We have always loved and given our business to Oishi. Lately it has not been so phenomenal. The last straw was when we tried to make a reservation for THIRTEEN people to celebrate a birthday. They would not take the reservation, said the wait would be long. We were planning on coming from out of town for this specifically. Non apologetic nor were they polite about it. It's okay. We'll take our what would have been over a $450 bill to a different place of business. read more

If you go for lunch it is extremely well priced! I love their food and every part of the hibachi experience, I have thought that all the staff is very friendly and helpful. We never wait around for them to bring our checks or or cards after. They always bring refills on the drinks quickly or before you even finish the drink. I have had sushi here only twice and it wasn't that great but thats not what I would go to Oishi for. Love the yum yum sauce and rice! read more

The lady (probably the owner) had really bad attitude. Everything tasted like the same. One of my worst experiences.

Oishi is not really a "Japanese" restaurant; rather, it's just another "Asian fusion" place that tries to do something from everywhere, and so ends up doing nothing well. The food is decent, service is average. Dining room is rather open in layout and is modernist. Prices are a bit higher than the food quality justifies; you're paying for the decor. Considering that the view out the big main window isn't Mount Fuji or Lake Geneva, but rather a concrete parking lot and the north end of Prospect Avenue, well. . . . Might be a good place to take a date early on, especially one who doesn't know much about the various Asian national cuisines. Not a good place for people who are fanatical about their food. read more

My husband and I had lunch today and it was fabulous. I had the hot and sour soup and Pad Thai with chicken and he had the Wonton Soup and Singapore Noodles with chicken, beef and shrimp. Every thing we ate was delicious as well as plentiful! And our waitress was great. She was very polite and helpful. This is now our favorite lunch spot! read more

I've been to Oishi a couple of times and had a wonderful experience. The first time was for dinner, our waiter was very nice and even recommended to us that the portions were rather large and that we might share plates. Great suggestion! We got the green curry with chicken and the Thai crispy chicken. Both were absolutely wonderful, althought the thai chicken was my favorite. I've had a great experience here both times I went. I'd only give it 4 stars though because it was never very busy every time we went, and I thought they were during pretty normal dining hours. read more

We are big fans of Ron of Japan's, so we diddnt know what to expect here. We have eaten at Kamikura, and I was dissapointed several times. So I was looking for a good hibachi place and this is it! Their Hibachi is fun, and the chefs are amazing! Dont have much time to eat? Grab a booth and be in and out within 20-30 minutes. The Ginger salad dressing is most excellent, and the sessy sauce can be put over everything! Hands down my favorite restaraunt in Champaign now! read more

This review is for delivery only. I've never been in the restaurant. I love sushi. So I took a whim on this place. I'm so glad I did! The crab rangoon was awesome. It was not greasy. It was crisp and the filling was perfect. I would even say it's the best I've ever had. I have also tried the sushi. Made to order. It's FRESH! I've had the salmon, tuna, and octopus. All were great! My husband ordered the duck. He thought it was really good also. In the 2 months we've lived here. I've ordered it 4 times. I will continue to order from there. Also, descent delivery time. About an hour. read more

Dont understand the hate this place gets Very good sushi, fast service, was in and out in less than 40 minutes Their lunch special is hard to top, 3 rolls and hot and sour soup (which is very good btw) for $11.75 I got the shrimp tempura, chicken tempura, and spicy tuna roll - all were well made and tasted great The price cant be beat and the food is good, why all the low ratings? read more

I was greatly disappointed with the restaurant. We went to have dinner as a family and enjoy a good meal, but when we got there they had no accommodations for our child. They had no sling for his car seat and no high chair to sit him in. On top of that the star was extremely rude about it and it completely ruined my night. They are not a family friendly establishment and I wouldn't recommend them to my worst enemy. read more

Pros: The restaurant has a chic, classy look. The food garnishments are eye-catching and creative. The salad with ginger dressing is simple yet amazing, and the same is to be said about the Hibachi Misuo soup, although the flavor was reminiscent of Ramen. The Wasabi was fresh to give sushi-eaters the unique, exhilarating sensation the moment it touches the tongue. Cons: Remember that it's a Hibachi grill restaurant. This can be looked at as a good thing for those interested in a grill show as a talented chef prepares the meals before their eyes. Although there is an overhead vent to absorb the smoke, any nearby diners are left with the fragrance of barbecued meats and vegetables lingering on their clothes. As for the waiting service, it depends on who you get. I have received the best and the worst from here. Once, my waiter was a very polite and helpful young man, while another time, I was punished with an older, accented woman, dismissing our orders and hurriedly trying to take our sushi menus shortly after we had ordered all-you-can-eat sushi. This restaurant is obviously better as a sit-down restaurant, as takeout foods quickly get soggy and lose their grace. read more

Ridiculously terrible service received on Friday evening. Should give zero or minus star if possible. I've being to the restaurant hundreds of times and received good food and friendly service. However, the waitress who seats me on Friday, whom I never even met before and claimed to be working all the time insisted that I must follow her instruction and sit at some strange corner which is cold and refused my request for change in seat (which never ever happened in my experience at the restaurant), claiming that those seats are 'reserved' when I see no sign of 'reservation'. When I insisted to make a seat change, she showed great impatience and anger and tell me to ask manager. I left the restaurant immediately since I have no mood in eating anymore. The waitress totally ruined my evening. The worst waitress ever! She simply destroyed the reputation of such a good restaurant. I suggest the restaurant fire her immediately. Otherwise I won't go and will strongly discourage all my friends go and be treated terribly at the restaurant. If you really love the food there, which I agree to be fantastic, avoid Friday and Saturday, which is the time the terrible waitress claimed as 'always working on'. read more

I've gone to Oishi about 5 times, always invited by friends, because I'm not into sushi and would not otherwise choose this type of place. It's been the same story every time, but this is my first review. I figured if the place is so consistently bad at customer service 5 times in a row, it would be fair to review them poorly. Ive gotten chicken and steak each time and it's been great each time, but honestly it's hard to screw up if you're one, a chef, and two, just grilling plain steak and chicken and shoveling it onto the customers plate. They also grill veggies and rice all together and then portion it out to all at the grill. I liked the food and the chef did cool tricks to show off each time I was there. Nothing to complain about there. My wife and friends had the sushi and didn't seem overly impressed, but none of us are food snobs so they didn't complain and we were having fun watching the chef cook. The problem has always been the actual wait staff. They take your order, bring your first drink, and then you don't see them until they bring your check. The last time I was there, just 3 days ago, I ordered a beer and it was brought out pretty quick. I didn't chug it down by any means, but it was pretty much empty before the hibachi chef even got to our grill. My waiter never came back to check on us the entire time. I didn't even get a water. I ate my entire meal with nothing to drink. I tried to wave him down several times, but it was almost like he was purposely avoiding looking our direction. We all finished our meals except one friend who had been tending to his 9 month old son while his wife ate. Now he had passed the child off so he could finish his meal. I figured I'd still order a second beer to wait on my friend and just conversate with everyone since we don't see them much. I decided to just get up and go find the waiter. As soon as I stood up he emerged from the back like he was watching and waiting and asked if I was ready for my check. It's like they think they need to flip tables as fast as possible. Only problem was the place was nearly empty and it was 6 pm. I would have ordered several drinks had he ever bothered to come back during the meal as would all of my friends. And their drinks are expensive so they would have made probably more money off drinks than the overly expensive food. Needless to say it was disappointing to pay over $70 for me and my wife to eat average food and get terrible service. This is why we don't go out to eat often anymore. It's too frustrating to put up with servers who don't even try. We end up angry and pay a lot of money for it. Also, the seats were all ripped up and it just looked overall run down and unclean. I assume management isn't too experienced or just not motivated. I'm done giving them my money. There are plenty of other options in the area. read more

I love the shrimp tempura and the crab rangoons. Always my go to place for good sushi.

Absolutely terrible. The only place I've ate a salad with the spoon, it was more like a lettuce soup (ginger dressing). My mom ordered Pad Thai. I almost told her don't order Thai at a Japanese restaurant but I didn't. It was like a lean cuisine. The quality of the chicken was about the same as a hot pocket. Slimy, gross. I think I've had precooked Tyson chicken that wasn't as gross. The noodles were just straight up boiled and not even fried. Overall, un-edible. I got sushi and it was sloppy and not so fresh. I hate to be a negative nancy but do your self a favor and skip this place. read more

A concept restaurant that tries to be trendy Pan-Asian, and succeeds on the urban aesthetics but was disappointing with what matters most - the food. Our family of four tried a variety of dishes. One of us (who is happy with rice and chicken wings) enjoyed his meal. The rest of us felt, well, "meh". But first, here is what was good: (1) the beer was cold and typically priced - no drafts here, though. (2) our steamed broccoli and broccoli with brown sauce was perfectly cooked. (3) the food was nicely presented on white china. And now the rest. Our waitress was quite eager to please but was woefully unprepared and poorly trained. The chicken wings were artfully presented on a bed of lettuce leaves nestled on a long white rectangular plate. As soon as it hit the table, my son and I couldn't help but start laughing and what had to be the smallest wings we had ever seen! My other son's "pink lobster" sushi sounded great - but tasted dull and uninteresting. My wife had some standard sushi - tuna and yellowtail - but the fish seemed rather tasteless and the rice seemed to be made of long-grain Chinese style rice rather than the traditional short-grain, and did not hold together well. This is inexcusable for a sushi restaurant. I had the sesame seared tuna on buckwheat soba noodles marinated in peanut sauce topped with nori and some kind of wasabi aioli. Sounds great, right? The fish was nicely seared but still raw in the middle, but the flavors were a mess. Instead of enhancing the taste of the fish (which was not very tasteful), they overpowered it in a clash of confusing flavors that competed rather than complemented. So disappointing, especially considering the prices. For our family, there is no reason to return. read more

This restaurant just opened recently in the building which was previously a sushi buffet, and before that, a Boston Pizza joint. I hope Oishi stays there for a while because it gives people in the shopping district of North Prospect a great option to all the bland, uniform, and boring chain restaurants on the same strip. Took my wife and six-year old son there for sushi the other night. The restaurant's interior is beautiful, classy, and spacious. My wife yelled at me for not telling her how "fancy" the place was, otherwise she would have showered and put on nicer clothes! Ha! We sat outside and I loved the fact that they had glass walls that kept the constant central Illinois breeze out of our faces, yet didn't obstruct our view of the lovely blue autumn sky. The sushi is reasonably priced, and pretty good for central Illinois. They also have a large menu of Thai, Chinese, Japanese, and all sorts of options for the non-sushi eater. Not the best sushi I've ever eaten, but I'm from the west coast so fish around these parts is always suspect to me, but the Spider Roll and Oceans 14 rolls we tried were delish. I actually have no complaints about the sushi. My son loves salmon and devoured a salmon avocado roll all to himself in minutes. The presentations were absolutely gorgeous. For the Spider Roll, the sushi chef created a spider web traced out of different colored sauces you could dip your pieces in. Really, really fun, and great service. I hope more people check this option out on North Prospect and keep it alive. If you are sick of Chilis and Red Lobster, Oishi is the way to go! read more

I was that person that stated I would never try sushi. I was missing out! I admit I'm not into the authentic sushi yet; I'm still working my way through tempura's and slowly ordering out of my comfort zone. If sushi isn't what you want, they offer cooked Chinese dishes (sweet & sour chicken, beef & broccoli, etc.) and other items. Their menu is quite extensive. A fun place to gather with a group of friends, everyone order something different and share to see what you like! read more

Waiter did not speak english the first time I went. He messed up a food allergy order. Second time I tried again, waitress did not speak english. No one speaks english at this establishment. Sushi is sub par. read more

Just ok, but then i am from new orleans. This may be peak experience for the cornfields... beef satay was tough as shoe leather, rolls (maki) were small, tasted fresh but uninspired...place was packed by 730 pm on a Saturday. read more

We just went to Oishi for New Years Eve and I'll admit they have some good service, but its just not enough to keep me coming back. Compared to the other Teppan-style restaurant in town it doesn't even hold a match, let alone a candle for flavor. The pricing for the sushi & Teppan table are great & their service is speedy, but when the food (all the food!) is lacking in flavor none of the other aspects really matter. Neither our rice or veggies were thoroughly cooked (both too hard!) & the sauce the chicken was doused in - without being asked mind you- thoroughly ruined any desire to come back. Best part of the whole visit was the company & we will gladly take them somewhere else next time!! read more

Great steak, nice bartenders and sushi chefs but average service at the cooking tables. I would go back.

I called to make a reservation, and the staff who answered made a mistake. When I called back to check on my reservation I got yelled at and told "there is nothing I can do." Terrible service. Needless to say my reservation has been lost and my,dinner plans ruined. Very very unhappy. It is never,ok,to yell at a customer over the phone read more

This is a friend's favorite place, so we tried coming here once and the wait was way too long. This time we came at an off time, mid afternoon on Sunday and there was no wait. We did the hibachi and had very good food. We shared the table with others. Our server cooked each person's food to their liking and everyone seemed happy. I had tofu with veggies and it was very good. One friend did not care for the scallops but that was a personal dislike. The only negative was the amount of soy sauce makes the food very salty. read more

Absolutely terrible! I went to Oishi for my birthday/Valentine's Day and everything was a joke! First of all, we got there and there was hardly anyone in the restaurant so that was a sign in itself. Our waiter didn't even acknowledge us for 10 minutes after we sat down. The salads were iceberg lettuce with two tomatos on top. The miso soup had 3 pieces of tofu and the wonton soup literally had 1 small wonton in broth. We then sat for 1 and 1/2 hours before my boyfriend got his meal (stir fry noodles with shrimp which was not good at all) and I proceeded to wait another 30 minutes to get my 1 sushi roll. After 2 hours of waiting, the roll was good...but I will never go back again. read more

I had a lovely dinner experience with a large group of friends. The service was great & the food I thought delicious. I recommend the Ginger dressing for your salad, wonderful! The lettuce wrap appetizers were very flavorful and the main course of Sushi was spectacular in presentation & taste. Will definately go back! read more

It used to be my go to spot for lunch but now the customer service is horrible and the food is mediocre. I have waited at the entrance for over 10 minutes before a host attempted to seat us mind you no one was in front of us or anything. The employees had a loud argument just inches away from my table, which is very unprofessional. I would of recommended this place last year but not now. It is a waste of money and time. read more

Had the worst experience there tonight. My server was Lynn, she was agitated and rude from the beginning. I tried to be nice and understanding at first as I figured maybe they were understaffed and she was stressed? I had ordered a martini prior to ordering food. Lynn stopped by and said it would be a couple minutes after a few minutes. After about 20 minutes I went to the host stand as I did not see my server and asked if she knew where my drink was. Several minutes later Lynn came with the drink very angry, and asked "you don't want this anymore?!" I told her I had asked the host where it was. Lynn then yelled "I asked you if you could wait a couple minutes and you said yes!" I told Lynn it had been 20, and that it was fine I didn't need the drink now (as rude as she was, keep it). Lynn yanked the drink away spilling some of it and leaving in a big huff. She checked on us once towards the end of the meal. Upon paying and leaving, I asked to speak to a manager to inform them about the service as so this wouldn't happen to someone else. The manager was at the host station in jeans and a T-shirt and said his name was jingo or something? He wouldn't look at me, and when I told him we received really poor service he said "ya, ok." And I said we were yelled at, and he kind of waived his hand and kept working on whatever he was working on up front. A mere apology and "we will handle it" would have been expected. Absolutely worst restaurant experience I can recall. I had went out to eat to enjoy myself, and was really looking forward to a drink at the end of the day. I will say, their food is good. But your gambling if you go there on the experience you will have. read more

Just save yourself and skip this one. The seasoning was all wrong on the hibachi and just greasy. Plus when the egg was cooked the flat top was too hot or something because the egg started burning right away. You know that disgusting smell when you accidentally spill egg on to the stove and it burns? Yeah well that was mixed into the rice and it went downhill from there. The guy cooking everything kept putting sauces into the food trying to mask the taste. I had to have a re-do on my meal because it was burned to a crisp on the grill. It tasted like burning. Thankfully they didn't charge me double but my re-do wasn't much better but at least it was kind of edible? Also I got vegetables and tofu but there was shrimp! I asked the guy why my vegetarian meal had shrimp in it and he said it just comes with two shrimps. I'm not vegetarian but heck this place was kind of sketchy and I didn't want to get food poisoning from the fish! Also that tofu wasn't tofu... Nope not coming back. read more

ADY is an awesome chef and extremely funny. Highly recommended restaurant. The food is excellent. Very entertaining. 4 children under 7 were with us. They enjoyed. Will be back again. read more

It took 50 min for the hibachi chef to show up at our table.. No apologies, no explanation, poor service.

Food was delicious. Service was absolutely horrible. We had a dinner party at this place and it was an embarrassment. Never again. 15% off our meal didn't make up for it. Some of our guests never even got their meal. There were 20-45 minutes between when different peoples' plates getting served. All in all a terrible experience. read more

AMAZING is all I have to say!! Food was outstanding, service was perfect and prices were unbeatable. I can safely say it is the best sushi restaurant in town. read more

I love this place! The food is good. The service is good. I just go for the hibachi!!!

I recommend this place strictly for the hibachi experience. The wait was about an hour to get a table. Once we were at our table we then waited another twenty minutes for drinks. However, once we got our chef there, it was quite the show!! No word but entertaining would describe it. The chef was personable, funny, and interacted well with the whole table. All of the food was fantastic. It is a lot of food! To make things better, they discounted our meal due to the long wait. So I respect that. I will go back but only for the hibachi grill. I won't go to sit at a regular table. read more

My fiance and I are regular Oishi patrons. We've only ever sat at the Hibachi tables and have enjoyed the show every time. I always order the chicken (I dont eat any seafood or sushi) and he typically gets either the shrimp and scallops or chicken and scallops. We LOVE the orange sauce, or as they call it 'sexy sauce' that they give you to go with your meal. The food is always delicious, and the atmosphere is nice. I will agree with some of the other comments about the customer service. It isn't terrible, the chefs and the wait staff are generally pretty friendly and attentive. However, the last time we were there (and almost every time we go) we have to wait a good 3-5 minutes before anyone comes to the host stand to seat us. It's a little frustrating, but when they do come they're nice. Overall, we love Oishi and will continue to go there! read more

If I could rate this place negative stars, I would. I had a similar experience to other reviews in terms of customer service. My husband and I ate here for the first time. I ordered several different sushi rolls to share. When the sushi came out, the fish was pureed and the texture was not pleasing to the palate. I began explaining to the server that I did not know that the fish would be served like this but was met with an aggressive voice. I kept the food and attempted to eat it, but even the veggie tempura roll, which had no fish, was not good. Both my husband and I felt that we simply could not eat the sushi. My husband called the waitress back over and explained that the sushi is not very good and we could not eat it. She became even more aggressive, stated that she was going to get a manager. She went over to a woman at the hostess station and was talking about me in plain sight. It was obvious that this was going to be problematic. The woman came over and was immediately aggressive. She stated that I got the food that I ordered and I should have asked how the sushi was made and that we would pay for half. She became so aggressive that I had to ask her to stop speaking to me unprofessionally and stated that I would be placing a review online. She eventually left the table following my pleas for her to leave. I expected that she was a manager, since the server stated that she would get a manager, but then she stated that she would get a manager. I never met the manager, but this women who was neither a manager or our waitress returned to the table stating that it was removed from the bill but left the sushi at the table. After 10 minutes, this woman returned clarifying that we did not want the sushi and removed the dish. It seemed as though they felt we were trying to get free food and would then eat it once it was removed from the bill. It was beyond their ability to accept and recognize that in comparison to other restaurants in town that their food is subpar. The waitress then went to the kitchen and was complaining about me so loud that I and everyone else in the dining room could hear her. I could not get out of this restaurant fast enough. I will never go back and would advise going to KoFusion, Sushi Kame, or My Thai for quality sushi and professional and kind service. If money is tight, try buying your sushi grade fish at AmKo and in the comfort of your home, experiment with making your own sushi rolls. If you would like to create the same experience as Oishi, put your fish in a blender with bland sauce, roll it in half cooked rice and have someone berate you through the entire process. read more

Food is excellent but the guy checking people in is so rude. We have been going there for years always great! However this time he ruined the night also my sons bday and they had the nerve to charge $5.00 for a desert no one ate just not right if you are going to charge ask what we would want!!! read more

My wife and I love this place. We try and eat there at least once a month. The staff is always very friendly and the food is excellent. I enjoy the sushi and my wife cant say enough good things about the chicken and brocolli. The portions are very reasonable and the prices are lower than any other resturants like it in the area. read more

I have been there a couple of times and the food was okay. The waitress was pretty clueless but pleasant. I do have one major issue though. My husband and I had a half priced gift certificate to use and the couple we were dinning with had a coupon as well. The manager apparently doesn't care about customer service because he refuses to let a table use more than one "coupon." I understand if you asked for one check and tried to use 2 coupons but we were clearly two couples sitting at one table. I will not go back there again. There is better sushi with better service who will appreciate customers who come and spend a good chunk of change! read more