Hoshi Sushi Lounge: User Reviews

I went to this place because I purchased a LivingSocial coupon. The day after I purchased it, I thought it was really weird that Groupon then had it. I should have taken that as a warning and returned the coupon. I understand Friday nights are busy, and the wait was lengthy, so that wasn't a problem. However, when we were finally seated, we had to wait 15 minutes for our orders to be taken, and another 10 minutes before we finally got our drinks. A waitress brought the appetizer, slammed it on the table and walked away. We had no eating utensils, or even napkins. Not to mention it was cold. Once we received our sushi, they left out some we had ordered and we still didn't have utensils. If it wasn't for the host, we wouldn't have service. The sushi was lacking. Not the best, not even close. Btw, the sushi maker openly drinking...drunk...while making food...not exactly a good thing to watch.

If you're looking for good sushi, stick to Sakari on Ingersoll or Waterfront. They're worth it. Plus, I always receive great service!

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Best sushi I have ever had. Beautiful, eccletic atmosphere.
Love Zach the Sushi Chef!!!

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Awesome sushi! great service too. the fish was super fresh, and the sushi kitchen is in a cool location, right in the middle of all the seating. miso soup and house salad were on the money, and the red bean ice cream (moshi?) was AMAZING. Give em a try.

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I've tried them all, and this is the best quality sushi in town. Great selection, awesome ingredients, creative presentation - the whole package. The ambiance is humble but comfortable and very, very friendly. My date said the miso was the best she ever had. Drink prices are reasonable. The owner's extended chat at our table was reminiscent of a time when establishments were owned and run by actual humans who liked what they did and took a compliment personally. This place is a lot of fun. Can't wait to take some more friends to share my secret find!

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Between the time Frank's left and Hoshi opened, there was another sushi place in this very spot. And it was, without a doubt in my mind, the worst sushi I had ever eaten (save for the mistake I made by trying free sample sushi at hy-vee that was perhaps days old, but that's another story.) I mention that because everyone who remembers the little sushi place on University from 2010 should know that Hoshi has nothing to do with that place. Nothing. At. All.

So it shouldn't surprise you then, that I think Hoshi is wonderful. The sushi is good--not the best in the city--but good for what you pay for, and nicely plated. Certainly someone who's eaten more sushi there is in a better position to comment on that.

What I go for is the non-sushi items. Their chicken noodle soup was one of the only things that really warmed me up all winter. It's a clear broth with lots of thick chewy soba noodles and perfectly cooked chicken. Unlike a lot of Asian places that have clear broth soups, they don't over-pepper or over-salt it, they just let the broth speak for itself. This way, you taste the scallions. You taste the chicken. You don't taste someone else's fetish for pepper.

The curry dish looks small when you get it--it's plated with a mold of delicious rice, and you may think to yourself "what else am I going to eat?" but that's your eyes tricking you. What you get is not-too-spicy redish/orangish curry with big green pepper and onion chunks, soft enough to be savory, but tender enough to still have a crunch and not be mushy.

I recently had the dumplings also. They are pretty good, though not phenomenal. Deep fried, but a little too much fried taste, and not enough crispy texture. They were a bit runny...almost like water coming from them, and I wondered if they were frozen and then fried. Fine to eat, but not big or filling enough for the price. Next time, I will be trying the edamame.

Oh! Drake students! 10% off for anyone who shows their Drake id.
Oh! Everybody else! $2.00 draws during happy hour!

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I went to hoshi and had a great time. La Tran is there new sushi chef. He was the sushi chef that help Waterfront get there great rep. he has over 17years exp. he is one of the best sushi guys in Iowa. with him as there guy this place will do grate things. If you have a chance to go, do it. they have new owners new chefs and a new look. I loved it. and to the hoshi staff keep up the good work.

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I rarely write bad reviews of any restaurant, but I felt I had to say something about this one in the hopes that they fix what's wrong and stay in business. So here goes:

I can't recommend Hoshi Sushi Lounge for sushi. Maybe their bar is nice and maybe the other menu options are better, but the sushi was pretty poor. My husband and I had a California Roll, a Sunshine Roll, a Salmon Roll, and two pieces each of salmon nigiri and tuna nigiri.

Our biggest complaint was the rice. It had WAY too much vinegar in it. Not so bad on the first bite, but the vinegar compounds on your tongue as you eat more and before long you're just tasting sour vinegar over the fish. When I sampled some of the fish minus the rice I could see why. It had no distinct flavor of its own. The salmon was nearly indistinguishable from the tuna and I suspect they were thawed from frozen using warm water, which would wash away any flavorful oils.

We had edamame and miso soup with our meal. The miso was the best part of the meal, but even that tasted pre-packaged and re-heated. The edamame was over boiled and not drained well enough.

I really try to give wait staff the benefit of the doubt, especially in a relatively new place, but the single waitress assigned to the bar and all the tables was not familiar with the food at all and while she was attentive and polite, was a bit disorganized in getting orders and checks to the three tables she was serving.

I might give Hoshi another try for the bar and I might try some yakisoba sometime in the future, but I won't be getting sushi here again.

I really want to see businesses along University thrive and I'm a big supporter of the neighborhood. The problems I found are all easily fixed and I hope they do fix them rather than go out of business. The business has a lot of potential and I do wish them the best.

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Inititally headed a to an Ingersoll favorite and popped into Hoshi to give it a try. Very nice. There was a good variety to choose from and the calamari was a particularly tasty appetizer. I will definitely put them into rotation.

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Great food, excellent service. Highly recommended to anyone who loves great sushi or oriental cuisine. Lots of different rolls to choose from ranging from your typical sushi rolls to more specialized and exotic rolls. Everytime I've been there I have not been let down by the service or the food/drinks.

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Stopped by there on a Saturday evening about a week after they opened. Place was hopping and we sat up at the bar and ate. The conversation with the bar tender, manager and owner as well as the other patrons was just a hoot! Had a great night! I like GOOD calamari; they had a "new" recipe they were trying, I tried it and it was the BEST calamari I'd had since I lived on the west coast and frequented the bay area. I haven't been able to find a place with GOOD calamari for many, many years. Tried a few of the speciality martini's and I think I'm in love with the Orchid :) Great atmosphere...you can keep the saki bombs...not a big fan of saki but then again, who knew! I'll go back again and again just for the calamari, but I'm sure I'll have an Orchid or two.

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