kevin is amazing amazing show best cook red hat makes his eyes pop deserves a raise food tasted amazing read more

Sumo Japanese Steak House - This is kevin - Japanese Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

Food was disappointing. Grill was not working and had to be moved to another table. Chef did not interact with customers. Waitress never checked on table. When we got our bill, we were surprised to find an 18% surcharge for having a party of 5, came out to $25.00, in addition to being asked to include a tip. Beware of this surcharge. read more

Owner has made this place so bad!!!! Everything overpriced for very mediocre quality food. Chefs seem to be doing exactly what they're supposed to but with the quality ingredients there's nothing they can do. The restaurant is EXTREMELY run down and it's very obvious they are not putting any money in to the things that matter when running a restaurant. I'd be surprised if they'll even pass their next inspection. Hope all the staff find new better jobs when this place inevitably closes. read more

Sumo Japanese Steak House - Japanese Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

After receiving my DoorDash order, I was highly disappointed. My items were not as described. The soft shell crab was extremely small, the wings were soggy, and the fried sushi was overcooked. The only item I enjoyed was the dipping sauce. I did not enjoy the wing sauce that was advertised and the items were overpriced. I would not recommend dining here. No item was enjoyed read more

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Went on Valentine's Day. It was crowded as expected. Our reservation was for 8pm and the chef came out around 8:50. He was funny and gave a good show. Our waitress was nice as well. The food was good. My hibachi filet was plentiful and very tender. My vegetable tempura was nicely cooked but took a bit longer to come out. Overall a good meal. There were 2 food related issues however. They were completely out of soda (on tap) and only had $3 bottled options with no refill. The other issue was that they ran out of salad. The waitress said they were chopping some and that she'd bring us some if it was done while we were still there, but I guess it never was. There was no discount for this missing menu item. They also don't do (or didn't tonight?) appetizer shrimp. That was a sad realization. I love that. The restaurant itself was a little older but overall clean. read more

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We celebrated a birthday at Sumo Restaurant, and it was such a wonderful experience. From start to finish the food was cooked perfectly and full of flavor -- every dish hit the mark and left us impressed. Kevin made the night even more special. He was upbeat, energetic, and truly brought the celebration to life. Not only did he serve us with great care, he even joined in on the fun by banging the drum during the birthday song. His enthusiasm turned a simple dinner into a memory we'll all laugh about and cherish. This spot is perfect for a night out with family or friends. Great food, lively atmosphere, and service that makes you feel part of the celebration. Highly recommend stopping by for a meal and good time. read more

Restaurant had no soup. Salads were delivered with ranch dressing - they have no other dressings and never asked. One order was short the scallops - never made it to the grill. Specifically asked for no mushrooms and got veggies full of mushrooms. The smoke blew directly in our faces and disturbed the youngest child so we had to leave early. Used to be a decent place - not coming back here again. read more

This was my first time here. I ordered the teriyaki chicken hibachi. Our chef did not really do any tricks or provide an experience for us like some of the other tables had. Most of our food, tasted burnt. I could tell that the food really had the potential to taste great but the charred taste really threw everything off....cleaning the grill once it was burnt would've prevented other food items from tasting burnt. I was very disappointed by this and thought that the chef was more into having personal conversation with us, which I don't think was a good idea, considering how the food turned out. The best part of the meal was the miso soup and the sumo shot. I will definitely visit again if I'm able to be seated with a different chef . read more

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Disappointing Experience at Sumo on Clemson Rd. - Here's Why I Won't Be Back I haven't been to Sumo since it changed ownership, and unfortunately, I won't be returning. Here's why: 1. Severely Understaffed We went on a Tuesday night. Only two tables were seated, yet we still had to wait 25 minutes for a table, for a party of six with no one else waiting. Clearly not enough staff. 2. Cleanliness Issues While waiting to order, we noticed what looked like soy sauce on one of our plates. Our waitress brought a new one, but the dark spots reappeared, it was grease dripping from the vent hood above. They had to move us to another table. 3. Food Quality Concerns Out of Lettuce. At 7:00 PM on a Tuesday, they told us they were out of lettuce. No substitute offered, just "no salad." Still can't believe that one. Soup. Overwhelmingly salty, and I usually enjoy the standard hibachi broth. Entrée. No tableside prep for vegetables--everything was precut and looked machine-cut, lacking the usual flair. Carrots were oddly uniform. Rice tasted like it had been microwaved, and the shrimp were the smallest I've ever seen at a Japanese steakhouse, like rubbery salad shrimp. Portions. While they list the protein weights (e.g., 4oz chicken, 4oz shrimp), the portions felt small and not worth the $28 price tag. Bottom Line I truly want every restaurant to succeed, and I rarely leave bad reviews. But people come to places like this to celebrate life events, and we left feeling let down after spending $200. Everyone in our party said, "never again." Shout-out to our waitress, she was kind and clearly doing her best, but even she seemed frustrated (and baffled by the lack of lettuce!). read more

Sumo Japanese Steak House - Japanese Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

First time going since new management took over and service was awful! Waited one hour never received our food, then was told we were waiting for your chicken. Well no one ordered chicken. when I said we got shrimp the manager or whoever she was said we don't even have your ticket. Did not apologize or seem to care one bit. We had a hard time getting refills on our tea but the waitress took care of the ones sitting behind us. Also the waitress was eating her food while we waited and kids were running around everywhere! I will not return and don't recommend. By the way they only seat by reservations now. A party of 3 at 6:00 couldn't be seated in the hibachi area we had to sit in the bar area. Smaller menu choices and still couldn't get our food or decent service! I understand things happen but it was the reaction to them making a mistake and not even trying to correct it! Worst experience ever! read more

This was my first time dining here, and unfortunately it was a very disappointing experience. The service was extremely poor -- employees were rude and often just standing around instead of helping customers. I was also uncomfortable seeing premade salads stacked on top of each other and handled with bare hands. We had reservations for 8:00 PM, but by 9:00 PM we still didn't have our appetizers or a cook. Our waitress forgot our soup and appetizers, and when we asked about them, she told us the appetizer was still in the microwave. When she finally brought the soup, she asked us to taste it and let her know if it was okay because the previous batch had been "bad," which was very concerning. Overall, the experience felt unprofessional and unsanitary. I would not return. read more

Sumos never disappoints! The seaweed salad is amazing fresh, flavorful, and perfectly seasoned. Definitely one of the best around! read more

Sumo Japanese Steak House - Japanese Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

Tonight we dined at Sumo Japanese Steakhouse on Clemson Rd in Columbia, SC. Correction: tonight we survived Sumo. It wasn't our first choice, but the new restaurant we wanted to try wasn't ready yet. Honestly, neither was this one. We got seated on the sushi side, which doubles as the employee break room, apparently. Nothing sets the mood for raw fish like hearing a staff member blasting their personal speakerphone conversation two feet away. Forget ambiance--this was a live-action Verizon commercial with soy sauce. The hibachi side sounded like a chainsaw competition. The sushi side sounded like a call center. Somewhere in between, we were supposed to pretend this was "dining out." If you want a quiet evening, save yourself the trouble and chew ramen noodles in your bathtub while blasting a leaf blower. Same vibe, fewer regrets. Food highlights? Let's see... The edamame came with enough salt to de-ice a runway at LaGuardia. My blood pressure went up three points just looking at it. Then came the sushi rolls: Jose Roll, My Hot Lover Roll, and the classic Rainbow. Sounds delicious--until the rice showed up hotter and mushier than a middle school cafeteria mystery casserole. Sushi rice should be cool and firm, not something you can spread on toast. The nigiri? Unforgivable. Warm, gluey, and about as appealing as chewing on a wet sock. My husband insisted the fish was fresh. Great. Too bad it was sitting on top of rice that tasted like sadness and despair. Service? Our server was also the bartender, which meant she was running around like a contestant on "Restaurant Survivor." She did her best, but with half the staff lounging nearby and the other half in hibachi chaos, it felt like management was running a social experiment in human patience. And here's the kicker: this disaster set us back $75.00. Seventy-five dollars! For that price, I could've bought sushi-grade fish, a bag of rice, and a YouTube tutorial, and still had money left over for noise-canceling headphones so I wouldn't have to hear about someone's cousin's boyfriend's drama on speakerphone. Final verdict: 1 1/2 chopsticks out of 5. This wasn't dinner--it was a hostage situation with soy sauce. Sumo, we will not be back. Not in this lifetime, not in the next. If the apocalypse hits and this is the last restaurant standing, I'll be in the corner eating canned beans and thanking God I saved my $75. read more

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I really enjoyed myself at dinner tonight. the food was delicious and the service is amazing. I dined alone, only to sit next to a perfect gentleman. the food was top tier and I will definitely be back. read more

Went to celebrate my birthday. The food was good. The chef was good. He was funny, engaging and entertaining. It went south when I went to pay. I ordered two steak and shrimps to go and a vegetable plate, a kids chicken and an adult hibachi chicken. I noticed our waiter had two cochlear implants. We had to repeat ourselves when speaking to the waiter which was no biggie. When I paid he came back and slammed my card down stating it was declined. I asked why and he walked away. When he came back I demanded him tell me what exactly the machine said. He said well it said canceled. I then said dictated canceled is not declined and gave my payment. The payment was accepted. I asked to speak to the manager to give my experience. Her immediate response was "he's a handicap". I said that's doesn't matter or excuse things. Do I felt her comment was insensitive, yes, I asked her to work with him on his people skills and left. He still received his in tip but nothing more. Not likely to consider returning read more

first off this use to be my favorite place now it's the worst place so let's get started the service was slow and screwed up more than once they ran out of tea so we had empty glasses for 10 to 15 minutes they did not ask if we wanted something else to drink just stayed thirsty the food was not cooked in order like it use to be so it took the chef one hour to cook and he did not cook sanitary the food was bland did not have any taste he overcooked the steak and I asked for extra rice but never got it but I did not get charged for it thank god because the prices here had skyrocketed the meal cost me 95 dollars for two people and I would mind paying that if it was good very dissatisfied won't ever go back now I have to find a new favorite place read more

Made reservations for 3:00 pm at Sumo Japanese Steakhouse on Clemson Road. We were asked to arrive by 2:45 pm so can get the tables set up. We did but there was a sign that said tables were set up when all parties arrive. All parties arrive @3:15 pm. We were seated 20 minutes later. It is now 4:10pm and chef still hasn't made it to our table. They stated that they are understaffed but tell me what that has to do with us? Will never come here again. This was for my birthday! I'm sorry the waiter was caught in the crossfire of this review because he was nice! read more

Planned on celebrating my daughter's birthday here. Made reservations and when I came in I had 3 services starting at me like they seen a deer in headlights. No one said a thing to my party at all. Not hello one minute ! Nothing. After they finally talked among them selves they brought us to a table and put us on the section with no grill. Keep in mind my reservations were for my daughter's birthday and they knew that. We decided at that point the whole Ora and vibe was not worth our time or our money. We left and went to hibachi in Down town Columbia it was so good and the servers were kind and welcoming. I personally will never give sumos another chance. read more

Sumo opened today under new owner/management.. the previous reviews reflect the old owners... not the new. My wife and I enjoyed a wonderful experience and highly recommend that if you were disappointed before, you will not be now. Special shoutout to Libby and server Maru... give them a raise! read more

I just moved from NJ and was excited there was a Hibachi Restaurant within mins from my residence. But when I arrived , I was not impressed. The place looked ran down like a hole in the wall. No ambiance or place that you could trust preparing my food. The food prepared in front of us on the hibachi grill was good but the appetizers we ordered you can tell were frozen food probably purchased from a local store. They were not good at all. I gave the 2 stars because the staff was nice and pleasurable. I will not be returning. read more

Have had a couple of great family dinners at Sumo when visiting SC. Great food, and the hibachi chefs are very entertaining.

I visited this place and the food was amazing. Everyone there treats you just like there family. Place was very clean. All around service was on point. You should come try it out. read more

I knew "under new ownership" was more of a curse than a blessing Went to dinner with family last night. We didn't do the table service hibachi as we almost always do. Usually, the food is quickly served and piping hot. This time the we waited nearly 40 minutes, rice was cold, and veggies were barely cooked. The young lady who waited on us was very sweet and apologetic. Meanwhile, a table full of employees were sitting behind us carrying on, cursing, playing on their phones. I get it. Take a break, but please remember you're still at work. After going for many years, I can honestly say, we won't be back read more

Awful, terrible place. Was initially told a wait time of 20-30 min. Upon being seated waitress said we would have to wait an additional 30 min as they only had 3 chefs and we had 4 large parties ahead of us. Not to mention the additional guests were happy to see us leave, seems pretty racists and not wanting to serve anyone else. Went to let the host know how ridiculous this all was. She was great and apologized even offered us complimentary drinks but it was too late. Do not recommend this establishment at all, waitress was not friendly or even seemed like she wanted to take our orders. Leaving 1 star just because I'm not able to leave 0 stars read more

Thank you for serving my family on the 26th of January. The service was amazing, The food was amazing and all 20 people were happy with our experience. You all did an outstanding job. Thank you! read more

The service was mediocre, undercooked vegetables, no more of there great mustard sauce, no more sherbet for dessert, and very questionable billing practices. We've been going there for years but never again. I can certainly see why they only have 2.8 stars. It has certainly declined after changing ownership. read more

The cooking tables could use replacing, but the food and service are awesome. We had filet mignon and sushi, plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day read more

Great! Went at lunch time on Saturday was seated right away, chef was funny and food was delicious, it was enough to get full and still had leftovers to take with us. We laughed and enjoyed a great meal I will be returning. The restaurant looks nice inside and had a full bar read more

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The food was good. It has a total of 10 flat top tables, making it the smallest spot I've been to. But I like that becibdont like big crowds I'd people anyway. It was just the right size, and it was surprisingly packed! The cook was amazing! He was funny, he was personable, and he engaged with the kids! It was food. I informed him that my son had a shellfish allergy and he made sure that he had cooked all foods before doing the shrimp. I really appreciated that because he actually listened. Everything was good and I will go again. It was my niece 11th birthday and she loves going to places like this. They also had a separate section for those who just wanted to sit and eat without all the fire and fun. I've never had a bad experience at places like this except for one, but that is for another review! If you are in the Columbia area, check them out and go as soon as they open, or you will be waiting! read more

Sumo Japanese Steak House - Japanese Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

I have never been to a hibachi place with a group of kids and not had a show. I thought one of the key points of a seat at the hibachi table was for the show. The table behind us got a show.. there was no garlic butter added to the rice. I'm hoping the food is at least decent due to no show but I'll come back with an update because the service is subpar. read more

The wife and I would frequent this place on the weekend (usually on Sunday after church). We always order from their lunch specials. Unfortunately, the lunch specials are no longer offered. Since then, we no longer patronize this establishment. read more

I heard it could be a hit or miss I definitely think it was a hit for me! The chef was funny and made sure all orders were as requested due to the large group. It's not open all day. SUMO ON Clemson rd... check the times and show up accordingly otherwise you'll miss read more

Sumo Japanese Steak House - Knives Out - Japanese Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

This was the worst experience. We waited over 2 hrs to be seated. Once we were finally seated we were told that we still had to wait for another tabled to be served. A chef did arrive promptly and did well. The female server did her best to accommodate us but damage was already done. We each recieved 1 glass of tea and was told they were out. We asked for the manager and he was rude. He told us that they were trying and if we didn't like the service then we could get up and leave. This was our first and last visit. We have been here almost 4hrs. Thanks but no thanks. read more

This had to have been THEEE worst service I've ever experienced. First we were told over the phone to come around 7 and weren't given a table for almost 3 hours. Mind you, we were a party of 10 and somehow a party of 12 came in an hour later than us and got their seats first. The main courses were pretty good but they ran out of salad before we even sat down. And somehow ran out of tea. The only options we had for drinks were tea and water and they ran out of tea. But the most unforgivable part of this experience is how the manager treated my mother. Straight up told her to her face, "If you don't like the service then get the hell out." I'm never coming back to this place!! read more

HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE, that's all I have to say we get here at 5:50 pm wait 1 hour to get seated and we're certainly waiting for someone to cook on our dang table and it's certainly 7:30 pm & we're going to leave and eat McDonalds after we have waited about 2 HOURS! Don't waste your time. read more

Sumo Japanese Steak House - Japanese Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

I had fraudulent charges on my credit card after eating here. Spoke with the manager and she had not a care in the world. Told me that it wasn't possible for that to happen. If you go here pay with cash. Meon the other hand won't be going back. read more

Went for my birthday and was told to leave because they didn't have any chefs. Ordered takeout typically from here and it's decent but definitely unpredictable to go since they are having a lot of issues. Last time I got steak and it was very fatty but sometimes their food is good. Sad it can't be a reliable place. read more

We were seated quickly and our chef was super entertaining. I hadn't been here in a number of years and I was glad to have a good experience. The food was great too. read more

I used to eat here at least once per week but now that it has new management it is horrible. Quoted 30 minute wait and I was seated 1 hour and 15 minutes later. Once we were finally seated we learned they only had 1 cook and 4 tables ahead of us. If you have ever eaten at one of the restaurants where they cook in front of you then you will know it takes about 30 minutes per table. So I was looking at approximately 2 more hours before they would begin cooking my food. New manager has really ruined this restaurant. read more

Horrible absolutely horrible. I placed an order for 3 meals to include extra rice and extra shrimp for two of the meals and hardly got any rice at all! When I called back the young lady at the register was more concerned about the kitchen making the error and not her but aren't they a team? I HATE spending all this money for piss poor service! When I called back I was not offered an apology but a credit of $4.00 for the extra rice I didn't get but what about the regular rice with my order? My family and I will NEVER dine there again. If I could I'd give them a rating of -5 rating! read more