Nancy S.
Yelp
Short Review:
I was on the hunt for excellent sushi, and found just ok sushi. Although they are friendly, they rush you out of there. Oh, and remember those AMEX commercials in the 70's? Well, leave home without it, cause you can't use it here!
Long Review:
So I figured in downtown Toronto you should be able to get excellent sushi. I mean, right? Its fricken downtown Toronto - a tourist trap at the least! Well, so I go searching...on Yelp of course. I always rely on my fellow Yelpers...until now.
The pictures on Yelp made this place look amazing, so I tried it. Got a nice Kirin Ichiban bottle of beer, a seaweed salad, and a special roll called The Lion King (shrimp tempura, avocado, topped with spicy tuna). Nothing outstanding, but I'd say good solid "regular sushi" fare. I wasn't disappointed by any stretch. Then... the restaurant started getting crowded. Since I was a party of one, I was saddled up to the bar - but now they were seating 2s and 3s there to accommodate everyone. I was finished with my food, but my beer was only half gone...and my waitress brings me the check! "How do you want to pay for this?" she asks, as she's literally holding the card machine in her hands. "Uh...ok...here" I respond as I give her my American Express card.
You know that deer in headlights look? Well, she gives it to me and then smiles: "We don't take American Express." Well...you can't even guess what happens next. After I tell her its all I've got on me because I left everything else back at my hotel, she goes back to the deer stare. I'm thinking, you can't be serious...then she runs to get the manager. Now, in my head I'm thinking they will just make an exception and swipe my card. I mean, come on, its downtown Toronto. This has to have happened before...right? So, the manager comes over and again the statements about how they only take Visa begin. Only take Visa?
After I say, again, that all I have is an AMEX, she stares at me. I honestly thought I was going to have to go wash dishes in the back room to pay for the meal. So I tell her that I'm happy to go back to my hotel and get a Visa card, to which she responds: "you know there's an ATM machine next door."
Really?
So I say again, I'll go back to my hotel and grab my other credit card. She is really unsure now, so then she responds, "well you have to leave your drivers license here then." I comply and hand it over, although I was a bit annoyed. But hey, I get it. So, then I begin to grab for my beer to finish it, and they begin clearing my plates - AND TAKE MY BEER!!!! They wouldn't even let me finish it! Before I could even walk to the front door, they were getting out 2 menus to seat a couple waiting. O H. M Y. G O S H!!
Then, I walk outside and hail a cab. Thank goodness he was really nice and made me laugh about it. He said he'd been driving a cab for 10 years and had never heard a story like this.
3 stars for the initial good service and the food. Minus 2 for not taking AMEX and not letting me finish my beer!