Sushi Ai

Meh. Their menu is NOT the same as that at the MO locations, and it’s more expensive: for my lunch, I had the option of paying $ 12.99 for a limited buffet, or $ 14.99 for the full lunch buffet that only costs me $ 12.99 across the river. Anyway, I splurged on the $ 14.99 because my favorite, Makerel, was on the «premium» side of the menu.
Like others have mentioned, the waiter disappears. My visit was no exception. When he brought out my food, he disclosed that they «were out of Makerel for the day.» First, it’s only 1pm, and secondly, that would have been great to know before wasting an extra $ 2 for nothing. I also ordered one roll (Tokyo Sunset) on two of my plates, and received something different each time. Oh well; at least both were good, whatever they were. I’m used to Sushi Ai’s «heaping» rice portions, but this location was exceptional; the rice that came with my nigiri was the size of a roll of quarters every time; crazy. But, my fat ass ate it all anyway.
Unlike the MO locations, the all you can eat menu here doesn’t provide roll descriptions. Consider holding on to your regular menu if you’d like to keep a description of the rolls handy as you continue to order.
Overall, «meh.» Certainly not quite as bad as I was anticipating after reading Unilocal reviews, but not spectacular, either. I love Sushi Ai, and have been to most of their locations; this one is probably my least favorite. Still, not that bad.

Coming from California, I am pretty picky with sushi. I have been here several times and don’t know why it has bad reviews. It’s an okay place for ok sushi and a good price.
#1 all you can eat for cheap and they coupons for buy 2 get a 3^rd person free are great. Food orders usually take 10mins per order put in.
#2 The place is usually only ¹⁄₃ full of customers so you always find a seat. Nigri sushi slices and rolls on the small side so all you can eat is a bargain. Prices for sushi by the roll or piece are average sushi price.
#3 Fish quality varies from good to ok, but are limited in what type are offered. The chef doesn’t always seem to know how to slice it (sometimes does so away or with the meat «grain» — there is a right way), but is willing to make any roll you can come up with.
#4 Service is lacking as we often have to really try to get server attention for food, utensils, or condiments.
Their website is down at this time. All in all, we have always had a good time.
#5 No kids menu but have cooked menu. Are in combined suite with china king chinese food; 2 entrance doors but one sitting area divided by curtain. This means there are plenty of cooked dishes for nonshushi lovers and kids.

This place is crap! Worst service ever! Rude server, and took forever to get food when there was no one else there! Never again! Food wasn’t even that good!

Decided to try a new sushi place. I regretted it so much. The rice was dry. The wasabi was hardly spicy. The soy sauce was basically brown water and the service was lacking on top of that. I will not be coming back to this place. I ordered California, spicy salmon, and shrimp tempura. Prices were not bad if it had been good but it was not.

Ok, strike three. I’m pretty sure the owners/​management don’t read this but I owe it to the sushi people out there. Drive to the Zumbehl Sushi Ai. I know it’s an extra half hour, but this location has become increasingly worse. The help was the prevelant complaint but last night I noticed everything I touched was sticky. And the product just isn’t worth the wait, especially when I had to wipe down our table, and remind the waiting staff 3 times about what we ordered. There were 4 tables with a pair of waiters. It’s not going to get better. I was hoping it would. I guess the old rule of avoiding sushi in a chinese restaurant applies. It’s like an outdoor cat pretending to be an indoor cat (sad). Sorry Daryl.

Food is okay, but the service is terrible. If you get the all you can eat, plan for a long wait if want an additional roll or two. Waited 25 minutes for second plate!!!

Horrible customer service. I’ve bought food here 10 times and they’ve given me a wrong order every time. The employees are loud and obnoxious the entire time. At times I found myself wondering if I was on a prank show. But when they managed to give me wrong items on carry out orders too I accepted that the incompetence was legitimate. At one instance I asked the server why the price of my meal was incorrect. Somehow that was interperated as «every employee here come stand around my table to figure this out.» China King was exceptional before their expansion. But since this opened up, there has been a very steep decline in quality. The only reason I’m giving this a one star rating is because Unilocal won’t give me the option of selecting zero.

The sushi wasn’t that wonderful but the service was decent. I would recommend their apps or hibachi dishes. But the sushi… not much.

Price was very cheap for sushi buffeet. i think its kool to just go and have sushi instead of alot of chinese buffeet too crowded. quality of sushi is ok compare to the price. service was alright. overall it was aliight. lol

Service is awful! Waited on phone for 10 minutes, then took hour for to go when they told me 30 minutes. Store was slow but wait staff seemed like they could not handle it. I had to ask the wait staff after waiting where my to go was. Then order was wrong and they did not even check the order.

Looks like a Dive but it’s a Sushi heaven! All you can eat sushi for $ 19.99. This girl can eat some sushi and often I end up spending $ 40 just for me… Love that I can eat as much as I want for $ 20! Although the food is very good the staff is horrible. I just think that perhaps they need to slowdown and pay attention. I would have given the more stars if they would be polite to their customers.

Going here tonight for some deep fried sushi… Its my wifes favorite. I like the service and think they have great eggrolls.
They also have a nice american gentleman that answers the phone… Very nice touch sushi ai

I have come to Sushi Ai many times since they’ve opened in O’Fallon. My previous review was over the top. Great sushi at a great price. However today, I had an issue with their sanitation and food preparation. I don’t want to get into specifics, but I was quite disappointed and brought it to the attention of my server, who proceeded to acknowledge the error and then went on to do nothing.
From now on, I’ll make the trip across the river for my sushi.

I love all the other locations but this one is horrible. I found a hair in my food and the staff said that it was part of a dumpling. Trust me it’s worth it to drive a little farther to go the down town location.

I have been to this «restaurant» several times… each time thinking that SOMEHOW it has got to get better. This is mainly due to the fact that I grew up LOVING the attached restaurant, China King. They have the best chinese food in town. I am pretty picky when it comes to sushi & japanese food, and have worked at several sushi restaurants in my lifetime. With that being said, Sushi Ai has some of the worst sushi I have ever tasted. The fish is NOT fresh, the rice is almost always overcooked, & their presentation lacks creativity and class. The only good roll I’ve had there (which is hard to mess up) is the shrimp tempura roll. For ponzu sauce, they merely give you a bowl of vinegar.
Most importantly, let me touch in their service. It is horrible. The host/​waiter there is extremely rude and rarely even greets you with a hello when you walk in the door. I’ve seen him do this to several people besides myself. He is lazy & does not check on the tables often or refill waters. He has a very monotone voice & it is obvious that he hates being there. He is more concerned about playing on his phone in front of customers than making sure that he earns his tips.
If you’re looking for good sushi in the O’ Fallon/​Fairview area, I would suggest heading over to Seven in Belleville or Wasabi in Fairview. They have the best sushi in the immediate area.

First and foremost — the service sucks. Plain and simple. They’re not friendly and they were not attentive whatsoever. My water glass sat empty for quite some time. Also the two rolls we ordered took far too long to make given the vacancy of the restaurant.
Onward to the good: the sushi was quite yummy. I finally found my perfect veggie roll. Avocado, cucumber and sweet potato. My husband even caved and decided to order some fish (he WAS vegetarian up until this point). The jalapeño roll he ordered looked phenomenal. I wasn’t very happy with their house salad. The dressing was too sweet for my liking. The salads at Sushi Tatsu and Sake are far superior and they’re free. Granted the size of salad at Sushi Ai was much larger, but I’m all for sacrificing quantity for quality.
I’ll probably come back here eventually, but I would highly recommend going to Sake instead.

The kids talked me into sushi ai. We got a variety of rolls. They all were delicious. The only negativethe fish on the nigiri were kind sliced very thin.
The interior was very nice for a strip mall location. The service is good, but they seem disengaged. But, I can’t really complain. If you ask for something it shows up, the drinks remain filled. Still not as nice of servers as Maryland heights. So keep that in mind.
They are a solid performer. I have not tried the coupons.
In the words of MacArthur, I will return.

While this place has all you can eat sushi, i just do not think it is very good quality sushi. If you don’t really care about taste and just want cheap seafood then come here.
My hubby did the three rolls, four pieces of sushi and an appetizer for $ 2.00 less than the all you can eat… it was just not needed, not that he couldn’t have polished off more food he just didn’t want… this special is there «TO GO» all you can eat.
Also im disgusted with there coupons, they never know what they are… i have an insert that said kids eat free with an adult all you can eat… and they don’t even have a kids menu, so they told me that my kiddo could order something from the appetizer menu.
Secondly, they say «ANY THREE ROLLS or TWO ROLLS for $ 10.99, and $ 7.99. This does NOT really mean any rolls, they will bring you a sheet of paper of their most cheapest rolls for you to chose from, its not from their full menu, i think you only have about 12 rolls to choose from.
This is not the first time with there coupons to get you in there. you can read my other review…
I am utterly disappointed with this place when i come to think about it. I have gotten a bento box twice which has not disappointed me or the price, if i was eating alone it would be one thing… trying to save money another… I really don’t think i will come back here again. I’ve tried them twice!
Just ask questions about your coupons cause you may not get what it says!

Great food! Horrible waiting :(
I want so badly to give this place 5 stars, as that’s what the food is… but can’t.
Paying $ 13 for all-​you-​can-​eat sushi is awesome, and well worth the cost. The wait is ridiculously long for lunch two out of the three times I“ve been though, and definitely detracts from the experience. It has taken up to 15 minutes per order.
Word of advice, order more than you think you’ll eat the first time. You do have to pay 25 cents for every uneaten item, but it’s much better than waiting, especially if you have to get back to work within a specified timeframe.

I have been here a few times and still have mixed feelings about this place. I do not like the set up what so ever. It reminds me of being in a café. Not where I usually want to be when I eat Sushi. Although, if it was AMAZING sushi, I could eat it sitting on top of a cardboard box. I wasn’t a fan of the Sushi Ai Roll. It wasn’t at all what I expected for some reason. I did like the wasabi totiko and the spicy tuna. They were both flavorful. The service I got was pretty good the few times that I was there. It’s close to my office so I’ll probably stop by for lunch quite a bit out of convenience.