Muramoto Hilldale
| Address: | 546 N Midvale Blvd, Madison, WI 53705, USA |
| Phone: | +1 608-441-1090 |
| Site: | muramoto.biz |
| Rating: | 4.1 |
| Working: | 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 7
A
A Private User
My guy and I love sushi, but we also like a sense of tranquility while we enjoy our food. We do love the food and drink selection at Muramoto, and their calimari is the best in town, but the seating at the Hilldale location is so crammed that I feel like if I remove a light scarf, Ill have my elbow in the next diners face. I also hate overhearing my pretentious neighbors conversation about the lack of lentil consumption in the U.S. and then having the waitstaffs rear in my face when they take Mr. Lentil Lovers order. Im also not a fan of having a trendy, clunky suitcase-sized "handbag" swung at my head as diners are seated six inches away from me. Its just uncomfortable, and to me, defeats the whole point of going out to dinner. You have more elbow room eating at the bar. I prefer a more relaxed dining experience, one without big bags and butts in my face. There is absolutely no personal space allowed at Muramoto...Im closer to the stranger next to me than I am to my date. And forget about having an intimate conversation with your dinner date-youre more likely to learn all about your neighbor instead of the person youre there with. Ive gone to dinner at the Hilldale location four times now, and every time its exactly the same experience...delicious food in a tense, awkward setting. Sure, the decor is appealing, but the floor plan is an epic fail. The tables are so small, there is barely room for two people to have drinks AND an appetizer. Heaven forbid if you dont have that calimari finished by the time dinner arrives...they wont know where to put the dishes! Heaven help you if you try to bring a child needing a high chair-hell probably suffer an accidental head injury! And dont get me started on the waiting period to get a table there. We were once told at 8pm that it would be a two-hour wait-yet they closed at ten! Clearly the hostess wasnt too clever. However, the bartenders and sushi chefs are phenomenal. If you DO eat there, your taste buds will be rewarded handsomely. I recommend getting the green tea creme brulee for dessert. If you have deep pockets and love getting really close with total strangers, youll love this hip, trendy place where you will definitely feel "seen" and "scene". But I felt like a whale on display, and Im only a 125lb female! We have eaten at five sushi restaurants in town, and we prefer Edo Garden in Monona out all of them-the food is just as good, the service is great, its spacious and yet intimate, the prices are better, its OPEN LATER and yet theres never a wait.
NA
Nathaniel Ly
Went around lunch time wasnt crowded. I got smoked salmon roll, octopus nigiri, and the lunch special hanger beef. Smoked salmon roll: 4$ for 6 peices At first i saw this and thought it was really cheap but i was disappointed when i ate it. It was just normal salmon and they had put wasabi in the roll which was an over powering taste. Didnt like it. Octopus Nigiri: 4$ for two Again i think they over did the wasabi, too overpowering. There is a generous portion of octopus, but its very soft and not chewy like im used to. It was ok. Hanger beef: 9$ for lunch Comes with rice, some salad, and the beef over some kind of potato salad. The beef tastes amazing! But that was all i liked. The potatoes were good but very sweet and had alot of weird seasonings in it. The salad had a very pungent ginger dressing. There were way too many powerful flavors in this dish and they do not balance out well. I ended up eating the rice and steak only and tossing the rest. The service was pretty normal. Just a pretty average experience. This place is not my favorite. But i would come back just for some of that beef.
LU
Luning Fang
This had always been one of our favorite restaurants, and we went there for very important days such as first dates, anniversaries and such. Most of the time we would order two plates of sashimi. Last night, I went there with my husband and our baby to celebrate our three year anniversary. It was 9 oclock and the restaurant is barely half full. It took a very long time for the sashimi plate to come, which usually only takes about 10 minutes. When we complained that to the waitress, she just said thats how long it always takes. We know that was not true because weve had lots of sashimi plate there. When she brought us the food, she did not introduce the fish at all, which they always do before. I was so hungry but I cant eat fish by themselves, because the rice is missing. After about 5 minutes, the rice finally came... they are reheated microwaved rice! When we complained that to the waitress and her manager, they called us rude instead of being apologetic about their terrible service. No wonder they replaced the wooden chopsticks with disposable one; guess no ones going there because of the rude staff.
NI
Nicole Zhao
Friend recommended this place, so I went to have a look. Indeed the best sushi I have ever had in Madison, a little pricey, but worth it to some extent. What I didnt like though, was the serving staff. First when I arrived, I asked the staff what is the difference between the bar and the table, he told me it is all the same, maybe I asked too many questions to clarify, maybe I was underdressed, either way he gave me the impression of not being very patient. My understanding is, It is never the same! When You are at the sushi bar, you can talk to your sushi maker , which is more interactive, you get to see how they make sushi, and some Japanese restaurants have pre-made sushi at sushi bar and you can just take them based on preference instead of order blindly according to menu.
NI
Nichole Deischer-Pauley
Our hands down favorite sushi spot! Great lunch deals, fresh delicious, and fair priced sushi. Always on point! Have been here a dozen times or so, and have never had a bad meal. We have only once had to wait 45 min for a table,because we went to dinner so late that day. It was so well worth the wait though!! So so good! I do wish theyd bring back the pulled chicken walnut appetizers thats served in a head of lettuce! It was MOUTH WATERING!!!!! I miss it so much! Love this place though! Always great for night out with friends, date night, nice family dinner, or even dinner with the kids! Super great staff as well!
A
A Private User
I understand that restaurants can get busy, but when our party had reservations, waited at the bar 45 minutes PAST our reservation, and was then told that we would have to put our name back on the list because they "accidently" sat someone in our place after the hostess said that she would get our group from the bar when our table was ready, that is RIDICULOUS! There wasnt even another table in the place with the same amount of people as our group that could have been mistaken for us! Sushi wasnt even the best Ive had in Madison. Highly overrated, with horrible service to boot.
A
A Private User
I love Sushi Muramoto, but have to say there customer service could improve: Ive never had a problem in the restaurant, but when I called to book a reservation for 5 one evening they refused to take it b/c their policy is 6 or more. When I asked if they would make an exception, they wouldnt consider it. Even though they had a huge party coming in that would take up half the restaurant. Have never heard of a restaurant turning away business b/c youre one short of their minimum; most places would make the exception if someone bothered to call and ask.
