Shiki Sushi

My boyfriend and I were craving some Japanese food, so we decided to try Shiki's. WOW! That's probably the worst idea I've ever had. The service was absolutely terrible and the food was the worst food I've EVER eaten, and undoubtedly the worst Japanese food ever. I ordered the terryaki chicken. On my salad, I asked for shrimp sause, but the waitress said it would be on the side. Well, they brought us these huge dishes with a teeny weeny little bit of shrimp sauce in it, and the salad was swimming in this disgusting dressing (I think it was supposed to be ginger sauce). Needless to say, neither of us took a second bite of our salds. Anyway, when our food came, I was even more disappointed. There was no soy sauce in the rice, the egg noodles were repulsive, the chicken had no terryaki sauce on it, and the vegetables were horrible. I don't understand why they consider their food ""Japanese"" seeing as how it was just cooked rice and chicken. It was way too expensive considering how awful it was, but we did save money by stiffing our waitress who ignored us the entire time. My boyfriend and I were still hungry when we left because we could hardly stomach any of the food, so we stopped at Wendy's on our way home. I would definitely not recommend going here if you are looking for a nice Japanese meal. more

Great sushi--buy one get one free every day! But they don't split checks at dinner, so bring cash. They recently built a great bar area that is tres chic and a great place to hang out, especially during a Friday night wait. Friday nights are CRAZY BUSY, so go before 6 or try Saturday night instead. Curry was ok. I usually only go for the sushi. Wasabi roll is my favorite! (not too hot either) more

I've been to this place a couple of times because a friend wanted to go. The food from their hibachi menu is ok, but not great; last time my steak was WAY overcooked. But what really makes me give them a terrible review is their horrible policies. Supposedly, they'll split checks up to 4 or 5 ways, but not on weekends (?!). So I went in on a Sunday at LUNCHtime and ordered from the LUNCH menu for my LUNCH. When the bill came, I was charged the dinner price because...they don't serve lunches on weekends. Since my meal cost my 30% more than I had intended to pay, I chose not to leave a tip; the service was ok, but nothing special enough to make me overlook my anger at the price gouging. When the charge cleared from my debit card, the waiter had helped himself to a 20% tip! I looked all over, hoping that I still had my copy of the receipt but I couldn't find it. I might not be able to do anything about this experience, but you can bet I will never step foot through the door of Shiki Sushi again. more

My friends and I have been almost every Friday evening (right after work to avoid the rush) for the past month or so. Although their air conditioning has had trouble keeping up with the extremely high temperatures recently, our time at Shiki is always GREAT. Unlike some reveiwers, we've consistently found the service and management to be attentitive and helpful. more

I moved to Durham from Boston a year and half ago and found this little spot by mistake...I have eaten at alot of sushi spots in SF, Boston, Conneticut, New Hampshire, New York, Orlando, San Diego and have found Shiki to be very competitive with some of the best sushi spots I've eaten at. I was there recently and they seem to be going through change. Their staff was very attentive and they seem to have a large amount of staff now as opposed to before...They have a server with an assistant for all servers now...Was there before the rush so it was not too packed...I highly recommend going there as it is always my fiance and I's favorite. Can't beat their half off sushi either! Pros: Good sushi for great prices Cons: Can be hectis at rush times more

I've been going here for the last two years. The service was great in the beginning, my boyfriend and I were regular customers (going there at least once a week), yet as they began to expand/renovate, the service was dreadful while the sushi is still worth the price (buy one get one free, charged for the more expensive-which is normal everywhere for any ""buy one, get one free"" deal). I've only been there twice now in the last 6 months due to service and also the cleanliness. I've had dirty utensils and cups, along with my friend who got dirty water several times. When we ordered eggrolls which said they were with meat, there were none. All we received for $7 were three eggrolls cut in half, swimming and dripping in oil (I could see it still under dim lights!) as we both lifted them from the serving plate. The only things in these eggrolls were oil, barely any vegetables, and no meat, not even tofu. Pros: Sushi Cons: Everything else-do not order any other dishes more

Shiki has been consistantly a good bargain for sushi in the area. You do need to understand the buy one get one policy... just like anywhere else the cheapest things are free.... so balance when ordering. I have found they have a far better selection and generally better quality than Waraji. Also you can usualy get a seat and have dinner at shiki before you would even be seated at Waraji! I've been going to shiki for several years now and they have never let me down. I just don't understand some of the reviews on this site.... those folks could not have gone to the same restaurant? Give it a try for yourself.... you will enjoy it! more

Maybe the title is a little dramatic; the food here is OK but BEWARE. They do NOT split checks, and this means that their so-called ""buy one, get one"" sushi is a TERRIBLE ripoff for parties of more than one group. This is a ripoff targeted directly at the sushi eaters; the most expensive items are the ones for which they charge and when they say they don't split checks they mean it. Pros: OK food Cons: Poor service; no split checks and their ""buy one get one"" is a ripoff more

This restaurant has a lovely atmosphere, but the customer service is the worse I've experienced in 10 years. My husband and I, along with another couple who highly recommended this place for dinner, decided to have dinner at the bar (time 6:40). Everyone places their order. We are served drinks and are waiting for our main entree. My husband's entree comes out and it is given to the wrong people. They questioned the waiter whether this was their order and he said yes. So as they partake on my husband's meal we continue waiting as everyone around us is served including the people we came with. We ordered two appetizers and did not receive them until 30 minutes later. After my husband questioned what was going on with the main entrees, the bartender discovered that the other guests were eating his meal. So, the bartender grabs the dish and sits it in front of my husband as if we were suppose to eat it. We paid for a full main entree, not one that has been half eaten by strangers. We had to ask the bartender to bring out another entree. As for my meal, which did not arrive until 45-50 minutes after being seated, I only received $1.00 off the meal although I waited close to an hour to get it. Customer service is absolutely horrible at this facility. I recommend maybe coming in during the early daytime to eat. Otherwise, you might as well plan on being there for 2-4 hours to order, get your meal, and eat. 0 stars for customer service and 3 stars for othe food. Person ally, being that this was my first experience here, I donot plan on going back ever again! Pros: Not far from where I live Cons: POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE! more

They have their on and off nights, both with service and food quality. Sometimes service is fast, sometimes painstakingly slow. Fish quality is very good, but sometimes I've seen the avocado pretty brown. Sushi rolls are a little pricy, so the buy one get one free isn't really buy one get one free, but it's still a fair price in end. They only take reservations for big parties, so there's no way to avoid the loooong wait on weekends. That's pretty much it, but I would also like to point out to that idiot catbaby below, the fish is not pre-cut, the sushi chefs cut them before the shift. Has anyone ever seen a sushi chef cutting the fish as they go? Especially when it's busy? Pros: Good food Cons: Poor service sometimes more

So, yes their restaurant looks a lot nicer and presentable, but service and food quality---NOT GOOD!!! They are rude to their customers, half the staff doesnt know what goes in what or what comes with what, and it takes forever to get anything in that restaurant. Two incidents in which the staff has been nothing but RUDE. We asked to replace a beef dish with chicken and the server looked at us confused and told us it might not be possible! are you kidding me? I understand dumplings, spring rolls, etc are pre made so yeah you can not substitute meats but a dish that is cooked right then can not have a meat modification is ridiculous. The restaurant needs to make sure the staff is well trained before they are running the floor. The food is bland and the cost is high. Other than the sushi special, its not worth going to. Pros: nothing Cons: service more

The decor is pleasant, and the resturant crowded. I had decided to give this place another try. It is my last attempt with this place for sushi. We were able to get a seat at the sushi bar fairly quickly and the wait staff was over quickly to get us drinks and take our order. My friend and I split the basic salad with ginger dressing. The dressing was very weak and the lettuce was wilted. We then tried several of the sushi rolls. The fish was very bland and none had seem to be unique in flavor. I then noticed that all the fish is pre-cut in the case and all the ""Chief"" was doing wrapping on the rice. This is fast food sushi... move over Micky D's. Pros: Convenient to Southpoint area Cons: Below average Sushi more

I don?t know what happened to this place. I have been a loyal customer, but after 3 bad experiences, no more. I?ve waited over 45 minutes for my food and when the food finally came, it was cold. The waiter essentially refused to take it back or do anything to remedy it. The sushi is dry and seafood part of any roll is much smaller than it used to be, the eel is extremely dry and tasteless. The Thai basil dish used to be really good, spicy and full of flavor, now it tastes like generic Chinese take out, no spice, no real flavor. The yellow curry is about as bland as it is possible to make a curry and has at least day old vegetables in it. Even the rice is now overcooked and simply awful. One waiter told me that they had made a decision to tone down the spice level in all of the food. Why they couldn?t just offer a choice of heat levels I don?t know. Lousy food, lousy service and with the expansion, it is so loud that you can?t hear your dinner companion speak. A real disappointment. There are much better sushi and Thai restaurants in the area. Pros: None anymore Cons: Bland food, old or overcooked fish, small portions, slow service, staff doesn't care and won't help more

It seems that ownership does not know what to do with the place anymore!!!! Pros: Great bar service and ambience Cons: The restaurant run just too slow. decide if there is going to be split checks or not more

buy one get one free is not really a good deal considering that the prices are at least couple of bucks over other sushi places. There is a looooong wait and the staff are stupid. When I asked why a group of seven was seated before us, she said its because your party has eight people. Didn't make much sense to me. more

I have been going to the restaurant for years and after my past two experiences will never be back. Pros: Nice looking decor Cons: Ridiculously loud music, mediocre food more

I've been going to Shiki Sushi on most Friday's for lunch for the past 2-3 years. My co-workers and I started going when it was a small restaurant with good sushi and they started the buy one get one free at lunch special. The service was always slow but we continued to go back b/c the sushi was great. In fact, we just started leaving earlier and beating the crowd. Now they've expanded and redecorated and it looks great. They increased the price a bit but it's still worth it. They have added a few new rolls and I have yet to have bad sushi there. The staff is friendly, the new bar is great and we still go as many Friday's as we can make it. They have the best sushi around for the price. If you go during lunch, be sure you have plenty of time b/c it will take longer than an hour. I've never been during dinner hours. Pros: price, quality sushi, great bar & lounge area, new decor looks nice, usually good service Cons: usually slow service more

Being someone who has spent half of his life in the restaurant industry, I tend to be more understanding than not when a negative incident occurs at a restaurant. After being a guest at Shiki Sushi's for 2 years, I can no longer stand to go there. My final experience was so poor, I registered for this to make my first review. It seems like their food quality and service was competing with the ambiance, until the ambiance won. In the past year, that place has gone through more managers and staff than any other establishment I can think of in the area. And with every twist and turn, something else is lost in the wayside. The service is incredibly slow and slack, depending upon who your server is. Your lucky if you only have to wait 10 minutes to get a drink refill. This, however, is not entirely the servers fault. They are poorly trained and given more tables than they can handle. And the young manager spends more time flirting with the female staff members and guests than managing. And after all of that, I would rate the service as higher than the food quality. The ""Buy One Get One Free"" is a joke. The quality of the fish and presentation of the rolls is sloppy and shameful, lacking all of the intriquete qualities that makes sushi enjoyable: dynamic flavors, freshness, vibrant presentation, and any inkling of imagination. If the sushi has become a joke, the hot food is a riot. A flavorless, luke warm riot. My daughter loves edamame. We make it at home from the stuff you can get frozen, and it has never come out as soggy and mushy as I've seen it there. Not to mention the center is cold. But then, we don't microwave it at home like they must do there. My final issue is seeing the owner and managers argue and YELL at customers. It's unbelieveable. I have never seen anything like it. The owner, Thom, seems like he could care less about the people who walk through the door. This place has forgotten that people pay hard earned money for an experience, not just for food. Pros: Great looking bar Cons: The entire experience. more

I've been to Shiki many times in the past and have been fairly satisfied. Tonight I went with a party of 8 and the majority of us were unhappy with our meals and sushi. The quality, flavor and service have gone way downhill as the prices go up and the new decor goes in. My food was flavorless, I ordered the vegetables with peanut 'sauce' and tasted some sushi. I'm not sure what the soupy goo was that was on my veggies, but I'm not convinced it was peanut anything! btw, there weren't many veggies in the goo. It was served in a large bowl like soup, with a lump of rice on a HUGE plate. I only tasted two pieces of shushi and both were nasty. Pros: Um, I'm still trying to think of one Cons: food, higher prices, service, atmosphere, 20% gratuity added to bill more

Instead of going to Akashi, as we normally do, we decided to give the revamped Shiki Sushi another shot. We'd been here many times before the new decor change and had had okay sushi and mediocre service. Even after all of the style changes, Shiki is once again someplace I'd rather not spend my money. After my husband had to have two new menus given to him (1st had page repeats, 2nd had prices wrong), we could still barely read the text on the menu (even our server had trouble). We ordered approx. $20 of sushi apiece, which came with soup & salad (and had to remind the server of this)... Of course we got them about 5 minutes after they brought the sushi over. When they served the sushi, it came on huge plates, too big for the table and so big that the food server managed to knock over my overpriced sake (at least $5 less at other sushi restaurants). When we complained to the manager about the sushi coming before the soup/salad, the knocked over drink, the inability to read the menus, the plate size, all she offered was to buy me another bottle of sake (which I said I couldn't drink another bottle and she did not offer to pay for the first), her apologies, and a lame excuse about having printer problems. Honestly, do I care that your restaurant is so disorganized? I am paying the bill here... If you're looking for good sushi with decent service, go to Akashi. If you're looking for posh looking surroundings and not much else, feel free to try this place. Pros: Nice decor Cons: Not much else and the manager doesn't seem to care about her customers. more