Sumo Japanese Grill

This place moved over a year ago to 11233 E 13th Street!

Time of visit: 2-21-09
Setting up a friend's birthday party, we decided to go to Sumos to eat. We had heard it was the 'place' to go, so be it. We decided to get reservations. Called at 4:09 and set reservations. "Sure, that's fine, we'll have seating available".

Arriving at the building, I must say, it is very post-modern. A very interesting sight to see. Entering, the place was packed. And when I say packed, I mean, uncomfortably so. I can understand the concept of having a high-end location with an allure of style, but this is ridiculous. People leaving due to people density is a poor way of keeping a customer base. With modern HVAC work and modular spacing, they could expand it severalfold and have a pay-off very quickly. Quit being cheap, Sumos.

Anyways, back to our visit:
When we walked in, apparently, the hostess had no record of our reservations. Uh huh. So we had to wait...for one hour and fifteen minutes. I will say, the bar area was very busy, and the bar tenders were very professional. They were, however, overworked. 2-3 bartenders for such a high density location meant your drinks were 5-10 minutes after you ordered them. I consider this a staffing issue.

Sanitation: The place was clean. No complaints. When a table got up, it was very quickly cleaned, so more people could sit.

Drinks: Expensive. Same drinks elsewhere = 1/2 price.

After nearly an hour and a half of waiting, we finally received the word we were going to be seated. So we stand, another 10 minutes while another right-sized group was located so we could all fill a table.

After arriving to the table, we sat and waited for service. Nothing. We waited a full 5-10 minutes before getting even a drink order. Staffing levels? Poorly managed? I don't know. However, I do take notes of these things. When the drinks WERE ordered, they also demanded we give our orders, only a few seconds before receiving our menus. Wow. I ordered the spicy calamari and shrimp, and the California roll sushi.

Now, let me make this clear to all of the readers: The food was fantastic. In generous portions, cooked correctly, all with the correct amounts of spicing and cooking methods, I do not have the vocabulary to describe how great the food was.

Showmanship: I put this in here, because our cook was amazing. If only most people had his level of attention in their work, as this cook did. He really came through. Just watching him do ''his thing'' was part of the show, and it, along with the food, is the only reason why this restaurant didn't receive a 1 star, or poor rating.

Pricing = as expected for a ''high end'' restaurant.


I could very well be a statistical asterisk for this place. I could be the one guy who got horrible service due to a series of unfortunate circumstances.

Will I give this place another try? Probably so. Do I expect better service? Definitely.

A special place for any special occasion or if you're simply looking for a fun atmosphere to enjoy GREAT food. I love the steak and shrimp with extra shrimp. Mmmmm....tasty!!!! It's a little pricey, but well worth it.