Blue Ocean Sushi

It looks like a place that started life as a normal Japansese restaurant (traditional furniture and layout) that was bought by hipsters who want to keep up with the Joneses on the super trendy Delmar strip (animé posters and Godzilla décor on the walls and loud bass-​heavy music). The menu is small but interesting and the only reason I went was to have my favorite dish, katsudon (fried breaded pork cutlet over rice with egg and onion on top). It was good home style cooking and really hit the spot. I also got spring rolls which were good. The sushi menu looked promising and I would go back to try a roll or two. The servers were polite and attentive and I had a good solid meal that I would recommend to anyone.

So my first time moving to STL I came here, because obviously it is the regional cuisine, sarcasm. I didn’t really know what to expect but a friend I knew from the area wanted to get dinner so we went here and I tried the all you can eat. I was kinda confused on the menu pricing cause the dinner is under the lunch, so pay attention to that. Anyways the service was good and the waitress was good about monitoring drinks. The food was decent, I didn’t expect much because we aren’t near an ocean, but it was fresh enough for my taste.

The food was amazing & the service was fast & friendly! I would definitely recommend this place to anyone who loves sushi.
We ordered the spring rolls too & they were perfectly cooked & delicious.
This is a great place to go if you want a regular roll that isn’t just your average basic «regular» roll. Great value for the money.

If there were 0 star or negative star options I would have gone for them.
I have been going to this place for almost three years because it’s close to where I live. Yesterday, when I went in and ordered two bento boxes to go, like I always had, the waiter, with the most nasty attitude, refused to let me order them to go. When I tried to explain that I have always done the same, he gave me a more disgusting attitude, and told me that he «has been working here for 8 months».
He is a blondish white guy, so be warned.
I am guessing he was really worried that I would not tip him if he let me do to go. Well the joke’s on him because I always tip 15% for my to-​go bento boxes. If I ever go again and he happens to be my server, I would NOT tip him a penny.

I like this place for happy hour. Its young and fast vibe is different from most sushi places. The service is always good and they have different seating options which vary for larger parties. Good food. Try the ramen.

Went on a cold Saturday night, decided to get the all you can eat level 3, because I wanted a lot of nigiri. The service was awesome, the sushi was also very good, above average I would say. It is a bit pricey, but I will gladly pay more for the service and quality that we received this evening. So far the best I’ve had in the St. Louis area.

I have been here several years on New Years Eve for all-​you-​can-​eat sushi with friends. We always order the 3^rd level (more options for just a couple dollars more). If everyone in your group orders the same «level» for the all-​you-​can-​eat, it make it easier on your server, and everyone can share. Our server was great in making recommendations, especially once we started slowing down on ordering. She suggested some «lighter» options, instead of us ordering another deep fried roll. Sushi for days!!!
The last two times I have been here, some part of my order was waived. Once, our group of 5 people each received a shot of sake on the house. This most recent time, we received our desserts for free. The homemade cheesecake they had for NYE was amazing! The green tea ice cream was very creamy– not an overly strong green tea flavor.
They always ask if we have a reservation, even when the restaurant is near empty. Each time I have attempted to call to make a reservation, the phone is not answered and goes to a generic voice mail. Not a bad thing, just interesting…

I ordered the ramen because a friend told me they had the best ramen in St. Louis, but I really disagree. They had the worst ramen I’ve ever tasted– the broth was too salty, the meat was tough, and the egg was made bad. Tastes just as good/​bad as instant ramen noodles.

Seems I’m on to my second «wish I had a half star» review. Would rather be 2.5 stars.
I’ve been going out to eat a bunch on my work trip and decided sushi was a good change of pace. All-​you-​can-​eat seemed to catch my attention.
I went with two other friends and we all went different routes. One ordered the spicy ramen, one some sashimi and a chicken teriyaki bowl, and I got all-​you-​can-​eat sushi. We ordered drinks, which took a little while, but it let me plan my choices. I went with a few hot apps and the others ordered their food. I finished my apps and ordered sushi. The sashimi plate and sushi came in a timely manner, but still not ramen (about 15 mins from when he ordered.) I got through my sushi, which was good. My friend also enjoyed his sashimi, though he felt it was quite thinly sliced/​skimpy.
I ordered my second plate of sushi and we asked about the ramen. The waiter kind of seemed surprised it hadn’t come out and said the kitchen was busy (I think he forgot.) The ramen came out, and my friend said it tasted good, but the noodles were sitting for too long and got a bit mushy. Now I’m not a ramen snob, but I do know you’re supposed to try and eat the noodles first and fairly quickly because the texture is important. These had been sitting for some time… The rest of the sushi came out as well as the chicken teriyaki.
Overall, the food was ok to good, but the service was TERRIBLY slow and the waiters did not check in with us. I don’t even think it was to be rude, but they just didn’t seem to know what they were doing. In the end, we were there at least a good 2 hours and I was only able to get in 3 orders of sushi/​apps, and not particularly quickly.

The sushi rice was mushy, the rolls lacked flavor. Almost every roll we had tasted the same. There was hardly fish in it, just a tiny sliver and a big hunk of cucumber. I felt like I had 4 rolls of cucumber rolls. I normally don’t go for sushi in St. Louis but was desperately craving it, so we thought we give it a try.

Went for lunch on a Sunday afternoon. Sushi was pretty decent, but I was more impressed by the ramen bowl. I had a spicy pork belly ramen which was more than enough to fill me up. Quirky animé atmosphere took me a little by surprise, but all together was a pretty decent place for a nice lunch.

I have only been here once and I really enjoyed it. I went with friends for the Wednesday happy hour where you get 2 for 1 drinks, and half priced sushi– regular and special rolls. Great deal if you ask me! The happy hour runs from 4−7pm and is different everyday of the week. I felt like the regular prices outside the happy hour were very fair compared to similar caliber sushi houses. The quality of the food at Blue Ocean is just as good as their pricier counterparts. I had the Bazinga roll and the Spicy Calamari. My vegetarian friend enjoyed her avocado cream cheese roll and veggie roll. Other rolls ordered on our table included Spicy Girl, Sun Rise and Fried Philly. The spicy rolls had a nice kick to it without being overpowering. Service was attentive overall and out waiter was nice and caring.
I would definitely recommend this place to anyone wanting some awesome sushi in that area of the city (The Loop is a very popular part of the city with cute and eclectic shops). Can’t wait to go back there.

I recently had Blue Ocean Sushi. We ordered the pork pot stickers with the crab ragoon for starters. The crab ragoon was the winner of the two. We ordered 3 rolls. The Blue O, Take A Chance and Spicy Girl. The Blue O was my favorite and the Take A Chance my least favorite. I’ll be back for the Fried Philly Roll and The Spicy Fried Calamari Roll.

ok seriously. I love tani sushi bistro but it was relocating, my boyfriend and i went here instead. Ya so not the same. The sushi was mediocre at best. The waitress was very nice so theres one positive. It took forever to get my «cosmo». I put it in quotes because it was suppose to be a cosmo, im not quite sure what i recieved though. So after i drank that, i switched to bud light. hard to screw that up. we only ordered 2 rolls and it took forever and a day to get them. I would never go here again.

So me and the BF wanted to try a different sushi place than our normal pics, so tried this place. I must have visited on a one if their good serving days because we loved our food. It was very good and we even ordered another role. The drinks were good too. We ate inside, although it was an okay day outdoors. I would return!

The concept of «all you can eat» sushi is usually frightening for the faint of heart.
Get over your fear and head to Blue Ocean ASAP. You will be treated to plate after plate of consistently great food at a reasonable price. The only reason they did not rate five stars was a miscommunication that led to a delay in our order but it was corrected and worth the wait. Will definitely be returning.

Restaurant was ok, not super great but not bad just pretty average. Ramen was a bit bland. No kids menus or seats, interesting way to call waiters though, there is a button on your table and they basically just leave you alone unless you press the call button.

We love Blue Ocean. The sushi is great and I love the location on the loop. A lot of the negative reviews have been about the service. I agree that the service is not fantastic and at times can be pretty bad, but I think the sushi is good enough to overcome the service. We love the specialty rolls. Especially the Cardinal and Bazinga rolls.

Blue Ocean Sushi is definitely THE BEST Japanese restaurant in the US. I moved to Los Angeles from Japan about 3 years ago, and I’ve been traveling and trying to find a superb Japanese restaurant that has the foods as good as the restaurants in Japan. It was Blue Ocean Sushi indeed, that brought me memories of my childhood in Japan. The ramens at Blue Ocean Sushi are super great. And the staff there, are really nice and sweet. If anyone has a chance to visit St. Louis I highly recommend Blue Ocean Sushi. As for the locals, you’re very lucky to have Blue Ocean Sushi near by!
If you think the sushi there is not good, then, you’d haven’t tried real traditional sushi in Japan instead Americanized sushi.

Ate here a few months ago and ‘meh’. The sushi is really no better than anything you get at Wasabi or Drunken Fish. The service leaves a LOT to be desired. And the last time I was there I left a 20% CASH TIP on the table and they charged a $ 5 tip to my credit card. I have the receipt to prove it. I guess they felt that 20% wasn’t enough for their average sushi and sub par service. At the time I lived an hour away and the drive to confront them would have cost me more than the $ 5 tip. If you leave a cash tip and pay with a card, THOROUGHLY SCRATCH OUT THE TIP SECTION AND CHECK YOUR CARD STATEMENT IF YOU EAT HERE.
There are better places throughout the city to eat sushi. Nippon Tei, Mizu, Wasabi, Drunken Fish are all better places to enjoy sushi.

The atmosphere is warm and welcoming and the menu is very extensive and straightforward. There are animé characters drawn on the walls.
This place is particularly famous for their special rolls, which do resemble the Japanese rolls that people associate with sushi. I interpret it as a fusion of Korean kimbap and Japanese sushi. I visited many Japanese restaurants in the city and found people love this ‘rice sandwich’ type of rolls.
The rolls are coated in heavy seasoning/​spice/​sauce and look colorful. One of the questions is you could hardly perceive fish since the sauce dominates. The fillings in the rolls also include seasoned/​pickled vegetables, egg, meat and imitation crab. The rolls taste alright, some actually delicious, but this ‘creativeness’ does inevitably compromise the authenticity.
I couldn’t rightly say this is a good variation or not, since it does have a large group of supporters here, suggested by the positive feedback in the reviews. If you are looking for fish and fun rather than serious authentic sushi, this place is a very nice candidate.

I would give you 18% more stars but you added 18% gratuity for a party of one (me)!
Automatic 18% is not gratuity, that’s an upcharge. You don’t do that… you just dont.
PS…your menu is awesome!

Our meal was great and the staff was friendly. The décor is a lot of fun animé scenes. Only thing keeping it from five stars was the pacing of the meal, very disjointed. We placed our drink and food order, waters got delivered to the table and then it seemed awhile before the first part of our meal showed up. Oddly, the first thing to show was the sushi rolls, followed by our drinks, then the miso soup. After awhile longer my sister’s entrée came but the rest of us were well into the rolls by then. All of the food was delicious and we enjoyed it but the flow of the meal was odd.
On to the sushi, we really enjoyed the flaming Take a Chance Roll, and the caterpillar roll the most. We got the Kurt Cobain set to share so we had 7 rolls amongst the three of us and later ordered an additional chefs special. All tasty, I recommend that approach to getting a good variety.
We went at 7pm on a Saturday and were glad we made reservations. We hadn’t been sitting long when we noticed a line for tables.