Ajihei

Reviews 8

A

A Private User

My husband and I are sushi fanatics and have been to some of the best sushi places, including several Nobus, Morimotos, and dozens of others in search of great sushi. Ajihei truly has the best sushi in the world. The only place with comparable quality is Tojos in Vancouver. That being said, its important to note that you should not go to Ajihei if you are looking for ambiance or a leisurely, romantic meal. Its a tiny, cramped, basement hole-in-the-wall restaurant where the emphasis is on amazing, authentic Japanese food. The interesting thing is that there are several rules posted by the front door, which you must follow. First and foremost, Ajihei calls themselves, "Slow Food Restaurant." They take no reservations. There is only one table that can accommodate 5 people, so, if someone beats you to it, you have to wait until they are finished to be seated. There is a $20 per person minimum for groups of 4 (including kids). In-person dining orders take priority over takeout (and no hot food is available for takeout). They unplug the telephone when they are busy. No hard liquor. No birthday parties. No business meetings. No laptops. The policy is "Eat and Go" when they are busy. There are even more rules than this, but all I can say is it is more than worth it if you love great sushi. Their shumai is also sublime. Try the wasabi shumai if you really want to make your eyes water and nose run! So, if youre willing to follow the "rules," dont care about eating at a fancy place, and dont mind feeling a little rushed, you will LOVE the sushi. Just go early, and dont go with more than 4 people, and Chef Koji will make your taste buds ROCK!

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CA

Catherine Sukovich

I have never written a restaurant review before, but this establishment is so horrible I felt it was my civic duty to do so. We went here for dinner a week ago. Food was OK-nothing to rave about and it was definitely over priced for the quality of the fish. No more than 45 minutes had gone by from the time we walked in to the time the waiter brought us the check, which, by the way, we hadnt requested yet. My dad made a joke saying "your not trying to kick us out are you?" and the waiter just laughed and said "well there is another party waiting for your table so..." and then walked away. My mom and I had just poured a second glass of wine and my dad had just opened another beer so we figured we would finish up quickly and go. Five minutes later he came back sounding annoyed and said "Excuse me, there are other people waiting for your table" and walked away shaking his head. Now, I am not trying to sound uppity, but we had just spent over $100 on our dinner between the four of us and tipped him generously. You would think they would show a little more appreciation for their customers. I couldnt believe how rude these people were to us.

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AL

allison l

The food is good but owners are extremely rude. I have dined there several times (lunch and dinner) and have seen them kick out a family of 5 because they were odd number of people and would not accommodate their size. We (a party of three paying >$100) were asked to leave after dining less than 90 minutes... beware they do NOT allow you to linger after your last bite, they do not want you to bring wine and enjoy your company; instead they care more about flipping tables, regardless of what you pay. I do not recommend this restaurant; there are other sushi joints in Princeton with better prices, quality, and experience than Ajihei. Not worth the frustration for an establishment in Princeton (even NYC wont treat you like this). This is not the place to dine as a family or work function. This establishment is a total hard pass.

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BL

Blake Espy

So I wandered in with a group of friends who craved sushi during an intense heat wave. Unfortunately we acknowledged each other. It was a group of 3 immediately followed by a group of two. That must be the recipe for no service. Evidently the policy here is : if the collective mass of your party exceeds 4, make no mention of that to the hostess. This poor girl was forced to turn away an entire group of five individuals simply because we knew each other. We werent allowed to sit at separate tables with separate checks. We werent allowed to eat at all. We were shunned away completely. This establishment preferred to lose service tonight. The owner fully understood the situation and did nothing to accommodate the hungry party of 5. Evidently 5 means danger

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A

A Private User

I agree with Never Again & Loyal Customer for 3 years.... 4 of us went in for dinner on a Tuesday night. We ordered 4 items, not knowing how big the portions would be. We still felt hungry, so we ordered another sushi/sashimi deluxe. The waitress told us we couldnt order any more food. We asked the chef why we couldnt order more food. He pointed to the door...(i guess he doesnt speak English) ...there were people who just walked in. We still didnt understand why we couldnt order more food since we were still hungry...He just shook his head and said get out! I guess if he doesnt like making sushi for his customers, he should get out of the business. I will never go back again!

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JU

Juli Greenberg

A bunch of folks from work ate here today for lunch. Overall, not a great experience. Pros: 1) my sushi was pretty good 2) quiet, traditional Japanese atmosphere Cons: 1) lunch was expensive - we each had two rolls and we shared edamame. No drinks, $20 each. That is pretty steep for a weekday lunch. 2) the waitress got our order wrong 3) most importantly, my workmate had a bug in her sushi. It didnt look like a "bad fish" bug, just like a small aphid. Complete lunch bomb. I cant see ever going back. I really like MoC MoC, which is cheaper and has better lunch options (and Ive never seen any bugs in their food!).

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A

A Private User

Horrible people run this place. We came with our children (who are very well behaved) into this place on an evening where it was virtually empty, and they basically refused to seat us. When I asked, they then told us they would charge each person a minimum of $20 to even sit down...kids included. It may have great sushi...but Ill never step foot in this place again. They should be embarrased by the way they treated us. It is a dive restaurant that is under the street...no reason my kids and I couldnt come eat here...not a fancy or swanky place. Left a bad taste in my mouth and just made me so angry.

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JE

Jersey Guy

I am 40 something years old and this is the first restaurant I was ever asked to leave. The place was empty as we entered with 6 including 2 children. They would not seat us saying they could only take 4. We said we could split up, with 4 at one table, two at the next, or 3 and 3. No was the answer, and not very politely. It would seem that they did not want children there. I would think in this economy that a restaurant that was empty on a weekend would treat their customers (or potential) better. Really left with a bad feeling, for us and our guests. Shame!

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