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I went for lunch with a friend I've been to their location in Plano before and it was a regular restaurant and wasn't a buffet so I know I was in for something new.....the all-you-eat buffet is about $16.
The sushi selection was some what limited Tuna, Salmon, Eel, yellowfin tuna, and about 10 different kind of rolls (most are still variation of the california roll). besides the main sushi/sashimi tables they also offered Hibachi, cold appetizers, soba soup noodles, fried food, a few chinese small dishes and desert. The food quality was ok for a buffet, but the service was excellent our waitress was very friendly, fast.
All in all, it was a very pleasant visit although I don't know how often I'd go there from Richardson....Tokyo One in Addison and Osaka in Plano are both similar in selection/price and it's closer to me
one BIG plus which I missed is the "Free Beer and Saki at Dinner."
but dinner pricing is about $26.99/person I believe I don't know how much you can eat/drink at a buffet place but it's worth
I work in Las Colinas, and for sushi, my work team typically goes to Midori. We decided to stray and I'm glad we did. Comparing apples to apples, Awaji is a better sushi buffet than Midori, with probably three times the selection. For comparison, it's more like Tokyo One in Addison.
Would I go here for just the sushi? Not so much. But for buffett sushi, it's passable. And apparently for their dinner buffet ($26.99) you get free beer and saki. I'm imagining eating about a pound of raw fish and a gallon or two of beer. Could be great. Could be disastrous.
$27 for all you can eat.
The GOOD:
-- The selection was pretty good. Sashimi tasted fresh. The fried station (tempura and other fried items) remained crispy. You'll definitely find at least a few items that will suit your tastebuds.
-- The service was excellent. The waitress constantly cleared our empty plates and refilled my tea consistently.
-- Free sake and beer at dinner. I didn't drink but I thought it was kind of funny that I had to pay $2 for my hot tea when I could have drank all the beer and sake I wanted for free.
-- This place is Korean owned so you'll find a few Korean dishes along with the typical Japanese fare.
The Not-So-Good:
-- There really wasn't anything bad.
It's hard to give a buffet 5-stars so I guess on principal I gave 4-stars. It was a good experience. I would go back with an emptier stomach so I can also try the shabu-shabu and the spicy ramen.
"Free Beer and Saki at Dinner."
I work in Las Colinas, and for sushi, my work team typically goes to Midori. We decided to stray and I'm glad we did. Comparing apples to apples, Awaji is a better sushi buffet than Midori, with probably three times the selection. For comparison, it's more like Tokyo One in Addison.
Would I go here for just the sushi? Not so much. But for buffett sushi, it's passable. And apparently for their dinner buffet ($26.99) you get free beer and saki. I'm imagining eating about a pound of raw fish and a gallon or two of beer. Could be great. Could be disastrous.
I went for lunch on Saturday. The had an all-you-eat buffet for $16. The sushi selection was limited (Tuna, Salmon, Eel, some other fish, and about 10 different kind of rolls). In addition, they offered Hibachi, cold food, noodles, fried food and desert. The food quality was average at best, the selection limited, but the service was excellent.
All in all, I would rather pay $4 more, and have the $20 all-you-can weekend lunch buffet at Tokyo One on Belt Line (Addison), where I get a better selection and better quality.
I'm not a big fan of buffets because I tend to over indulge myself. It's like putting a 16" pie in front of fat kid. I have to say, Sushi Awaji is way better than Tokyo One.
The sashimi is great. It doesn't taste like it was flash frozen. In any case you don't get that rubbery taste. I had the tuna, white tuna, and salmon - and they all tasted great. The sushi rolls were good too. They had assorted styles and some classics, but there were too many to try all of them. Great assortment.
The grade of the meats may not be high but they do well with it. Flavor was there and cooking it was near to prime. Kalbi (Korean spare ribs) was cooked and brought to the table. They had a skewer station which was different. It's cooked after you pick out your own meat and then brought to your table. It's nice to see this at a buffet. As most places would just cook it and let it sit under a heat lamp.
The Stir Fry section is nothing different than others, but overall it tasted good. They had a Deep Fried station which was great - had all the included fares - shrimp, assorted veggies, etc and plus jalapeno and Tonkatsu! The Tonkatsu was tasty with the sauce. A little dry, but I won't be picky, it's a buffet.
There was a Shabu Shabu station - which I didn't try, but looked okay.
They basically have alot to offer ie. traditional chinese dishes, big scallops, crab legs (they will warm it up for you), vietnamese spring rolls, baked mussels and oysters, various soups - my brother says the udon noodle is the best he has tasted in a buffet, ever. They also have a dessert station, but I couldn't touch it. They did bring us out some green tea ice cream which was really good.
Drum Roll...
I would give this place 3 stars, but they deserve 4 because there is FREE
warm sake and FREE beer (coors), for dinner only.
Extreme-picky eaters wouldn't enjoy this place. Don't expect fine dining, expect good food worth the cost. Great service (however, it wasn't really busy at the time). Cleanliness. A smile and a big belly at the end.
Pretty good buffet, they have a pretty nice selection of sushi. The quality was good for a sushi buffet, can't expact the same size and quality like at a non-buffet sushi restaurant.
What sets them apart is that they have both a really good Hibachi section where you can pick whatever you want them to cook for you and they will bring the plate to your table. They also have a good selection of various noodle soups you can ask them to put together for you. I'll definitely be back.
I went for lunch, it was far less expensive than Tokyo One.
Seriously, this place is not good. Are you guys kidding me? Maybe I went on an off day, and I can see how it would be better if it was a good day but, man, this was pretty miserable.
The waitress was really nice and kept bringing us stuff to try. The only problem was, none of it was good. It's the same problem as most other buffets. Too much focus on having lots of options and no attention to quality. I mean, you are eating raw fish, rice, and vegetables. This has got to be fresh! Well ours wasn't. Sure, there was lots of options, but when you get old sushi, thats been sitting on a buffet table too long, it starts to taste bland and boring.
The worst part about it is the price. We paid over $70 for two people and all we got was lame fish. I have had worse meals for sure, but they were only a fraction of the price!
And FYI- your ONLY OPTION is the buffet. We thought we could just go in and sample a few rolls to get a feel for the place but once we were in there, had our drinks and were ready to look at a menu we were informed that we could only do the buffet (like 30 dollars or something each).
I don't think I will ever be back. It's not like MacArthur is hurting for sushi restaurants or anything.
I went here with some coworkers for lunch. I'll admit that I entered the place looking for flaws (having spent quite a bit of time in Japan I'm always interested in seeing how authentic any sushi or Japanese eatery is). This place isn't aiming to be super authentic I think and probably can't afford to if they want to stay in business. They are going for volume and speed.
Sushi Awaji ('awaji' is Japanese for flavor or taste) is about average, depending on what you're looking for. If you're looking for an all-you-can-eat sushi/asian buffet and don't expect something special from the cuisine then this is your place. The prices aren't great and the food isn't either in my mind, but most people don't come into a place like this with high expectations so they walk away satisfied.
Personally, if I'm going to spend ~$15 or more on a meal I'd go else where. There are plenty of other restaurants in the area where you could spend half of this and eat your fill and still have cash left in your pocket. I can think of at least three other asian restaurants within a 10-20 minute drive of Sushi Awaji that are a better bang for your buck. If you like sushi buffets then try it out, I know that my coworkers liked it and so may you.
Default restaurants are what we would call those that we 'default' to whenever we think of eating the particular category it belongs to. When I think of fried chicken, I'd go to Popeye's Chicken without hesitation. In other words, default restaurants are those that we prefer to eat at with no second thought as to an occassion except to subdue the hunger.
Having said that, Sushi Awaji will probably be our default restaurant for now in the Japanese buffet category.
Distance is always a good issue for a default restaurant. After all, for me to unmindfully just drive over 20 miles to one is just not worth the trip. So, within the 10 mile range, I am sure this restaurant is a short distance from where we are in Irving.
I love seaweed salad, and they actually have the right kind that I like the most.
The Korean BBQ was cooked to order and is part of the buffet. That is definitely a major plus.
The tempura is great. I love that they have a segregated area for each style of cooking. The tempura area had everything within reach, including the heated up dipping sauce.
The Korean beer was crisp and chilled, also part of the buffet.
The sushi was freshly made. They also have sashimi.
If I wanted something fancy and expensive, I would go to Tei-an. If, however, you are looking for a good bite and live close enough (within 10 miles) of 635 and MacArthur Blvd. in Irving, try this place.
The former CVS location was transformed into a gaudy Chinese style Chinese buffet. It really was a sorry sight to enter and see fake bonsai pots lined up along a dried up water feature. Someone needs to stop the interior decorator. And, finally, the Muzack was just totally annoying. It seemed like CVS all over again. I'm glad I did not have really high expectations.
Oh, wait. Did I say Japanese restaurant? I was confused. Maybe it was the MSG. I wanted Japanese food, in a Chinese buffet that served Korean BBQ. Maybe it was the Muzack. No, I wasn't thinking. After all, it is a default restaurant.
Okay, so I'm not the snobbiest or purist-i-est of sushi fans, and I'm pretty okay with sushi buffet as a concept, provided it doesn't kill me.
So, coming from that viewpoint, this place is pretty damn cool! A couple bucks more than the standard $11-$13ish lunch buffet ($15.99 now), and the choices are about 10 times more. This place is huge, and actually pretty inside.
Now, when I say huge, we're not quite talking Todai big... but it is VERY large. Probably a good 30+ rolls, 4-5 types of sashimi (buttery little squares of salmon, YUM), lots of salads (seaweed - yum; fruit with kiwi dressing - yum; spicy salmon - yum; green salad - why do you try to steal plate space, you sneaky little shit?!), those odd little cake/flavored whipped cream/jelly petit fours specific to EVERY Asian buffet EVER... the whole back wall is the warm stuff, including soups, noodles, tempura-whatever, skewers, and an hibachi chef.
Service is always attentive, they almost always have both green tea and red bean ice cream for dessert (ask), and eff me if the sign on the way in didn't say free beer and sake with dinner!!! I'm SO gonna work that angle one of these days.
--edit-- they also have KOREAN BBQ GRILL too! I haven't tried it yet, but will this weekend----
http://sushiawaji.com/...
Their new website. 10% coupon for Irving location!
i love this place! People who do not like this place expect wayyy too much from a BUFFET.
Yes this place does not have a giant crowd of people like Tokyo One, so you need to be wise on the time you want to come. I say be there right when dinner opens, so you can have the freshness, but if you come when it's an hour or so til closing,...well you know it wont be too great,(still good though I'm not picky) because not many people are there in the first place, so the food will be sitting out there longer if no one is there to eat it. Common sense.
Service was great. The workers were veryyy kind. Our waiter was always polite n was there to tend to us. He was probably the nicest waiter ever. I hope he is still there the next time we go.
It is 26.99 for dinner, because yes, it's not cheap to own a large sushi buffet...unless you want to goto a cramped Sushi Yaa (9.99 for less than 15 sushi roll selections, most are cooked btw).
There are lots of choices of sushi and sashimi! more than tokyo one in sushi rolls i believe. They also have a big selection of salads, seafood, ramen, soups, shabu sabu, hot cooked foods, and desserts! It would be absolutely perfect if they made it into a korean food buffet too! ooo I would be in heaven!
Oh and don't forget free sake and beer during dinner! You have a choice of warm or cold sake. I'm not sure about beer, because we didn't order any...hmm, Coors Light and an asian brand beer, etc.
The place has a very nice asian theme. It's very clean and comforting. I would say the venue is too big for them, because they are still fairly new to the location. If you're looking to have a dinner party, this is the best place. There's a lot space for all 50+ of you.
Hopefully in the future, people will come to love this place as much as I do. I've been here about 5 times now, and every single time it was great. I've been here on some weekdays n weekends. I hope it becomes super popular and packed one day! I don't want to see it die.
I am indeed a sushi lover...well food lover overall haha! Great BUFFET! This is as great as buffets can get! I'm going this weekend, Yeahhh!
I am not sure I would EVER give an all-you-can-eat buffet 5 stars.....
However, I really like this place!
It seems to be korean run, which is cool.... especially since my wife if from korea...
Food was very good 4/5 stars
Service was great 5/5 stars
Made to order stuff 4/5 stars
Bathrooms clean 5/5 stars
Even though I didn't WANT to like this place, I did.
The manager was VERY friendly, and checked on us several times.
We did not go to lunch, just dinner. Was not cheap, I believe $30'ish per person. However, beer and sake was included (seriously).
Overall, I will be back and enjoyed this place.
Just to think... it was a drugstore before.....
I'm with Vincent. Yelp has no time for you to whine about what a restaurant used to be. I had no clue it was a CVS, and it is definitely not evident once you walk through the doors and glimpse the crisp decor and shiny-clean feeling of the dining and buffet areas. Plus, I didn't see any of those stupid, fugly "lucky cats" that Blue Fish has everywhere.
Anywho, a solid three for the non-sushi snob here. Lots of variety, and though some rolls put me off, there were many others available to make up for it. Lots of unique rolls as well, tempura, and some other cooked selections.
Sure I can think of one or two other sushi buffets I prefer (Tokyo One and another one in Las Colinas), but I wouldn't scream and run if someone suggested this place.
I had lunch with my friends and it was good food at reasonable price.
I do like sushi and sushi was not fresh as it should be but adequate considering it is buffet. Awaji had good selection of hot food and good deserts. Service was good and overall it was pleasant. I see some reviews are really down on this place but I think this restaurant is between A-OK and Yay! I'm a fan.
So, I'm on my way to Love Field, cruising down 635 with a little time to spare, and I spot a Target next the highway. Knowing that the kids are going accost me for a "surprise" as soon as I get home, I pull off in search of Barbies and Hot Wheels. With my mission accomplished and still a few hours left, I start thinking food. As soon as I pull out of the lot and onto the access road, I spot a sushi joint on the corner and as I pull up to the light, I see that it's packed, and decide that I've found my lunch spot.
I had no idea what to expect, but the first thing I noticed as I exited the car and strolled toward the entrance was that at least half of the customers going in and out were Asian. Good sign. The second thing I noticed, upon entering, was that this place was a buffet. A phrase from my only other Dallas sushi review came to mind - "all you can eat sushi, bitches." But in the previous instance, it was made to order sushi, sitting at a bar with a chef in front of me laughing at me as I stuffed myself silly. I've pretty much always shied away from buffet style sushi, but I figured I was committed at this point. I had to wait a few minutes prior to being seated, but again, I wasn't in a hurry, and it was interesting watching the incoming people come in all fired up, and the outgoing people waddle out, snagging mints and toothpicks.
I get seated a few minutes later, and the waitress takes my drink order (note - it's BYOB at this point...pending beer and wine license approval) before turning me loose on the buffet, and then it was on. I started off with some regular sushi, most of which was good and tasted fresh, with the exception of the very white fish (didn't check the name), which really wasn't good at all. After that plate, it was all rolls from there, and I tried just about everything out there. None of which were exceptional, although a couple were quite tasty, and at the same time, none were exceptionally bad. Apparently there is hot food along the back, and I think they'll even cook stuff to order, sort of hibachi style or something like that. I didn't pay much attention to it, though, since I was in the mood for sushi.
Now, after eating there, and in the middle of writing this review, I checked and noticed that there are four other reviews, all one star. I disagree. Here's the deal - this is definitely not a 5 star place with impeccable, melt-in-your-mouth sushi. Don't expect that going in. What it is, is a great lunch deal ($15.99, plus tax and tip) with a good variety of food, and decent sushi. When I was there, it was quite busy, so nothing sat on a plate very long. They were constantly working to put out fresh food, so that wasn't an issue. The service was friendly and attentive, and if I could have eaten more, I would have.
I'd give Awaji three and half stars, but I'll round up to four since it seems pretty harsh for a new restaurant like this to be rocking one star. And judging by the number of Asian patrons in the place who were happily gorging themselves and chatting away in languages other than English, either 1) it really isn't that bad, or 2) everyone is trying this place for the first time, and were faking their enjoyment. If you're in the area, try if for lunch sometime and let us know what you think.
After some debate, a few of us decided to try Sushi Awaji.
Upon walking in, I noticed the large warehouse type building
but once entering, there was a asian garden with many varieties
of bonsai's. The resturant was huge with two large area's of the buffet. There was Chinnese hot items, items you could order and many sushi/ sashimi options. Overall, my experience was very good.
The service deserves 4 stars, the food is also 4 stars but the price is a little high. I believe for a resturant to serve a buffet for lunch, I shouldn't be paying more than 10 dollars. However 15.99 for dinners
sounds about right. I will definately be back if I have another 10% off coupon.
No no no no no no no no no no no no no!!! We were given an invitation to try this new restaurant in North Irving with promises that it would be a great sushi buffet. Now, I'm not a huge fan of sushi from buffets - Osaka is probably my favorite with Tokyo One coming in a close second - but this buffet made me want to run home and hide.
First, let's discuss atmosphere. This new restaurant is the old CVS Pharmacy. I'm not kidding - there's still a drive thru and everything. They had ONE valet outside which is just silly. He had to take keys, park cars, and then run back to retrieve cars. Meanwhile the valet booth was unmanned and the keys to everyone's cars were totally up for grabs. Inside, it's pretty decorated with traditional asian decor, which is pretty darn tacky.
Next, the service. You can't expect too much from a buffet place, but our waitress was actually pretty good. Our drinks never went empty and our plates were taken regularly. A lot of the waitresses were really pretty too - so.. that's a bonus. =)
The food. . . . was terrible. Just plain, god-awful food. The fish was not fresh. Now, all my sushi fans out there know that tuna is usually the most deceptive fish in a sushi restaurant because they dye the fish a dark pink. Well, this tuna was DRIPPING in dye. The platter that the tuna was served on had a puddle of pink dye - disgusting! The hot food - assorted fried oriental foods - was generic and nothing special. Beef and shrimp was overcooked and really tough. The only things that I didn't mind eating were the "kalbi" korean short ribs and sesame chicken. Hardly enough to justify the $30/ person bill.
A lot of sushi places have potential to be great, but fall far short because of one fatal flaw: greed. Yes, it's true, asian people are greedy. They charge $30 a person, skimp on the quality of the food, hire only one valet and buy an old CVS Pharmacy and not change a thing. The pharmacy counter is where the noodle bar is - seriously. Do yourself a favor and never bother coming here.
Considering that the Awaji in Plano is a highly raved sushi joint, you would think that this sister restaurant would at least maintain some of it's quality. Sadly, the answer is mediocre.
It's not a bad sushi place considering what you pay for (we went for lunch) but my comments are that the sushis have more rice than ingredient. This place has the largest selection of sushis to choose from compared with the other Jap. buffets.
Hot food area looks unappetising.
Make sure to ask for Mango Ice cream for dessert...very good.
Service is excellet too.
Gee, just what the world needs...another sushi restaurant on MacArthur. Apparently my mission in life is to visit every single new sushi place that pops up. Most of the time my expectations are low, and this time they were not pleasantly changed.
It's not that the sushi is absolutely awful, but it's just a step above the "Prepared Fresh Daily" sushi that they sell at Kroger and Tom Thumb.
I'd say it's a combination of things, from the cheesy logo, the careless sushi rolls and uninspired nigiri sushi, and the fact that this place used to be a CVS and still has that drugstore vibe.
Considering how many better alternatives exist within five miles of this (just south of this, Isshin, Avocado California Roll, Sushi Tokyo, Blue Fish, and Midori, and there is Blue Ocean to the north), I can't see how this place can survive. Which may be for the best - considering how depleted the oceans are becoming thanks to overfishing, we definitely do not need one more bad sushi place.
There is the very unlikely possibility that the owners of this place have a highly developed sense of the absurd and are creating a new genre: "comedy sushi". That would explain the choice of a CVS pharmacy, the decoration and the valet parking. In that case, this may be a mildly amusing joke. Hey, stranger things have happened...
I think that in future years, when we think about the sushi boom of the late 2000's and of all the sushi restaurants that seemed to appear overnight, this place will be remembered as the moment that Sushi in DFW Jumped The Shark
I hope the owners prove me wrong and make this place the very best they can - I hate being so negative, but really, they have a very difficult struggle ahead with so much competition nearby, and it's compounded by the bizarre choices they have made- I mean, a CVS pharmacy turned into a sushi place? I used to buy condoms here!
But they just launched and if they survive the first six months, they may improve. At least they have an excellent location.
To end on a more positive note, I'm pretty sure that this place makes MacArthur the single street with the most sushi restaurants in the Western hemisphere. Someone should contact the Guiness people or something.
Awaji joins Tokyo One and Osaka as being part of mediocre group of Japanese restaurants focusing on the buffet. I want to first say that Awaji is okay. It does not have the best sushi or sashimi but what can you expect for a lunch price of around $15.00. I don't believe that sushi is meant for people to consume in huge quantities buffet-style.
Awaji is good if you are in the mood to get a quick fix of Japanese food but it's definitely not my first choice. The restaurant did use to be a CVS but I think it's been converted pretty well.
I was very impressed with this Sushi Awaji. Finally a sushi resturant where I can bring my non-sushi eaters and everyone leaves happy. I was really impressed with the variety and quality of sushi. I could not believe they offered super white tuna in the buffet...they get five stars just for that alone. The buffet is pricy but I think its worth it.
okay maybe a little personal/restaurant history to this restaurant will help before you go on down and read the other reviews. this place started off as a small restaurant and it did really well! so like any growing business, the (korean) owners decided to expand their restaurant and made this location. a corner spot on 635 and macarthur. the bigger restaurant did pretty much the opposite of their conception: it did not bring in more people. so because of this, the quality probably has gone down from what most people remember.
location & pricing: i have only been here once. the first time i saw this place, i was like wow, it really looks like a cvs. turns out, im right! (well according to my sister). you walk in (through the sliding doors and everything!! its weird!) and there's a long hostess table. it looks like a hotel reception lobby. anyway, you go through an archway and lo and behold there's their sushi buffet. their range of selection is pretty wide and it was pretty fresh when i went. sadly, i cannot say the same for their hot cooked stuff. they sit under the lamps but you can tell it wasn't just made, and it had been sitting there for awhile. but i think that can be explained by the lack of customers in the restaurant at the time. the price is $25 a person for the buffet. cheaper than tokyo one!
atmosphere: i went in for dinner with my parents and sister and it was quiet when we were in there but we were on a time crunch. perhaps we just beat the dinner rush. expect your typical trying-to-be-chic asian decor (usually the end result of that is tacky).
taste: the sushi was pretty damn good. for a buffet, its pretty good. although im asian, i did not start liking sushi until just recently and this place passed just fine. their sesame chicken was pretty good, and their udon (like tokyo one - its made for you when you order it) is good. they do have hibachi available next to the udon station. their desserts are DEFINITELY better than tokyo one's. unlike tokyo one, their cakes aren't horribly dry and have a bit of taste. but not the best place for dessert other than their chocolate fountain with strawberries and marshmallows.
service: we had great service, and i am not sure why but we received complimentary galbi (korean bbq) which was DELICIOUS. must say, it was up there with some of the other good korean restaurants around in dallas.
i'd like to come back and try it again. i gave this place 4 stars - 3 for the restaurant itself, and 1 for the cute chinese waiter we had. just adorable.
I have been to Sushi Awaji on many occasions. Personally, I would rather go to the one in Plano than Irving but Irving is much closer to where I work/live/play. This place is a hit or miss. Some days, the food is fresh: sashimi is freshly cut before your eyes, sushi is redily available, etc. I would have to say 60-70% of the times I have been, the cooked items seem to have been sitting out for quite some time and I can tell by both taste and temperature. Regardless, compared to the other sushi places within a 10 mile radius, it is pretty hard to beat. Just have to pick the right time to go and when things are fresh.
Was quite impressed with the variety, and the options for different types of eaters. Although I do have lower standards because this is a buffet, I can still appreciate that they offer "American" style foods, vegetarian options, and even sashimi for those who can consider themselves slightly refined in the tasting of fish. The vegetarian side of the sushi area offers a nice selection of different rolls. If you've been to Osaka or Tokyo One or any of those types of these more upscale buffets, this one probably trumps those simply because of it's selections and slightly innovative dishes. Definitely one to try.
the reason why im givin 4 stars is cause u have to go when its fresh. it makes all the difference. otherwise its pretty much like the daily prepped sushi you get at grocery stores.
service was AMAZING! our server was constantly ontop of his game and even suggested the shabu shabu. then he mentioned FREE SAKE and BEERS for dinner fare. holy cow. enuff said.
had a lot of variety, but nothing special jumped out at me. the desserts left me wanting more, the chocolate fountain was super fun even if the marshmallows are stale, however the ice cream was real good :)
Not a bad place for lunch in my opinion. I don't think it's as bad as some people here makes it out to be. There are definitely better sushi buffetts around and even better sushi places. (STay away from the ramen. ) Service is super friendly but not that fast. CVS conversion wasn't bad. You wouldn't know except for the drive through window. But who cares...you're there for the food. For $15, I think it's a value. Isshiin's buffett is less but you don't get as much variety. The biggest plus is that there's a lot of vegetarian selections for my vegetarian friends.
First, about Sushi Awaji's location in a converted CVS. Who frickin cares!?! As long as there is a roof overhead, tables and chairs to dine on, and an A/C for the extreme TX summer, what does it really matter? For some reason a hole-in-the-wall is charming but a converted pharmacy is off-putting. Get over it.
Second, the fact that it is a buffet and therefore lacks 'freshness' - well, life is all about trade-offs. Sometimes I will sacrifice "freshest" for "still fresh" if I can eat to my hearts content without dropping over a C-note to do so. Maybe you don't feel the same? Then don't go to sushi buffets.
Which brings us to Sushi Awaji. For $16 lunch you get a very wide selection of rolls, much more than Tokyo One. The sashimi selection is not as great, but there are all the standbys. There is a hibachi grill made to order, as well as an extensive offering of other hot foods. The quality is good, not great - but more than adequate for a large sushi craving. If you like to sample and eat alot of sushi rolls without hearing the ka-ching in your head each time a new plate comes to the table, then give it a try.
We went to Sushi Awaji under the impression that it was just a normal sushi restaurant. Having tried some of the other sushi restaurants in the MacArthur & 635 area and not being very impressed, we were actually surprised that it was a buffet.
The sushi rolls selection was pretty large, but many of them didn't seem that different from eachother. However, there were several unique rolls that were interesting to try and tasty.
The hot foods selection wasn't anything to get excited about as it looked just like any other asian buffet offering.
With all that being said, there were some really great points. The best thing by far was the array of sashimi. I was there on a Wednesday evening which looked like a slow eveining, but the sashimi was flying off the plates. They did a good job keeping it stocked and the fish tasted very fresh. Another great aspect was all the crab legs and shrimp cocktail. For a dinner price of about $25 a person, you can definitely make the price up on the sashimi and seafood alone. Also, the made-to-order dessert crepes was probably the most money aspect of the entire buffet. I thought this was so unique and there was a wide range of ingredient choices which were delicious.
Overall, the service was really exceptional and the price for what you can take advantage of is really something to come back for.
Co-workers and I went to this place since we saw it passing by. When I walked in, I said to myself this is not good sign. Sign said "Free Beer or Sake". What good restaurant gives away free alcohol ? Still, we said let's try it and found that it was sushi buffet - $27 per person. They had a lot of selections - sushi, sashimi, chinese food, udon/ramen, teppanyaki, shabu shabu, and dessert. Some tasted good but some didn't. I think there were spread too thin and quality of the food suffered. Also, beer choices were awful - coors light, hite, and one other choice.
Plano, TX
Category: Japanese
Irving, TX
Category: Sushi Bars
Irving, TX
Category: Sushi Bars
Irving, TX
Category: Japanese
Irving, TX
Category: Japanese
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