DaRuMa Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Lounge
| Address: | 5459 Fruitville Rd, Sarasota, FL 34232, USA |
| Phone: | +1 941-342-6600 |
| Site: | darumarestaurant.com |
| Rating: | 4.2 |
| Working: | 5–10PM 5–10PM 5–10PM 5–10PM 5–10PM 5–10PM 5–10PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 6
ME
Melissa Ogilvie
I have gone to DaRuMa for many years...even when they were located in The Quay in Sarasota. The food is good but the dessert is to die for. We went there yesterday for Mothers Day dinner. According to their email advertisements, "all mothers will receive a FREE Japanese Gift". They must have meant all other mothers because every woman at my table received a Japanese fan except me. Maybe it was just an oversight. Our chef didnt display the usual amount of knife skills or flash and we felt like he was in a hurry to finish our meals. We finished our dinner and packed up the left overs. We always save room for the fried ice cream dessert. It is the best dessert anywhere. We were there with his parents and debating on whether or not 2 servings would be enough for all of us. The waitress interrupted to tell us they were not offering dessert. She said that on "high volume" days dessert was not an option as the kitchen would be unable to get food out in time. Not only were we disappointed, we were very confused. The kitchen at this Japanese restaurant (and most like it) doesnt actually cook food. The food is portioned out and then cooked on your table in front of you. And secondly, the restaurant was mostly empty. The room we were seated in had four tables, two of which were empty and set for the next parties, except the lobby was clear and there were no guests waiting. Not wanting to cause a scene, we left. On the way home, I called and asked to speak with a manager. Ron told me that on Mothers Day and New Years Eve they wouldnt be able to serve 400 tables if they offered dessert. I tried to explain to him that it would be helpful if that information was available before hand - maybe in the emails they sent out or the hostess could mention it when making reservations. His attitude was "this is the way we do it and we will continue to do it this way." I mentioned to him that our party was done eating at 8:30 and the restaurant was pretty empty and we wouldnt have been holding up a table that was meant for a new party and he said that it didnt matter. That was their procedure. If we would have known that dessert wasnt going to be offered, we would have chose to celebrate Mothers Day at another restaurant. It was a bad night and the customer service was worse. There are too many Japanese restaurants in Sarasota and Bradenton to go back to DaRuMa.
HO
Holy Blerg
I had a really nice first experience here. I will surely be back when I am in the area. I sat at the bar and both bartenders were very courteous, acomodating and very helpful in regards to understanding the menu if you are a beginner to sushi. They also have hibachi area that can accommodate large parties. In my opinion it is a place worth checking out! If you like to know a bit more about my experience, I can only say that to the sushi was good. I say good and not very good or great simply because while the fish was very fresh, the rice was slightly hard and dry for my taste. Where they did go wrong, in my opinion, was the beef. I ordered a NY Strip Teriyaki and it was not high grade beef otherwise good plating and nice accompanying dishes. But, I think that if the fish was fresh the beef would be good as well, maybe I am wrong for doing that. The texture and taste wasnt bad overall just a bit chewie, stringy and cold, and these are not great nor complementing attributes. In closing, locale is good, ambiance is good service is good, and sushi it good as well. I would visit again for the sushi for sure!
LI
Linda Clayton
Had a horrible waitress and then an even worse manager and Asst. manager! My 84 year old father-in -law asked for a fork to eat his appetizer and she said "we have forks" but then turned around and started to help someone else at the table. When she came to me I asked her again for a fork and she once again said yes we have forks and walked away. Meantime my FIL used a chopstick to stab his very expensive sashimi appetizer and eat it. 20 minutes later she shows up with our soup and we asked a THIRD time for a fork and she reaches under the table and gives my FIL a fork! I went to the hostess to complain and asked for the manager. They sent out the asst manager and when I started to tell her the problem she said I am in training it is only my 4th day let me get the manager. The manager, Sean McNicholas, would not listen to our concerns, would not switch our waitress, in fact just dismissed us. I have never written a bad review for a restaurant and so disappointed in how we were treated. My advice....as long as Sean Mc pNicholas is the manager steer clear!
BR
Brett Augenstein
First off, my wife and I have gone to DaRumas for over 10 years. I dred going most of the time, from the poor excuse of a host taking reservations, always having a bad attitude and extremely snooty. To the lame servers, who consistantly lack any service skill. Anytime I have ever mentioned any type of dislike to management I am met with a very arrogante, conndinsending and piss poor response. Noone ever owns up and takes responsibility or does anything to correct anything. We have brought groups of 10, on more occasions than I can count, spending $300 a night, all the while hoping we might get treated with some respect and quality of service. DaRumas is consistently providing a negative dinning experience. I will be so glad when another resturaunt can duplicate the yum-yum sauce & ginger dressing. We literally go there for the chefs and the sauces. The rest of the experience is unacceptable.
SA
Sarah Ara
Wait staff and managers are incredibly poor and arrogant. They dont treat their customers with respect like a true restaurant who values their customers should. The food is good, Ill give them that. But the wait staff isnt- theyre just rude and disrespectful. We have been going to Da Ru Ma ever since they were located at The Quay. Something happened since then, and many, many people have noticed. Wont be returning after our last experience. Hope Da Ru Ma gains some proper people skills...especially if those people are paying up a nice price for the meal Da Ru Mas serves! Something needs to be done. I miss the way it used to be. Go next door to the Chinese Buffet if you want to be treated like a respected customer.
AL
Alex Ramos
Our family was seated in a room with a large out of control party, very loud, profanity etc. Complained to manager who basically did not care. Were told at the beginning of our seating that the group was finished and paying which was not true. They continued drinking and made our dining experience very uncomfortable. Managements attitude was terrible and service was very slow to the extent that we took our own check to the hostess for payment. The chef tried to entertain us and did the best he could under the circumstsnces. The food was good but I would be very careful in where you end up seating because it can ruin your night!
