, resulting in a soggy mess. When I said something to the server, he walked off.

11/12/07

Overpriced and Overrated

by jwleonard at Citysearch

Why, oh WHY do my friends like to come to this place? It's always crowded, and the service is shabby. The decor is nice, but it's hard to notice that when you are elbow-to-elbow with the hipster stranger at the next table. Nothing against hipsters, mind you, but you guys have GOT to start putting as much thought into your sushi restaurants as you do your hair.

The sushi is weird... The rolls are very inventive, and some of their ideas are swell, but they use way too much raw asparagus (I love asparagus, but not THAT much), and their rice is... wrong. I don't know how on earth they prepare their rice, but it just isn't the way it oughta be. It is insanely over-priced to boot.

I gave it four visits before making my ultimate decision, but I have finally convinced myself that I really hate this place.

• Pros: inventive menu
• Cons: too expensive, too crowded, bad sushi

11/10/07

Not Recommended

by ms312 at Citysearch

Really...what's with the high rating?!? They have to be rating themselves. Food is not good....and the freshness?...Nope. I enjoy nigiri and sashimi normally...so I know when the fishes are good. This place is WAY overrated. I will not be dining here again. Bad service bad sushi....bad value.

• Pros: Hmmmmm...none
• Cons: Almost everything..