I've been to shoku a few times now. It is a bit pricey, but I really like their sushi. I've had their futomaki, tiger, Phili, and veggie rolls. The quality and taste is good. I've had their miso and seaweed salad, which is also very good. I don't really like how their seaweed salad has actual noodles, but that's okay. I hope this place survives because it's rarely busy!!
(4)
Michelle L.
Everything I've had here I love. I get the fried pork pot stickers. They are amazing. We also always get their sushi. It's fresh and very flavorful and great presentation. A very cool place for a date or a small get together with the girls. I recommend this place to everyone-- you won't be disappointed.
(5)
Devon S.
My friend and I shared a few appetizers and a Seafood satay. The food was decent, no complaints. After we were done eating, I was picking around in the satay dish and noticed something clear. At first I thought it was some sort of noodle, but then I realized it was glass. I dug around a little more under the sauce and found another piece of glass! My friend and I, both experienced in serving and preparing food, didn't want to make a fuss. We are also very passive aggressive. However, I told the waitress and she said something like, "oh, a glass broke, but there's no way that could have gotten in your food." "I am sorry about that, here's your check." I was very disappointed with the way that was handled. She should have told her manager, we should have gotten a discount, or our meal for free. I will not be going back.
(2)
Carly W.
3.5 stars We popped in to Shoku last night after I decided that the music at the Grandview Cafe was just entirely too loud, and I didn't feel like shouting at my husband all through dinner. I may not have gone in had I read some of the Yelp reviews first, but I have to say I'm glad we did. The interior was lovely. As many have mentioned, there wasn't a crowd so we were seated promptly. Our server was very personable and attentive without being one of those "HOW IS EVERYTHING" every 5 minutes kind of waitresses. They were out of an ingredient for one of their martinis I wanted to try, but the waitress suggested another option that I loved. 5/5 on the beverage, would drink again. The food was nice as well. I think we had a particularly good experience because we didn't treat it like "oh this is a sushi place," we treated it like an Asian fusion restaurant. The mussels were good, but not for the price. They were also really, really large, and I notice I tend to prefer smaller mussels, finding them sweeter and more tender. The broth in which they were served was quite lovely though, being essentially miso soup with pickled ginger. I had the Buddha Feast, which was tofu with veg. The tofu was delightfully crisp and the sauce well balanced with hints of fruit and fresh. The veggies were nicely prepared as well, particularly the little fried cubes of sweet potato. 4.5/5 on the Buddha Feast. The husband had the chili prawns, a dish we both enjoyed. The shrimp were a nice size, and the butter-based sauce made it remarkably flavorful and with incredible umami but without being too rich or overwhelming. Generous portion size to boot. 4/5 on this one. Hubster also got 2 of their specialty rolls, and the fish was fresh and bright. I tried a piece of one of the salmon rolls, and it was good. Didn't knock my socks off, but didn't disappoint me either. 2.5/5 or 3/5 on the sushi rolls. All in all, this was a positive experience and I'd be happy to give it another go. I think that if more people tried some of the other options besides sushi, they may enjoy this place more. 3.5 Stars overall.
(4)
Jordan F.
Some girls at work planned a lunch outing here and my first thought was all the bad yelp reviews I had seen (this place is really close to me so I have thought about going here a million times and decided not to because of the rating) BUT I have to say I have been here twice now and the sushi is good and consistent! It also has an amazing patio! I recommend giving it a try :)
(4)
Josh S.
Had a good meal. I tried the spring rolls which is an egg roll cut in half. I tried the hot stone bibimbap. It was amazing, the rice was crunchy on the sides, the beef had a great flavor. The only thing I was disappointed was with the amount of bibimbap sauce they serve (about 2oz)
(4)
Jeremy W.
Not very happy with visit. Salad had wilted lettuce, miso soup tasted old and salty. Sushi chef drinking a drink without lid, and texting on cell phone without washing hands between tasks. This place would be fantastic with some solid management.
(2)
Mickey W.
Excellent Sushi and excellent service. My eat a lot of Sushi and Shoku's food was very good. My server was very knowledgeable and did an amazing job making for an overall very pleasant dining experience. I highly recommend.
(5)
Tash L.
Shoku is not nearly as bad as everyone makes it out to be. I am a true believer in Yelp reviews and typically, I go running in the other direction when a restaurant has an average rating below a 4 so I surprised myself by agreeing to go to Shoku (with its 2.5 star average rating) not once but TWO times!! The first time I went, we mostly stuck to sushi. Let's be honest. It's not the freshest, most mind blowing sushi you've ever had but it certainly makes the cut. The second time I visited Shoku was today, with the assistance of a Groupon (who doesn't like a good deal on Friday night dinner?!). We ordered some sushi - spicy tuna and California rolls, the fire pot chicken, and some vegetable spring rolls. All were pretty good. A couple pieces of sushi were a little "fishier" than I typically like but all around, not bad. The star of the meal was definitely the fire pot chicken (thanks Yelpers for the tip!) - crispy but not crunchy, and smothered in a flavorful sauce. The spring rolls were my least favorite (not because they didn't taste good but because they were VERY oily). So why does Shoku get such a bad rap? Well, the service is...well...not good. And the prices are a tad bit high. But if you're in Grandview and in the mood for Japanese (/Korean) food, it's not a bad option!
(3)
Todd G.
Stopped here on Friday since the girlfriend had a Living Social deal. We were seated right away, probably a bad sign when there were a total of 5 tables occupied. Our server was really odd, he ended up taking our drink order, and had to go to the bar and make her drink, then we see him pour a Coke from a 2 liter? They don't have fountain? Cans?. Her drink was good, Coke was flat from a day or two old 2 liter. We ordered the pot stickers app when he brought the drinks, and he never came back around for 10 minutes until the app was ready: Pot stickers were bland, very little taste to them and small. The service was poor all night, our water glasses sat empty for quite a while. He finally comes back and gets us refills so we put our sushi order in. It was very average, nothing special. There are a lot better options for Sushi if you are in the Columbus area. It was my first time here and my last time- Average food and shitty service does not cut it.
(2)
Sarah T.
Horrible! Even with $30 for $15 livingsocial deal, this was a terrible meal. Tuna app had A LOT of rice in it. The rice was hard in the rolls. The sushi was not decorated. Sashimi is $2/piece? Tuna roll is more cucumber crunch than tuna itself. And why are there no ends on out sushi plate? What happened to the pieces of the roll with shrimp tail or soft shell crab?! Don't bother.
(2)
Biker C.
My coworkers and I ordered lunch for take out last week. Everything worked out perfectly and the food was amazing. The restaurant took payment by credit card over the phone so my coworker just had to pick up everyone's meal. I had the spicy scallop roll which was delishious (not fishy or bland) not sure why this place has such a low rating but I'm trying it out in-person tmrw! Can't wait to have more
(5)
Marsh W.
I hate to write this... A friend and I went to lunch there yesterday and it was one star short of bad and that kills me. I love Shoku it's my goto place in the Grandview area and it's always been good service, good food and good value. Unfortunately this just wasn't the case yesterday... The place was almost empty, no one was there at the host's position and we finally just sat down. When we finally got the server's attention we had to ask for menus and were never asked if we wanted anything to drink other than water. There are certain signs when place is in difficulty and almost all of them were present. The prices have gone up The portions have gone down The quality is sub par There's a big sign on the door saying "we now deliver." I ordered the gyoza and the beef maki The beef maki was five small pieces at $10.00 The gyoza seemed to be from a frozen not fresh and they were "torn" on the side where they usually stick together when frozen. $10.00 Please understand, my goal for this review is not to trash the place, but it is far from where it was the last time I went there and I'd love to see it come back.
(2)
Jemmie W.
I love sushi and eat a lot of it. You can check my other reviews and see all the reviews of sushi restaurants. I'm in town for a business meeting and took a client/friend to dinner. He recommended this place. Fine. The sushi here is bad. The colors are off, the taste is very mediocre at best, the size is just ok, the rice is too stick and soggy, and the price was high ($150 for three people, no alcohol). Besides that, everything was great. I'm not a Columbus expert but, from what I can tell, the only thing keeping this place alive is its location in a trendy part of town where there is often a lot of foot traffic. It will be interesting to see how long that keeps this thing afloat.
(1)
Tania L.
Horrible. As I previously posted. The sashimi and sushi was not fresh. As a result and as I consulted the server. My husband now has food poisoning. I forewarned the server that this was a result of the chef's negligence knowing the yellow tail and octopus were of poor quality! They took $20 off of our $160 bill. Not worth it at all. We will never return nor should anyone else. The 1star is for the waitress. She made it tolerable.
(1)
Paige W.
The atmosphere is quite and personal. the servers are great and really hands on. seems like they know the menu pretty well. when the sushi was brought out they explained what everything was which was helpful to me. There was a fully stocked bar which was fabulous. let's get some business at shoku I feel like this place would be great if more people knew about it :)
(5)
Laura B.
This place is way better than some people have said it is. I have been twice and both times it was delicious and the service was great! I had the sushi combo c today and my husband had the ahi tuna salad and we have literally nothing but good things to say! We went on a Groupon and it was well worth the money! Very nice lunch, very good food, very peaceful.
(4)
Kellyn W.
Great sushi place in Grandview! Wonderfull patio for beautiful weather! The Samba Roll is delicious! Yummm!
(3)
Danielle W.
I would not recommend this place to anybody. My boyfriend and I tried this restaurant while using the Groupon ($15 for $30) deal. When we arrived on a Monday night around 7pm, it was not busy, but our server disappeared after we received our menus and did not return for 20-25 min. After he took our order (2 rolls of sushi and a shrimp pad thai), my sushi came out promptly. When he brought he sushi, he served it first to the wrong table, (no big deal, it was the table next to us and they immediately said they didn't order it). The sushi was also not what I ordered, but I let it go, because the roll he gave me rhymed with the roll i wanted, and that one had actually sounded good to me and I was debating ordering it. As time went on, I noticed there was no one cooking in the kitchen (and again our server was out of sight for 15-20min). When he returned, he asked us if he could get us anything, forgetting about the pad thai-and looking very confused when I asked if it was ready yet. When he went to the kitchen, it was clear it was not being prepared, and he came back and blamed it on the kitchen, not really apologizing. After 5-10min, he served the pad thai, but it was thrown on a plate and tasted very bland--not at all looking like what the table behind us was served. Also, for $12, this was not a special dish and not worth what was served. After all of this, our server again disappeared, never refilling our waters, though he did ask if I wanted to purchase wine or more sushi. When he returned, I asked if we could have our bill and mentioned we had a Groupon. The server then took my phone away from the table and was "figuring out the bill" at the register for 20 minutes. No other workers were helping him if he did need assistance, and he forgot to bring my phone back from the register when he brought the bill. My boyfriend and I are pretty non-confrontational, so we did not make a scene at the restaurant or demand for a discount, but it could also have been the server that put a damper on this experience. However, it was too many mistakes for me to want to return or recommend to any friends.
(1)
Tiffany C.
My roommate bought a Living Social deal ($15 for $30, which is a better deal than the Groupon deal out for $18.25 for $30) so we came here on a Friday night. Finding parking on Grandview Ave can be somewhat a pain, but this restaurant had its only little private lot (fits about 10 cars) - definite plus! Though there was a decent number of people in the restaurant, compared to other places on a Friday night, this was sparse. We were seated immediately with the rest of the pack. This meant that my chair was less than 1 foot away from the seat of the customer at the table right next to ours. Thankfully we didn't have to get up at the same time! Neither of us were really that hungry so we decided to share 2 specialty rolls (monster roll and pleasure roll) and the classic California roll. With the a roll called "monster" that only came with 5 pieces, I expected it to be MONSTROUS, GINORMOUS, and STUFFED with the four types of fish. Sadly, we got were five measly pieces of sushi, barely the diameter of 2 quarters, drenched in spicy mayo (now, I love spicy mayo, but I still want to be able to taste the fish!) with just a little topping of masago. I could tell there wasn't a lot of actual fish in there and even with all the mayo, it seemed it wasn't freshest fish. The pleasure roll was mediocre as well, definitely not an "orgasm in my mouth." Food also took forever to come. Thankfully I wasn't hungry as I would have definitely been hangry. Our waiter came over twice to apologize for the long wait. Our meal ended up being ~$22 total, including tip and $15 for the Groupon deal, which isn't bad for 3 rolls, 2 of which are "specialty." The total would have been closer to $36 without the deal. Overpriced and underwhelming.
(2)
Victoria N.
No alcohol served on Sundays. Nice place, cutely decorated. I ordered the California roll, 50 cents extra to add cream cheese. It was okay. Kroger sushi is better, honestly. My mom got the pad Thai. It has a coconut sauce and my mom asked the server if the coconut was really noticeable. The server said it tastes like regular pad Thai. Turns out my mom didn't like it at all. If you don't like coconut, don't get it. The server offered to get my mom something else, so that was nice. We probably won't be back.
(2)
Kara C.
I've been here twice, both with a groupon for sushi. Both times I've enjoyed it. We were the only ones in there both times we went. Staff was nice, except didn't know the happy hour specials. It was a nice and clean place. Nothing too fancy though. Prices were average but the groupon helped. Sushi was fresh and delicious. I would recommend this place.
(4)
MeyMey L.
I don't get why everyone is complaining about this place. The food was so good. My boyfriend and I ordered 3 different types of sushi and an appetizer. We got the grilled squid and it was absolutely spot on. It was cooked to perfection! Only downside was my server wasn't really paying attention to us. Other than that, I'm def a fan.
(4)
Erica R.
The sushi at Shoku is decent but definitely not worth the price. You will spend a lot to eat a little. They do have good service and they're never busy (which could also be a bad sign). If you're in Columbian want Sushi check out Haiku or Kooma.
(3)
Will P.
Not really that impressed with the dining experience. Stopped in at Shoku today for lunch since we had a Groupon. I looked pretty dead inside but no one was able to seat us. They appeared understaffed in the front of the establishment. Once seated it took a while to be greeted, even longer to get our order in. The appetizer came in relatively good time. Tried the crab cakes. The crab cakes themselves looked odd since they were fried and tasted different. The sweet sauce to go with them made them more enjoyable. It took FOREVER to get our entrees. After we ordered People had come in, were seated, and received their food well before we did. I was very disappointed by this. Also my wife's sushi was missing a component. I had Pad Thai and it wasn't bad, but not spectacular. The waitress was apologetic, but overall the place was not being run very well.
(2)
JT C.
We enjoyed the spicy salmon, futomaki?, and tiger roll. The miso soup was also good, brought out very hot. The server did a nice job as well. The tiger roll was pretty small for the price, but tasted great. The place was pretty empty which was strange, we aren't opposed to going back sometime, but it wasn't some of the better sushi we've had in central Ohio. Might be a little while.
(3)
Andy W.
We did not get any sushi but did order dinner: udon chicken soup and "chili prawns." Most of the Japanese food I've ever had was essentially "comfort food." If I want "food with flavor" I typically think of Thai, Korean, Indian, etc. I couldn't have been more surprised! The "chili prawns" dish was spicy: a plate of sticky rice with steamed broccoli (not soggy and just crisp enough!), 5 or 6 properly (not over) cooked shrimp, and a (I assume) spicy fish stew with onions and zucchini. Very flavorful! And the udon soup was unlike any udon soup I've ever had: not too salty, a little sweet, with a subtle smokey grill flavor (I've honestly never had udon soup with anything other than a subtle "mom's chicken noodle soup" flavor) - a real treat! We did go on a Sunday, so no alcohol, but the water refills were timely (and much appreciated). We will no doubt be back!
(4)
Kim M.
I honestly don't know why this place gets such bad reviews. A friend bought me a living social deal for my birthday. I was worried after reading the reviews but I was pleasantly surprised. I had crispy chicken and my daughter had the udon noodles. Both tasted great and the presentation was beautiful. We will definitely be back.
(5)
Mario N.
Where do I begin. The waiter holding a conversation with patrons was abysmally unprofessional saying "I'm so over this place I can't wait till I leave", not even 5 feet from us. The tuna sashimi was terrible. I know what good sushi should taste like (Haiku, anyone?) I complained and got it switched out by an order that was wrong and the waitress apologized. Coupled with a rickety table and a bathroom whos spicket was more than lacking, this will be my final trip to Shoku. Ever.
(1)
Jason T.
Food was decent. Kind of high priced. Service was decent, but waiter was slow lots of texting and tv watching going on instead if waiting tables. Livingsocial deal is what Drew is to go there
(2)
Francesca A.
If there is one lesson I've learned from my Shoku experience, it's to check Yelp before buying restaurant Groupons. The $15 for $30 Groupon popped up, I thought, "hey, I love sushi, that's a great neighborhood, why not?" I grabbed my sweetheart and away we went. I will now tell you exactly WHY NOT: Service: While several of the servers were kind and helpful, none of them were OUR server. Ours had the personality of a wet rice noodle and neglected to return to see if we needed more beverages, how our appetizer was, or anything. There was only one sushi chef. Even though the patio had a nice crowd, the 4 or 5 servers plus hostess seemed to be completely overwhelmed; there were only a few parties inside, where we sat. Food: For an appetizer, we had shrimp tempura ($11), which comes with vegetables tempura. This was okay, but we were sad that we had to tear up the veggies to share, as there was one of each. The batter was fine, the shrimp was fine, the vegetables were fine. Fine, fine, fine. Because the sushi was taking so long (see above), and on the advice of our server, we ordered an entree to split - the Shiitake Salmon ($19). Both the salmon and wasabi mashed potatoes were dry. The potatoes' flavor wasn't quite pleasant. The asparagus was pretty good. The entree actually arrived just after the sushi. We had the spider roll, spicy scallop roll and the element roll. Never have I been more underwhelmed by sushi. Not even one bite hit my mouth and made my tastebuds smile. Did I mention that it took about an hour for the sushi to arrive? (We had the order ready when we placed the appetizer order.) I will never return to Shoku. I will discourage friends from going. And I will ALWAYS check Yelp before buying another restaurant Groupon if I don't already know the restaurant.
(1)
Vanessa M.
I hadn't been here for a while and was surprised when I saw all of the mediocre Yelp reviews. I went with a friend, warning him we might not be totally successful. It turns out everything was great. As always, the interior is peaceful and attractive. This was a Saturday night, it was a bit snowy and the place was only maybe half full. I got the vegetarian Bi Bim Bop and it was fabulous. REALLY, really good. I can't remember what my dinner companion got, but he liked it as well. I know he liked the sake, also. We also split an appetizer of edamame. It was good, but it's hard to screw that up. The service was great and prompt. The manager came by to check on us. Other than being on the pricey side, Shoku was as good as I remembered it. There are some other local Japanese places with bigger vegetarian selections, but everything I've had there has been good. *it seems many of the negative reviews seem to involve complaints about the sushi or Groupons. The sushi selection for vegetarians is pretty negligible, so we didn't bother and we didn't have a Groupon.
(4)
Kate H.
Pleasantly surprised. I went here for lunch today with work husband. It is unusual that we eat any place new. I had a simple tofu rice bowl and he had the pad thai. We had the grilled calamari for an appetizer (which was the best part of our lunch). The food was solid, well prepared and quick. I love the decor and the service was decent. We had to wait a bit after we were finished for our check (which annoys me). Decent, good location. Actually want to go back and try the sushi.
(3)
Andrea L.
Come for the Groupon Sushi, stay for the service. Welling was a delight, great service! Quite an asset to Shoku! Sushi was decent, will be back as long as there is a Groupon.
(3)
Alexandra J.
I'm not sure if all the people who had a good time here don't have yelp or if we just got the luck of the draw, but my mother, girlfriend and I actually had a pretty good dinner here! The service was quick, the food was finished quickly, and our server was very kind. She cleaned up my girlfriends mess for her and asked a few times if we needed anything & how everything tasted. Now, the food... was it the best I've had? No. Was it the worst? Not at all. We usually frequent Otani and have been spoiled by Mr. Honda so I'd say its so-so. We got a few different rolls, udon and pan fried noodles. The best hands down were the pan fried noodles. The udon was very bland, the broth didn't have any flavor to it. I have no adjectives for the sushi. It was just sushi. Our total came up to $100, this was in no way a $100 dinner. Not the way it tastes. If for nothing else I'd come back for the noodles and the nice waitress. & if you purchase a groupon this isn't a bad place to come & form your own opinion on.
(4)
Jeremy L.
Honestly this was the worst sushi I've ever had in my life. For two people we spent over $90 for 4 rolls and two drinks. Extremely overpriced and not worth it. Service was fine but I wouldn't recommend this for anyone. Kroger sushi was much better.
(1)
Amy S.
A few friends and I decided to go here for an early dinner, since we were in the mood for sushi. I'd never been, but had been wanting to try it for quite sometime. It was a little early when we went, so we were pretty much the only ones in the restaurant. Right when we were seated, we all noticed a funny smell, almost like sewage. Not pleasant, but we got over it. We were given the menus and told about happy hour specials. After perusing the menu, we decided to start with some edamame and then ordered our sushi. The edamame was good, plenty for 2 people to share. Then came the sushi. Nobody was thrilled with what they ordered. The piece of sashimi I tried was fair at best. The spicy tuna roll was spicy has hell- we're talking tears streaming, mouth on fire spicy as hell. I don't think I've had anything so hot in my mouth. Ever. I told the server, and asked if we could we get a different roll because it was basically inedible. She said she'd never heard anybody say it was that spicy, but when 3 people at the table tried it, they all agreed. Even the one from Arizona who can probably eat hot peppers without wincing. The prices were decent, but I will probably not be returning there. At least not when I'm in the mood for sushi. Too bad.
Shoku has seen better days. It won't show in the decor, but it might show with the dwindling crowds. My dining partner and I were thinking about how Shoku seems like it was one of the first/few sushi restaurants in Columbus, back before Columbus knew any better. Now we have more choices and it seems Shoku hasn't kept up. Have you ever seen Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares? I kind of hoped to see my favorite craggy-faced chef pop out from the back. It's not that anything about Shoku is gross or ... nightmarish... but it reminded me of seeing episodes of perplexed but invested shop owners tied to a failing restaurant. What's going on here? As another symptom of it needing a little business-boost, I had a Groupon for Shoku. We put it to good use, ordering specialty rolls with abandon. It was kind of hard to do, believe it or not, because they were all pretty similar. It was hard to construct a plate with varying textures and flavors. Everything had something tempura'd in it, and/or sweet sauce, and/or spicy mayo. The spider roll didn't taste all that fresh to me, and the crunchy roll's tempura was a little too soggy. The pleasure roll (oooh la la) was my favorite of the specialties with some jalapeno inside. The $5 martinis (before 7 pm) was a nice surprise. The edamame was dull and a little mushy, instead of bright green pods that explode IN YER MOUF! Just a little squish instead. Peh. The side-parking lot with the headlights that stream into the dining room take diners off guard. I was sitting near a window and I swear I was 6 inches from an actual headlight at one point. I've been here 5 or 6 times, and I don't think I'll be going back again.... unless I have Groupon or I'm in the area for something else. There's much better food in Grandview, and much better sushi in Columbus.
(2)
Kathryn S.
Since my first review, I've visited Shoku many times. I still think it's a little over-priced, but I always bring a groupon to help cut costs. The biggest thing I notice about Shoku is that it's never ever busy. This should have been my first sign not to trust the quality of their food. Tonight, my husband and I ordered an assortment of rolls, including their "Crave" roll, which contains shrimp tempura. When I went to pull the tails off of my roll, I noticed that the tails (and the meat inside) were black and spotty. Not blackened, but black. As in spoiled. The waitress was apologetic and tried to blame it on the shrimp being over-cooked, but there was no denying that they had just gone bad. The batter was lightly cooked, but the shrimp inside were black and rotting. Needless to say, I won't be back ever again. Not even if you paid me.
(1)
D. B.
I went with a group of about 10 coworkers for lunch. We had a reservation but our table was not ready when we arrived. The service was very, very slow. Total time from being seated to our food being served was well over one hour. Our server was polite and explained the regular chef was out. The restaurant had an odd odor and was very stuffy. The food was okay, but not great. I don't think I will go back.
(2)
Rebecca O.
I really want to love this place, mostly because A. The exterior/interior design is charming; B. The staff is nice; and C. It's nestled in the heart of Grandview. But after giving it a few tries, Shoku's food still fails to impress. All three of my sushi experiences were sub-par. The rolls were very small and overpriced (in my opinion.) The quality did not match what I've found at other Columbus sushi joints. I've only tried sushi here, so I'm not able to speak to Shoku's entree offerings (several folks said the entrees are pretty good!) But if you're looking for great sushi, I'd recommend skipping this spot.
(2)
A L.
I LOVE SUSHI. And, Shoku is within walking distance of my house. Their food and service are so awful I would rather get in my car and drive anywhere else than walk a block to eat here. I'D RATHER EAT GROCERY STORE SUSHI. They're heavy on the Groupons (should tell you something right there), and their rolls are all essentially the same made twenty different ways, all drowning in sauces. Patio is consistently empty when every other restaurant on the street is hopping. No clue how they stay in business.
(1)
Suki W.
The sushi is way overpriced, the service is just ok, the decor & atmosphere are nice. I bought a Groupon which they refused to honor (Groupon refunded my money) and that irritated me no end, particularly when the rationale was specifically in conflict with the fine print in the Groupon.
(1)
David F.
This place is VERY overpriced and extremely below average. My wife and I waited a very long time for our meals and the service WAS NOT the best. The sushi that we ordered did not seem fresh at all, and the soy sauce was watered down. Seriously. There was restaurant employee drama occurring all around us and that made it very difficult to have conversation with each other. My wife had a Groupon and it relieved the sting of the final bill. We will not be going back to Shoku again.
(1)
Brigid N.
This place is underwhelming. I've given it a chance three times and I'm done. -mediocre, ok quality sushi -had a bowl of noodles, tasted like salt water -table wasn't cleaned and was sticky -service was ok For the money, go elsewhere!
(2)
Jeremy H.
Just as Yelp says, this place is horrible for kids. Yes, they have high chairs and booster seats, no they don't have a kids menu or smaller plates. We ate here on a Wednesday night, there were a few parking spaces beside the restaurant in an alley. Inside there was pretty much no one...if our visit was a scene in a movie, you would have heard crickets. Interesting that it was so empty when the atmosphere seems so nice, except for the loud obnoxious alternative music that you almost have to scream over top of to have a dinner conversation. Service was okay, most of the servers are total hipsters with the typical accompanying hipster attitude. Service should have been better since the place was empty. The food was what was shocking...I had the sushi/sashimi combo which was $25 with a warm Kirin Ichiban Beer. Plenty of food comes with this combo, but all of it is cheap cheap fish, nothing good, nothing you can't get from the sushi bars in Kroger for half the price. On top of that I am pretty sure my sushi was a little old. I've eaten sushi in dozens of states and dozens of restaurants and let me tell you, there is a fishy taste, then there is an old fishy taste that indicates this fish is about to start rotting. I imagine it was probably old stock since they were so empty. My wife go the garlic teriyaki chicken...she didn't like it, I thought it tasted good, but there was definitely very little chicken in it. I think we also had the Grandview roll which was sweet and good. But like many of the reviews here state, this place is way over priced for the quality you receive. And for that price there are better, more quiet atmospheres. We won't be returning.
(1)
Jackie P.
Blah. I ate here last night and I am still feeling kind of sick. I've had better, I've had worse - but one thing is for sure, I probably won't be back. The restaurant itself is actually really nice. The decor is typical asian-fare and the china used complimented the style. Water is served without request, and refilled promptly. I will say that it could use a facelift, but all-in-all, it has a good vibe. The fried calamari was rather chewy, and the batter used for them was lackluster. Also, the price tag of $11, there weren't that many pieces! I think that is a little steep for an appetizer, considering entrees and noodle dishes were around the same price. The miso was just not good. After two sips I couldn't stand to eat anymore. It was served in a cute saucer, but that's where the enjoyment of the dish ended. Serving sizes are adequate, but by no means would I consider them "entree" portions. Also, be prepared for quite a wait to receive your food. As Catherine mentioned, the headlights do catch you off guard! The beam into the restaurant and are quite a distraction! Also, they seemed to have around 5-6 people working in a restaurant near closing time with only 2-3 tables with diners. Just seemed counter productive, and too many. It felt like there were more staff than patrons!
(2)
Liz G.
It seems I'm in the minority of Yelpers who love Shoku. I am no naive sushi-eater -- I lived above a sushi restaurant in a previous (non-midwestern) city and have high standards when it comes to raw fish. In fact, I didn't eat any sushi in my first year in Ohio because I couldn't imagine that a land-locked state could provide quality fish. However, I have to be completely honest: every single time I have gone to Shoku (probably around 10 times in the last 2 years), the food has been excellent, the prices reasonable, and the service good. I have never had anything on the "cooked" side of the menu, but the sushi has been excellent in my experience. We usually get a couple of standard rolls and a couple of speciality rolls when we go. I recommend the inari (tofu skin -- it's a little sweet and offsets the other rolls nicely), spicy salmon, spicy tuna, Grandview roll, treasure roll, and pleasure roll. You can also ask them to use brown rice instead of white rice, which we always do. Once, they forgot to sub out the white rice, and the server still remembered us and apologized on our next visit over 6 weeks later. So, again, I understand that others haven't had a good experience here, but I've really enjoyed my visits to Shoku. Its prices are reasonable (they frequently run discounts on daily deal sites and have a "locals" reduced price menu on Wednesday), the sushi is great, and they have a very nice patio in a prime location. I'd say it's worth at least one try to form your own opinion.
(5)
Xintong L.
The interior decoration is unbeatable. The service is good. However, the food CANNOT keep up with its interior decoration and its price. The food is OVERPRICED. And it looks Japanese is NOT Japanese. I won't come back again. Thanks for Groupon. Well, if you like a fancy place to impress your date, it is the place to go. But if you want to have authentic food, DON'T GO THERE.
(2)
Linh H.
Looking at the reviews I had my doubts coming here but gave it a chance anyways since my BF had purchased a groupon... Service was slow and food was extremely overpriced from what I am used too. The rolls are small, we ordered edamame, 3 sushi rolls, 2 hot sake and 2 soporo and still left hungry.. Overall the restaurant had a good atmosphere.
(2)
Nicole W.
I had a rare night home alone and was looking forward to some sushi take out on the couch! Shoku was the easiest place to drive to quickly - so I ordered, jumped in the car, and couldn't wait to break the container open. I started with a house salad and it was pretty good. Nothing amazing - but I love a good Japanese dressing (sometimes I drink it out of the container; that is gross, don't tell). Then the sushi. A few bites in I thought *gross*... a few bites more *grosser*...another bite and I said *done with this crap.* It was really, really bad -- and it doesn't take too much for me to love sushi. I could barely chew through the seaweed on the rolls! The Twin Dragon Roll was minced up tasteless fish (and I LOVE spicy salmon and tuna rolls). I also had the Boston Roll which had no flavor and the tuna was a suspicious color. I gave it 2 stars because the restaurant looked adorable and the hostess on the phone was very helpful. But I will not go back and recommend you never go.
(2)
Allie L.
I bought a Groupon for Shoku and we grabbed dinner there one weeknight. Pros: - Attentive service - Great food (I got the fried rice/paella) - Comfortable interior - Bar area Cons: - We were the only ones in there for about an hour - Staff seemed to be bored and it was distracting Overall, we really enjoyed our appetizers and main meals! I can't wait to go back and try out their huge patio during the summer!
(4)
Carla D.
I've had a few really great experiences at Shoku, and several crappy ones. At this point, the crappy outweighs the great. I'm not a sushi expert by any means, but I do know what tastes good. They had 2 rolls that I would go back for (and I would check the menu to confirm what they were called, but their website sucks and always seems to have issues) - one was topped with spicy scallops, and the other was a rainbow-type roll that was coated in crispy tempura batter. They were both delicious. Pot stickers were also yumm-o. I also recall a work lunch with a group of colleagues about 10 years ago and most of us ordered the Pad Thai...and I was convinced it was the best I'd ever eaten. However, as much as their food was good, I had poor service nearly every time I went. One time I came in and ordered 2 sushi rolls to go, and sat at the bar...for, like, what seemed like forever. I'm pretty sure it was at least 45 minutes before my food was ready and no one bothered to explain why it was taking so long. Also, that bill came to $24. Two rolls for $24?!!?? Way overpriced in my opinion. Another time I walked in at around 2:10pm and was VERY rudely informed that the restaurant was closed between lunch and dinner and they were not currently serving. I have an idea - put a sign on the door? Lock the door? I haven't eaten there in well over a year because every time I went in, I felt snubbed, slighted, ignored, insignificant. I can't speak for the food these days, but I do know I had some tasty food in the past. It's a shame that their terrible service has ruined their reputation. I agree with Sarah W - go to Sushi Ting instead.
(1)
Hostage H.
Gas station sushi at restaurant prices! I went here on an early saturday evening. it was definitely not busy, with only 2 or 3 tables filled, but it was early. the hostess was very friendly, our waitress was less so, but no complaints. the sushi was all priced in the normal sushi restaurant price range: about $6 for a 'standard' roll, around $13-15 for the special rolls. the food showed up rather quickly, but i was instantly unimpressed. i was greeted with a nice nose full of 'fishiness.' i ordered one roll of the twin dragon, which was half topped with salmon, and the other half with tuna. the tuna was slimy and unappealing, and though i can't confidently say it was the source of the fishy odor (we were outside, and it was windy) this is my most likely guess. the rolls themselves were flavorless (i also had an alaskan roll, and a 3rd, equally unimpressive roll, but can't remember which one), the soy sauce was watered down (and about the only thing that could give the rolls any kind of flavor), the wasabi had no heat or flavor, and was leaking water, as if they used powdered wasabi and waaaaaay over watered it. i really can't think of anything nice to say about their food. if there's a 45 min wait at a nearby sushi place, sit at a bar, have a drink, and wait. don't come here.
(1)
Brian F.
Let me preface this review by saying that Shoku used to have the best sushi in town. I've been going there for about six years, and it used to be my favorite. What an absolute disappointment tonight. The sushi rolls were half the size they should be, and fell apart as soon as you picked them up. The waitress gave us a cursory 10% off when we complained, saying the manager and owner were not available - but didn't have much to offer as an explanation. We will not be back.
(1)
Nat Q.
This was our first time ever at Shoku and our last. Went on a Wednesday night, place was a bit crowded but the restaurant is not large so there were maybe only 15 tables full. Took about 15 minutes to get seated. Then 15 minutes later we were finally approached by the server very rudely and asked what we wanted to drink. They had a special going, buy one get one sushi 50% off. When our server finally came back another 15 minutes later to take our order, we asked if we could order that special with our $30 dollar groupon as long as we order $30 worth of non-discounted food as we have done at other places. Once again we were given attitude and told no. So we ordered one sushi roll for an appetizer and two entrees. Food finally came out about 25 minutes later. Sushi did not come until AFTER we were done with our entrees. The sushi was awful too. It was missing two big ingredients and the texture was just plain bad. It also fell completely apart the minute it was picked up. I've had better sushi from giant eagle. Not to mention it was just thrown in front of us without extra plates and dishes for soy sauce for which we had to hunt down another server to get. The only thing that came promptly during this entire experience was the check. After which, we exited swiftly. We will never return again. I will say, the entrees (fire pot chicken, bulgogi) were good but not spectacular enough to be worth the price, wait, or the horrendous service. Save your money.
(1)
Amy C.
My best friend was in for the weekend from far out of town, and she wanted to go to Shoku for dinner. Big mistake. We were seated at the bar, the bartender was very friendly and swift, the only reason for the one star. My friend ordered a salad and a couple of appetizers as her meal, and I ordered two sushi rolls. I understand that appetizers and salad take much less time to make than rolls, but the kitchen should be organized enough to keep tickets together, especially since my friend emphasized that her meal would be the appetizers and salad. My friend received her entire meal, finished it, and had an after-dinner martini before my sushi even made an appearance. From the time we ordered to the time I finally got my sushi, about 40 minutes had passed. I asked several times when it would be arriving, but got an "any minute now!" every time. The sushi rolls themselves were very tiny, tough seaweed, and the "spicy tuna" was minced to the point of being pureed and with no spice to speak of. We had hoped to have a relaxed dinner, but the sushi service took so long that I had to wolf down my food so that we could make it to our evening plans. No apology from anyone for the amount of time it took to receive my food. I was going to complain to the manager but we were running so behind at this point that we dashed out straight away. So Yelp it is instead.
(1)
Sara C.
This restaurant has been showing up all over discount gift certificate sites lately; I had one from Google Offers. The boy and I came here on a Sunday evening. Parking was a little awkward in the side lot, and the headlights of parking cars shine directly into the dining room, and into some hapless customers' faces. Some sort of shade is really needed across the lower half of the windows -- at least the ones facing the parking lot. It wasn't terribly crowded when we arrived, although there were plenty of take-out orders piling up near the kitchen, which contributed a bit of delay later in the evening. One of the first things the waiter told us was: "We don't serve alcohol on Sundays, it's BYOB," which I had not been aware of. We ordered the crispy tofu appetizer, the pan-asian noodles with chicken, salmon nigiri, the twin dragon roll, and the element roll. We had actually only been sitting a few minutes when our waiter informed us that the kitchen was running a little behind, and offered us salad on the house. This had the typical Japanese dressing, tangy and peanutty, and was a pleasant opener. The sushi arrived shortly thereafter. The twin dragon roll was the best thing of the entire evening, spicy tuna and spicy salmon topped with salmon and tuna. The element roll was "meh," deep fried, with cooked fish on the inside, very meaty and dense, which would probably make it a good choice for someone who doesn't care for raw fish. The nigiri was decent, although the rice was a little too sticky/starchy. The crispy tofu was a little too oily and bland (I prefer a Chinese-style braised tofu); the noodles suffered from the same greasiness, although the flavors and textures were otherwise good. Our total for the evening came to just over $50, which, even with the coupon, is over our preferred budget. The food was decent, and the ambiance (minus the car headlights) is cozy. However, we probably won't come back unless there is a spectacular sale or something of the sort.
(2)
Trish Y.
I thought it was over priced when the food was not very good. I also had a martini and I get a buzz SUPER easy...I drank all of it and it did absolutely nothing to me... I am the type that can get a buzz on a Mike's hard lemonade if that says anything LOL... Have no desire to ever go back... But then again I did not get sushi which is what it is known for...basically I had fancy ramen noodles...
(1)
Christina C.
The location is perfect. The inside is small but kind of cool and the patio the best in Grandview. I had the chicken wrap which was the recommendation of the server and I was pleasantly surprised. It was like a huge stir fry chicken bowl in a spinach wrap. The two sauces that accompanied it were a nice addition but the wrap tasted ok on its own. Service was pleasant - nothing to complain about, and the menu had a nice Asian fusion selection. All of things add up to a so-so experience. A good option if nearby places are too busy.
(3)
Sarah W.
Pros: nice place, sushi was ok Cons: edamame way over-cooked, service was poor, EXTREMELY over-priced... especially for sushi that was just ok I went because I had a Living Social deal, but I won't be back. Go to Edamame at Easton or Sushi Ting instead.
(1)
Brian R.
The food was good (but not great) but overpriced for the quality, decor was eye-catching but nothing particularly special, but the building itself felt a little like a gas station that had been converted to a restaurant. The service was okay. I'd visit again if out-and-about in Grandview and the mood was right, but I don't know that I'd consider this a prime destination (thus, three stars).
(3)
Mark B.
Shoku is one of the Dae Oh restaurants, located on hip Grandview Avenue in Columbus, Ohio. It's billed as a pan-Asian sort of place; pleasant enough atmosphere and a sushi bar. We ate lunch there, and all ordered sushi-based bento box meals. The bento box was bigger than I expected for lunch, but that was a pleasant surprise. My sushi consisted of 3 each of tuna rolls and California rolls. The sushi was decent, though not spectacular. It came with plenty of side dishes along the Japanese - Korean continuum: tempura onion/sweet potato/green bean, fresh kimchi, shredded seaweed, salted dried octopus, and the like. The side dishes formed the bulk of the meal. Some were very good (the tempura green bean, the kimchi, and the seaweed), some were merely adequate (the octopus and some sweet tofu). Overall it was a nice lunch. One of my companions ordered the miso soup which she declared to be piping hot and good. The service was prompt and courteous and the restaurant was very clean and inviting. It's not one of the area's top three pan-Asian joints but I would certainly dine there again.
(3)
Erin B.
My boyfriend and I ate here in hopes of good sushi...we were mistaken to dine at shoku at all. My food had little to no flavor and the sushi had an odd texture. Would not recommend shoku to anyone.
(1)
Brent T.
Very nice Asian fusion cuisine. I started with Mackerel Nigiri, which was very nicely prepared. I also had the Ahi Tuna salad: basically a Tuna Nicoise salad with an Asian twist of sushi-grade tuna, a side of Japanese noodles served with carrot miso dressing. Everything was very fresh and well prepared. My daughter had the Shoku Salad: mixed greens with side of Japanese noodles, an eggroll and skewer of marinated and grilled beef. The beef was particularly nicely flavored and grilled. My wife had the Udon noodles - a huge bowl of soup that is guaranteed to send enough home with you for lunch the next day.
(4)
Molly B.
My husband and I had an impromptu date night here this evening and it was lovely. The ambiance of Shoku is nice. I like the patio and bar set ups. I like that the guy in the back of the room is making the sushi. It has a very contemporary feel and makes me feel like it would be a fun place to go to dinner with a group of friends on a Saturday night. We both had the Miso soup, which was very good. (Although, Miso soup is hard to mess up). We also ordered the Tiger and Spicy Tuna rolls. Both sets of rolls were tasty, but nothing memorable. My waitress seemed a bit frazzled and the restaurant wasn't event busy. But overall, the service wasn't bad. I had a pleasant experience here tonight and will probably come back at some point. I'm giving it three stars because I have had MUCH better sushi and there isn't anything terribly awesome that made this place stand out to me.
(3)
Steph L.
64 bucks for a bud light, a lemonade, and 4 extremely small not very exciting rolls (too be honest, they all tasted the same...) My boyfriend and I left unimpressed and still hungry.
(2)
Heather G.
I ventured here for lunch with my coworkers during Dine Originals Week. I liked the contemporary atmosphere and could see myself returning with friends. It wasn't too busy, but they seem understaffed with only one waitress. I choose the chicken wrap which was large and in charge. Definitely a great deal for the $10 Dine Originals price and the $11 regular price. The tasty spinach wrap included chicken with veggies a sweet sauce. My coworkers enjoyed the sushi boxes. The service was pretty disappointing. We ordered edamame but our meals came out first. When we reminded the server, she snapped that it wasn't ready. Well, the space is pretty small so we heard her then go to the kitchen and order it. The situation happened again when we reminded her we needed a box. I've been a server before. Just say whoops, I'm sorry-don't get snappy! The food was good, but the disappointing service will delay my return trip.
(3)
Catie L.
Went a couple weeks ago with my bbf for lunch. We go to lunch at least once a week somewhere. We happen to have a groupon or social living coupon so it was a help on the check. We started off with the Asian crab cakes and Tempura shrimp, which were delicious. Our entres were I had the Bulgogi and my friend had the Firepot chicken. Both entrees came with salad and steamed rice. There were a nice amount of vegetables in the dishes. The flavors were really good, and there is nothing I can say bad about the food. Nice portions, good flavors, and a very nice atmosphere about the place. Why 3 stars is the service. Very slooooow. It was a late afternoon lunch, after I would think the usual crowds, but still one only has an hour to eat. We did have to box up half our entrees, no so much from being full, as to the time constraint. Now this place is not for the light of pocket, unless you have a coupon as we did for $30 as we did. Our regular check came to $55 before tax and tip. I hope if you go you get faster service. That is my biggest complaint. The food is good.
(3)
Russell T.
Was a little concerned after reading the reviews on here but, wasn't bad over all. Our server was quite friendly and timely, food service was reasonable. The spring rolls were quick to come out but, a tad over cooked. They were hot. I had the firepot chicken which I liked. My friend had the garlic chicken which he liked. We both had the same observation; the chicken was hot but the veggies were a little cool. Odd. The hot tea could have been a better quality. Don't know that I would choose to return without my Groupon incentive but, was satisfied over all.
(3)
Becky F.
Stood at the entrance to be seated. No one that worked there even made eye contact to say they would be there in a few and that they were busy. Another couple left because they were tired of waiting and being ignored. Finally I was able to grab a server to ask nicely if we should seat ourselves. The host or whoever he was walked up and very snotty and as if we were bothering him that they were busy and would be there when they got a second. Listen buddy, I get it you're busy, we understood that. However, not acknowledging us and being rude doesn't help. A simple we will be with u in a few when we walked in would of made the over priced, not so good sushi easier to swallow. At least our server was nice and did her best to make up for the lack of courtesy the other staff showed.
(1)
Amy B.
We came back here for dinner with another Groupon, and it was far less impressive than the first time. For one thing, our sushi was bland and mostly rice. The service and drinks were both good, but my boyfriend and I left pretty disappointed (and wishing we'd gone to our regular sushi place).
(3)
Ellen F.
If the energy (aka number and type of people in the restaurant) was higher, I would give five stars. What I mean is that every time I have been at Shoku, it's nearly empty, lack of energy. When there are people, they are typically on a quiet date, or a business meeting. That normally wouldn't sound so bad, but it's more of a hush feeling than a romantic feeling. However, I do enjoy the food. I religiously order the Ahi Tuna Salad. Can't help it, I love it and every time I try to venture out, I buckle my knees at the last minute. The servers are very cool. They give you space...sometimes too much. But it's not a problem.
(4)
Chris T.
We ordered the edamame and 4 sushi rolls. The sushi was nothing compared to Tyfoon (same owners) or Haiku. The rolls barely stayed together long enough to get them into our mouths..they were very poorly made. The taste was ok, but at this price point it should all be much better. The drinks were expensive as well. Great patio though. Doubt I'll go back...there are much better sushi places around town.
(2)
Kelly W.
This place is probably the worst sushi place in Columbus. Seriously. We were looking for somewhere to eat that had a patio, with Lafogata and Haiku being busy, we decided to drive to Grandview. Shoku looked beautiful from the outside, and seemed really nice inside, but looks are truly deceiving. This place is all style but no substance. It's overpriced, and for less than mediocre food. Now, everything on the menus sounded amazing. I couldn't wait for it to come out. Once it arrived, though, my heart sank. I had the Shoku Tuna and it was stringy and tough. It had no flavor whatsoever and as a whole, the dish was extremely oily. Same goes for the Fried Tofu dish that my date had. It too, was covered in this too sweet teriyaki sauce and the whole dish seemed reminiscent of a glazed tofu doughnut, but with vegetables. Yuck! The service was fine. Food came out a little slow. They had a sign up that said Organic Tuesdays. My thought was, why just Tuesday? This place is reaching but it needs to start putting out better food. Perhaps some work in the kitchen and people will start coming in on their own from word of mouth. Clearly, it's not doing so well in that department. It certainly needs to put some focus on it, with the prices they are charging. It's ridiculous!
(1)
Julie P.
Blech, this is one place in Columbus to skip, for sure. I came here with a large group, and I can't say I had one thing that I liked. Even though the party was arranged days in advance, there still wasn't enough staffing to effectively mange the table. The food was slow and came out in big gaps, and it took the greater part of forever to get our checks. The drink list at Shoku is dreadful - lots of sickly sweet juice 'martinis' and cheap wines and sake. The wine and beer isn't included in happy hour specials, and not that it matters anyway, as I had what was quite possibly the worst tasting wine in history, (a 'blend') that was flat on the front end and super tangy sour on the back. Wine, you're doing it wrong! Anyway, on to the food, which was lame. The sushi was very average. Anything fried was both underdone and greasy, which takes a special sort of culinary skill. The noodle bowls' main flavor was salty and the ingredients were not as unique in reality as they sounded on the menu. Not to mention that everything is a bit expensive. With so many fantastic restaurants in Grandview, I would absolutely recommend steering clear of Shoku.
(2)
Pete C.
I've found that the sushi scene in Columbus has very little gray area, with most places being either very good or very bad. Luckily, this stylish bistro-style Grandview establish falls under the latter. Price is an obvious downside here, but the four rolls my two friends and I split seemed to equate to far more food than any of us were expecting for the light pre-evening meal we stopped here for. Maybe it's just my current state of hunger talking, but I very clearly remember the Crunchy Buckeye, Spicy Tuna, and California rolls being significantly larger than they normally are at competing joints like Lemongrass and Haiku. Another clear upper hand Shoku has on Lemongrass it it's outdoor patio, which is an excellent place to spend a calm summer evening before hitting the town like my friends and I did. The sun can be oppressive when seated here before 9 PM, however, so make sure to keep that in mind before choosing to sit out there. Overall, this is a pretty great nice-ish Asian restaurant in an area that otherwise has nothing similar to offer. The price is a little off-putting, but it's certainly bearable if you're here with a group.
(4)
Jason R.
My wife got a gift certificate to Shoku from restaurants.com , so we decided to go there for dinner without the kids one Friday evening. I agree with a lot of the reviewers that the prices were a bit steep. However, because of the coupon, we decided to order two appetizers and two main courses. For our appetizers, I got the steamed pot stickers, and my wife ordered the edamame. I thought both had very nice flavor and were well-presented. For my main course, I ordered the sushi appetizer and added in the Thai rolls. I am normally a fan of keeping sushi simple and let the quality of the ingredients speak for themselves. Shoku did a good job here with the appetizer sushi. The Thai rolls were a bit more complex than I normally like. However, I thought they were excellent and the ginger sauce that comes with them really made the dish. My wife ordered the pad Thai noodles with chicken and shrimp. They had lots of fresh vegetables with them and plenty of spice to clear one's sinuses. The chicken and shrimp were cooked nicely and had a good peanut flavor. I think the one thing that disappointed me was that the green tea I ordered was in a tea bag and was not very flavorful. Otherwise, the meal was very enjoyable, the service was good, and the atmosphere was very chic.
(3)
Sarah S.
The husband and I visited Shoku on a weekday evening, mainly because we had a Groupon to use. We seemed to have beaten the dinner rush, because when we arrived, the restaurant was mostly empty (but then quickly filled). We were promptly shown by the hostess to a small two-top table at the back of the bar area, and presented with menus. We then waited approximately 15 minutes, while three other tables were seated and their drink orders taken, before someone even got around to us and taking our drink orders. We had plenty of time while our drinks were being prepared, nothing fancy, just a glass of wine and a vodka-cranberry, to peruse the menu and select what we would like. 10 minutes later, our drinks arrive, and the waitress/hostess wanders off again. (Note: there appeared to be no designated waitress/hostess/or bartender, three of them just kept rotating around and tripping over each other all evening). By this time we had decided to just split an order of edamame and 3-4 different sushi rolls. I very obviously placed the order card on the edge of the table while trying to catch someone's eye, and finally she picked up the card and took our appetizer order. Another 25 minutes go by... Our edamame FINALLY appears, and we get down to business. Thirty seconds later our sushi rolls are plunked in the middle of the table and the waitress wanders off. There is no soy sauce in sight. Takes another 2-3 minutes of attempting some eye catching, then me actually leaning over someone else's table (my apologies as the tables are EXTREMELY close together and the restaurant very tight when the tables are full), to snag a waitress and ask for soy sauce. Another 5 minutes go by... The soy sauce finally appears. No apologies are made for any of the wait times by the waitress. After about 10-15 minutes, we had consumed the appetizer and sushi rolls, and were contemplating ordering another couple rolls (Shoku's rolls are considerably smaller than other restaurants I have been to), when the waitress appears with the check, plunks it down on the table, and says "I'll take this when you're done," and then walks away again. Ok... guess we won't be ordering anything else. Nor will we be returning. It did end up taking her another 10 minutes to get back to our table and pick up the card and Groupon to process the check. In conclusion, the food is just so-so, nothing to get excited about. Compared to other sushi restaurants, I believe they are overpriced for the amount/quality of food served. The service is just flat-out terrible. Would not recommend.
(1)
Joelle N.
I was pleasantly surprised because of some prior reviews. We must have been there on a good night. We got the potstickers and they were FANTASTIC! The dough was thin and the pork was nicely seasoned and fresh. I got the Pad Thai, on the advice of the server, who said it had a peanut sauce, which I thought was typical for Pad Thai. Unfortunately, it came as described in the menu, which said nothing of peanuts. It was still good, with fresh veggies and chicken. My husband got some seared tuna. He's a connoisseur and said it was seared perfectly and the veggies were great. Our server was on the ball, too. I agree with other posts- consider something to cover windows to avoid headlights a foot away from diner's faces
(4)
Amanda H.
My boyfriend and I are sushi fiends, and have made it something of a mission to scour this town's pescaphilian (possibly not a real word) offerings. Having formerly waited tables at Spagio in Grandview, I'd spent many a night taunted by Haiku's spacious patio across the way. Its large beige umbrellas, with their perpetual, come-hither flutter, said, "Do it. Spend your night's wages on the raw wonders I have to offer." And so, one evening at the tail end of the summer, we decided to indulge. We went on a warm Sunday evening, and although the patio was packed, we didn't have to wait long for a seat. So far, so good. But here's something odd to certainly take note of: Shoku's odd liquor license doesn't allow them to serve alcohol on Sundays. You can, however, bring a bottle of wine and they'll be happy to serve it to you. Unfortunately, we didn't know about this ahead of time (and we'd been jonesing for sake). A minor disappointment. But on to the rolls.... We knew the prices at Shoku were a little steeper than other sushi restaurants in the area, so there was little in the way of sticker shock. That said, we took this to be a sign of superior sushi and quality service. To get to the point: we found neither here. From the hostess to the waitress, our service was minimal with very little in the way of decorum (I think our waitress was chewing gum, and no one had been at the hostess station when we arrived - we stood around for a good five minutes before anyone acknowledged us). We'd ordered two specialty rolls, and ended up having to order another smaller roll. The portions were minuscule (most rolls average eight pieces - these were six), the rice was neither soft nor sticky enough, and the flavor of each was relatively bland. The quality of the fish itself was nothing to write home about, either. I've had more satisfying rolls from Giant Eagle (and sadly, that is not an exaggeration). The patio was beautiful in the early evening, but as the skies darkened, a giant flood light washed the entire area with a bright, stark glare that did wonders to kill the mood (the poor candles on the tables didn't stand a chance.) Sorely disappointed, I have learned my lesson - never judge an eatery by its outdoor furniture, and always carry a bottle of rice wine in your purse should a restaurant not have an adequate liquor license. (Sigh) I'll stick with Kooma (review to come!).
(2)
Vin R.
Been here twice and enjoyed both visits. We sat outside the second time and had a pleasant dinner watching the scene on Grandview Ave. Food and service were quite good. The fire pot chicken was great!
(4)
Shawnie K.
This used to be one of my favorite sushi restaurants in town, but that was at least 6 years ago. It has since been overshadowed by other Japanese restaurants that might be a little more traditional and low-key, but exceptional when it comes to food and service. This used to be one of Grandview's premier hotspots, where all the trendy, "beautiful people" went for dinner before a night on the town, but that has quieted a bit. I don't think it has anything to do with the quality of food or service, but mostly that the beautiful people are on to new places and have "bigger fish to fry," so to speak. I knew something was happening to Shoku when they started offering half-priced sushi rolls on Saturday nights. This is no longer the case, but I figure when a popular place starts to offer happy hour or food specials, they must need the customers. With that said, I still like to pop into Shoku for old-time's sake and usually sit in the bar area. The main dining room never did much for me in terms of ambiance. It was the people and the buzz that gave the place its appeal. I never considered myself a hipster, but used to really embrace hanging out here- purely for the energy... but, not so much these days. I probably won't go to Shoku for dinner anymore- mostly because I find it a over-priced. I used to pay for the 'hip vibe," but since that is no longer on the menu, everything else just seems expensive. I do very much still enjoy the steamed gyoza (but have always thought the winelist is way overpriced.) I might stop in for lunch if I'm in the area. I guess Shoku is OK in my book, but there's just too many other better sushi options.
(2)
Julia T.
Was a little nervous due to the low reviews, but, this place is delicious, and very reasonably priced, yay! We had the crunchy roll, thai roll and shrimp tempora roll. All good. Also had fried rice which was pretty decent as well.
(4)
Rob N.
My wife and I dearly love sushi. We were excited to be trying a new place to eat our favorite dish. The sushi we ordered sounded delicious and we couldn't wait for it to come out. When it came out the sushi was missing the ginger and wasabi, that was just the beginning. Some of the toppings for the rolls were barely applied or missing altogether. We were used to ordering specialty rolls, we knew what to expect. The rolls that came out fell way below our expectations. Very over priced for what we received. For the first time in all our years of eating sushi we did not have that good feeling we always get after eating sushi, my wife dubbed that feeling a sushigasm. No sushigasm tonight.
(1)
Bonnie J.
I am surprised by the bad reviews. We go here frequently and have always had good food, pleasant atmosphere and good service. One time we went towards the end of lunch time and felt like they would like us to leave--but maybe I didn't realize how late our lunch was running.
(4)
Sarah S.
Good food and great atmosphere. Visited during Dine Originals week with a large group and definitely recommend asking for their private room. My salmon and tuna roll was delicious although not as filling as I'd hoped, but luckily this prompted me to order the dumpling appetizer a few minutes later and they did not disappoint. I wasn't drinking this particular evening, but their drink menu featured interesting martini choices and my friends seemed impressed.
(4)
Matthew K.
After barely finding a spot in the pitiably-sized parking lot, I arrived at Shoku with my fiance in tow. The restaurant made a good first impression. We were immediately seated, with our reservations appearing to have been unnecessary. The restaurant was a bit smallish and offered a classic asianic look melded with a modern industrial design. We were told to expect longer than normal wait times. A bummer to be sure, but we expected to be able to weather the storm, especially since the restaurant did not seem particularly busy. Then came the wait. The 85 minute wait. Long after our cell phones had died, the ice had melted out of our water, and our level of glucose was no longer allowing for adequate frontal lobe control, we were finally offered a complimentary miniature salad - that was after 80 minutes. When our meals finally arrived, we found them to be quite good. I had the crusted chicken, which was much crispier than I expected (a pleasant surprise). The taste contained therein was nothing special, though. My fiance had the stuffed salmon, which was much better, offering several layers of delectable goodness with a wonderfully blackened under-layer. Unfortunately, we were so hungry by the time we received our meals that I'm not sure we were able to savor them adequately. The portion sizes were fair, although the price seemed a bit high. Thankfully, we were able to use an Eversave coupon with no hassle, knocking off the majority of the cost.
(2)
Peter D.
We had a gift certificate from Restaurant.com which we were informed was no longer honored. I decided i wasn't in the mood for overpriced sushi from a place that has a bad rep and a habit of jerking people around.
(1)
Patricia K.
Looks great from the inside and out; food is just ok. I got a spicy salmon & california roll Bento Box for lunch. Came out with 4 pieces of each, plus some tempura veggies, gyoza, and other sides. $13, so not bad; I just wish they had more & different sushi specials for lunch. Overall, it wasn't bad, but not too memorable. I may come here a few other times, but it won't be my first choice.
(3)
Shane L.
I debated giving this place one star, as when you factor in the exorbitant price for what you get, well that's how it shakes out. Shoku is sushi with style, but they let the style get in the way of the sushi, which is never a good idea. Throw in lackluster service, small portions (perhaps more stylish), and quality that's worse than Whole Foods and it's a bad experience. I'm willing to pay $10+ for a generic roll and $15-20 for a truly unique specialty roll, but it better be awesome. Snooty overpriced sushi is not awesome, so look elsewhere. We have much better in Columbus.
(2)
Lindsay B.
This is one of my favorite places to go sit out on the patio. We always go for sushi and then walk across the street to Jeni's. My favorite thing on the menu is the Grandview roll.
(4)
Kevin M.
I've been here twice, once with a few people and once with a group. Both times I was shocked by the veggie-unfriendliness of the menu. While I don't expect restaurants to be mostly vegetarian, I nonetheless have come to expect that (particularly Asian) restaurants will have dishes that can be easily modified to be vegetarian. Instead, there are a grand total of 3 types of vegetarian sushi, a veggie dumpling soup, and teriyaki tofu. Boring. But of course, their selection of meat and fish dishes is much better. The food itself is good, but not very remarkable. The presentation is nice, though my vegetables were an odd mix of hot, lukewarm, and cold that made me wonder if the vegetable temperature variation was a mistake or some sort of intentional presentation choice. Their tofu... well, someone should let them know that there are better ways of cooking tofu than cutting it into slabs and lightly frying it tempura style. Like trying to flavor it (at all), or cubing it to increase surface area for frying, or any number of other possibilities. The service was fine, but I was there on a Sunday night when the staff almost outnumbered the customers, so that's hard to judge. It's also on the spendier side. I ended up here last night because it's the only Asian in the downtown Grandview, a friend wanted teriyaki, and the friend's Mom was buying... but I don't think I'll be back on my own dime.
(3)
JJ M.
I've dined at Shoku twice and both times I was sorely disappointed. The first time I went was 2 years ago with the old menu. I felt that the prices were very steep and had high expectations for the product. We ordered sushi and an entree. When the food came out, I was very disappointed. Not to mention the slow service. After some time had passed, I decided to give them another try. The dining room was more than half empty but despite this fact, service was very slow. It took 10 minutes just for us to get seated. There were several empty and set tables but they told us we had to wait for them to clear off a table. We were then seated near the kitchen so I was able to watch the action. It took a long time for our waitress to come with water and to take our order. Food preparation was very slow as well. Food was often sitting on the counter (not even under the heat lamps) for a long time waiting for the rest of the table's orders to be prepared or for the waitress to retrieve them. I ordered the tempura calamari which was very tough. For my entree, I had the Fire Prawns. It was way way too salty. It otherwise would have tasted good but was just so salty. One of my dining partners entrees came out cold. My other dining partner ordered the salmon which did not come out with my entree and he sat waiting for quite a while. He described the taste as being mediocre. Beyond the mediocre food and poor service there was also a lady rolling around a cart of dirty dishes and workers were eating their dinner at the table next to us which really hurt the ambiance and was quite annoying to see when it took so long for our food to arrive. Overall, I was very disappointed by my experiences at Shoku and definitely would not recommend it.
Ate here with the family on 08/26/09. I am not going to waste a lot of time on this review as I was not impressed at all. I will say however that the service we received was A-OK and the server earned the 20% tip she received. OK, to start things off, we had a $50 gift certificate from Restaurant.com . I guess the DaeOh group is having some issues with this company because when we walked up to the door they had a sign saying they were not accepting the certificates. I asked for a manager and was told that they did not have one on staff. My wife is in the restaurant industry and at 6:30PM it is very unusual to not have a manager available. After asking multiple times they finally called a manager that was on the way in, and I was informed that they would go ahead and honor the certificate, so at least they finally got that right. Now I am sort of wishing that they had just told me no because the meal was definitely not worth it. The way their certificates work is a $50 dollar deduction off of a bill over $100 in food and then a gratuity is automatically added to the bill. As I said earlier, the service was great and she earned the tip hands down. The problem was that the food was not worth what we paid even after the discount. At least at Tyfoon (and others, but for this review just comparing the Dae Oh owned restaurants) they make an attempt to add some flare and flavor to the dishes with special sauces, flavorful tempura batter and other small touches like pepper added to the edamame. I am a huge sushi fan and that was the bulk of our bill, we also had edamame - small portion and average, Shrimp Tempura - good mix of veggies, but the shrimp were lacking, and Calamari Tempura - chewy and flavorless. Now to the sushi. Every sushi place nowadays has their version of special rolls with crazy names and deep fried this and that, I enjoy them immensely. However, I have found that you can always judge a sushi place on about 3 things. A Negi-Hama roll (yellow-tail and scallion), a Spicy Tuna roll, and Tuna Nigiri (traditional tuna on rice). The best way to sum up these offerings is disappointing. The Negi-Hama was small and pathetic, the spicy tuna was even worse as it had more cucumber than spicy tuna, and the tuna nigiri was just average. The special rolls are way over priced with some only having 4 pieces and the flavor was so-so. The only roll I would call a winner was the Wasabi roll, the flavor was really good, but it suffered from the same problems of the other rolls on fish to rice ratio. Overall, I will not be returning to Shoku. There are far to many Sushi restaurants in Columbus to waste my time visiting this location again. The efficient and friendly service is the only thing earning 2 stars on this review.
(2)
Emily H.
I was worried by reviews that reported bad service. However, we visited for a slightly early dinner and had a perfectly pleasant experience. Our waitress was polite and attentive. The dining room was quiet. It was the food that drops its rating. I ordered some kind of tempura-fried roll with cream cheese - maybe with sweet potato? I didn't find it appealing, but that is not the restaurant's fault, just a personal preference. My other roll - either avocado or cucumber - was fine but had a tendency to fall apart. I believe that is because of the sushi chef, and is one of my biggest gripes with sushi restaurants. The food is okay, but I would recommend Haiku over Shoku. Tyfoon or even Oodles of Noodles are better restaurants by the same owner, with better atmosphere and better food.
(2)
Tzachi Z.
I have been eating sushi regularly for over 7 years and I probably had it in over 50 restaurants around the country. We have just moved to Columbus and decided to give Shoku a try. The nice outside patio seemed appealing. We did not sit inside, so I cannot comment on the atmosphere there. We were seated in the northernmost seat on the patio. We were very hungry that evening, which usually biases one's taste buds in favor of any food that one would consume. Everything tastes acceptable when hungry. We ordered Edamame and I immediatley noticed the high price tag. I am not sure I ever paid over $4 for an order of Edamame. "mmm..." I thought, "we would either get a big portion of edamame, or alternatively, there will be some jewel (a pearl, a diamon, a ruby) or a fancy gadget (an iPod ?) hidden inside the soy pods. We get the edamame, served in a small straw bowl and I can barely see them. They certainly did not overflow the bowl. There were about 20-30 small pods in there. "OK, there must be something hidden , then." So, we slowly ate the edamame, taking extra caution in not breaking our teeth from the items that must be hiding inside. After 10 minutes, we could not find anything hidden. No ruby, no diamond, not even an iPod. Nothing....there goes our most expensive edamame dish ever.... Ok, so we are waiting for a spicy tuna roll, a yellow tail and scalion roll and a rainbow roll. The prices, again, were on the higher end. I think that, on average, the rolls were $1 higher than what I used to pay in other cities. When we got the plate of sushi, I noticed that the rainbow roll was dull in color. Rainbow rolls, you know, are usually very colorful, white (yellow tail), orange (salmon), green (avocado) and red (tuna). The most concerning element was the brownish hue on the rainbow. "Rainbows do not have brown in them, do they? I wonder what that is." "What is this brown thing?" I asked. "Oh, that's the tuna." the waiter replied. "The tuna? I've never seen a brown tuna. Have you?" To their credit they took it bak and....substituted some yellow tail for it. Well, I expected a completely new roll....wouldn't you? The other rolls were mediocre at best. We were hungry so we consumed them. Nothing else to report. Overall, nice patio, but that's about it. I should have read the Yelpers before we went. I think they are still too nice.
(1)
Chuck k.
Pan Asian cuisine in Grandview. I have been told the sushi is good, I have had a couple of different rice dishes that I enjoyed, and I really like the fire pot chicken. They have a great location, and on Sundays it is BYOB. A nice way to pass an warm evening is eating on the patio and drinking beer you just bought at Spagio cellars.
(3)
Caroline C.
A couple of years ago I would have given Shoku a solid 5 stars, but I'm sad to say this place has gone down hill. It always puzzled me when people said the food was average and the service was bad - I never ever experienced that. The last couple of visits, however, I've had to agree. The tempura roll is still awesome, but the sushi portions seem to be getting smaller. It's easy to drop $120 for dinner for two here, and you find yourself hungry a couple of hours later. Not worth it.
(3)
Harry W.
We went here to have dinner with a friend who was visiting from Cleveland. I was in the mood for sushi so suggested Shoku after seeing the banner for "New Menu & Lower Prices" while enjoying a triple from Jeni's across the street. Too bad they didn't decide to have better food in the recent revamp. It's a nice location and it's pretty inside. I enjoyed sitting on the patio and nosing around as Grandview locals jogged and stolled by. But honestly, I think that's where the fun ends. The speciality drink menu was boring so I asked for a plain saki and vodka martini with cucumber (like the kappa at Haiku). My fault for straying but I thought it was a simple request, guess not because the server acted like I was being difficult. So, the sushi was dissapointing. It tasted no fresher than Giant Eagle california rolls. Nothing special at all. I wouldn't bother with this place if you want your money's worth. Sorry Shoku.
only been here once. the sushi was ok (ordered rainbow roll, spicy scallop, yellowtail, and baked salmon). scallops were a bit over cooked--i prefer mine not cooked. my biggest complaint was the price. the average roll is $11 for a teeny tiny roll. nigiri sushi is about $5 for 2 pieces. my boyfriend and i left hungry, but it's ok because jeni's ice cream was across the street.
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : Yes Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Accepts Bitcoin : No Good For : Dinner Parking : Street, Private Lot Bike Parking : Yes Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : No Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Trendy Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : Yes Wi-Fi : No Has TV : No Waiter Service : Yes Caters : No
Hannah B.
I've been to shoku a few times now. It is a bit pricey, but I really like their sushi. I've had their futomaki, tiger, Phili, and veggie rolls. The quality and taste is good. I've had their miso and seaweed salad, which is also very good. I don't really like how their seaweed salad has actual noodles, but that's okay. I hope this place survives because it's rarely busy!!
(4)Michelle L.
Everything I've had here I love. I get the fried pork pot stickers. They are amazing. We also always get their sushi. It's fresh and very flavorful and great presentation. A very cool place for a date or a small get together with the girls. I recommend this place to everyone-- you won't be disappointed.
(5)Devon S.
My friend and I shared a few appetizers and a Seafood satay. The food was decent, no complaints. After we were done eating, I was picking around in the satay dish and noticed something clear. At first I thought it was some sort of noodle, but then I realized it was glass. I dug around a little more under the sauce and found another piece of glass! My friend and I, both experienced in serving and preparing food, didn't want to make a fuss. We are also very passive aggressive. However, I told the waitress and she said something like, "oh, a glass broke, but there's no way that could have gotten in your food." "I am sorry about that, here's your check." I was very disappointed with the way that was handled. She should have told her manager, we should have gotten a discount, or our meal for free. I will not be going back.
(2)Carly W.
3.5 stars We popped in to Shoku last night after I decided that the music at the Grandview Cafe was just entirely too loud, and I didn't feel like shouting at my husband all through dinner. I may not have gone in had I read some of the Yelp reviews first, but I have to say I'm glad we did. The interior was lovely. As many have mentioned, there wasn't a crowd so we were seated promptly. Our server was very personable and attentive without being one of those "HOW IS EVERYTHING" every 5 minutes kind of waitresses. They were out of an ingredient for one of their martinis I wanted to try, but the waitress suggested another option that I loved. 5/5 on the beverage, would drink again. The food was nice as well. I think we had a particularly good experience because we didn't treat it like "oh this is a sushi place," we treated it like an Asian fusion restaurant. The mussels were good, but not for the price. They were also really, really large, and I notice I tend to prefer smaller mussels, finding them sweeter and more tender. The broth in which they were served was quite lovely though, being essentially miso soup with pickled ginger. I had the Buddha Feast, which was tofu with veg. The tofu was delightfully crisp and the sauce well balanced with hints of fruit and fresh. The veggies were nicely prepared as well, particularly the little fried cubes of sweet potato. 4.5/5 on the Buddha Feast. The husband had the chili prawns, a dish we both enjoyed. The shrimp were a nice size, and the butter-based sauce made it remarkably flavorful and with incredible umami but without being too rich or overwhelming. Generous portion size to boot. 4/5 on this one. Hubster also got 2 of their specialty rolls, and the fish was fresh and bright. I tried a piece of one of the salmon rolls, and it was good. Didn't knock my socks off, but didn't disappoint me either. 2.5/5 or 3/5 on the sushi rolls. All in all, this was a positive experience and I'd be happy to give it another go. I think that if more people tried some of the other options besides sushi, they may enjoy this place more. 3.5 Stars overall.
(4)Jordan F.
Some girls at work planned a lunch outing here and my first thought was all the bad yelp reviews I had seen (this place is really close to me so I have thought about going here a million times and decided not to because of the rating) BUT I have to say I have been here twice now and the sushi is good and consistent! It also has an amazing patio! I recommend giving it a try :)
(4)Josh S.
Had a good meal. I tried the spring rolls which is an egg roll cut in half. I tried the hot stone bibimbap. It was amazing, the rice was crunchy on the sides, the beef had a great flavor. The only thing I was disappointed was with the amount of bibimbap sauce they serve (about 2oz)
(4)Jeremy W.
Not very happy with visit. Salad had wilted lettuce, miso soup tasted old and salty. Sushi chef drinking a drink without lid, and texting on cell phone without washing hands between tasks. This place would be fantastic with some solid management.
(2)Mickey W.
Excellent Sushi and excellent service. My eat a lot of Sushi and Shoku's food was very good. My server was very knowledgeable and did an amazing job making for an overall very pleasant dining experience. I highly recommend.
(5)Tash L.
Shoku is not nearly as bad as everyone makes it out to be. I am a true believer in Yelp reviews and typically, I go running in the other direction when a restaurant has an average rating below a 4 so I surprised myself by agreeing to go to Shoku (with its 2.5 star average rating) not once but TWO times!! The first time I went, we mostly stuck to sushi. Let's be honest. It's not the freshest, most mind blowing sushi you've ever had but it certainly makes the cut. The second time I visited Shoku was today, with the assistance of a Groupon (who doesn't like a good deal on Friday night dinner?!). We ordered some sushi - spicy tuna and California rolls, the fire pot chicken, and some vegetable spring rolls. All were pretty good. A couple pieces of sushi were a little "fishier" than I typically like but all around, not bad. The star of the meal was definitely the fire pot chicken (thanks Yelpers for the tip!) - crispy but not crunchy, and smothered in a flavorful sauce. The spring rolls were my least favorite (not because they didn't taste good but because they were VERY oily). So why does Shoku get such a bad rap? Well, the service is...well...not good. And the prices are a tad bit high. But if you're in Grandview and in the mood for Japanese (/Korean) food, it's not a bad option!
(3)Todd G.
Stopped here on Friday since the girlfriend had a Living Social deal. We were seated right away, probably a bad sign when there were a total of 5 tables occupied. Our server was really odd, he ended up taking our drink order, and had to go to the bar and make her drink, then we see him pour a Coke from a 2 liter? They don't have fountain? Cans?. Her drink was good, Coke was flat from a day or two old 2 liter. We ordered the pot stickers app when he brought the drinks, and he never came back around for 10 minutes until the app was ready: Pot stickers were bland, very little taste to them and small. The service was poor all night, our water glasses sat empty for quite a while. He finally comes back and gets us refills so we put our sushi order in. It was very average, nothing special. There are a lot better options for Sushi if you are in the Columbus area. It was my first time here and my last time- Average food and shitty service does not cut it.
(2)Sarah T.
Horrible! Even with $30 for $15 livingsocial deal, this was a terrible meal. Tuna app had A LOT of rice in it. The rice was hard in the rolls. The sushi was not decorated. Sashimi is $2/piece? Tuna roll is more cucumber crunch than tuna itself. And why are there no ends on out sushi plate? What happened to the pieces of the roll with shrimp tail or soft shell crab?! Don't bother.
(2)Biker C.
My coworkers and I ordered lunch for take out last week. Everything worked out perfectly and the food was amazing. The restaurant took payment by credit card over the phone so my coworker just had to pick up everyone's meal. I had the spicy scallop roll which was delishious (not fishy or bland) not sure why this place has such a low rating but I'm trying it out in-person tmrw! Can't wait to have more
(5)Marsh W.
I hate to write this... A friend and I went to lunch there yesterday and it was one star short of bad and that kills me. I love Shoku it's my goto place in the Grandview area and it's always been good service, good food and good value. Unfortunately this just wasn't the case yesterday... The place was almost empty, no one was there at the host's position and we finally just sat down. When we finally got the server's attention we had to ask for menus and were never asked if we wanted anything to drink other than water. There are certain signs when place is in difficulty and almost all of them were present. The prices have gone up The portions have gone down The quality is sub par There's a big sign on the door saying "we now deliver." I ordered the gyoza and the beef maki The beef maki was five small pieces at $10.00 The gyoza seemed to be from a frozen not fresh and they were "torn" on the side where they usually stick together when frozen. $10.00 Please understand, my goal for this review is not to trash the place, but it is far from where it was the last time I went there and I'd love to see it come back.
(2)Jemmie W.
I love sushi and eat a lot of it. You can check my other reviews and see all the reviews of sushi restaurants. I'm in town for a business meeting and took a client/friend to dinner. He recommended this place. Fine. The sushi here is bad. The colors are off, the taste is very mediocre at best, the size is just ok, the rice is too stick and soggy, and the price was high ($150 for three people, no alcohol). Besides that, everything was great. I'm not a Columbus expert but, from what I can tell, the only thing keeping this place alive is its location in a trendy part of town where there is often a lot of foot traffic. It will be interesting to see how long that keeps this thing afloat.
(1)Tania L.
Horrible. As I previously posted. The sashimi and sushi was not fresh. As a result and as I consulted the server. My husband now has food poisoning. I forewarned the server that this was a result of the chef's negligence knowing the yellow tail and octopus were of poor quality! They took $20 off of our $160 bill. Not worth it at all. We will never return nor should anyone else. The 1star is for the waitress. She made it tolerable.
(1)Paige W.
The atmosphere is quite and personal. the servers are great and really hands on. seems like they know the menu pretty well. when the sushi was brought out they explained what everything was which was helpful to me. There was a fully stocked bar which was fabulous. let's get some business at shoku I feel like this place would be great if more people knew about it :)
(5)Laura B.
This place is way better than some people have said it is. I have been twice and both times it was delicious and the service was great! I had the sushi combo c today and my husband had the ahi tuna salad and we have literally nothing but good things to say! We went on a Groupon and it was well worth the money! Very nice lunch, very good food, very peaceful.
(4)Kellyn W.
Great sushi place in Grandview! Wonderfull patio for beautiful weather! The Samba Roll is delicious! Yummm!
(3)Danielle W.
I would not recommend this place to anybody. My boyfriend and I tried this restaurant while using the Groupon ($15 for $30) deal. When we arrived on a Monday night around 7pm, it was not busy, but our server disappeared after we received our menus and did not return for 20-25 min. After he took our order (2 rolls of sushi and a shrimp pad thai), my sushi came out promptly. When he brought he sushi, he served it first to the wrong table, (no big deal, it was the table next to us and they immediately said they didn't order it). The sushi was also not what I ordered, but I let it go, because the roll he gave me rhymed with the roll i wanted, and that one had actually sounded good to me and I was debating ordering it. As time went on, I noticed there was no one cooking in the kitchen (and again our server was out of sight for 15-20min). When he returned, he asked us if he could get us anything, forgetting about the pad thai-and looking very confused when I asked if it was ready yet. When he went to the kitchen, it was clear it was not being prepared, and he came back and blamed it on the kitchen, not really apologizing. After 5-10min, he served the pad thai, but it was thrown on a plate and tasted very bland--not at all looking like what the table behind us was served. Also, for $12, this was not a special dish and not worth what was served. After all of this, our server again disappeared, never refilling our waters, though he did ask if I wanted to purchase wine or more sushi. When he returned, I asked if we could have our bill and mentioned we had a Groupon. The server then took my phone away from the table and was "figuring out the bill" at the register for 20 minutes. No other workers were helping him if he did need assistance, and he forgot to bring my phone back from the register when he brought the bill. My boyfriend and I are pretty non-confrontational, so we did not make a scene at the restaurant or demand for a discount, but it could also have been the server that put a damper on this experience. However, it was too many mistakes for me to want to return or recommend to any friends.
(1)Tiffany C.
My roommate bought a Living Social deal ($15 for $30, which is a better deal than the Groupon deal out for $18.25 for $30) so we came here on a Friday night. Finding parking on Grandview Ave can be somewhat a pain, but this restaurant had its only little private lot (fits about 10 cars) - definite plus! Though there was a decent number of people in the restaurant, compared to other places on a Friday night, this was sparse. We were seated immediately with the rest of the pack. This meant that my chair was less than 1 foot away from the seat of the customer at the table right next to ours. Thankfully we didn't have to get up at the same time! Neither of us were really that hungry so we decided to share 2 specialty rolls (monster roll and pleasure roll) and the classic California roll. With the a roll called "monster" that only came with 5 pieces, I expected it to be MONSTROUS, GINORMOUS, and STUFFED with the four types of fish. Sadly, we got were five measly pieces of sushi, barely the diameter of 2 quarters, drenched in spicy mayo (now, I love spicy mayo, but I still want to be able to taste the fish!) with just a little topping of masago. I could tell there wasn't a lot of actual fish in there and even with all the mayo, it seemed it wasn't freshest fish. The pleasure roll was mediocre as well, definitely not an "orgasm in my mouth." Food also took forever to come. Thankfully I wasn't hungry as I would have definitely been hangry. Our waiter came over twice to apologize for the long wait. Our meal ended up being ~$22 total, including tip and $15 for the Groupon deal, which isn't bad for 3 rolls, 2 of which are "specialty." The total would have been closer to $36 without the deal. Overpriced and underwhelming.
(2)Victoria N.
No alcohol served on Sundays. Nice place, cutely decorated. I ordered the California roll, 50 cents extra to add cream cheese. It was okay. Kroger sushi is better, honestly. My mom got the pad Thai. It has a coconut sauce and my mom asked the server if the coconut was really noticeable. The server said it tastes like regular pad Thai. Turns out my mom didn't like it at all. If you don't like coconut, don't get it. The server offered to get my mom something else, so that was nice. We probably won't be back.
(2)Kara C.
I've been here twice, both with a groupon for sushi. Both times I've enjoyed it. We were the only ones in there both times we went. Staff was nice, except didn't know the happy hour specials. It was a nice and clean place. Nothing too fancy though. Prices were average but the groupon helped. Sushi was fresh and delicious. I would recommend this place.
(4)MeyMey L.
I don't get why everyone is complaining about this place. The food was so good. My boyfriend and I ordered 3 different types of sushi and an appetizer. We got the grilled squid and it was absolutely spot on. It was cooked to perfection! Only downside was my server wasn't really paying attention to us. Other than that, I'm def a fan.
(4)Erica R.
The sushi at Shoku is decent but definitely not worth the price. You will spend a lot to eat a little. They do have good service and they're never busy (which could also be a bad sign). If you're in Columbian want Sushi check out Haiku or Kooma.
(3)Will P.
Not really that impressed with the dining experience. Stopped in at Shoku today for lunch since we had a Groupon. I looked pretty dead inside but no one was able to seat us. They appeared understaffed in the front of the establishment. Once seated it took a while to be greeted, even longer to get our order in. The appetizer came in relatively good time. Tried the crab cakes. The crab cakes themselves looked odd since they were fried and tasted different. The sweet sauce to go with them made them more enjoyable. It took FOREVER to get our entrees. After we ordered People had come in, were seated, and received their food well before we did. I was very disappointed by this. Also my wife's sushi was missing a component. I had Pad Thai and it wasn't bad, but not spectacular. The waitress was apologetic, but overall the place was not being run very well.
(2)JT C.
We enjoyed the spicy salmon, futomaki?, and tiger roll. The miso soup was also good, brought out very hot. The server did a nice job as well. The tiger roll was pretty small for the price, but tasted great. The place was pretty empty which was strange, we aren't opposed to going back sometime, but it wasn't some of the better sushi we've had in central Ohio. Might be a little while.
(3)Andy W.
We did not get any sushi but did order dinner: udon chicken soup and "chili prawns." Most of the Japanese food I've ever had was essentially "comfort food." If I want "food with flavor" I typically think of Thai, Korean, Indian, etc. I couldn't have been more surprised! The "chili prawns" dish was spicy: a plate of sticky rice with steamed broccoli (not soggy and just crisp enough!), 5 or 6 properly (not over) cooked shrimp, and a (I assume) spicy fish stew with onions and zucchini. Very flavorful! And the udon soup was unlike any udon soup I've ever had: not too salty, a little sweet, with a subtle smokey grill flavor (I've honestly never had udon soup with anything other than a subtle "mom's chicken noodle soup" flavor) - a real treat! We did go on a Sunday, so no alcohol, but the water refills were timely (and much appreciated). We will no doubt be back!
(4)Kim M.
I honestly don't know why this place gets such bad reviews. A friend bought me a living social deal for my birthday. I was worried after reading the reviews but I was pleasantly surprised. I had crispy chicken and my daughter had the udon noodles. Both tasted great and the presentation was beautiful. We will definitely be back.
(5)Mario N.
Where do I begin. The waiter holding a conversation with patrons was abysmally unprofessional saying "I'm so over this place I can't wait till I leave", not even 5 feet from us. The tuna sashimi was terrible. I know what good sushi should taste like (Haiku, anyone?) I complained and got it switched out by an order that was wrong and the waitress apologized. Coupled with a rickety table and a bathroom whos spicket was more than lacking, this will be my final trip to Shoku. Ever.
(1)Jason T.
Food was decent. Kind of high priced. Service was decent, but waiter was slow lots of texting and tv watching going on instead if waiting tables. Livingsocial deal is what Drew is to go there
(2)Francesca A.
If there is one lesson I've learned from my Shoku experience, it's to check Yelp before buying restaurant Groupons. The $15 for $30 Groupon popped up, I thought, "hey, I love sushi, that's a great neighborhood, why not?" I grabbed my sweetheart and away we went. I will now tell you exactly WHY NOT: Service: While several of the servers were kind and helpful, none of them were OUR server. Ours had the personality of a wet rice noodle and neglected to return to see if we needed more beverages, how our appetizer was, or anything. There was only one sushi chef. Even though the patio had a nice crowd, the 4 or 5 servers plus hostess seemed to be completely overwhelmed; there were only a few parties inside, where we sat. Food: For an appetizer, we had shrimp tempura ($11), which comes with vegetables tempura. This was okay, but we were sad that we had to tear up the veggies to share, as there was one of each. The batter was fine, the shrimp was fine, the vegetables were fine. Fine, fine, fine. Because the sushi was taking so long (see above), and on the advice of our server, we ordered an entree to split - the Shiitake Salmon ($19). Both the salmon and wasabi mashed potatoes were dry. The potatoes' flavor wasn't quite pleasant. The asparagus was pretty good. The entree actually arrived just after the sushi. We had the spider roll, spicy scallop roll and the element roll. Never have I been more underwhelmed by sushi. Not even one bite hit my mouth and made my tastebuds smile. Did I mention that it took about an hour for the sushi to arrive? (We had the order ready when we placed the appetizer order.) I will never return to Shoku. I will discourage friends from going. And I will ALWAYS check Yelp before buying another restaurant Groupon if I don't already know the restaurant.
(1)Vanessa M.
I hadn't been here for a while and was surprised when I saw all of the mediocre Yelp reviews. I went with a friend, warning him we might not be totally successful. It turns out everything was great. As always, the interior is peaceful and attractive. This was a Saturday night, it was a bit snowy and the place was only maybe half full. I got the vegetarian Bi Bim Bop and it was fabulous. REALLY, really good. I can't remember what my dinner companion got, but he liked it as well. I know he liked the sake, also. We also split an appetizer of edamame. It was good, but it's hard to screw that up. The service was great and prompt. The manager came by to check on us. Other than being on the pricey side, Shoku was as good as I remembered it. There are some other local Japanese places with bigger vegetarian selections, but everything I've had there has been good. *it seems many of the negative reviews seem to involve complaints about the sushi or Groupons. The sushi selection for vegetarians is pretty negligible, so we didn't bother and we didn't have a Groupon.
(4)Kate H.
Pleasantly surprised. I went here for lunch today with work husband. It is unusual that we eat any place new. I had a simple tofu rice bowl and he had the pad thai. We had the grilled calamari for an appetizer (which was the best part of our lunch). The food was solid, well prepared and quick. I love the decor and the service was decent. We had to wait a bit after we were finished for our check (which annoys me). Decent, good location. Actually want to go back and try the sushi.
(3)Andrea L.
Come for the Groupon Sushi, stay for the service. Welling was a delight, great service! Quite an asset to Shoku! Sushi was decent, will be back as long as there is a Groupon.
(3)Alexandra J.
I'm not sure if all the people who had a good time here don't have yelp or if we just got the luck of the draw, but my mother, girlfriend and I actually had a pretty good dinner here! The service was quick, the food was finished quickly, and our server was very kind. She cleaned up my girlfriends mess for her and asked a few times if we needed anything & how everything tasted. Now, the food... was it the best I've had? No. Was it the worst? Not at all. We usually frequent Otani and have been spoiled by Mr. Honda so I'd say its so-so. We got a few different rolls, udon and pan fried noodles. The best hands down were the pan fried noodles. The udon was very bland, the broth didn't have any flavor to it. I have no adjectives for the sushi. It was just sushi. Our total came up to $100, this was in no way a $100 dinner. Not the way it tastes. If for nothing else I'd come back for the noodles and the nice waitress. & if you purchase a groupon this isn't a bad place to come & form your own opinion on.
(4)Jeremy L.
Honestly this was the worst sushi I've ever had in my life. For two people we spent over $90 for 4 rolls and two drinks. Extremely overpriced and not worth it. Service was fine but I wouldn't recommend this for anyone. Kroger sushi was much better.
(1)Amy S.
A few friends and I decided to go here for an early dinner, since we were in the mood for sushi. I'd never been, but had been wanting to try it for quite sometime. It was a little early when we went, so we were pretty much the only ones in the restaurant. Right when we were seated, we all noticed a funny smell, almost like sewage. Not pleasant, but we got over it. We were given the menus and told about happy hour specials. After perusing the menu, we decided to start with some edamame and then ordered our sushi. The edamame was good, plenty for 2 people to share. Then came the sushi. Nobody was thrilled with what they ordered. The piece of sashimi I tried was fair at best. The spicy tuna roll was spicy has hell- we're talking tears streaming, mouth on fire spicy as hell. I don't think I've had anything so hot in my mouth. Ever. I told the server, and asked if we could we get a different roll because it was basically inedible. She said she'd never heard anybody say it was that spicy, but when 3 people at the table tried it, they all agreed. Even the one from Arizona who can probably eat hot peppers without wincing. The prices were decent, but I will probably not be returning there. At least not when I'm in the mood for sushi. Too bad.
(2)Living L.
I've been here a few times. But this was definitely my last time. Service was really bad and extremely slow. It was lunch and they only had one server. We ordered vegetable tempura with shrimp as our appetizer. I had the chicken bento and my fiancé had the beef bento. The daikon salad was old. It tasted sour and not how it's supposed to taste. I'm guessing the food isn't the freshest due to the lack of customers. The restroom had no soap in there and as my fiancé entered the bathroom the cook was leaving. That grossed me out enough to quit eating my bento box. The server did offer to take my food off my bill but I told her not to. I paid the full amount only because I know this restaurant is on its last leg. Soon Shoku will be out of business. It's only a matter of time till their doors close. There are so many other really good sushi places in Columbus.
(1)Catherine J.
Shoku has seen better days. It won't show in the decor, but it might show with the dwindling crowds. My dining partner and I were thinking about how Shoku seems like it was one of the first/few sushi restaurants in Columbus, back before Columbus knew any better. Now we have more choices and it seems Shoku hasn't kept up. Have you ever seen Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares? I kind of hoped to see my favorite craggy-faced chef pop out from the back. It's not that anything about Shoku is gross or ... nightmarish... but it reminded me of seeing episodes of perplexed but invested shop owners tied to a failing restaurant. What's going on here? As another symptom of it needing a little business-boost, I had a Groupon for Shoku. We put it to good use, ordering specialty rolls with abandon. It was kind of hard to do, believe it or not, because they were all pretty similar. It was hard to construct a plate with varying textures and flavors. Everything had something tempura'd in it, and/or sweet sauce, and/or spicy mayo. The spider roll didn't taste all that fresh to me, and the crunchy roll's tempura was a little too soggy. The pleasure roll (oooh la la) was my favorite of the specialties with some jalapeno inside. The $5 martinis (before 7 pm) was a nice surprise. The edamame was dull and a little mushy, instead of bright green pods that explode IN YER MOUF! Just a little squish instead. Peh. The side-parking lot with the headlights that stream into the dining room take diners off guard. I was sitting near a window and I swear I was 6 inches from an actual headlight at one point. I've been here 5 or 6 times, and I don't think I'll be going back again.... unless I have Groupon or I'm in the area for something else. There's much better food in Grandview, and much better sushi in Columbus.
(2)Kathryn S.
Since my first review, I've visited Shoku many times. I still think it's a little over-priced, but I always bring a groupon to help cut costs. The biggest thing I notice about Shoku is that it's never ever busy. This should have been my first sign not to trust the quality of their food. Tonight, my husband and I ordered an assortment of rolls, including their "Crave" roll, which contains shrimp tempura. When I went to pull the tails off of my roll, I noticed that the tails (and the meat inside) were black and spotty. Not blackened, but black. As in spoiled. The waitress was apologetic and tried to blame it on the shrimp being over-cooked, but there was no denying that they had just gone bad. The batter was lightly cooked, but the shrimp inside were black and rotting. Needless to say, I won't be back ever again. Not even if you paid me.
(1)D. B.
I went with a group of about 10 coworkers for lunch. We had a reservation but our table was not ready when we arrived. The service was very, very slow. Total time from being seated to our food being served was well over one hour. Our server was polite and explained the regular chef was out. The restaurant had an odd odor and was very stuffy. The food was okay, but not great. I don't think I will go back.
(2)Rebecca O.
I really want to love this place, mostly because A. The exterior/interior design is charming; B. The staff is nice; and C. It's nestled in the heart of Grandview. But after giving it a few tries, Shoku's food still fails to impress. All three of my sushi experiences were sub-par. The rolls were very small and overpriced (in my opinion.) The quality did not match what I've found at other Columbus sushi joints. I've only tried sushi here, so I'm not able to speak to Shoku's entree offerings (several folks said the entrees are pretty good!) But if you're looking for great sushi, I'd recommend skipping this spot.
(2)A L.
I LOVE SUSHI. And, Shoku is within walking distance of my house. Their food and service are so awful I would rather get in my car and drive anywhere else than walk a block to eat here. I'D RATHER EAT GROCERY STORE SUSHI. They're heavy on the Groupons (should tell you something right there), and their rolls are all essentially the same made twenty different ways, all drowning in sauces. Patio is consistently empty when every other restaurant on the street is hopping. No clue how they stay in business.
(1)Suki W.
The sushi is way overpriced, the service is just ok, the decor & atmosphere are nice. I bought a Groupon which they refused to honor (Groupon refunded my money) and that irritated me no end, particularly when the rationale was specifically in conflict with the fine print in the Groupon.
(1)David F.
This place is VERY overpriced and extremely below average. My wife and I waited a very long time for our meals and the service WAS NOT the best. The sushi that we ordered did not seem fresh at all, and the soy sauce was watered down. Seriously. There was restaurant employee drama occurring all around us and that made it very difficult to have conversation with each other. My wife had a Groupon and it relieved the sting of the final bill. We will not be going back to Shoku again.
(1)Brigid N.
This place is underwhelming. I've given it a chance three times and I'm done. -mediocre, ok quality sushi -had a bowl of noodles, tasted like salt water -table wasn't cleaned and was sticky -service was ok For the money, go elsewhere!
(2)Jeremy H.
Just as Yelp says, this place is horrible for kids. Yes, they have high chairs and booster seats, no they don't have a kids menu or smaller plates. We ate here on a Wednesday night, there were a few parking spaces beside the restaurant in an alley. Inside there was pretty much no one...if our visit was a scene in a movie, you would have heard crickets. Interesting that it was so empty when the atmosphere seems so nice, except for the loud obnoxious alternative music that you almost have to scream over top of to have a dinner conversation. Service was okay, most of the servers are total hipsters with the typical accompanying hipster attitude. Service should have been better since the place was empty. The food was what was shocking...I had the sushi/sashimi combo which was $25 with a warm Kirin Ichiban Beer. Plenty of food comes with this combo, but all of it is cheap cheap fish, nothing good, nothing you can't get from the sushi bars in Kroger for half the price. On top of that I am pretty sure my sushi was a little old. I've eaten sushi in dozens of states and dozens of restaurants and let me tell you, there is a fishy taste, then there is an old fishy taste that indicates this fish is about to start rotting. I imagine it was probably old stock since they were so empty. My wife go the garlic teriyaki chicken...she didn't like it, I thought it tasted good, but there was definitely very little chicken in it. I think we also had the Grandview roll which was sweet and good. But like many of the reviews here state, this place is way over priced for the quality you receive. And for that price there are better, more quiet atmospheres. We won't be returning.
(1)Jackie P.
Blah. I ate here last night and I am still feeling kind of sick. I've had better, I've had worse - but one thing is for sure, I probably won't be back. The restaurant itself is actually really nice. The decor is typical asian-fare and the china used complimented the style. Water is served without request, and refilled promptly. I will say that it could use a facelift, but all-in-all, it has a good vibe. The fried calamari was rather chewy, and the batter used for them was lackluster. Also, the price tag of $11, there weren't that many pieces! I think that is a little steep for an appetizer, considering entrees and noodle dishes were around the same price. The miso was just not good. After two sips I couldn't stand to eat anymore. It was served in a cute saucer, but that's where the enjoyment of the dish ended. Serving sizes are adequate, but by no means would I consider them "entree" portions. Also, be prepared for quite a wait to receive your food. As Catherine mentioned, the headlights do catch you off guard! The beam into the restaurant and are quite a distraction! Also, they seemed to have around 5-6 people working in a restaurant near closing time with only 2-3 tables with diners. Just seemed counter productive, and too many. It felt like there were more staff than patrons!
(2)Liz G.
It seems I'm in the minority of Yelpers who love Shoku. I am no naive sushi-eater -- I lived above a sushi restaurant in a previous (non-midwestern) city and have high standards when it comes to raw fish. In fact, I didn't eat any sushi in my first year in Ohio because I couldn't imagine that a land-locked state could provide quality fish. However, I have to be completely honest: every single time I have gone to Shoku (probably around 10 times in the last 2 years), the food has been excellent, the prices reasonable, and the service good. I have never had anything on the "cooked" side of the menu, but the sushi has been excellent in my experience. We usually get a couple of standard rolls and a couple of speciality rolls when we go. I recommend the inari (tofu skin -- it's a little sweet and offsets the other rolls nicely), spicy salmon, spicy tuna, Grandview roll, treasure roll, and pleasure roll. You can also ask them to use brown rice instead of white rice, which we always do. Once, they forgot to sub out the white rice, and the server still remembered us and apologized on our next visit over 6 weeks later. So, again, I understand that others haven't had a good experience here, but I've really enjoyed my visits to Shoku. Its prices are reasonable (they frequently run discounts on daily deal sites and have a "locals" reduced price menu on Wednesday), the sushi is great, and they have a very nice patio in a prime location. I'd say it's worth at least one try to form your own opinion.
(5)Xintong L.
The interior decoration is unbeatable. The service is good. However, the food CANNOT keep up with its interior decoration and its price. The food is OVERPRICED. And it looks Japanese is NOT Japanese. I won't come back again. Thanks for Groupon. Well, if you like a fancy place to impress your date, it is the place to go. But if you want to have authentic food, DON'T GO THERE.
(2)Linh H.
Looking at the reviews I had my doubts coming here but gave it a chance anyways since my BF had purchased a groupon... Service was slow and food was extremely overpriced from what I am used too. The rolls are small, we ordered edamame, 3 sushi rolls, 2 hot sake and 2 soporo and still left hungry.. Overall the restaurant had a good atmosphere.
(2)Nicole W.
I had a rare night home alone and was looking forward to some sushi take out on the couch! Shoku was the easiest place to drive to quickly - so I ordered, jumped in the car, and couldn't wait to break the container open. I started with a house salad and it was pretty good. Nothing amazing - but I love a good Japanese dressing (sometimes I drink it out of the container; that is gross, don't tell). Then the sushi. A few bites in I thought *gross*... a few bites more *grosser*...another bite and I said *done with this crap.* It was really, really bad -- and it doesn't take too much for me to love sushi. I could barely chew through the seaweed on the rolls! The Twin Dragon Roll was minced up tasteless fish (and I LOVE spicy salmon and tuna rolls). I also had the Boston Roll which had no flavor and the tuna was a suspicious color. I gave it 2 stars because the restaurant looked adorable and the hostess on the phone was very helpful. But I will not go back and recommend you never go.
(2)Allie L.
I bought a Groupon for Shoku and we grabbed dinner there one weeknight. Pros: - Attentive service - Great food (I got the fried rice/paella) - Comfortable interior - Bar area Cons: - We were the only ones in there for about an hour - Staff seemed to be bored and it was distracting Overall, we really enjoyed our appetizers and main meals! I can't wait to go back and try out their huge patio during the summer!
(4)Carla D.
I've had a few really great experiences at Shoku, and several crappy ones. At this point, the crappy outweighs the great. I'm not a sushi expert by any means, but I do know what tastes good. They had 2 rolls that I would go back for (and I would check the menu to confirm what they were called, but their website sucks and always seems to have issues) - one was topped with spicy scallops, and the other was a rainbow-type roll that was coated in crispy tempura batter. They were both delicious. Pot stickers were also yumm-o. I also recall a work lunch with a group of colleagues about 10 years ago and most of us ordered the Pad Thai...and I was convinced it was the best I'd ever eaten. However, as much as their food was good, I had poor service nearly every time I went. One time I came in and ordered 2 sushi rolls to go, and sat at the bar...for, like, what seemed like forever. I'm pretty sure it was at least 45 minutes before my food was ready and no one bothered to explain why it was taking so long. Also, that bill came to $24. Two rolls for $24?!!?? Way overpriced in my opinion. Another time I walked in at around 2:10pm and was VERY rudely informed that the restaurant was closed between lunch and dinner and they were not currently serving. I have an idea - put a sign on the door? Lock the door? I haven't eaten there in well over a year because every time I went in, I felt snubbed, slighted, ignored, insignificant. I can't speak for the food these days, but I do know I had some tasty food in the past. It's a shame that their terrible service has ruined their reputation. I agree with Sarah W - go to Sushi Ting instead.
(1)Hostage H.
Gas station sushi at restaurant prices! I went here on an early saturday evening. it was definitely not busy, with only 2 or 3 tables filled, but it was early. the hostess was very friendly, our waitress was less so, but no complaints. the sushi was all priced in the normal sushi restaurant price range: about $6 for a 'standard' roll, around $13-15 for the special rolls. the food showed up rather quickly, but i was instantly unimpressed. i was greeted with a nice nose full of 'fishiness.' i ordered one roll of the twin dragon, which was half topped with salmon, and the other half with tuna. the tuna was slimy and unappealing, and though i can't confidently say it was the source of the fishy odor (we were outside, and it was windy) this is my most likely guess. the rolls themselves were flavorless (i also had an alaskan roll, and a 3rd, equally unimpressive roll, but can't remember which one), the soy sauce was watered down (and about the only thing that could give the rolls any kind of flavor), the wasabi had no heat or flavor, and was leaking water, as if they used powdered wasabi and waaaaaay over watered it. i really can't think of anything nice to say about their food. if there's a 45 min wait at a nearby sushi place, sit at a bar, have a drink, and wait. don't come here.
(1)Brian F.
Let me preface this review by saying that Shoku used to have the best sushi in town. I've been going there for about six years, and it used to be my favorite. What an absolute disappointment tonight. The sushi rolls were half the size they should be, and fell apart as soon as you picked them up. The waitress gave us a cursory 10% off when we complained, saying the manager and owner were not available - but didn't have much to offer as an explanation. We will not be back.
(1)Nat Q.
This was our first time ever at Shoku and our last. Went on a Wednesday night, place was a bit crowded but the restaurant is not large so there were maybe only 15 tables full. Took about 15 minutes to get seated. Then 15 minutes later we were finally approached by the server very rudely and asked what we wanted to drink. They had a special going, buy one get one sushi 50% off. When our server finally came back another 15 minutes later to take our order, we asked if we could order that special with our $30 dollar groupon as long as we order $30 worth of non-discounted food as we have done at other places. Once again we were given attitude and told no. So we ordered one sushi roll for an appetizer and two entrees. Food finally came out about 25 minutes later. Sushi did not come until AFTER we were done with our entrees. The sushi was awful too. It was missing two big ingredients and the texture was just plain bad. It also fell completely apart the minute it was picked up. I've had better sushi from giant eagle. Not to mention it was just thrown in front of us without extra plates and dishes for soy sauce for which we had to hunt down another server to get. The only thing that came promptly during this entire experience was the check. After which, we exited swiftly. We will never return again. I will say, the entrees (fire pot chicken, bulgogi) were good but not spectacular enough to be worth the price, wait, or the horrendous service. Save your money.
(1)Amy C.
My best friend was in for the weekend from far out of town, and she wanted to go to Shoku for dinner. Big mistake. We were seated at the bar, the bartender was very friendly and swift, the only reason for the one star. My friend ordered a salad and a couple of appetizers as her meal, and I ordered two sushi rolls. I understand that appetizers and salad take much less time to make than rolls, but the kitchen should be organized enough to keep tickets together, especially since my friend emphasized that her meal would be the appetizers and salad. My friend received her entire meal, finished it, and had an after-dinner martini before my sushi even made an appearance. From the time we ordered to the time I finally got my sushi, about 40 minutes had passed. I asked several times when it would be arriving, but got an "any minute now!" every time. The sushi rolls themselves were very tiny, tough seaweed, and the "spicy tuna" was minced to the point of being pureed and with no spice to speak of. We had hoped to have a relaxed dinner, but the sushi service took so long that I had to wolf down my food so that we could make it to our evening plans. No apology from anyone for the amount of time it took to receive my food. I was going to complain to the manager but we were running so behind at this point that we dashed out straight away. So Yelp it is instead.
(1)Sara C.
This restaurant has been showing up all over discount gift certificate sites lately; I had one from Google Offers. The boy and I came here on a Sunday evening. Parking was a little awkward in the side lot, and the headlights of parking cars shine directly into the dining room, and into some hapless customers' faces. Some sort of shade is really needed across the lower half of the windows -- at least the ones facing the parking lot. It wasn't terribly crowded when we arrived, although there were plenty of take-out orders piling up near the kitchen, which contributed a bit of delay later in the evening. One of the first things the waiter told us was: "We don't serve alcohol on Sundays, it's BYOB," which I had not been aware of. We ordered the crispy tofu appetizer, the pan-asian noodles with chicken, salmon nigiri, the twin dragon roll, and the element roll. We had actually only been sitting a few minutes when our waiter informed us that the kitchen was running a little behind, and offered us salad on the house. This had the typical Japanese dressing, tangy and peanutty, and was a pleasant opener. The sushi arrived shortly thereafter. The twin dragon roll was the best thing of the entire evening, spicy tuna and spicy salmon topped with salmon and tuna. The element roll was "meh," deep fried, with cooked fish on the inside, very meaty and dense, which would probably make it a good choice for someone who doesn't care for raw fish. The nigiri was decent, although the rice was a little too sticky/starchy. The crispy tofu was a little too oily and bland (I prefer a Chinese-style braised tofu); the noodles suffered from the same greasiness, although the flavors and textures were otherwise good. Our total for the evening came to just over $50, which, even with the coupon, is over our preferred budget. The food was decent, and the ambiance (minus the car headlights) is cozy. However, we probably won't come back unless there is a spectacular sale or something of the sort.
(2)Trish Y.
I thought it was over priced when the food was not very good. I also had a martini and I get a buzz SUPER easy...I drank all of it and it did absolutely nothing to me... I am the type that can get a buzz on a Mike's hard lemonade if that says anything LOL... Have no desire to ever go back... But then again I did not get sushi which is what it is known for...basically I had fancy ramen noodles...
(1)Christina C.
The location is perfect. The inside is small but kind of cool and the patio the best in Grandview. I had the chicken wrap which was the recommendation of the server and I was pleasantly surprised. It was like a huge stir fry chicken bowl in a spinach wrap. The two sauces that accompanied it were a nice addition but the wrap tasted ok on its own. Service was pleasant - nothing to complain about, and the menu had a nice Asian fusion selection. All of things add up to a so-so experience. A good option if nearby places are too busy.
(3)Sarah W.
Pros: nice place, sushi was ok Cons: edamame way over-cooked, service was poor, EXTREMELY over-priced... especially for sushi that was just ok I went because I had a Living Social deal, but I won't be back. Go to Edamame at Easton or Sushi Ting instead.
(1)Brian R.
The food was good (but not great) but overpriced for the quality, decor was eye-catching but nothing particularly special, but the building itself felt a little like a gas station that had been converted to a restaurant. The service was okay. I'd visit again if out-and-about in Grandview and the mood was right, but I don't know that I'd consider this a prime destination (thus, three stars).
(3)Mark B.
Shoku is one of the Dae Oh restaurants, located on hip Grandview Avenue in Columbus, Ohio. It's billed as a pan-Asian sort of place; pleasant enough atmosphere and a sushi bar. We ate lunch there, and all ordered sushi-based bento box meals. The bento box was bigger than I expected for lunch, but that was a pleasant surprise. My sushi consisted of 3 each of tuna rolls and California rolls. The sushi was decent, though not spectacular. It came with plenty of side dishes along the Japanese - Korean continuum: tempura onion/sweet potato/green bean, fresh kimchi, shredded seaweed, salted dried octopus, and the like. The side dishes formed the bulk of the meal. Some were very good (the tempura green bean, the kimchi, and the seaweed), some were merely adequate (the octopus and some sweet tofu). Overall it was a nice lunch. One of my companions ordered the miso soup which she declared to be piping hot and good. The service was prompt and courteous and the restaurant was very clean and inviting. It's not one of the area's top three pan-Asian joints but I would certainly dine there again.
(3)Erin B.
My boyfriend and I ate here in hopes of good sushi...we were mistaken to dine at shoku at all. My food had little to no flavor and the sushi had an odd texture. Would not recommend shoku to anyone.
(1)Brent T.
Very nice Asian fusion cuisine. I started with Mackerel Nigiri, which was very nicely prepared. I also had the Ahi Tuna salad: basically a Tuna Nicoise salad with an Asian twist of sushi-grade tuna, a side of Japanese noodles served with carrot miso dressing. Everything was very fresh and well prepared. My daughter had the Shoku Salad: mixed greens with side of Japanese noodles, an eggroll and skewer of marinated and grilled beef. The beef was particularly nicely flavored and grilled. My wife had the Udon noodles - a huge bowl of soup that is guaranteed to send enough home with you for lunch the next day.
(4)Molly B.
My husband and I had an impromptu date night here this evening and it was lovely. The ambiance of Shoku is nice. I like the patio and bar set ups. I like that the guy in the back of the room is making the sushi. It has a very contemporary feel and makes me feel like it would be a fun place to go to dinner with a group of friends on a Saturday night. We both had the Miso soup, which was very good. (Although, Miso soup is hard to mess up). We also ordered the Tiger and Spicy Tuna rolls. Both sets of rolls were tasty, but nothing memorable. My waitress seemed a bit frazzled and the restaurant wasn't event busy. But overall, the service wasn't bad. I had a pleasant experience here tonight and will probably come back at some point. I'm giving it three stars because I have had MUCH better sushi and there isn't anything terribly awesome that made this place stand out to me.
(3)Steph L.
64 bucks for a bud light, a lemonade, and 4 extremely small not very exciting rolls (too be honest, they all tasted the same...) My boyfriend and I left unimpressed and still hungry.
(2)Heather G.
I ventured here for lunch with my coworkers during Dine Originals Week. I liked the contemporary atmosphere and could see myself returning with friends. It wasn't too busy, but they seem understaffed with only one waitress. I choose the chicken wrap which was large and in charge. Definitely a great deal for the $10 Dine Originals price and the $11 regular price. The tasty spinach wrap included chicken with veggies a sweet sauce. My coworkers enjoyed the sushi boxes. The service was pretty disappointing. We ordered edamame but our meals came out first. When we reminded the server, she snapped that it wasn't ready. Well, the space is pretty small so we heard her then go to the kitchen and order it. The situation happened again when we reminded her we needed a box. I've been a server before. Just say whoops, I'm sorry-don't get snappy! The food was good, but the disappointing service will delay my return trip.
(3)Catie L.
Went a couple weeks ago with my bbf for lunch. We go to lunch at least once a week somewhere. We happen to have a groupon or social living coupon so it was a help on the check. We started off with the Asian crab cakes and Tempura shrimp, which were delicious. Our entres were I had the Bulgogi and my friend had the Firepot chicken. Both entrees came with salad and steamed rice. There were a nice amount of vegetables in the dishes. The flavors were really good, and there is nothing I can say bad about the food. Nice portions, good flavors, and a very nice atmosphere about the place. Why 3 stars is the service. Very slooooow. It was a late afternoon lunch, after I would think the usual crowds, but still one only has an hour to eat. We did have to box up half our entrees, no so much from being full, as to the time constraint. Now this place is not for the light of pocket, unless you have a coupon as we did for $30 as we did. Our regular check came to $55 before tax and tip. I hope if you go you get faster service. That is my biggest complaint. The food is good.
(3)Russell T.
Was a little concerned after reading the reviews on here but, wasn't bad over all. Our server was quite friendly and timely, food service was reasonable. The spring rolls were quick to come out but, a tad over cooked. They were hot. I had the firepot chicken which I liked. My friend had the garlic chicken which he liked. We both had the same observation; the chicken was hot but the veggies were a little cool. Odd. The hot tea could have been a better quality. Don't know that I would choose to return without my Groupon incentive but, was satisfied over all.
(3)Becky F.
Stood at the entrance to be seated. No one that worked there even made eye contact to say they would be there in a few and that they were busy. Another couple left because they were tired of waiting and being ignored. Finally I was able to grab a server to ask nicely if we should seat ourselves. The host or whoever he was walked up and very snotty and as if we were bothering him that they were busy and would be there when they got a second. Listen buddy, I get it you're busy, we understood that. However, not acknowledging us and being rude doesn't help. A simple we will be with u in a few when we walked in would of made the over priced, not so good sushi easier to swallow. At least our server was nice and did her best to make up for the lack of courtesy the other staff showed.
(1)Amy B.
We came back here for dinner with another Groupon, and it was far less impressive than the first time. For one thing, our sushi was bland and mostly rice. The service and drinks were both good, but my boyfriend and I left pretty disappointed (and wishing we'd gone to our regular sushi place).
(3)Ellen F.
If the energy (aka number and type of people in the restaurant) was higher, I would give five stars. What I mean is that every time I have been at Shoku, it's nearly empty, lack of energy. When there are people, they are typically on a quiet date, or a business meeting. That normally wouldn't sound so bad, but it's more of a hush feeling than a romantic feeling. However, I do enjoy the food. I religiously order the Ahi Tuna Salad. Can't help it, I love it and every time I try to venture out, I buckle my knees at the last minute. The servers are very cool. They give you space...sometimes too much. But it's not a problem.
(4)Chris T.
We ordered the edamame and 4 sushi rolls. The sushi was nothing compared to Tyfoon (same owners) or Haiku. The rolls barely stayed together long enough to get them into our mouths..they were very poorly made. The taste was ok, but at this price point it should all be much better. The drinks were expensive as well. Great patio though. Doubt I'll go back...there are much better sushi places around town.
(2)Kelly W.
This place is probably the worst sushi place in Columbus. Seriously. We were looking for somewhere to eat that had a patio, with Lafogata and Haiku being busy, we decided to drive to Grandview. Shoku looked beautiful from the outside, and seemed really nice inside, but looks are truly deceiving. This place is all style but no substance. It's overpriced, and for less than mediocre food. Now, everything on the menus sounded amazing. I couldn't wait for it to come out. Once it arrived, though, my heart sank. I had the Shoku Tuna and it was stringy and tough. It had no flavor whatsoever and as a whole, the dish was extremely oily. Same goes for the Fried Tofu dish that my date had. It too, was covered in this too sweet teriyaki sauce and the whole dish seemed reminiscent of a glazed tofu doughnut, but with vegetables. Yuck! The service was fine. Food came out a little slow. They had a sign up that said Organic Tuesdays. My thought was, why just Tuesday? This place is reaching but it needs to start putting out better food. Perhaps some work in the kitchen and people will start coming in on their own from word of mouth. Clearly, it's not doing so well in that department. It certainly needs to put some focus on it, with the prices they are charging. It's ridiculous!
(1)Julie P.
Blech, this is one place in Columbus to skip, for sure. I came here with a large group, and I can't say I had one thing that I liked. Even though the party was arranged days in advance, there still wasn't enough staffing to effectively mange the table. The food was slow and came out in big gaps, and it took the greater part of forever to get our checks. The drink list at Shoku is dreadful - lots of sickly sweet juice 'martinis' and cheap wines and sake. The wine and beer isn't included in happy hour specials, and not that it matters anyway, as I had what was quite possibly the worst tasting wine in history, (a 'blend') that was flat on the front end and super tangy sour on the back. Wine, you're doing it wrong! Anyway, on to the food, which was lame. The sushi was very average. Anything fried was both underdone and greasy, which takes a special sort of culinary skill. The noodle bowls' main flavor was salty and the ingredients were not as unique in reality as they sounded on the menu. Not to mention that everything is a bit expensive. With so many fantastic restaurants in Grandview, I would absolutely recommend steering clear of Shoku.
(2)Pete C.
I've found that the sushi scene in Columbus has very little gray area, with most places being either very good or very bad. Luckily, this stylish bistro-style Grandview establish falls under the latter. Price is an obvious downside here, but the four rolls my two friends and I split seemed to equate to far more food than any of us were expecting for the light pre-evening meal we stopped here for. Maybe it's just my current state of hunger talking, but I very clearly remember the Crunchy Buckeye, Spicy Tuna, and California rolls being significantly larger than they normally are at competing joints like Lemongrass and Haiku. Another clear upper hand Shoku has on Lemongrass it it's outdoor patio, which is an excellent place to spend a calm summer evening before hitting the town like my friends and I did. The sun can be oppressive when seated here before 9 PM, however, so make sure to keep that in mind before choosing to sit out there. Overall, this is a pretty great nice-ish Asian restaurant in an area that otherwise has nothing similar to offer. The price is a little off-putting, but it's certainly bearable if you're here with a group.
(4)Jason R.
My wife got a gift certificate to Shoku from restaurants.com , so we decided to go there for dinner without the kids one Friday evening. I agree with a lot of the reviewers that the prices were a bit steep. However, because of the coupon, we decided to order two appetizers and two main courses. For our appetizers, I got the steamed pot stickers, and my wife ordered the edamame. I thought both had very nice flavor and were well-presented. For my main course, I ordered the sushi appetizer and added in the Thai rolls. I am normally a fan of keeping sushi simple and let the quality of the ingredients speak for themselves. Shoku did a good job here with the appetizer sushi. The Thai rolls were a bit more complex than I normally like. However, I thought they were excellent and the ginger sauce that comes with them really made the dish. My wife ordered the pad Thai noodles with chicken and shrimp. They had lots of fresh vegetables with them and plenty of spice to clear one's sinuses. The chicken and shrimp were cooked nicely and had a good peanut flavor. I think the one thing that disappointed me was that the green tea I ordered was in a tea bag and was not very flavorful. Otherwise, the meal was very enjoyable, the service was good, and the atmosphere was very chic.
(3)Sarah S.
The husband and I visited Shoku on a weekday evening, mainly because we had a Groupon to use. We seemed to have beaten the dinner rush, because when we arrived, the restaurant was mostly empty (but then quickly filled). We were promptly shown by the hostess to a small two-top table at the back of the bar area, and presented with menus. We then waited approximately 15 minutes, while three other tables were seated and their drink orders taken, before someone even got around to us and taking our drink orders. We had plenty of time while our drinks were being prepared, nothing fancy, just a glass of wine and a vodka-cranberry, to peruse the menu and select what we would like. 10 minutes later, our drinks arrive, and the waitress/hostess wanders off again. (Note: there appeared to be no designated waitress/hostess/or bartender, three of them just kept rotating around and tripping over each other all evening). By this time we had decided to just split an order of edamame and 3-4 different sushi rolls. I very obviously placed the order card on the edge of the table while trying to catch someone's eye, and finally she picked up the card and took our appetizer order. Another 25 minutes go by... Our edamame FINALLY appears, and we get down to business. Thirty seconds later our sushi rolls are plunked in the middle of the table and the waitress wanders off. There is no soy sauce in sight. Takes another 2-3 minutes of attempting some eye catching, then me actually leaning over someone else's table (my apologies as the tables are EXTREMELY close together and the restaurant very tight when the tables are full), to snag a waitress and ask for soy sauce. Another 5 minutes go by... The soy sauce finally appears. No apologies are made for any of the wait times by the waitress. After about 10-15 minutes, we had consumed the appetizer and sushi rolls, and were contemplating ordering another couple rolls (Shoku's rolls are considerably smaller than other restaurants I have been to), when the waitress appears with the check, plunks it down on the table, and says "I'll take this when you're done," and then walks away again. Ok... guess we won't be ordering anything else. Nor will we be returning. It did end up taking her another 10 minutes to get back to our table and pick up the card and Groupon to process the check. In conclusion, the food is just so-so, nothing to get excited about. Compared to other sushi restaurants, I believe they are overpriced for the amount/quality of food served. The service is just flat-out terrible. Would not recommend.
(1)Joelle N.
I was pleasantly surprised because of some prior reviews. We must have been there on a good night. We got the potstickers and they were FANTASTIC! The dough was thin and the pork was nicely seasoned and fresh. I got the Pad Thai, on the advice of the server, who said it had a peanut sauce, which I thought was typical for Pad Thai. Unfortunately, it came as described in the menu, which said nothing of peanuts. It was still good, with fresh veggies and chicken. My husband got some seared tuna. He's a connoisseur and said it was seared perfectly and the veggies were great. Our server was on the ball, too. I agree with other posts- consider something to cover windows to avoid headlights a foot away from diner's faces
(4)Amanda H.
My boyfriend and I are sushi fiends, and have made it something of a mission to scour this town's pescaphilian (possibly not a real word) offerings. Having formerly waited tables at Spagio in Grandview, I'd spent many a night taunted by Haiku's spacious patio across the way. Its large beige umbrellas, with their perpetual, come-hither flutter, said, "Do it. Spend your night's wages on the raw wonders I have to offer." And so, one evening at the tail end of the summer, we decided to indulge. We went on a warm Sunday evening, and although the patio was packed, we didn't have to wait long for a seat. So far, so good. But here's something odd to certainly take note of: Shoku's odd liquor license doesn't allow them to serve alcohol on Sundays. You can, however, bring a bottle of wine and they'll be happy to serve it to you. Unfortunately, we didn't know about this ahead of time (and we'd been jonesing for sake). A minor disappointment. But on to the rolls.... We knew the prices at Shoku were a little steeper than other sushi restaurants in the area, so there was little in the way of sticker shock. That said, we took this to be a sign of superior sushi and quality service. To get to the point: we found neither here. From the hostess to the waitress, our service was minimal with very little in the way of decorum (I think our waitress was chewing gum, and no one had been at the hostess station when we arrived - we stood around for a good five minutes before anyone acknowledged us). We'd ordered two specialty rolls, and ended up having to order another smaller roll. The portions were minuscule (most rolls average eight pieces - these were six), the rice was neither soft nor sticky enough, and the flavor of each was relatively bland. The quality of the fish itself was nothing to write home about, either. I've had more satisfying rolls from Giant Eagle (and sadly, that is not an exaggeration). The patio was beautiful in the early evening, but as the skies darkened, a giant flood light washed the entire area with a bright, stark glare that did wonders to kill the mood (the poor candles on the tables didn't stand a chance.) Sorely disappointed, I have learned my lesson - never judge an eatery by its outdoor furniture, and always carry a bottle of rice wine in your purse should a restaurant not have an adequate liquor license. (Sigh) I'll stick with Kooma (review to come!).
(2)Vin R.
Been here twice and enjoyed both visits. We sat outside the second time and had a pleasant dinner watching the scene on Grandview Ave. Food and service were quite good. The fire pot chicken was great!
(4)Shawnie K.
This used to be one of my favorite sushi restaurants in town, but that was at least 6 years ago. It has since been overshadowed by other Japanese restaurants that might be a little more traditional and low-key, but exceptional when it comes to food and service. This used to be one of Grandview's premier hotspots, where all the trendy, "beautiful people" went for dinner before a night on the town, but that has quieted a bit. I don't think it has anything to do with the quality of food or service, but mostly that the beautiful people are on to new places and have "bigger fish to fry," so to speak. I knew something was happening to Shoku when they started offering half-priced sushi rolls on Saturday nights. This is no longer the case, but I figure when a popular place starts to offer happy hour or food specials, they must need the customers. With that said, I still like to pop into Shoku for old-time's sake and usually sit in the bar area. The main dining room never did much for me in terms of ambiance. It was the people and the buzz that gave the place its appeal. I never considered myself a hipster, but used to really embrace hanging out here- purely for the energy... but, not so much these days. I probably won't go to Shoku for dinner anymore- mostly because I find it a over-priced. I used to pay for the 'hip vibe," but since that is no longer on the menu, everything else just seems expensive. I do very much still enjoy the steamed gyoza (but have always thought the winelist is way overpriced.) I might stop in for lunch if I'm in the area. I guess Shoku is OK in my book, but there's just too many other better sushi options.
(2)Julia T.
Was a little nervous due to the low reviews, but, this place is delicious, and very reasonably priced, yay! We had the crunchy roll, thai roll and shrimp tempora roll. All good. Also had fried rice which was pretty decent as well.
(4)Rob N.
My wife and I dearly love sushi. We were excited to be trying a new place to eat our favorite dish. The sushi we ordered sounded delicious and we couldn't wait for it to come out. When it came out the sushi was missing the ginger and wasabi, that was just the beginning. Some of the toppings for the rolls were barely applied or missing altogether. We were used to ordering specialty rolls, we knew what to expect. The rolls that came out fell way below our expectations. Very over priced for what we received. For the first time in all our years of eating sushi we did not have that good feeling we always get after eating sushi, my wife dubbed that feeling a sushigasm. No sushigasm tonight.
(1)Bonnie J.
I am surprised by the bad reviews. We go here frequently and have always had good food, pleasant atmosphere and good service. One time we went towards the end of lunch time and felt like they would like us to leave--but maybe I didn't realize how late our lunch was running.
(4)Sarah S.
Good food and great atmosphere. Visited during Dine Originals week with a large group and definitely recommend asking for their private room. My salmon and tuna roll was delicious although not as filling as I'd hoped, but luckily this prompted me to order the dumpling appetizer a few minutes later and they did not disappoint. I wasn't drinking this particular evening, but their drink menu featured interesting martini choices and my friends seemed impressed.
(4)Matthew K.
After barely finding a spot in the pitiably-sized parking lot, I arrived at Shoku with my fiance in tow. The restaurant made a good first impression. We were immediately seated, with our reservations appearing to have been unnecessary. The restaurant was a bit smallish and offered a classic asianic look melded with a modern industrial design. We were told to expect longer than normal wait times. A bummer to be sure, but we expected to be able to weather the storm, especially since the restaurant did not seem particularly busy. Then came the wait. The 85 minute wait. Long after our cell phones had died, the ice had melted out of our water, and our level of glucose was no longer allowing for adequate frontal lobe control, we were finally offered a complimentary miniature salad - that was after 80 minutes. When our meals finally arrived, we found them to be quite good. I had the crusted chicken, which was much crispier than I expected (a pleasant surprise). The taste contained therein was nothing special, though. My fiance had the stuffed salmon, which was much better, offering several layers of delectable goodness with a wonderfully blackened under-layer. Unfortunately, we were so hungry by the time we received our meals that I'm not sure we were able to savor them adequately. The portion sizes were fair, although the price seemed a bit high. Thankfully, we were able to use an Eversave coupon with no hassle, knocking off the majority of the cost.
(2)Peter D.
We had a gift certificate from Restaurant.com which we were informed was no longer honored. I decided i wasn't in the mood for overpriced sushi from a place that has a bad rep and a habit of jerking people around.
(1)Patricia K.
Looks great from the inside and out; food is just ok. I got a spicy salmon & california roll Bento Box for lunch. Came out with 4 pieces of each, plus some tempura veggies, gyoza, and other sides. $13, so not bad; I just wish they had more & different sushi specials for lunch. Overall, it wasn't bad, but not too memorable. I may come here a few other times, but it won't be my first choice.
(3)Shane L.
I debated giving this place one star, as when you factor in the exorbitant price for what you get, well that's how it shakes out. Shoku is sushi with style, but they let the style get in the way of the sushi, which is never a good idea. Throw in lackluster service, small portions (perhaps more stylish), and quality that's worse than Whole Foods and it's a bad experience. I'm willing to pay $10+ for a generic roll and $15-20 for a truly unique specialty roll, but it better be awesome. Snooty overpriced sushi is not awesome, so look elsewhere. We have much better in Columbus.
(2)Lindsay B.
This is one of my favorite places to go sit out on the patio. We always go for sushi and then walk across the street to Jeni's. My favorite thing on the menu is the Grandview roll.
(4)Kevin M.
I've been here twice, once with a few people and once with a group. Both times I was shocked by the veggie-unfriendliness of the menu. While I don't expect restaurants to be mostly vegetarian, I nonetheless have come to expect that (particularly Asian) restaurants will have dishes that can be easily modified to be vegetarian. Instead, there are a grand total of 3 types of vegetarian sushi, a veggie dumpling soup, and teriyaki tofu. Boring. But of course, their selection of meat and fish dishes is much better. The food itself is good, but not very remarkable. The presentation is nice, though my vegetables were an odd mix of hot, lukewarm, and cold that made me wonder if the vegetable temperature variation was a mistake or some sort of intentional presentation choice. Their tofu... well, someone should let them know that there are better ways of cooking tofu than cutting it into slabs and lightly frying it tempura style. Like trying to flavor it (at all), or cubing it to increase surface area for frying, or any number of other possibilities. The service was fine, but I was there on a Sunday night when the staff almost outnumbered the customers, so that's hard to judge. It's also on the spendier side. I ended up here last night because it's the only Asian in the downtown Grandview, a friend wanted teriyaki, and the friend's Mom was buying... but I don't think I'll be back on my own dime.
(3)JJ M.
I've dined at Shoku twice and both times I was sorely disappointed. The first time I went was 2 years ago with the old menu. I felt that the prices were very steep and had high expectations for the product. We ordered sushi and an entree. When the food came out, I was very disappointed. Not to mention the slow service. After some time had passed, I decided to give them another try. The dining room was more than half empty but despite this fact, service was very slow. It took 10 minutes just for us to get seated. There were several empty and set tables but they told us we had to wait for them to clear off a table. We were then seated near the kitchen so I was able to watch the action. It took a long time for our waitress to come with water and to take our order. Food preparation was very slow as well. Food was often sitting on the counter (not even under the heat lamps) for a long time waiting for the rest of the table's orders to be prepared or for the waitress to retrieve them. I ordered the tempura calamari which was very tough. For my entree, I had the Fire Prawns. It was way way too salty. It otherwise would have tasted good but was just so salty. One of my dining partners entrees came out cold. My other dining partner ordered the salmon which did not come out with my entree and he sat waiting for quite a while. He described the taste as being mediocre. Beyond the mediocre food and poor service there was also a lady rolling around a cart of dirty dishes and workers were eating their dinner at the table next to us which really hurt the ambiance and was quite annoying to see when it took so long for our food to arrive. Overall, I was very disappointed by my experiences at Shoku and definitely would not recommend it.
(1)José R.
Better than Haiku, prices are fair.
(3)Alex R.
Ate here with the family on 08/26/09. I am not going to waste a lot of time on this review as I was not impressed at all. I will say however that the service we received was A-OK and the server earned the 20% tip she received. OK, to start things off, we had a $50 gift certificate from Restaurant.com . I guess the DaeOh group is having some issues with this company because when we walked up to the door they had a sign saying they were not accepting the certificates. I asked for a manager and was told that they did not have one on staff. My wife is in the restaurant industry and at 6:30PM it is very unusual to not have a manager available. After asking multiple times they finally called a manager that was on the way in, and I was informed that they would go ahead and honor the certificate, so at least they finally got that right. Now I am sort of wishing that they had just told me no because the meal was definitely not worth it. The way their certificates work is a $50 dollar deduction off of a bill over $100 in food and then a gratuity is automatically added to the bill. As I said earlier, the service was great and she earned the tip hands down. The problem was that the food was not worth what we paid even after the discount. At least at Tyfoon (and others, but for this review just comparing the Dae Oh owned restaurants) they make an attempt to add some flare and flavor to the dishes with special sauces, flavorful tempura batter and other small touches like pepper added to the edamame. I am a huge sushi fan and that was the bulk of our bill, we also had edamame - small portion and average, Shrimp Tempura - good mix of veggies, but the shrimp were lacking, and Calamari Tempura - chewy and flavorless. Now to the sushi. Every sushi place nowadays has their version of special rolls with crazy names and deep fried this and that, I enjoy them immensely. However, I have found that you can always judge a sushi place on about 3 things. A Negi-Hama roll (yellow-tail and scallion), a Spicy Tuna roll, and Tuna Nigiri (traditional tuna on rice). The best way to sum up these offerings is disappointing. The Negi-Hama was small and pathetic, the spicy tuna was even worse as it had more cucumber than spicy tuna, and the tuna nigiri was just average. The special rolls are way over priced with some only having 4 pieces and the flavor was so-so. The only roll I would call a winner was the Wasabi roll, the flavor was really good, but it suffered from the same problems of the other rolls on fish to rice ratio. Overall, I will not be returning to Shoku. There are far to many Sushi restaurants in Columbus to waste my time visiting this location again. The efficient and friendly service is the only thing earning 2 stars on this review.
(2)Emily H.
I was worried by reviews that reported bad service. However, we visited for a slightly early dinner and had a perfectly pleasant experience. Our waitress was polite and attentive. The dining room was quiet. It was the food that drops its rating. I ordered some kind of tempura-fried roll with cream cheese - maybe with sweet potato? I didn't find it appealing, but that is not the restaurant's fault, just a personal preference. My other roll - either avocado or cucumber - was fine but had a tendency to fall apart. I believe that is because of the sushi chef, and is one of my biggest gripes with sushi restaurants. The food is okay, but I would recommend Haiku over Shoku. Tyfoon or even Oodles of Noodles are better restaurants by the same owner, with better atmosphere and better food.
(2)Tzachi Z.
I have been eating sushi regularly for over 7 years and I probably had it in over 50 restaurants around the country. We have just moved to Columbus and decided to give Shoku a try. The nice outside patio seemed appealing. We did not sit inside, so I cannot comment on the atmosphere there. We were seated in the northernmost seat on the patio. We were very hungry that evening, which usually biases one's taste buds in favor of any food that one would consume. Everything tastes acceptable when hungry. We ordered Edamame and I immediatley noticed the high price tag. I am not sure I ever paid over $4 for an order of Edamame. "mmm..." I thought, "we would either get a big portion of edamame, or alternatively, there will be some jewel (a pearl, a diamon, a ruby) or a fancy gadget (an iPod ?) hidden inside the soy pods. We get the edamame, served in a small straw bowl and I can barely see them. They certainly did not overflow the bowl. There were about 20-30 small pods in there. "OK, there must be something hidden , then." So, we slowly ate the edamame, taking extra caution in not breaking our teeth from the items that must be hiding inside. After 10 minutes, we could not find anything hidden. No ruby, no diamond, not even an iPod. Nothing....there goes our most expensive edamame dish ever.... Ok, so we are waiting for a spicy tuna roll, a yellow tail and scalion roll and a rainbow roll. The prices, again, were on the higher end. I think that, on average, the rolls were $1 higher than what I used to pay in other cities. When we got the plate of sushi, I noticed that the rainbow roll was dull in color. Rainbow rolls, you know, are usually very colorful, white (yellow tail), orange (salmon), green (avocado) and red (tuna). The most concerning element was the brownish hue on the rainbow. "Rainbows do not have brown in them, do they? I wonder what that is." "What is this brown thing?" I asked. "Oh, that's the tuna." the waiter replied. "The tuna? I've never seen a brown tuna. Have you?" To their credit they took it bak and....substituted some yellow tail for it. Well, I expected a completely new roll....wouldn't you? The other rolls were mediocre at best. We were hungry so we consumed them. Nothing else to report. Overall, nice patio, but that's about it. I should have read the Yelpers before we went. I think they are still too nice.
(1)Chuck k.
Pan Asian cuisine in Grandview. I have been told the sushi is good, I have had a couple of different rice dishes that I enjoyed, and I really like the fire pot chicken. They have a great location, and on Sundays it is BYOB. A nice way to pass an warm evening is eating on the patio and drinking beer you just bought at Spagio cellars.
(3)Caroline C.
A couple of years ago I would have given Shoku a solid 5 stars, but I'm sad to say this place has gone down hill. It always puzzled me when people said the food was average and the service was bad - I never ever experienced that. The last couple of visits, however, I've had to agree. The tempura roll is still awesome, but the sushi portions seem to be getting smaller. It's easy to drop $120 for dinner for two here, and you find yourself hungry a couple of hours later. Not worth it.
(3)Harry W.
We went here to have dinner with a friend who was visiting from Cleveland. I was in the mood for sushi so suggested Shoku after seeing the banner for "New Menu & Lower Prices" while enjoying a triple from Jeni's across the street. Too bad they didn't decide to have better food in the recent revamp. It's a nice location and it's pretty inside. I enjoyed sitting on the patio and nosing around as Grandview locals jogged and stolled by. But honestly, I think that's where the fun ends. The speciality drink menu was boring so I asked for a plain saki and vodka martini with cucumber (like the kappa at Haiku). My fault for straying but I thought it was a simple request, guess not because the server acted like I was being difficult. So, the sushi was dissapointing. It tasted no fresher than Giant Eagle california rolls. Nothing special at all. I wouldn't bother with this place if you want your money's worth. Sorry Shoku.
(2)Amanda S.
I love this place! I go probably once a month (for the past 3-4 years) and order one or a combination of the sticky shrimp, California roll, spicy scallop roll or seaweed salad. All are fabulous. For a main entrée, the sticky shrimp is the best hands down and if you like cooked scallop on the roll - the spicy scallop roll is AMAZING. A couple visits back, I received my entrée the same time as my rolls but that was probably because I ordered it all together. I think the environment and quality is well worth it. If you are picky about the service and wait, I suggest avoiding the peak service times. Grandview is a small unique area and you should expect to slow down a bit and enjoy the area.
(5)Diana N.
only been here once. the sushi was ok (ordered rainbow roll, spicy scallop, yellowtail, and baked salmon). scallops were a bit over cooked--i prefer mine not cooked. my biggest complaint was the price. the average roll is $11 for a teeny tiny roll. nigiri sushi is about $5 for 2 pieces. my boyfriend and i left hungry, but it's ok because jeni's ice cream was across the street.
(3)