Maido Essential Japanese

I think I heard this place closed down, very sad about that too because it’s one of the best sushi places in Louisville. They used to have what was called the Maido Poke which was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. The Romantic Roll is divine and started my love affair with sushi rolls with fruit in them.
I hope they come back!

Tried to go here on Tuesday December 4^th with friends who *very recently* bought a Groupon.
The establishment has a small chalkboard sign in the window stating that they are «Closed until further notice.»
Also, a sign in the window for leasing information.

Maido has the best Sushi happy hour in town. From 4pm — 7pm Monday through friday they offer $ 1.5 to $ 3 apps (I personally recommend the vegetable gyoza) and $ 3 to $ 11 Sushi rolls (my favorites are the Serendipity $ 7 and Shrimp Tempura $ 4 rolls.) In addition to having a whole happy hour menu of food items, they also have ½ price cold and hot sake as well as $ 1 off beer and wine glasses and $ 5 off wine bottles.
Unlike some of the other Sushi spots in town, Maido’s rolls are kind of small and I usually get 2 rolls an an appetizer to fill myself up. But my total bill is usually around $ 12 which isn’t bad.
Another great thing about Maido is that they are never packed during happy hour and have an awesome patio.

Sushi happy hour like no other. M-​F from 4 – 7 pm with rolls ranging from $ 3-​$ 11. Apps start at $ 1.50. Bang for your buck? Yes! I do wish they had more of a variety in their offerings in terms of fish. Nearly every roll on the happy hour special is salmon or tuna.
In comparison with other sushi places in town, Maido’s rolls are pretty tiny. For the sake of manners I kinda appreciate that, but my belly and budget feel differently. Usually I just need one and a half rolls to fill me up, but at Maido I need an extra one.
The Bukie Monster is one of my faves. I find it funny menu discrepancies funny and wonder if there’s any reason as to why the happy hour menu describes the fish in the bukie monster as white tuna whereas the regular menu calls it escolar. Hmm.

Really amazing food. The cheesy wontons were quite good that we shared as an appetizer. I got The ex– roll which had some really good flavors to it. My husband liked the Highlander (something) roll, which was cooked. They did a good job of refilling the water too which was nice. The rolls weren’t quite as big as Oishis’ but were okay sized. We’ll definitely return though. Inventive ingredients such as garlic in the rolls.

I am sure not all people had bad experience with this restaurant. But unfortunately we had. We knew this restaurant from Groupon. So we decided to try it. We ordered some uncooked and cooked sushi. When the food came, we ate the sushi and we felt that the fish was not fresh and smelly. But what stopping us from eating was that my wife found something moving from our cooked sushi. I thought it was just light effect from the lighting, but it was not. They were like very small worms moving around… we called the staff and they brought back the plate to the kitchen, and said sorry and asked us if we want to order something else. But at the time, we already lost our appetite. They gave us no charge for the food and we decided to leave.
If you want to eat here, check the sushi first before you eat. just in case you get additional topping inside your sushi lol.
We definitely never going back to this place again.

I’ve had better sushi. The prices are too high for such poor quality sushi. Even the edamame was blah and who can destroy edamame?

Happy hour! Cheap drinks make cheap sushi taste better. Outdoor seating is a plus. Some excellent brew choices on tap as well.

My favorite sushi place, never fails me every time I go. Sushi happy hour! Spicy crab roll is my fav, along with edamame, green tea and usually another roll is what I get. Everything is good at Maido. I’m obsessed, I feel like I’m cheating on Maido when I go to a different sushi place.
I will always love youuuuuu… Maido. :)

the rolls here are quite average. however, i’ll take average rolls for under $ 10 during happy hour over and over again.
the service during happy hour is quite expedient; we’ve never felt ignored or neglected the times we’ve gone. there’s a small selection of japanese beers, but quite an array of local brews available.

I’ve had good sushi and Japanese. I’ve had crappy sushi and Japanese. This place was pretty much in the middle, maybe slightly closer to the «crappy» end of the spectrum.
Food was priced almost like entrees, but was definitely small plates. We ended up having to order more to actually fill out a complete meal. It was overpriced and not nearly as good as you would expect.
And for a place specializing in Japanese cuisine, they actually have a pretty crappy selection of Japanese beers.
Add all this to the fact that the service is actually rather slow and that the waitstaff seems to be really put out by the fact that you request difficult things, like «please fill my water,» and you’ve got a remarkably disappointing place.
This place is listed on
, and this is the first time I’ve been displeased with a place I’ve tried off there.

The draw for me here is definitely the outdoor seating.
The food is okay — I think it’s really hit-​or-​miss. But it’s better (and cheaper) than the sushi-​type cuisine I can get in St. Louis, so hooray for that.
The cooked items are pretty decent, in general, but happy hour is also a big plus here. There’s plenty to snack on for a good price.

Maido has gone down hill. I hope they get it together. I have heard through the grapevine that it was sold.
Last time we were there. We got dirty plates and dirty napkins.
There was a mistake on our order. My friend ordered a spicy salmon roll and got a regular one instead. We informed the server of the mistake and he apparently went to tell the sushi chef. A moment later, the server came back, took the plate and said he had to show it to the chef because he didn’t believe that it was incorrect. He returned several minutes later with the correct item. Where did that other sushi go??? Not that I expect something for free but the whole exchange was bizarre.
I will have to continue to check Unilocal before I return.

The first time I went to Maido I didn’t have sushi. Apparently this was a mistake. But the Wasabi Salmon wasn’t even spicy, my fish was overcooked and generally kind of blah. The whole dish was relatively flavorless.
My next trip was sushi-​only. It was okay. I felt the sushi was a little tough and was expecting a little more excitement in the flavor department, soy sauce and wasabi are yummy, but shouldn’t be quite so necessary…
the service was adequate, but the booth I sat in had torn up vinyl that scratched me since this summer’s heat wave makes short skirts a must.

MR says … if there’s dim sum or tapas … there’s MAIDO :)
MRS says … no doubt the price reflects the portions but not the quality. fresh sashimi. delicious rolls. good selections of beer. interesting menu.
we had some squid type balls. very cute presentation.
two types of sushi rolls and sashimi.
those who want to try japanese food and are intimidated, please go to MAIDO. you’ll be enticed by the fresh portions and subtle taste of what japanese food is all about. no wonder it is called MAIDO ESSENTIAL JAPANESE ~ it’s really a wonderful introduction to japanese food because of the bite size portions. SUSHI 101 :)
good service that’s why we’re a fan :)

Wow. Maybe I was there on a bad night. Well, I know I was because the service was awful — but the sushi itself was just not good at all.
It was gorgeous and sunny out, and they have a lovely patio. Which means, when it’s this nice, and you have a good happy hour — you’re gonna be slammed, even on a Monday! As a restaurant, you usually plan those kinds of things. Maido did not. My server was frantic — she told me there were only 2 people on staff — including no bartender or host– and they seriously had 15 packed tables. Because she was frantic — she told me probably 5 times in the first minute that the kitchen was very very busy. So she would have to ask if I could have a «hand roll» instead of a regular maki roll. Um, it’s not that hard, and it’s a common thing to do at a sushi joint — so you need to «ask» if I can do that with a super busy kitchen? Please. Then when she came back I said ok, 2 handrolls, add avocado. She had to ask, yet again. Um — seriously?
The sush itself tasted fishy and it was tough and veiny. This indicates to me the chef didn’t cut it right and the fishy taste indicates it wasn’t cared for properly or that it’s a lower end kind of fish.
Too bad the place was pretty awful, because the patio is pretty awesome. But, I have a feeling they won’t stay in business very long, so hopefully something better will move in there.
For sushi in Louisville, I’ll stick with Sapporo from now on.

Maido was having a rough day when we went in last. Their beer list wasn’t updates, and many of the beers we asked for on tap were no longer there. Despite that, our server was quick with suggestions based on the beers that were MIA.
Sushi at Maido is quite fantastic, I like theirs better than Sapporo’s. Our waiter gave us great suggestions and food was delivered quickly.
Also, I like the décor and openness of the interior.

I’m completely obsessed with Maido.
The sushi is delicious and the prices are good (during happy hour, I would go so far as to say their prices are «stupid cheap»).
The tempura and cooked foods are pretty good — so if you go with a non-​sushi eater they aren’t going to starve to death.
I like that their sushi menu spells out what everything is — they don’t just assume you know what is in every roll. As a semi-​picky eater (raw fish? no problem, but for the love of God, don’t let anything mayonnaise-​based touch my food), I like that they don’t drown their sushi in weird garnishes and they are really good about making you whatever you want, whether or not it is on the menu, just as long as they have the ingredients.
My only two issues:
The option of sitting outside when the weather is nice is great, but as others have noted, the plastic chairs are a bit wobbly at times.
Sadly, they no longer have Bells Two Hearted Ale on tap (they’ve replaced it with Bells Hopslam — which is tasty, but I’m hoping the Two Hearted comes back)

The sushi here is pretty good, though the octopus was not up to par. Everything else was good though. It was nice to have more real Japanese food options since Sapporo and Oishi both lack in that department. They have a great selection of beer and sake. The happy hour is pretty awesome, so go during then if you can. If you can’t, the prices aren’t too bad, though not as cheap as Oishi. Overall, a great place to grab dinner.

Tasty, very reasonably priced for sushi, and outdoor dining when the weather is right. Works for me. Two forms of happy hour– a 4 – 6 pm M-​Th, and a 4 – 7 pm M-​F, both are listed in the regular menu.
Sample dinner was 5 rolls (two specialties, 2 regular, 1 veggie), 2 orders sushi croquettes, 1 beer, 1 iced tea. Under $ 30 plus tip. Two people left full and content.
I didn’t mind the plastic outdoor tables, nothing was too shaky or anything, and Frankfort Ave has a fair amount of car traffic but isn’t hugely annoying or anything. And yep, the servers are definitely on the attractive side of things, but also on the attentive/​competent side which matters more.