Sumo Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar

A group of us went on a Tuesday Night and enjoyed ourselves. The food and drinks were good, and service was prompt. Everything appeared to be clean. The atmosphere was very nice. We had the Fried Calamari and the Super Crunch Roll as an appetizer, and they were both very good. For dinner I had Salmon and Scallops, with Rice and Veggies, no complaints from anyone at the table on their dinners as well. Prices were what you would expect. No problems! It would probably be fun to do the whole Teppan Table thing, but we ate at a table near the Sushi Bar.

Great food from the kitchen, haven’t tried the sushi bar or teppan. This is one of the only Japanese restaurant in Birmingham with Japanese staff that I know of. I’d advise reservations for the weekend as it can get really busy. The ambiance is great and the service has always been on par.

Absolutely terrible!!! Don’t eat here… Waitress admitted sushi was old but, «kept in refrigerator.» So we opted for a roll with cucumber and it was wrapped with a pickle. Waitress was obviously limited or terrified of management… didn’t want to offer a different choice or no charge even though our table smelled like a bottle of old pickle juice. We left a full plate of rolls… Bad, bad, bad!!!

I called on Jan 6^th and asked for a reservation for 15 on Jan 17^th at 6:30 for a party for my daughters 30^th birthday. I called on Jan 15^th to up the reservation to 20 and make sure everything was set. On Jan 17^th we arrived, we were told they had a table ready but we could not be seated until everyone was there. Around 6:40 I let them know we were all there except my daughter but it was a surprise and we needed to go to our room because she would be there very soon. About 10 minutes later we were still waiting, I asked why so the manager came out to the lobby. She stated she had a «table» but could not take us back when questioned why she said she was not ready to take us back. I told her I had reservations and she informed me they do NOT accept reservations on Sat nights. Well I called twice and was told it was set. When I told her this she because annoyed and literally was yelling at me in front of my guest! My son in law got upset that she was talking over me and started trying to talk to her. She got louder and kept talking to me and ignoring him. She said again I don’t take reservations we have a table ready so we said then what’s the problem then she says she can’t help how fast kids eat??? WHAT so you don’t have a table ready? You have told us two lies at this point. I was embarrassed at the way I was treated and my entire group was applaud! She proceeded to say she was not told it was a surprise birthday and we could do the surprise in the LOBBY! When told no she finally says I’ll take you in the room but it’s not ready (another lie caught) so we go into a room just to find a party of about 8 still finishing up. They felt rushed and we could not sit ½ our party it was another embarrassment! I have NEVER been treated with such disrespect in any establishment.

Our family of five had dinner there last night (a Thursday night) and it was really good. Our chef really catered to our young boys and made it really memorable for them.
The food was great. My husband’s steak was cooked to a perfect medium-​rare and my scallops were perfectly done. The chef even asked the server for more scallops because he felt the kitchen shorted the order by a few. Needless to say I was thinking the same thing, and was delightfully pleased when he consciously had the customer in mind and supplemented the order.
Not that we needed the food, they provide every order with soup, salad, vegetables, rice, noodles, shrimp and your meat of choice. The children’s meals were just as big as the adults. I was expecting a half order, but they really kept piling it on.
Our server was nice and attended to us well. She did not talk much, but our drinks remained full, she was attentive, and picked up our dishes in a timely manner when we were finished with them.
Overall, it was a very pleasurable experience. The food was delicious, and the service was good. I was very skeptical to dine at this restaurant after all the bad reviews I read not only about Sumo, but about Stix and some of the other landmark Japanese Steakhouses native to B’ham. They all seemed to have the same issues, so I thought we would get the same treatment at any of them. Why not try this one? I am glad we did and we will be going back.

A group of us went to Sumo last night — very good! The soup starter was excellent. It comes looking like clear broth but is very flavorful. The chef did a great job and I really enjoyed my steak and shrimp. I ordered rare, and it was spot on.
Plenty to take home and now I have left overs for tonight!
Service was really good — attentive but not hovering.