Miki Japanese Restaurant

I got the beef bento and the shrimp tempura roll. The beef was a little too undercooked for my preference. The rest of the bento was okay. I really loved the sushi here. It was good. The service though is just non existent. We saw our waiter at first and said we needed more time for the menu, but he never came back. We waited so long that we had to go find someone to get our order. Eventually the food came and we were eating and such, but we were never checked on. When we were done we needed our bill, and again we had to get up to find someone to receive the check. It didn’t make sense since the restaurant only had a few people in it… Sushi shouldn’t take that long, but our dinner service that night took 2 and a half hours to get done… Future tip; just order take out.

I make it a point to try every vegetarian bi bim bap in town. I had no idea that Miki served bi bim bap until a colleague told me. So I was interested in trying it.
Most places that offer bi bim bap in a hot stone bowl also offer it in a regular bowl for a few bucks less, which I tend to prefer anyway. But Miki does not give you that option. But I was curious since it’s been a while since I’ve had it in the stone bowl, and was not too concerned about splurging for the $ 14 price.
I told the waiter that I’d like a vegetarian version and substitute the beef with tofu. He nodded to let me know he understood.
When the meal came it tasted a little underwhelming to me. I really do not enjoy the heat given off by the bowl and blowing on every single bite for the first half of the meal before eating it. But the flavor seemed muted to me as well. So I’d already decided that I wouldn’t order bi bim bap from them again.
But I was surprised when the bill came that $ 3 had been added for the tofu, bringing the total to $ 17. I asked the waiter why he added the tofu rather than replace the beef with the tofu, which every other restaurant I’ve been to does (and I’ve eaten vegetarian bi bim bap in many cities throughout the US). He said that the lunch version of the bi bim bap was vegetable-​only, so adding tofu would be an extra charge. So I paid and left.
But I could have sworn that the lunch menu stated the bi bim bap came with beef and looked up the lunch menu online, and sure enough it lists beef as an ingredient. You can check it out yourself.
So now I’m wondering whether I misunderstood the waiter or he just flat-​out lied to me. And either way I really feel that if something costs extra the waiter should let you know at the time of ordering, and he said absolutely nothing.
Needless to say I won’t be back for bi bim bap or anything else. I’ll never get to try their sushi. The vegetarian bi bim bap there wasn’t worth $ 10, let alone the $ 14 listed price, or the $ 17 surprise price with tofu.

Alright, I’m a big fan of Miki. I love choice, and here it comes in a giant menu of sushi options plus the choice of white, brown, or black rice. Black rice is like brown rice, except even more hippie.
I do feel like the prices have gone up since I’ve started going here, so I’m not sure I’ll be coming as often. But when I want a good Japanese meal experience in Ann Arbor, this is my go-​to. It has stir fries, sushi, and lots of good appetizers, plus free miso soup, salad, and green tea with your meal. None of that trendy small-​plate stuff.
The atmosphere is pretty much what you’d expect of a Japanese restaurant, though I am a big fan of their many booths, which feel a little more private and secluded even within the larger restaurant. (And not a bad date spot!) They also have flavored sake, which I highly recommend – all the flavors (apple, plum, lychee) are delicious except, for some reason, pear.
Also, if you’re vegetarian like I am, be forewarned that they often will bring all of the sushi on one plate. I generally ask for mine separately, not only because I would like to avoid having my avocado roll lock arms with a friend’s raw fish, but because shared plates generally bring out a strong desire within me to claim my food quickly, which is a very unnecessary dinner complication.
For lunch, they’re not very flexible on bento box substitutions, which I can understand, but that also means I much prefer coming during dinner where I can get a couple of rolls or one of the stir fries. I haven’t found another sushi place in Ann Arbor with the same atmosphere, variety, and healthy choices.

I think their sushi is amazing. They have good quality fish and this place to me isn’t trying to be something it’s not. The prices are fair and the quality is good. The staff doesn’t seem super happy and that’s my only reason for going four stars instead of five. But even their delivery is worth it to me.

Miki’s isn’t always an excellent place to eat sushi and sashimi.
My favorite is the sushi sashimi combo that comes in a boat display.
You can sit at the sushi bar if you want and there are also booths and tables all around. Beers, mostly bottled, and sake are served. There is a happy hour on drinks on Fridays. The place is relatively quiet and easy to have a conversation.

First off, the avocado boat is AMAZING. They had a great atmosphere. Not so great on value, but worth it.

I had been to Miki once before and decided to order for delivery. I called to order and was told I should expect my sushi in 30 to 45 minutes. 60 minutes later I called back to ask where my food was and was told the delivery person left because they called 4 times and only got a busy signal. Turns out the person who took my order took down my number wrong and never repeated it back to me to verify.
I was then told that they would be back to re-​deliver in 10 to 15 minutes. 30 minutes later the driver showed up down the block at the wrong address and finally gave me my cold hour old sushi.
After I called to complain the manager proceeded to tell me that it was MY fault that they got my phone number wrong and that the driver was outside calling me and that I should have went outside to look for him. He then lectured me on how they always «verify numbers twice» so they don’t get them wrong when that is clearly not what happened in my case. I found this very rude and then insulting when he told me the the only thing they could do was give me $ 6 off my NEXT order.
Their sushi is good sometimes, but if they mess up your order and make you stand outside waiting for 30 minutes, they tell you how it is your fault.

This is one of the best Japanese restaurants in Ann Arbor.
Each dish, cooked or sashimi is a work of art.
The bento boxes during lunch is the value pick. Hard to go wrong with the daily lunch special. Always big food for small money!
I have always received first rate service — friendly, eager to make tasty recommendations, and attentive without being intrusive.
The only drawback is the parking situation — the city lot across the street is often full! WTF? Bullocks!

This is a wonderful sushi restaurant. Tucked away in downtown Ann Arbor. The food is wonderful. Although you might question it from the décor I am telling you otherwise. Be sure to get an assortment of sushi. Additionally, the staff is incredibly nice and helpful! Definitely stop by!
Happy eatings!
–S

The place is much nicer inside tan it looks from the outside. Came for restaurant week so can’t say I know much about their regular menu.
The black rice was tasteless, more like a filler of space. The sashimi was super fresh. The sushi roll was amazing — honestly some of the best sushi I’ve had on campus.
Definitely get their sake tower– 3 sake flavors for $ 7 is not a bad deal. The lychee flavor was by far the best. Just go ahead and get an entire bottle of that.
Seaweed salad was good, too. Overall, would definitely come back for the sake and the sushi, but feel free to skip everything else.

I really like the large menu with great sushi choices at Miki. I also really like the ambiance of the restaurant. The wait staff has always been very friendly. The food is served quickly. I think it’s one of the best sushi restaurants in the area.

Great service, good food, nice atmosphere and a full bar. Cocktails were well done. I recommend the lychee martini.

I came to Miki last night with the family for dinner. Overall our dinner was pretty good, the big gaping hole was on the service side not the food side.
We started with some apps, just edamame and shumai. Both delicious, but took forever to come out. Most sushi places the edamame at least come out almost immediately (as soon as they’re hot), 10 minutes+ for edamame seemed a bit much to me. But again very delicious. There was then another somewhat long break until we got our sushi. Not sure what the delay in the kitchen is, but it certainly wasn’t work load since the restaurant wasn’t busy at all.
Once we got our food though we dug in like crazy (partyly because we were so hungry from waiting a little longer than expected). All the rolls we got were so good. My absolute fave was the blushing madam. Perfectly crispy and spicy, but not too much.
I’ll be back but maybe opt for sushi bar next time.

After reviewing my rating distribution I noticed that I was lacking 3 star reviews. They’re just not memorable or fun to write. So after visiting Miki last night, I decided I would fill the gap. It’s a math thing.
Miki is a very average sushi restaurant, or as Unilocal would describe it, it’s «A-​OK.» The quality and freshness or the sushi really varies by day and by type of fish. The rolls are very average. Make sure to ask for extra dressing for your ginger salad because they don’t give much on the first go around.
If you’re looking for that non memorable Tuesday night sushi dinner downtown Ann Arbor with your girlfriend/​wife, Miki will fit the bill.
Just go ahead and grab an asahi beer and come on down.

I guess I’m biased cause I’m a Japanese girl from Hawaii. Checked out Miki cause it had great ratings on urbanspoon and whatnot. I should have remembered that we are in the Midwest after all so sushi is not gonna be as good as what I’m used to. it’s not bad as far as satisfying an urge goes but I’m not sure if I’d go back otherwise… but remember my idea of good Japanese is super skewed because of my upbringing. I still give it a 3 star.

14… 14 years… that’s how long it took me to return to Miki… not because I had bad experience or because of the food, etc., no nothing like that… I just followed the original owners to their new location and haven’t been back… when the original owners sold the place, the new owner was a Korean and when that owner sold the place, the new owner was Korean… so based upon all my experiences of Korean owned Japanese restaurants, I’ll have to give Mike 3 stars.
What brought me back? Restaurant week… Their offering during the week was interesting and wanted to try it. I made it just on time to get a beer in before their happy hour ended… and I went with dinner A while my friend went with dinner B. We also ordered yam yam roll, spicy salmon and spicy tuna rolls with our dinner…
Sushi — the rolls were decent… probably about the same level as other sushi places in ann arbor, granted a lot better then some places… but overall, on the same level as other places.
Portions — decent for the $ 28 we paid… for dinner B, the place was an oversized bamboo shallow bowl… the food to dish ratio was too big… they should have used a smaller bowl.
Service — decent… our waiter did his best to check-​up us… granted it took some time to get our food… we were there around 6pm and it wasn’t too busy… I think they could have done a better job on brining our food out without us waiting long time in between dishes.
Overall — not bad… parking is annoying to a degree… park in the lot in front of the restaurant or the parking structure… they will validate your parking though, so make sure you ask for validation, if they don’t offer it.
On a side note, the interior hasn’t changed much… while I can see some minor changes here and there, the chairs, tables, etc. all look the same. I’ll have to go back during non-​restaurants week to see how it compares with the offering giving during the restaurant week… so stay tuned… granted it might be a while before I make a return visit… granted, it won’t be 14 years :)

The sushi is on the pricier end but it surely is delicious. It’s probably the best in Ann Arbor. I went with a group of six and we ordered 6 rolls and a lot of sushi. We loved the caterpillar roll, the eskimo roll, and the kiss roll. The dragon roll is an absolute must try! It has eel and avocado, and it is a perfect combination of sweet and savory. The bento boxes are also quite nice, and they come with tempura.
The desserts were okay, not as great as the entrees– would like to try the tempura ice cream next time
Go with a group of of people! The servers are wonderful. They let you your time. We stayed around 2 hours, and the servers were very take accommodating. The lighting is a bit too dim for my liking, but the feel is nice and relaxing. The sushi comes on fancy boats as well!

I feel like American sushi places go after one of three feels: romantic dinner for a 1980s lawyer, student grab-​n-​go, or friendly little raw-​fish bar. Miki is firmly in the 1980s-​lawyer camp.
The sushi was mostly fine, but bland — the unagi didn’t have the rich, savory taste I look for, the inari was fine, and the California-​plus roll was passable. The Ahi poke was served nicely, but was almost tasteless — the fish was glittering, translucent, and just felt absent. (Also no rice, which I consider important in a poke). The tamago similarly lacked any real egg flavor.
On the other hand, I was definitely put off by the colored-​and-​flavored flying fish roe (bright red? bright green «wasabi» flavor?), and the spicy salmon skin was far too fishy-​tasting, more like a kingfish — makes me wonder about the freshness of that particular item.
Back to our hypothetical lawyer: the lights were low, the booths well-​enclosed, and the server friendly but deferential. Certainly beats Yotsuba on that front — similar approach, better executed.
However, I’d much rather be at a friendly little raw-​fish place — the quality here just didn’t compare favorably with Sushi Town. If the fish matters more to you than the wall hangings, head over there.

So my boyfriend and I had a sushi party. 5 rolls. 2 people. Spider-​Man 2. Got a grub hub deal due to laziness.
So we didn’t really think about what 5 rolls meant. My goodness! And they gave us lots of fried sweet potato garnishes.
We got 2 crazy boys, 1 crazy girl, and a eel avocado roll.
I had asked to replace avocado for cream cheese because of a minor allergy but I don’t think that came through for all the rolls I requested. Sadly I discovered there was something in the spicy tuna roll I was REALLY allergic to, so the avocado was lesser of 2 evils.
Delivery was fast, sushi was really good despite my itchy mouth, and I loved their extensive menu. A bit pricy, but a bit tasty :)

Chefs rotate and menu has been updated. Try the tuna poke appetizer. Sushi roll menu easier to read and new specials offered. Still best quality and value for lunch.