Rusan's Sushi & Seafood

Awesome more

Rusan's is a fun, hip place to hang out at. The sushi is ok and the atmosphere is lively. I will go again. more

Ok, so if you don't mind a dining experience with techno remixes in a close quarter environment then you can make it a Rusan's. If you don't mind particularly slow service ( I've been here at least 15 times ) then you have the patience to eat at Rusan's. Most of the time the sushi rolls are hit or miss. I've had awesome sushi, i've has s#*%y sushi here. What is always good is the spicy yakiudon. Give it a try, only you can decide if it is good or not. more

5 friends decided to have dinner at this establishment for a friends birthday. It was a Monday night and the place was half-full. After standing at the hostess stand for almost 10 minutes, someone finally greeted us. We explained we had a total of 5 guests for a birthday and she seated us at 2 tables next to eachother. 40 minutes later, our server came to get out drink order and we ordered appetizers. Those came 15 minutes later (including drinks). At this point, over an hour and a half has transpired since we entered the establishment and we finally ordered our dinner. Dinner came 30 minutes later and was a mixed bag of decent sushi vs. horrible sushi. Very warm but presented nicely. Then it was time for the bill(s) to arrive. We turned over the 2 certificates to the server. She took them and excused herself to be back momentarily. Upon return, she informed us we could only use one coupon. We made reference to the certificate where it was printed ""1 per Table"". Remember, we were seated at 2 tables, which halfway through our meal we pushed the tables together. We asked for the manager and a very rude japanese lady came to our table stating ""only 1 can be used."" We asked why since we were at 2 tables? Her response was ""1 per Party"". We referenced (again) the disclaimer which plainly states ""1 per Table'. At this point, we decided it was not worth it to argue with her, we paid our bill(s) and left. ALSO, there is NO HOT WATER in the men's room. As we were leaving, 2 of us used the restroom. As we entered, an employee was washing his hands. We did our business and when we got to the sink, cold water. We let it run for at least 2 minutes without the hint of heat to the water. That is just discusting. Will NEVER return to the establishment. 2 people in our group had printed deals from Groupon/HalfOffNashville to use during our visit. more

My wife and I were feeling adventurous and decided on sushi. We went to Rusan's since the Gulch seems to be a lively place. The atmosphere of Rusan?s however stands in stark contrast to the area. It was not appetizing to me, as it felt as though I was either walking into a subway car turned cafe, or a scene from Hostel - which for me personally is not comforting. I am not sure what the vibe intention is there, but apparently it is geared toward certain Eastern European?s who pine away for d?cor of pre-1989 East German eateries. Once at the table I glanced over the menu to decide only to find a hostile message greeting me which in paraphrase said something to the effect of, ?If you order something here you don?t like, too bad, no refund, it?s on you, not us, enjoy.? Not exactly a ?Western? way of doing business I must say. I would advise checking into a class on customer relations at a local college before posting any more endearing messages to your ?customers?. Any-who. I ordered a bottle of domestic beer to ease my tensions stemming from the harsh surroundings, and after a 15-minute wait finally received a bottle. As I began to take a sip I noticed that there was ?debris? around the rim that looked like someone had dropped it in the dumpster prior to arrival. Yum. After staring at it for a few minutes my wife said something to the waitress, but after waiting 15 minutes to get the drink in the first place, I decided to just get a glass. We both ordered rolls, my wife got the California roll and I got something with ?firecracker? in the title. When I took my first bite I was not pleased. I have had good sushi before, and this was not that. The fish cut was way too thick and gristly, so every bite was a war. The fried roll sat in a pool of red sauce that just didn?t go with sushi. I tried gnawing a few bites, but after making it through the first slice I couldn?t handle any more, and gave up rather than torture myself further. What are you going to do? Ask for another plate of something awful? Nah, it was time to leave. We asked for the check, the waitress asked how things were, we gave uncomfortable smiles and nodded just wanting to leave?paid the bill and went to get a burger. For those who post praise for this place, I would like you to show me what you ordered, watch you eat it, and have you explain to me what the appeal happens to be, because my wife and I obviously missed it. If you like sushi like this I would advise saving the cash, strolling down to the Cumberland, and waiting for the first dead carp to float by. Have a gnaw on that. Of course if you like this place, then you would probably enjoy it. Maybe it was just the wrong thing to order on a really bad night there, but I will not be back?as you could guess. Yikes. more

I have always loved Ru San's in Nashville. I discovered it about 2 summers ago, and have returned whenever I was in or through town. I have eaten there many times alone at the sushi bar, and also with friends. I wanted to introduce some friends last night to Ru Sans. When they were looking up directions, they discovered the very mixed reviews online. I had to defend the bad reviews that are posted on this site and others. I have never been to the lunch buffet and cannot comment on that. Of the remaining bad reviews, most deal with service and loud music. I have never had POOR service, and have mostly had AVERAGE service, but it is what I expect from a restaurant of this type. If I want 5 STAR service, I will go to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse or Merchants where I am paying for 5 STAR service. The music is techno, and at some times is loud, but when the restaurant is crowded, the crowd noise definitely overpowers the music. Again, if I want subdued elevator music, jazz, or country, I will pick a place accordingly that is known for that. Last night our friends went with us to Ru Sans. As usual, the sushi was EXCELLENT. The choices outweigh any place in Nashville. If you are a person who has trouble making decisions, the huge menu may overwhelm you, but I love to try unique and different items, so I love it. One of our group ordered a bunch of the lower priced items so he could try many different things. He had Yakitori on a stick ($1.50), a dried cranberry and shrimp roll ($2), a Rice Ball ($1.50), and more. I had the HUGE Protein boat that had 3 rolls, tuna and salmon - large portions - on fried wantons, 6 sashimi on rice options, and 3 different types of maki (roe) plus soup and salad all for under $25. We were very happy with dinner at Ru Sans and will be back. My friend let me know that it was a winner with her boyfriend since he was recommending it to others today!! Thanks Ru Sans!! more

I'm sad to report that RuSan's has seriously gone down hill. I remember when I had friends in town on a regular basis and I would make sure that they each experienced RuSan's while they were in town. In the last year, I have not had a pleasant experience, which is disheartening. I used to love this place and boast about it as a ""must eat"" in Nashville. -The sushi isn't as fresh as it once was. -The staff mops the floor with extremely strong bleach water while customers are still eating. -The chefs touch their faces and hair then touch raw meat without washing their hands. -Calamari portion sizes have shrunk significantly. -My friend and I picked up one evening and she became extremely ill from food poisoning after eating there and the owners would not refund her meal. They asked for her to bring in what was left, but she had already thrown it away. ...Just to name a few issues. The service has always been awful, but the food was worth the wait. Sad to say, this hasn't been true in the last year. Don't think I'll be giving RuSan's another chance anytime in the near future. more

I love they are opened late, and their prices are not that bad, they have great sake and we have a favorite waiter who is always very helpful more

Gross! I LOVE sushi & have tried giving this place a chance. I really wanted to like it, the location & atmosphere is great. BUT, the smell sometimes is so overwhelming & service is horrible. more

The filthiest place I've been to in a long time. more

My wife and I love to go to Rusans whenever we can. We love the selection and quality of sushi. The service is usually very good and they are very helpful. Never had a problem with order mistakes and always had a good meal and a good time. Pros: High Quality Sushi, Creative Menu, Reasonable Pricing Cons: A little loud, too much europop! more

I had heard a lot about this place and was excited to try it. We went as a group of 6 on a saturday night. The hostess was hard to understand and struggled to put a table together for us. We waited at the bar and ordered drinks. Each of three couples was ordering drinks and putting them on their credit cards. The bartender got all the drinks messed up, charged the wrong cards, made random drinks, etc. She even had to refund some of the drinks to our cards. Pros: Creative rolls and dishes, cute place Cons: A/C didnt work well, bad bartender, dirty bathrooms more

Shortly after it opened, I went here with my wife, who is from Japan (where I also lived several years). She was all excited about the new, trendy restaurant, and I was looking forward to some authentic sushi. We were both sorely disappointed. Pros: A long menu of fake ""sushi"" rolls Cons: Lousy food, worse service, cacaphony more

I think I only need to say this: I've thrown up on THREE separate occasions after eating the sushi at Ru San's. I'm to blame for going back after the first time. However, I will go on about an altercation I had with one of the owners when I simply wanted him to take a single item off our ticket that was not prepared correctly and because our fish was old and rubbery. My girlfriend and I ordered dinner: 2 sushi entrees and a handful of ala cart items. She'd ordered th ""Godzilla Roll"" - something that I had ordered every time I'd dinned here, probably totaling 15 visits over 2 years. My favorite roll, it is comprised of red snapper and macadamia nuts rolled in rice, flash fried and covered w/ a spicy aioli, then baked. I was very familiar with the food's preparation and character. My g'friend consumed ONE piece of the 5 presented on the plate, then followed with some ala cart items. She put the 2nd roll into her mouth and started chewing, but abruptly spit it out into her napkin. The fish was rubbery, like calamari. She asked me to check it out. One look at the dish and I could tell it hand't been prepared correctly. No flash frying and no baking - therefore, not prepared as advertised. In addition the raw fish was old and chewy. All in all, she ate one piece, spit the other in her napkin and I sample 1/2 of a 3rd. That's 2 1/2 pieces of the 5 on the plate (this comes into play in a second). Here saba nigiri (salmon) was also not at all fresh - she had to pick it up with her hand and pull on it to rip it with her teeth. Being very disappointed in the dish, I notified the server that we would like to request that he take that single item off our ticket ($8.95). He refused, saying that if we ate more than 1/2 of the dish that they do not offer refunds. After an exchange with him, I asked to see the Manager on Duty who in this case happened to be a part owner of the restaurant. He was very rude and matter of fact in point out that clearly marked on their menus is a return policy stating that if you ate more than half your dish, you could not get a refund. To avoid a heated exchange, I paid for the item. After paying, I checked the menu for the refund policy. Nowhere on the menus is this information he quoted printed - as a matter of fact, refunds are ONLY available for food that is NOT PREPARED CORRECTLY. Also, we touched exactly 1/2 and not more (if we want to go with a technicality). Upon leaving, I mention to the owner the lack of his claimed refund policy on the menu. I asked him why he lied to me - He replied with ""We give NO refunds, no matter WHAT,"" thus contradicting even what WAS printed on their menu. Later that evening my girlfriend got sick from the food she ate. I ended up contesting the charge w/ American Express and had our total ticket refunded to me. In a nutshell - rotten food, rotten people, rotten restaurant. Pros: inventive dishes and sushi Cons: fish not fresh, terrible service, too loud to talk, bad mgmt more

I love Rusans. Everything on the menu is amazing. There is one trick, though... you *have* to sit at the sushi bar. I will actually leave if I can't. Don't go if you are in a hurry... these masterpieces take time to make. The fish is wonderful, the menu has a very wide selection, and while the servers themselves are not my favorite, I have always had good luck with the sushi chefs. more

We were not approached by a server for 10 minutes. We received our food about an hour after ordering. We had to eat in 5 minutes because we had someplace else to be. I'm sure the food was good but we were so put off by the timing/service that we didn't notice. Cons: Service more

We were completely bowled by the hospitality and efficiency of the staff,when the food arrived we loved the place even more. Entire team works like a piano,the guy who was entertaining the most,talking to everyone from server to guests was named sento,he spent a while with us figuring what kind of sushi would suits us the most? very nice of him.We would go again to Rusans as much as we can afford it Pros: best sushi in nashville more

we always go there for sushi either with our friends or our family, since we open the door they always welcome us with warm greeting "" in Japanese"" i think its mean welcome then while waiting for our foods the server and the sushi chef always joke around with us really make us feel at home , best sushi and best service, always the best Ru san Pros: best sushi ,best service,best music more

I have read some of the recent reviews and think they are crazy. I go to Rusan about once a week and I love it every time. The fish is fresh, the staff is nice, and the prices are cheap. For the money there is no better Sushi in nashville. Oh and don't every forget about the lunch buffet!! more

Really good value for the price but having a conversation is a little hard sometimes. I don't mind the music, but the volume could me tailored to the time of day. Maybe a little quieter during lunch and louder during dinner? Still a really cool place, but maybe not for a first date! :) Pros: Sushi very good and reasonable price Cons: Music always techno and sometimes kinda loud more