Katharine C.'s Profile

I hadn't been there in a long time (perhaps since I wrote my original review), and I went again today. First of all, I can only comment on the sushi - that's all I've had. Here are my thoughts about a year after my first review:

1. Sushi nigri - awesome. Fresh fish, good cut, nice proportion to the rice.

2. Specialty rolls - really amazing - see everything I wrote in my last review regarding that. Personally, they're not my favorite thing, just because they're so out there (fried banana!), but that's a personal preference, not a reflection of the rolls. The rolls are quality and evident of talent - and they pack a lot of complexity into a thinner roll. Often specialty rolls can be unwieldy in size - not here. One bite, you'll get all that great, creative flavor and texture! If you're into wacky, nontraditional rolls - seriously, check this place out.

3. Dine in ambiance... a little weird. The decor is odd. But it gets the job done.

Officially my second favorite Westchester sushi place. Second only to Mike's!

I stand by my previous review, but I think I didn't make something clear. This isn't "the best" sushi I've ever had... hardly. But it is by far the best "fast food" "from the ice bed" sushi I've ever had. Just to clarify... I was looking over my old reviews and realized I may not have made that clear.

"Best of the Best Roll" gets my vote for best roll, and really, it comes down to this: you just won't find better sushi in Westchester. Maybe in the city, maybe in California, but not in Westchester. Sushi Mike's. Hands down. Nothing compares.

My rating is for the restaurant only. I don't play golf, use their pool, play tennis, etc. The chef Dan Magill is THE MAN! He used to be at One in Irvington, but then he moved to the Ardsley Country Club... and he is just PHENOMENAL! The menu changes from time to time, the food is creative, fresh, well prepared and seasoned. I go here every chance I get! I prefer it to local hot spots such as The Red Hat. On Father's Day I went with my parents and sister, and I had a cold avocado soup appetizer... I still can't get it out of my head. It was savory, refreshing, creamy, perfectly seasoned... delightful. It was just so so so so so so good! His appetizers are my absolute favorite! Country clubs tend to make me uncomfortable... kind of pretentious, but Dan Magill makes me set my country club aversion aside and RACE AS FAST AND OFTEN AS POSSIBLE to his delightful little restaurant within the Ardsley Country Club!

Doesn't live up to the hype, but it's worth checking out and worth revisiting. The food is okay - not great, but some of the better food in the nearby area. The ambiance is pretty nice - and the view lovely. The rooftop bar looks interesting. But the food is you know... eh. It never sweeps me off my feet, but it's good enough to make you think you're enjoying a night out with some good eats. Also, the service can often be atrocious. It varies, but I've had some pretty horrendous experiences where meals took a few hours that didn't need to save for the poor service.

Sadly disappointed. It was noisy, crowded, the tables are small - you hardly have enough elbow room. We could hardly hold a conversation because no one could hear each other! You practically had to shout! And the food wasn't that great. We ordered a platter from the raw bar for the table, and that was actually pretty good. Oh the oysters... delish! But the food thereafter left much to be desired. It was too salty/peppery, the general seasoning wasn't that great, the swordfish was dry... the general seasoning and food preparation was just not at all what I expected it to be, not at all worth the price. I went here for my birthday with my family, and I ordered swordfish and lobster bisque, tried my mother's soft shell crab, and tried my sister's steak. None of it impressive. My Dad complained that his salad and seafood paella were too salty. The desserts (I had the chocolate fondue) were so painfully average as well. None of the five of us were very impressed. The service was good, but really - who cares if the atmosphere and food don't match? I won't be going here again.

Don't go here. I was going almost daily, but will never, ever, go here again.

I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt - maybe they were having a bad day, can't judge an entire business by one experience, etc. But today was strike three, and I'm breaking my "don't be vocally critical of a local small business especially in this economy" rule.

1st straw:
A man (one of the owners? Not sure) chewed out a vendor in front of a line of customers, in a condescending, not constructive criticism manner if you know what I mean, publicly humiliating him. Unprofessional, but I looked the other way. I didn't know the situation.

2nd straw:
I work nearby, and I get a half hour lunch break. In order to get food, I have to time it carefully to be able to get it, have time to eat it, and for that to match up with when places are open and when I'm allowed to take a break. S&E closes at 4pm, so I got there at 3:50. One of the owners ignored me and chatted up a vendor, complete ignoring, not even acknowledging me. Okay, whatever, it happens, right? She finally acknowledges me, and I ask for a basic, cold, turkey sandwich. It would have been one thing if she'd said no politely. I would have still been frustrated, since they advertise as closing at 4, and I had carefully organized my day, and I wasn't even asking for a hot sandwich, but what really was outrageous was her attitude. Her response was an angry, "why are you wasting my time, how dare you come in while we're still open and ask for a sandwich even though we're a deli" nasty, condescending, "NO! I'm closing in 4 minutes. I've already cleaned everything, I am not making you a sandwich. We close at 4." Now, it was not 4 minutes until closing - more like 10. Creative clock reading not appreciated. And again, her tone of voice - as if I had done something horribly wrong by walking into an open deli and asking for a sandwich.

I've worked in retail the last few years, so I always go out of my way to be very polite to people, even when I'm dissatisfied with the product or service. I know what it's like to be confronted with a person who takes the old adage "the customer is always right" too far, and I am not that person. I don't ever, ever yell at people, I'm polite with telemarketers, don't yell at tech support, even when I'm upset. I'm generous with patience and the benefit of the doubt.

I politely said, "well, it's not 4pm yet, but thank you, have a nice day." Usually I would go with just a "thank you," but I was frustrated, and hey - I was polite and - free market research, right? You'd think they'd want to know what pisses off a REGULAR. The woman just glared at me as I walked out.

Final Straw (today):
I go in at 3:50 and asked for a turkey sandwich. I got the same reply that I did last time, complete with the creative clock reading of we're closing in 4 minutes. Now, I cannot emphasize enough how polite I was - like I said, I go out of my way to be polite when I'm upset and appreciative and friendly with people - working in retail has taught me the value of such courtesy. I was calm, did not raise my voice, was very reasonable. I said something like, "this is the second time this has happened. I have a limited amount of time on my lunch break, I specifically plan to come get a sandwich from your business. I didn't ask for a hot sandwich. If you are open until 4, you should sell sandwiches until 4, and certainly 10 minutes until 4, or else I'm not sure why you don't close earlier if you're not going to serve your primary product anymore."

What happened next was unlike ANY consumer experience I've ever had. The woman WENT OFF at me, yelling - not just a raised voice - YELLING and then the man (I think the same one who yelled at the vendor) who wasn't behind the counter started YELLING at me... why don't I go somewhere, else - like the pizzeria up the street, to a different deli, how dare I, why was I so nasty, it was not my place to tell them how to run their business, etc. Teamed up YELLING at me!

I calmly said that I was trying hard not be nasty, that I didn't want to make a scene (and I was the only customer in the store by the way), and that while they could run their business however they wanted - I just wanted to politely point out that I was a dissatisfied customer. They continued to yell, and I got scared - 2 people larger than me YELLING at me with me all by myself so I wished them a nice day and left.

If they had been polite, I would put up with the fact that they don't adhere to their posted hours of operation, are overpriced, have a small beverage/chips/"sweets" (what justifies the "sweets" part of the name?) selection, the back sitting area ("cafe?") of the store is always uninviting, cards not accepted, and their meats and breads are average.

But I work hard. I went out of my way to be polite. And I was verbally attacked and intimidated by the OWNERS. I don't need to put up with that - local small business or not.

My opinion of this place is on the rise.

I'm a Sushi Mike's girl, but Sushi Mike's doesn't deliver, and Sushi Niji does. I used to order delivery from Niji, and was always like eh, this is okay, but really I was just wishing I was eating the fresh deliciousness of Sushi Mike's. Then I stopped ordering delivery and just would always drive over for take out at Mike's, especially when I realized how fast they prepare their take out.

But something came over me last week, and I was like eh... I REALLY don't want to trek the like 1 mile to Sushi Mike's, and I ordered delivery from Niji. I checked their menu online... what's this? Check these Chef's Specialty Rolls... I ordered the Fuji Mountain and the American Roll.. both were delicious... not Sushi Mike's quality, but WAYYYYYY better than I remembered Niji being!

My parents' house is under renovation, so we've been ordering out a lot (no kitchen access) so I ordered some more rolls for myself later in the week and just a basic sushi assortment for dear old dad.

After a few bites he looked at me in shock and said, "you said you got this at Niji? Huh.... Better than I remembered..."

My rolls were pretty good - fresh, creative, but the spicy mayo on the Spicy Girl roll was kind of gross. Kind of congealed or something - not very fresh...

So long story short and a bunch of delivery orders later, I'm still a Sushi Mike's girl, but I now like Niji enough to order delivery if I'm feeling lazy. Niji must be stepping up their game, and I'll be keeping an eager eye on them for future improvements...

P.S. I've never eaten physically at Sushi Niji. I don't even really know where it is. I mean, if I'm going into Dobbs Ferry for eat-in sushi - why would I go for anything but Mike's? Then again... maybe one of those times Mike's is too crowded (as can often happen) either to seat anyone else or just too crowded for my taste... I'll find my way over to Niji and give it a sit-down shot.

SO much better than it looks from the outside! For such a small space, they really make it comfortable and somehow roomy inside, and the food is great! I've lived in Irvington most of my life, and I've never been there until recently, because it always looked so uninviting from the outside. I had a great entree salad - avacado, dressing everything was fresh and just right. I tasted some of my mom's chick pea fries - delicious! My chocolate lava cake was wonderful too!! If you're looking for a fast, casual but nice dinner that's almost but not quite approaching "high end," this is a place that pulls it off nicely.

Pretty average. Good if you need a quick, cheap meal. Staff is friendly, it's clean, food is okay to decent. The bacon is not always but often burnt - and not in a good way. I like my bacon crispy, but I not BURNT! Their homemade soups are pretty good, and this may sound odd, but their simple garden salad is good for a diner. The veggies tend to be fresh, they don't just use iceberg, the house dressing is pretty good. I respect a place that has a good simple green salad!