Oishi Japanese Restaurant

Oishi was one of my favorite sushi restaurants in Tampa when it first opened. It took a bit of a slide in quality around 2009, but has picked the slack back up and is now serving quality fish once again. Their salmon tastes great (my favorite fish) and their Japanese entrees are your standard. The interior of the restaurant has always been pretty nice with the bamboo sticks and interesting decorations - but the wooden seats are slightly uncomfortable. Service is usually pretty decent - occasionally sloppy. Not the best place in town by far, but a good choice if you're in the area.

Pros: Tasty fish, nice decor

Cons: Spotty service, uncomfortable chairs

I had been to Oishi once within the last 6 months and decided to go back and bring a few friends. I remember the service being a little slow the first time, but not enough to give me a poor opinion of the restaurant. Well man was I wrong. There were 4 of us in our party and we were at Oishi for over 2 1/2 hours, and not by choice. It took 15 min to get a drink, another 20 to get our order taken, that should have been our clue to leave right there. My friends ordered hibachi and sushi and I ordered sushi. My sushi was brought out well before their soup and salad, and I had to wait over 10 minutes before a waiter became visable again to ask for soy sauce and a plate. Finally their soup salad, sushi, and entree came all at once. They had to ask for utencils, and we all had to ask for water. We were never asked if we would like another bar drink or refill on soda during the entire dinner. Food was bland, and now my sushi was lukewarm because of waiting so long. We waited another 20 minutes after finishing our meal for our checks to be delivered, after asking for them as well as a manager. The manager spoke very little english and was hardly apologetic. We were offered a discount, which

Pros: Decent menu options

Cons: Horrible service, bad management, poor food quality