Review Ishi Japanese Restaurant - Charlotte

Best hibachi in Charlotte, hands down! Ishi has been a favorite of ours for ages, even when it was in the strip mall. They still have quality food at great prices. This time around we got the Panther Roll, the mixed hibachi vegetables, and chicken/steak hibachi. The chicken wasn’t too dry, and was yummy as always. The steak was cooked just how we liked it, medium rare as ordered. The Panther Roll was amazing! Definitely appreciated the extra sauce on the side of the sushi. It’s a 40 min drive to Ishi for us, but WELL worth it! Also, I can’t write an Ishi review without mentioning the carrots. I could survive off these things. SO good!!

Order the Chirashi and California roll. The salmon was very fresh and succulent. The roll was delicious as well. I am definitely making this my go to place for express sushi!

Online ordering was easy and convenient. Take out only at this restaurant currently which is great to me. Glad to know they are still doing take out. My order was ready on time, fast, friendly, safe service. Food was delicious and fresh.

Been coming to Ishi for years. This area’s best kept little secret. Folks are always super friendly, service and food are always fast and fresh, and the prices are very fair, and plus it reliably tastes fantastic! Speaking of fantastic - the Fantastic Roll is superb.

We had smoked salmon fried sushi roll which was really delicious & hibachi shrimp fried rice which I never had before. Taste was good but probably will ask them not to put that carrots next time. Nobody checked if we need anything or how was food. Customer service could be improved. Good atmosphere with reasonable price.

I've been going for a few years now, and the service and food is always great. I typically do take out, and again, always love it. Orders are ready quickly (typically 15 minutes) and I've never had an incorrect item.

We have been coming here for years, and it has never felled once, they know us by last name and know our sauce preferences. Ishi is our favorite Japanese spot in Charlotte.

I came for a birthday dinner for a friend and the service was excellent. Our server Chan was attentive, hospitable and had the best attitude. The food came out in a timely fashion and it was delicious. The hibachi shrimp sauce is the best that I have had anywhere. I recommend coming if you like good hibachi and sushi.

I thoroughly enjoy Ishi's Hibachi dishes. Today I ordered the Hibachi Veggie to-go since their doing room is still closed...and I'm okay with that. They're following COVID protocol. My good is always hot and ready. It's so much food, enough for two meals! Added extra onions and side of noodles. Yum!

Love their hibachi. I’m picky with my hibachi spots and this one is one of my favorites. Food is very consistent and service is fast. No dine in, it appears the dining room is used for storage. Must’ve happened due to covid.

Great quality food as I received it fresh and hot. You get enough food for the money. Will be returning.

Used to be mine and my coworkers favorite sushi place until they stopped opening for lunch.

We just got hibachi steak and chicken but it was SO GOOD. Meat was flavored good, rice was perfect (and I'm weird when it comes to rice), veggies were great consistency (especially the mushrooms) - Definitely found my favorite place for hibachi in Charlotte 🥰😋

I started coming to Ishi 14 years ago when it was on the other side of the shopping center. The quality of food and friendliness of staff has never waivered. Amazing food for the price!

The food was horrible yesterday and the customer service is crap. I would not recommend. Ibonly ate there because NC Tavern was not open

We came yesterday after taking the kids to a trampoline park. The service was excellent. The food was excellent. We will definitely be back

The service was wonderful and the serving of food 🥘 you get is well worth the price you pay 💰. 😄

Terrible sushi. Very dirty inside and out. Don’t waste your time or money.

Best place in the 704 to get sushi! Always fresh! The wait staff are the best!

Love their sushi We had under the sea and rock my ocean, both were delicious Every time I'm in Charlotte I try to visit Wonderful sushi and the customer service is excellent

Always have the best service and nicest staff. Oh, and the food is great too!

great food great service really enjoyed the atomosphere

After visiting this establishment I will say every time I think to give them another chance, it is worse than the last. I visited them on August 6,2018 to eat with my family and the customer service was unprofessional, the food was mediocre, and the atmosphere was just flat. It baffles me that this restaurant is still in business. When I addressed my issues with management, they were extremely rude and unprofessional, accusing me of lying and stating they weren't going to do anything to compensate the unpleasantness of the visit. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS RESTAURANT, GO TO Hanaya Garden or Nakatos instead. I wish there were zero stars.

We always come here when we are in town. Service was great

Great service, great affordable food. Sushi is always fresh.

Awesome fresh and friendly this is our go to for sushi... nothing fancy but 5 of 5 stars for food value & service

It was a very awesome experience I had the cherry � blossom ������

I got the Fantastic roll!!!! It was soooo good! I haven't had GOOD sushi in a year!! Since before I moved from Baltimore & had some mediocre sushi here in Winston Salem but I'm so glad I went last night!!!

Compared to most other sushi restaurants this place gives you amazingly sized portions. Some of the more expensive rolls, like their Titanic roll, live up to their names. It's 7 pcs, but I always end up having to take two of them home. And that's saying a lot because I can put down some food. The staff is very nice and your beverage will never go dry. I've never been there before 8 p.m. but I heard there's quite a rush before that, so if you want your dining experience to be on the quiet side, I wouldn't show up until the rush is over.

I don't know where to start. We ordered food and my guest was served before me and my food came out ten minutes later. The fried crab was placed on a bed of old lettuce. They didn't even have a thermometer to check to see if it was completely done they cut my fried crab in half? That was a turn-off. Then they forgot the carrots and when they brought him out they were ice cold like they came out of the refrigerator. Quality and standards of food for this place I definitely go down. Will not return

The wait staff was very friendly and nice. I couldn't say enough nice things about them. The sushi was really fresh a tasted great! I would definitely recommend the shrimp and chicken! It was really good!

I loved the rice paper substitution option for the sushi! I'll be back just for that! The udon noodles were great too! The service was good and pretty fast.

Was near my hotel so thought I'd check it out. Absolutely loved my visit here. Waitress was very nice and helpful. I don't go to many sushi places and was not real familiar with things. I ended up ordering two different sushi rolls, some soup and wontons. A lot but wanted to try different stuff. All of it was fantastic. I enjoyed everything. There were two different large birthday groups but the place was still basically quiet and had a relaxed atmosphere. If staying in Charlotte again, I'll look forward to coming back.

Love love love this place. <br/>I've tried sushi all over Charlotte , and though there are some great places Uptown, I think they are overpriced. I've also tried the other Ishi location, and it wasn't as good as the University one. <br/>Ishi's Fuji Mountain and Spicy Tuna rolls are my favorites. Their presentation is beautiful and their staff is attentive, quick, and cordial. <br/>And their price is totally fair. <br/>Ishi University is our go-to place when ever we ate in the mood for a fresh, quick, tasteful dinner.

Even after I read the reviews, my girlfriend and I went to Ishi in University for dinner on a Monday night. Needless to say, I don't know how it has an 89% rating. I was not impressed. The sushi was boring and borderline tasteless. The atmosphere was lacking as well. It was a bit concerning to see that the only diners were my girlfriend and I and a party of 6...in the entire place...at 8 pm. I had the octopus cucumber salad and I couldn't eat more than a few bites. The octopus was tough and rubbery. Then I ordered the Hula roll (yellowtail, raw jalapeño, cream cheese and shrimp). This roll was actually decent but it should have been EXPLODING with flavor! But it was boring. I also had the mini taiyo taiyo roll, a house special. I found this roll to be I un-exciting and tasteless. Boring food aside, by far the worst quality of this restaurant is the service. It was horrendous! The waitress couldn't answer a single question about multiple menu items I inquired about without running off to ask the cooks/sushi guy. Okay, I can overlook that, but when a waitress rushes me into ordering, I start to get frustrated. She stopped by literally every 90 seconds until I just picked the first items I saw. I didn't even get a chance to look over the entire menu. She stood there waiting, pen in hand, til I just settled. When I gave her my debit card she just took and returned it without saying thank you. I'm in the restaurant business myself and here to tell you that a little gratitude goes a long way. In summary, I will not be returning to Ishi. Ever. I will gladly drive the 30 minutes to Ru-San's. I had so dearly hoped that there would be a decent sushi joint nearby. But, alas, there is not.

Just terrible!!!. Me and my boyfriend went out for what we hoped would be a great date night, we decided on Ishi based on the reviews, everything was horible! I ordered the squid salad which I swear is the same exact one sold at harris teters sushi section, then we got an alaskan roll and an eel roll, the alaskan was ok but the eel roll was seriously skimpy on the eel, it also had a funny aftertaste. The ginger had a nasty chemical/soapy taste. For dinner my bf ordered steak & chicken ramen which was super greasy and the steak was well done and not the md. rare he asked for. I ordered the habachi steak also well done not md. like I requested, it was just so bland and greasy. The only good thing on my plate was the carrots. The service left alot to be desired as everyone was gathered around the tv watching american idol our waiter only checked on us once and never refilled my drink. Im not sure if this place has just gone down hill in recent months or the other reviewers like greasy bland food, its about an hour later and me and my bf both have stomach aches, I WILL NEVER GO HERE AGAIN!!!!

Not sure what kind of sushi these other reviewers are used to, but it must be cruddy. The "tempura shrimp" in the sushi roll was obviously straight out of a box and it wasn't even tempura breading it was just plain fried shrimp. And it was mostly breading! NOT the type of sushi I'm used to for 10 dollars!!

Good food. This was some of the better fast jap. food in the univ area i was impressed when i went to this realitivly small restraunt the staff is friendly not my top pick but nothing the matter with it

Great place. The food was tasty. I usually order take-out so eating inside a restaurant was a nice experience especially since it was my first time. The next time I'm in Charlotte I will go back.

Quick, cheap, good!

I always get Chicken Hibachi and fried gyoza. Great value and tasty too!

I had the green mountain roll, V3 roll, and sea weed salad with hot green tea. It was all pretty good. They have a full menu with all the usual habachi dishes and other things if you don't like sushi.

Yum Yum. I recently moved to Charlotte from Florida, so you can imagine the quality sushi we get down in the sunshine state! I was pleasantly surprised when I ordered from Ishi. The sushi that I had had so far wasn't too great, but the sushi, as well as appetizers that I ordered from Ishi were phenomenal! <br/> The rolls are pretty creative, and the appetizers are awesome! I would recommend the Hawaii Tuna Poke...if you like raw tuna and fruit, it's awesome!!!<br/> Also, the hibachi meals are delicious and really cheap. I'm used to paying $13-$17 for a meal, however, here they are about $7.