Vanilla Fish - Riverside

It was our first time at this location and the food was good. The location is super cute from both the outside and inside. There is also ample parking in the shopping center. There's also dessert options around the same shopping strip.We did the all you can eat and ordered several different items from the menu. The workers accidentally mixed up a couple of our items giving us full size portions rather than the small portions given with the all you can eat. They didn't charge us for these, but they also didn't bring out the remainder of our items we had ordered.We did get full so I guess it was okay, but just a heads up. There also wasn't a specific waiter at our table at the time. It seemed like they were all helping each other so we did have to wait awhile for water, etc and/or we had to tell different people when we needed refills. It wasn't a horrible experience, but I'm not sure I would come back.

Vanilla Fish is one of my favorite ayce sushi places in the IE so my experience tonight was pretty disappointing. I spent 2 hours for 2 rounds of sushi and I didn't even get all of the sushi, it was a lot of waiting around. My brother and I came and were seated pretty promptly. It took a while to get the menus and our drink but we didn't wait terribly long. Once we put the first round in, that's when waited for such a long time. When we finally got our sushi, we received the Playboy roll when we ordered the Orange roll. Luckily the Playboy roll was good so we didn't mind. We got everything else from that round. The second round took SO long too. When we finally got the sushi I noticed that they gave us 4 orders of peppered salmon instead of spicy scallop which was the second time they gave us the wrong item. We told them and they gave us the spicy scallop. We were still waiting on the Orange roll, salmon collar, and yellowtail collar. When they gave our paper back all they said was that last call was at 8:30pm. Nothing else was said. So my brother and I waited and waited and waited until I finally asked the server how much longer for the yellowtail collar and salmon collar. The server told us there was no more yellowtail collar and salmon collar for the night. Why didn't anyone tell us sooner?! She said they could still make the orange roll but I was just so annoyed and frustrated that we waited around thinking we were still getting food only to realize that we had no more food coming. Other than asking if we needed more water, the servers never checked up on us. The service has gone downhill which is so disappointing. The only positive is that the price of the ayce sushi has decreased since I last came. I will probably still come back because the quality of the sushi for the price is good, but they need to work on the service.

We're currently sitting in the bed of our truck, eating Carls Jr. with our kids, because the manager refused to let them eat with us at a table. Why? Because they brought outside food (gasp!). We've been here before and were allowed to eat together as a family, but not today.As a family, we pray before meals together. The manager made it clear that outside food is a no-go. So, if you're a family with kids who don't like sushi (like ours), beware!Needless to say, we won't be back. Just a heads up to fellow families: don't even think about bringing outside food. Very... unfortunate.

Ugh, Vanilla Fish used to be my go-to sushi place with their $1 per piece (including nigiri and sashimi) deal, but they've since gotten rid of it. The restaurant now offers two AYCE options: one for rolls only (~$23 if I'm remembering right) and another that includes nigiri, sashimi, and more (~$29?). There's virtually no point not getting AYCE because the a la carte rolls are about $15 each already. I opted for the rolls only option, but keep in mind it's literally rolls only-- meaning no appetizers like miso soup, tempura, or edamame, which are usually included at other AYCE sushi places I've been to.I wasn't impressed by the rolls. The craftsmanship left a lot to be desired. Many of the end pieces fell apart, and the rice preferentially stuck to the plates rather than to the seaweed. I ordered a roll with shrimp tempura and the shrimp was cold and stale instead of hot and crispy, as if it'd been fried some time ago. The fish was paper thin, and it usually was so small it didn't cover the rice on the end pieces of the roll. The fish was fresh at least, which was my usual experience with this restaurant. Everything tasted pretty good, but the flavor and sauce combinations were unimaginative and boring. My favorite roll was the one with lemon. The rest were very forgettable. I'd always preferred the nigiri here, to be honest.It's dark inside and a little dusty. The tables are uncomfortably small for an AYCE place. They give you huge wooden trays that take up the whole table, so people always have to put the menus and soy sauces along the windowsill. I don't mind personally, but service is really slow and inattentive if that stuff bothers you (I've never experienced any rudeness though). On top of that, I found incorrect charges on my bill for iced tea I didn't order (the second time it's happened to me here), so definitely double check your bill.Overall, with the $1 menu gone, I won't be returning. I could put up with shoddily made nigiri for $1/piece, but Vanilla Fish no longer offers the value it once did.

Second time dining here, and unfortunately this time we had to wait almost an hour for our party of 3. We got there around 6pm on a Wednesday, and it was crowded. The restaurant is fairly small, and appears only indoor dining is available. When we were finally seated, our drink orders were immediately taken. We were told they ran out of regular cups, and served our drinks in Rae Dunn mugs. To me, sodas don't belong in mugs and make them taste less carbonated, but oh well. However, service was good, food came out fairly quickly, and we got 10% off by paying cash. Take advantage of the $1.25 sushi, which I think is a much better deal than doing AYCE.

Honestly, we weren't planning to eat here - we were going to a spot nearby but their line was long and I didn't really want counter casual. Once my friend arrived, we were meeting for a weekday lunch, we decided to take a shot. The place is small and name is a bit uninviting in my opinion, but I'm glad we ate here - it was great. Nice waiter, service, food, specials. It has ayce but we just opted for the 2 item combo which was really filling for only $14 bucks, love a lunch special. Miso soup, rice, salad, and my two items (teriyaki beef and a spicy tuna roll (6 piece)). And as a bonus, the chef sent over 2 pieces of really tasty sushi. Will for sure visit again to try out dinner options.

So service for me on a Monday night was great. The fish was nice and of good quality. What I did not like was all the appetizers, and that with the premium menu it doesn't come with sashimi.... But it comes with nigiri. The place seemed clean except the bathrooms seemed a bit too jacked up for my liking. The door lock wouldn't really lock well and the handle seemed to be coming off. 2 flies were in the bathroom cruising around.

We decided to go with an all-you-can-eat sushi joint and boy was I craving for more; especially their spicy scallop sushi.It was a really busy weekend evening so the servers were very occupied but they were really kind and attentive when we would ask for something.It's a rather small place so there may be a wait to get seated.

Very small place but great. I enjoyed being one of the few people in there for lunch. I absolutely love the huge menu to choose from. The price is not bad and they have a variety of non sushi items too. The service was good and the servers were nice. Can't wait to go back. Worth the money.

This place is underrated and I don't know why! Sushi was a chefs kiss I'd come back again and bring more people. I like the ambience of the restaurant, I do wish there was a bit more space. Or different tables for two people due to the table being small there's not much room to move around. 9 out of 10!