4. Restaurants

Osaka

3402 Poplar Ave, Memphis, TN, 38111
  • (901) 249-4690
  • Store is closed

Osaka Menu

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  • Jerry S.

    Great design--definitely a birthday surprise kinda place (they shout and bang on stuff in an entertaining manner)... the drinks are cool, and there's always something on the menu for everyone! I love the soft shell crab appetizer!

    (4)

  • Joy C.

    OMG!!! Went here for my husbands birthday. Walked in about 30 min before closing, was seated in the bar area. He was uncomfortable because of the hi-table. So we were moved to the dining area..about 10 mins in..a girl rushed passed us and threw up right in the freaking walkway..grossed out was a understatement!! And to add to it, staff was just walking over it still serving food!!! This went on for about 5 min before they actually cleaned it up!! I know some would have walked out by now..but we were moved again to another booth. Food finally came and it was #blah. Bad experience probably made the food worse..want be back!

    (2)

  • Hal R.

    It's ok. Japanese food is so much of the same that something really has to pop to make it great. Everything is pretty generic. Good food though.

    (3)

  • Michelle M.

    I've been to Osaka on Poplar twice and both times were quite the unpleasant experience, so I will not be returning. Which is quite a shame, as the food is decent. DECOR: Incredibly tacky, but also sorta fun. I felt like I was walking into a restaurant in Vegas, but I can appreciate that and even seek out that type of environment at times, so the decor did not bother me at all. The restaurant seemed clean to me, no obvious infractions in that respect. FOOD: I have ordered the house salad (LOVE the ginger dressing...has a subtle peppery-ness to it that I enjoy), miso soup (standard), edamame (also standard) and a couple of rolls. The cordova and orlando rolls were pretty dang good....fish tasted fresh, great flavor from the sauces. My only complaint was that some of the pieces would start to crumble apart in my soy sauce dish. SERVICE: Herein lies the one glaring problem with this restaurant. My first visit was early on a Friday evening, around 5:30. They weren't busy at all and were able to seat us immediately. Our waitress was a young girl who proceeded to spill an entire HUGE glass of ice water all over my lap and phone, which had been sitting on the table. Not only was she not apologetic AT ALL, but she actually looked like she found the entire situation humorous. While my boyfriend and I were frantically trying to clean up the mess with our TWO napkins, she just stood there and watched and appeared to be stifling giggles. She made no offer to assist in our cleaning efforts, no offer to go grab some more napkins or a towel and no offer to switch tables. Now, as someone who has had 6 years of serving experience in New York City, I am well aware that accidents happen. I can excuse that. HOWEVER. That being said, it is customary to offer some type of recompense...a complimentary beverage or appetizer perhaps. But no, all I got were smirks and a DRENCHED lap in an already-freezing-cold restaurant. On my second visit, which was this past Friday, the restaurant was much busier. Without even glancing up at me, the hostess abruptly and rudely asked "how many". To my knowledge, hostesses are actually supposed to WELCOME you to their restaurant. This young lady appeared to not even want to be bothered. I replied 'two' and she threw the seating device at me without even asking me for my name nor telling me how long the wait was. As I was about to inquire on this, a gentleman, who I can only presume was the manager, came up and interrupted me, commanding the hostesses to seat a particular party that had a reservation. All I can say is...if that really is the manager...now I can understand why the service here is so poor. Once we were seated, our waiter, who appeared confused and lost the entire evening, came over with waters (which he did NOT drop on me). I asked for a sake recommendation. He couldn't give one. Okaaaaaay. Fine, I guess just a glass of wine. When he finally got around to coming back to take our orders, he stared blank-faced at me when I concluded my order with asking for a salmon-avocado roll. When he read the order back to me, he said "and a salmon roll and an avocado roll". I say, "No, not 2 separate rolls...one roll with salmon and avocado in it". He says "We don't have that." First of all, what kind of sushi restaurant does not have a simple salmon avocado roll? He offers to add avocado to a plain salmon roll, but will have to charge me extra. Ridiculous, but fine. When the food arrives, we get the salmon-avocado roll as we requested, but also a separate avocado roll. At this point, i am just so exhausted from trying to communicate with this young man, that I just give up and accept that I will have to pay for an avocado roll that I did not ask for. In closing, if the managers happen to read this, which I am assuming from previous reviews that they don't, you really need to hire people that WANT to be servers. All your restaurant seems to offer are sniveling, bratty, young people who would rather be anywhere else.

    (2)

  • Happie H.

    Was skeptical because of some previous yelp reviews, but it was great. Delicious food, great sushi, awesome atmosphere, great service from a waitress named Abby, and the host was extremely friendly and welcoming. Everything negative that previous reviewers complained about was not true with my family's experience. The food was awesome, and the restaurants decor is amazing. Impressed, and will come back.

    (5)

  • Kevin D.

    First off, before I rant about Osaka, let me say that I enjoy their menu. It's everything else that gets in the way. When you walk into Osaka, the first thing you see is the broken water feature in the foyer. There are paper signs everywhere telling you the times, the takeout order policies, etc. There are two hostess stands, one for takeouts and the other for dining, but the hostesses won't bother explaining that you and simply point to the other one while she texts. Over the cool, underlit hostess stand, there are tacky paper signs, too. The hostess may or may not acknowledge you, then sit there smacking her gum while she waits for another equally apathetic employee to come and seat you. There will be a long conversation between the two about where to seat you, even if the entire place is empty. When you get to your table, you'll wait a good ten minutes before you are greeted. Don't bother asking about anything on the drink menu, because the waiter won't know. They'll forget to bring you silverware, and you'll have to ask for it twice. Your edamame appetizer will come out around the time that your entree comes out. Most likely, there will be an error since the wait staff doesn't quite understand the menu as much as you do. You won't get quick refills on your drinks, so don't order anything spicy. When you try to pay your check, you'll wait another 15 minutes. Hopefully there won't be any errors on your check (but most likely there will be.) The food, however, will be enjoyable. The ambiance has great potential, as the renovations were obviously expensive and well thought out. The lunch menu is reasonable. Why doesn't the owner fire everyone and start over? This may be the only way to save a potentially great restaurant. Tabitha Takes Over from Bravo needs to come and knock some sense into people.

    (2)

  • Kristen D.

    Osaka ruined a special day for my boyfriend and me. They always leave out part of the sauces for takeout. And, for whatever reason, it is the most difficult to get them to ever answer the phone. I have many complaints, but the foremost is what happened to my boyfriend and I while we were celebrating out dual graduations from college. We reserved a room for 20 people four months before. Four months!! In addition, I called multiple times. But, of course, when we arrived there was a 30 minute wait only to find that we would have to wait two more hours to get the room we reserved. Some group had been late and thrown the entire schedule off. The manager didn't offer any apologies or comps. He just sat us at a hibachi table, where we couldn't talk and that was it. In all, I cannot stand the way this place is run. While the food has been good, the experience has always been terrible

    (1)

  • Marvin S.

    I was never allowed in. I saw that the establishment was open and teaming with people. There was a short line and people were being seated. When I was greeted,I was informed that I was not allowed to be there (in those words). Only invited guests for their soft opening were allowed. I was told to come back for lunch the next day. I did not go. I was willing to spend good money and was made to believe that Osaka was opened for business. The man who informed me of their unposted soft opening even had the nerve to touch the small of my back as I was leaving, giving a slight push. I have informed others and they are not patrons of this chain restaurant in a shopping center. I was disgusted by their unwillingness to accept a paying customer. I will not return. Neither will others.

    (1)

  • Kelly B.

    The food was excellent, but the hostesses we extremely rude and stupid, and need to be terminated. Instead of addressing people as they come in, they stand there gossiping and talking amongst themselves. My husband stood in front of them for 5 minutes before anyone even addressed him. There are 2 hostess stands, and you aren't sure when you walk in where to go. If this place wants to make it seem like they are a classy place, they need to start with the first people their customers meet, since they give out the first impression.

    (1)

  • Diana K.

    Prefer the Shogun in Cordova. The food was alright but the service was horrible, and this was not the first time. It was not even that busy, but the waitress never came to refill our drinks. NEVER. Absolutely disapointed.

    (1)

  • Chris G.

    Good food. Terrible service. We were waited on by what appeared to be an 18-20 year old boy who was clueless about everything. We were seated and then it took an eternity for someone to come and take our order, and then a second eternity to get our food. We ordered calimari as an entree and were given a plate of assorted fried fish and fried mushrooms - no squid to be found. Then our entrees were brought out 5 minutes after the appetizer had been brought out. We had hardly begun to eat it. Two of our entrees were brought out and the 3rd person had to sit there a good 15 minutes before his food arrived. Diet coke was poured into my iced tea when refills were finally brought around. And then the refills were cut off when I was still enjoying extra spicy sushi and ran out of drink. You would think that a nice new restaurant such as this one would have much better help and much better service.

    (1)

  • Sara K.

    If you want sushi, done right (don't go to Blue Fin) - i would go here. Its kind of over priced because of the area and honestly, when you go to a sushi restaurant with this atmosphere, it's kind of expected to pay more because of the crowd. Cliff got the Shrimp and Steak Habachi and i got the half orders of 4 different kinds of sushi. I would go again but it's loud and the servers are drowning.

    (3)

  • Olivia F.

    Boring. Nothing special. While somewhat visually appealing the food is just okay. Had worse but have had tons better. Don't even think of going there with more than 3 people! (eye roll) If you ignore this advise make sure everyone orders the same thing whether it be sushi or teppanyaki because it seems the timing of when you are served is hit-or-miss.

    (2)

  • Zachary P.

    Personally I love this place. Good food, but better atmosphere. Being a Vegas kid this reminds me alot of that. #VegasAtmosphere

    (4)

  • Daniel M.

    This place just exudes style. The interior is tastefully modern with great attention to details such as Oriental themed woodworking, Hibachi grills and even neon fluorescent lit tables (bar area) which all blends together nicely. Extensive sushi menu that is reasonably priced. Seriously good eats. The bar area plays music but not so loud enough as to carry to the Hibachi grill tables in the back of the restaurant where people are gathered for a more intimate meal. A great interior design. Top notch all around.

    (5)

  • Andy S.

    They recently opened a new Japanese restaurant on Poplar, and we decided to give it a try for dinner. It's in Poplar Plaza where Bookstar used to be. Back in the day, it was even a movie theatre. The decor is very trendy feeling. It is a casual place, but it has a fancier feel. They have hibachi tables. They have a sushi bar. And a liquor bar. They had a lot of different drinks. Garrett ordered the spring roles. I tasted one, and it was good. I think an order was $4. I had the fried calamari as an appetizer. It was good, but if you want calamari, I wouldn't order it. It was mostly vegetable tempura. I liked it, but it wasn't what I was expecting. It was only $6. We had hot sake to drink. The large was $12. The tables in the bar area were kind of cool. They constantly change colors. It was rather psychedelic. We ordered the big boat of sushi. It was about $25. I'm not sure what everything was. It had several pieces of sushi, including salmon, tuna, and squid or octopus. It also had several nigiri rolls. I enjoyed the meal. I love seafood and sushi. I'm sure we'll go back. It looked like they have lunch specials and early bird dinner specials.

    (4)

  • Lynda J.

    What a great experience. Visiting and read the reviews, which were all good, and correct! Hibachi was great as well as the service!!

    (5)

  • Wayne R.

    I went during the grand opening back in October. First off, the atmosphere was amazing. They have great lighting, and the interior was constructed with amazing design and craftsmanship. The service was okay, but it wasn't anything to go home and call your mama about. The food, perhaps the most important part of any food service establishment, was not very good. The soup was cold. The food, once ordered, was not very plentiful, and was only okay. Nothing special, and certaintly not worth the price. I advise everyone to try the other Osaka on Macon Road. That one is FAR better than this one, and is my favorite sushi bar to eat at. I will perhaps one day go back here to see if there has been any improvement, but you know what they say. . . The first impression is the last impression!

    (1)

  • Ed W.

    Memphis, we have a bad one here. I went with my friend Jeff G. aka Griff to lunch here today, as we were giving a presentation near UM and did not have time to run further east for a bite. We thought this would be a nice time to check out a new restaurant. Here are brief opinions. 1. The sign outside is extremely cheesy. Whoever designed it needs to refund the monies charged. 2. The restaurant did a decent job on remodeling the inside. It does not seem at all like the old bookstore. This is, unfortunately, the only positive from the meal. 3. The food is overpriced. 4. The food is bland. 5. We both found it odd there is an extraordinary amount of non-hibachi seating. In most Hibachi restaurants, there is Hibachi seating and a small bar. Here, there are 6 hibachi table areas, and then a ton of seating and a huge bar. Jeff G made the remark that the restaurant is having an identity crisis. I agree. 6. In years of frequenting other hibachi restaurants, we collectively decided that the sauces served with the Hibachi meals were the worst ever. One tasted like a chemical. The other tasted like A-1. In a ramekin. With a trendy name. The waiter seemed shocked when we asked for sauced. "You want sauced? With the meal?" Uh, yes. We do. Because the meal is bland and overpriced. 7. Griff decided that this would be a good restaurant for someone to choose for lunch if they had to walk to lunch and ate at Buffalo Wild Wings the day before. I reminded him El Porton is in that shopping center, too. I would choose a taco. Or hot wings. Or Picadilly across the street. 2 stars.

    (2)

  • Jen M.

    I would rate it a 4 for the fresh sushi rolls, but a 3 for the way they put them together (sloppy and didn't even give me ginger, soy sauce or a bowl), as well as the customer service. Went back a second time. The customer service and cleanliness was still lacking. Had some different rolls, they were just ok. I love the decor here, was great for a Friday evening out with the husband. Will come back during happy hour for the specials.

    (3)

  • Elle S.

    Like everyone said the decorations are great, but service sucks donkey b*lls. FIRST to the genius who put the to-go stand first and the hostess stand second... please fix this... EVERYone goes to the first hostess stand and once you are acknowledged (insert sarcasm here) they tell you to go to the next one so everyone looks like an idiot. I told them we can sit at the bar, it still took 30 minutes. then it look 30 minutes or longer for my seaweed salad... sushi i can understand but salad?!?!? I got sashimi so i cant say anything about the food, but i can say the sashimi was too tick.... it should be thin.... not a place i would crave to go back to..... i'm giving u three stars and not two since i didnt really eat food food. 2 is taken away because your teen staff is terrible.

    (3)

  • Paul H.

    Osaka Japanese fusion cuisine is a great concept for the Memphis area. However, it is one of the most poorly run restaurants I've ever encountered. Not only are the waiters unprofessional, they are rude as well. I do not blame the poor customer service on the wait staff, though, I blame it on the manager/owner. The entire staff has no idea how to conduct in a business let alone a service industry business. Their conveyor belt concept should KILL IT in Memphis, especially with the east Memphis/midtown crowd. Unfortunately, Osaka doesn't even come close to the other sushi restaurants in the area.

    (2)

  • June F.

    I had never been overly impressed with the service here in my 6 or so visits, but the food was good so I just dealt with it. Until my birthday. Our waitress was visibly upset, extremely unfriendly, and made at least 2 mistakes with our order. We had to get the manager twice and had to ask for another server's help once. Toward the end of the evening she was audibly cursing about us from a few tables away. She was throwing dishes onto to the table, rolling her eyes, and scowling. After hours of feeling uncomfortable, unsatisfied, and unhappy, we were literally afraid to walk across the restaurant to exit in case we ran into her. I and my 3 fellow diners have all worked as servers and are usually very forgiving and kind diners. I really don't think we were to blame for her foul attitude. I am not only unwilling, but afraid to return to Osaka.

    (2)

  • Elizabeth C.

    As someone who absolutely adores the other locations, I was beyond excited when I moved deeper into Memphis and right down the road from this location. My family would drive from Oakland, TN to the Macon location on special occasions to eat at my favorite restaurant, so living so closely to this location was truly a blessing. Upon walking into Osaka, I was amazed by such attention to detail in the design. It offers quite a different vibe than the other locations and I really do enjoy it, but the decor can't make up for the poor service. Once placing your order with your server, who typically has an "I don't care to be here" attitude, you are left for a lengthy period of time to wait on your sushi. During this time you can do nothing but listen to the horrible playlist that the restaurant plays. I'm in love with the playlist from the Macon location and was hoping to find the same at the Poplar location, but I was sadly mistaken. So there you sit... listening to the countless melancholy ballads of Bruno Mars. I would say it took about 20 minutes to get my sushi on one very slow Sunday afternoon. The sushi is consistent with the other locations, but all things considered, I was disappointed. I only go back because of their heavenly sushi rolls. I wish the restaurant had paid less attention to details in interior design and more attention to the quality of service.

    (2)

  • Nate W.

    Food is just not good. I tried to get the Oyakudon which is a chicken and egg rice bowl. Oyakudon is something I have had at multiple japanese restaurants. It is EASY to make and usually very tastey. Here is it too literal. My had literally dry eggs and over cooked chicken. No sauce. DRY DRY DRY! haha. Food is just not impressive overall and I think it's one of those places that looks cooler than it is. Won't be back.

    (1)

  • Kay H.

    I went there with my wife when they opened, It is a great place, it is at the pricey side though, we had sushi and Hibachi grilled beef rice noodles. The servers there are dressed like you are in japan, the seating areas are pretty descent ranging from the bar, to regular table, to kinda table/floor seating, and a hibachi grill seating where they charge you extra if you choose that as we have been told by the server. the only drawback is the wait time where we waited for about 30 mins to be seated.

    (3)

  • Lori S.

    Worst experience and service. I went here for a friend's birthday and had to wait a ridiculous amount of time for the food, drinks, corrected orders, and then the bill. To top it off, the server spilled soy sauce on the birthday boy and acted like it wasn't a big deal. The manager was totally unprofessional and only offered 30% off of the bill for the terrible service and accident. The whole thing ruined what was supposed to be a fun light hearted night.I'll never go back.

    (1)

  • Toni T.

    The food is really good. However the chefs are rude. Well I'm not sure if all of them are but the chef at our grill had a very nasty attitude.

    (3)

  • Halsey J.

    The food is great. I practically lived at their cordova location so when I moved to midtown I was genuinely excited that they opened a location close to where I would live, but as I frequented this location, I grew to resent this place. It's like the staff doesn't care! How can you hire such careless workers?! The hostesses would rather be anywhere but at work and it's written all over their face when you walk in the door! I shouldn't have to greet a greeter! The amount of money that has gone into this beautiful location has gone to waste because of the staff hired. It's a shame, Osaka. I had such High hopes and loved this food! You really need to clean house and start over. It's the only way you're going to get people to come back. Good luck with your business because I know I won't be returning.

    (2)

  • Jennifer M.

    It wasn't extraordinary, but it was a nice, inexpensive lunch option. And my server, Emily, was quite patient with me and my addle-brained self as I ordered.

    (3)

  • Chris W.

    Manager is a dip $&#%. Don't get the chicken fried rice unless you feel like feeling ripped off. Actually the rice was good but I only got 5 little pieces of chicken. It looked like a prank.

    (1)

  • Corey E.

    I thoroughly enjoy every visit to this Osaka location. At the entrance, it gives off an upscale lounge/bar vibe and has great happy hour drink specials. I particularly like the Dynamite and spicy crawfish rolls here. Their early bird specials are very reasonably priced and they have great roll selections under the early bird specials.

    (4)

  • Amanda H.

    The hibachi shrimp is freaking amazing. Their decor is a little cheesy and reminds me of something in Vegas, but its fun. Their sushi is good, and their service is really pretty great.

    (4)

  • Casey B.

    I'm very surprised this only has 3 stars. The special sushi rolls are like crack for me. Jamaican drift, Tokyo drift, mango dragon, and Florida roll are a few of my favorites. The first two aren't on the menu, but were on a dry erase board for a special. On Monday to Friday for lunch they have the conveyor belt going with plates of 3-4 pieces for $2.25 a plate (used to be $1.95, damn economy). You can ask the chefs for any roll ya want (be decent and tip them and you will get whatever you want). The spicy crawfish roll is great too. I wish they did this on weekends. If you don't do the conveyor belt it gets expensive, but the food is worth it.

    (5)

  • Huyen T.

    I went there during lunch hours and the place was sort of packed. The interior of the restaurant was beautiful. There was three part to the place: Hibachi, sushi belt, and regular sitting...and perhaps a bar place also? not sure. Of course, I had to try the sushi belt cause i've been dying to try it for so long since I discovered that they had such a thing in LA. When we first walked in, we were greeted and was led by our server. The half rolls plate were regular rolls that was priced 1.95 each. Usually the plate are priced by colors, but I guess it was the grand opening special. I'm not sure whose the owner for this place, but I've ate at the other two osakas and they were amazing. So i grabbed quite a few plates just to try. The rice was a little bit moist than what I would expect, but over it was okay...not too "omg this shit is good" or "WTF is this shit" lol. it was OKAY... Then we ordered the Seafood tempura Udon before we grabbed sushi plates. The udon took forever to come out and it was getting frustrating. The udon finally came out after such a long wait. It soup itself was a bit salty. Some of the server was nice enough to refill my water and offer me an extra bowl to try to udon...i guess it's cause they saw me taking picture and predict that I will blog or something about it lol. I would add picture, but internet is not letting me do that right now. I grabbed more sushi plate than I plan so...I asked our waitress if its okay to togo it, but she say that we dont usually let people to go their sushi (the half rolls plate). I was kind of disappointed because I am paying for these, but then she say that she will go ask the manager. She came back with our to go containers and check. I asked her again and she was like, "it's okay..you can go ahead and take it. I trust you." So here's an head up; Dont get more than you can eat, because you cant to go those half rolls plate on the sushi belts!

    (3)

  • Chris M.

    Clear soup tasted too much like miso for me and was way over salted. The goyoza was ok but not great and undercooked. Spicy squid app was like shoe leather. The shabu shabu was not very good either. More show than go and pretty weak flavors. Had to dip the meat in the hot sauce to get any flavor. Nothing was horrible and the service was good but I can't say I would want to come back. Really probably a 2.5 star.

    (3)

  • Hayes H.

    Outstanding sushi and great service. This is by far the best interior of all the Osaka's; the atmosphere is very cool, with a great Japanese theme. I was greeted and tended to, great timing and order accuracy- couldn't ask for more! Try the Cordova Roll.. It's a delicious combination of tuna, salmon, and tempura shrimp in the secret chile sauce.. Great date restaurant.

    (5)

  • Alexandria E.

    I love this place. It's probably my favorite spot for sushi. The prices are good. Especially if you go during lunchtime during the week. They're fried rice is pretty good too. I also like the ambience that it offers. It looks nice and they play cool music, and I've always gotten pretty good service from the waiter and waitresses

    (5)

  • Paul C.

    Ohhhh Osaka.....oh boy oh boy. I looooove your other locations, but how different are thou from thy brothers!! I came here on a Sat night on a double date. The ambiance is great; I'd definitely say it has one of the most interesting decors that any restaurant has to offer in Memphis. It reminds me of restaurants you'd find out in LA or SoCal in general. Too bad this is the only good thing about this place...... We ordered some spicy rolls, some tuna rolls, and we also got the sashimi dinner. The staff was nice enough to bring it all out on a boat......after a long wait. They brought out the food for the other couple with us, and our boat didn't come out until 20 minutes later. Everyone hates the awkward wait to eat courtesy; they should have brought out everything at the same time. The presentation of the rolls and the sashimi were fine, but the taste of some of the fish was awful. Some were okay, but half were extremely fishy. You can't tell as much in a roll, but it's still there as well. To say the least, I was extremely disappointed in the quality of the fish here. I'd love to say that this is a one time deal, but apparently it's a trend as I've been told that the fish was bad here before. I've been to the other Osakas out in East Memphis and Collierville, and those places are excellent. I guess they have different operating procedures at this Osaka..... Bottom line: If you're coming for raw fish, go elsewhere, if for cooked japanese food, I'm sure you'll be fine!

    (2)

  • Veronica X.

    The first time I visited Osaka, I was quite taken by the beautiful interior. The three items I ordered were presented in three different shapes of dishes -- a triangle plate for the jellyfish salad, a square for the agedashi tofu and a rectangle for 1/2 order of the white tiger roll -- seriously, who doesn't love a quick geometry 101 while dining out. Even though the food was nothing to write home about, I wanted to go back. The second visit was quite a let-down. We sat in the bar area with color-changing tables. Cool as it may be, it was nearly impossible to read the menu full of small and funky prints with slight glare from under and little light from above. Overcoming visual impairment, we ordered tuna tataki, vegetable tempura, hirekatsu (pork tenderloin cutlet) and my standby eel nigiri. The tuna itself was seared beautifully as far as I could tell -- though the sauce was not very flavorful, this dish was all about the fish. Vegetable tempura was so-so and awkwardly served atop a bulky wooden box. The katsu was probably the worst part of the meal as it was dry and bland with a rather coarse breading, not to mention what almost tasted like store-bought BBQ sauce on the side. Since I wasn't offered chopsticks and was too proud to ask, I attempted to eat the eel nigiri with my fork and the rice crumbled to my lap. Should have practiced using fork better or packed my own chopsticks but then I had better packed nigiri before. I agreed with Christine that the service (in the bar area at least) was a little awkward. Now I am in no hurry to go back to Osaka unless I am feeling hip, which is a once-in-a-blue-moon thing.

    (2)

  • Sarah A.

    My husband and I have tried Osaka in east Memphis three times and the service is HORRIBLE! First off, right when you walk into the restaurant there is two hostess stations. The first station, I'm assuming is for takeout orders, and the second is for seating guests. Neither station greets their customers and people are standing around awkwardly not knowing what to do. The first time we went, the sushi was good, but the service between the hostess to the waiter was beyond words. We decided to go back for the conveyer sushi bar belt for lunch. Heard it was good. Well....once again we were extremely, disappointed. Sat at the bar, I guess it is over at 2 but we got there at 1. The chefs didn't acknowledge us at all and we sat there looking like idiots waiting for them to throw some sushi on the belt. Nothing happened! We finally asked our waitress and she just said, " oh it slows down around 1. I can put an order in for you". What?! We were so annoyed that we each had 4 pieces of sushi and left. I really hope a manager/owner, acknowledge these reviews over their restaurant and try to make the necessary adjustments for the success of the business. I wish I could have given this place a zero. Do not go to this Osaka try the one in Cordova.

    (1)

  • Olivia B.

    I decided I would brave the sushi bar at lunch. 5 plates and a soda for only $14 and some change. OH MY LORD. I will surely be returning. I picked up whatever looked good and ate every bite. The servers are super attentive and nice. The music is great. But the sushi is what got me here and it did not disappoint! This is great, fast, and delicious!

    (5)

  • Gordon P.

    I tried this place twice in the last week -- once for dinner, today I was nearby and tried them for lunch. For dinner, we ordered appetizers, sushi, entree. The sushi came last, the waiter said when things are busy, he can't control when the food will come out. Also, he didn't know what salmon roe looked like and tried to convince us that smelt roe was salmon roe. After taking it back to the chef he agreed with us. Sushi overall was not that good, but the entrees were good. Today at lunch it wasn't very busy, but it took a long time for the waiter to come see me -- then he said he was busy and he'd be back in a few minutes. Several minutes later he came back. The place wasn't busy. Then lunch took a long time to come out, finally brought by the manager. The shrimp was overcooked and tough and nothing was hot. When the manager came by to ask how lunch went, I told him it hadn't gone that well and all he had to say about it was "new waiter -- what can you do?". I don't think I'll be back here.

    (2)

  • Katie K.

    The atmosphere is awesome! Very trendy and upscale! The sushi tasted really good! I would recommend the Cordova Roll, Anchorage Roll, Sunrise Roll and Volcano roll. They are mostly filled with shrimp crunchies osaka sauce and crab meat baked. The fried rice is some of my favorite in Memphis. As far as service goes I was not pleased though. There were five of us and he charged us 18% gratuity. I would have complained but the food and atmosphere were so great that it covered the fact the service was so terrible. I will be back here to eat soon!

    (5)

  • Coco J.

    The food here is not what I'd consider authentic Japanese food. The food is comparable to Benihana to me. When I ate at Osaka, it was very crowded and loud, just an FYI if you're looking for a quiet place to sit down and eat.

    (2)

  • Adrienne R.

    The sushi gets a 4, but the rating goes down when we get to the service and the cheap ass chopsticks! I mean really, I could write this whole review about these horrible chopsticks and the fact that (maybe just my luck?) both times I've eaten here no one has brought bowls for us to pour our soy sauce into.There's nothing worse then anticipating your great sushi and then not being able to eat it because you have no utensils and no soy sauce. I will say that both visits I had the same [super-sweet] waitress so that could explain the similaries in my two experiences. She couldn't recommend any sake because she doesn't drink it (NOTE TO MANAGER: make sure you give your servers some sake recommendations to share with guests) and we concluded that maybe she doesn't think to bring soy sauce bowls because maybe she doesn't eat sushi either? ANOTHER NOTE TO MANAGER: since so many families bring kids here, you really should spend a little more on chopsticks that don't splinter apart and harm your guests) My first visit was on 5/13/13 around 5pm. I was craving sushi and Hana Peach sake after my long travel day. I got the early bird special...THE SUSHI AND SAKE WERE PERFECT BUT, I opened the chopsticks, broke them apart, and half of one stayed attached to the other one so I had to request a new set. The second set was also far from smooth and gave me a splinter that I tried to get out ouf my finger for the remainder of the week. I also had to ask a few servers for the little soy sauce bowls because mine didn't bring me one and disappeared after she brought my food. Second visit was this Saturday evening 5/1/13. My boyfrend and I sat in the bar area and enjoyed the music and colorful decor. The energy was great. We ordered Purple Haze sake and 4 rolls. All were great, BUT our server never brought us soy sauce bowls AND my chopsticks broke into splintery fourths when I tried to gingerly separate them. We almost got up and got our own soy sauce bowls, but she finally came back so we could ask for some and a replacement set of chopsticks. Not saying I won't come here again, because I love the atomosphere and the sushi, but I will definitely bring my own chopsticks and be sure to request soy sauce bowls up front.

    (2)

  • Colby T.

    I'm honestly a bit surprised that this place isn't rated higher. The restaurant sits in a former Bookstar that was once a movie theater. I was very impressed by the renovations to the interior-- the place has a very trendy and modern feel and is huge inside. I've only gone for lunch, but the hibachi specials are reasonably priced and are tasty. As far as sushi goes, this place is my favorite in the city. The lunch specials are very hard to beat, both price-wise and taste-wise. I always order the Makimona lunch special that comes with a salmon roll and two rolls of your choice (I always get the dyno-dynamite and spicy eel tempura, as I am a sucker for the fried stuff).

    (4)

  • Ben B.

    Osaka has by far the best sushi prices in the city. Much like some, I has read the bad reviews before hand but wanted to give it a try anyway because it is located so close to home. As we walked in me and my wife were both very impressed with the decor. The one negative I read about was the service, and that alone is what kept me from giving them 5 stars. We sat at the sushi bar so maybe that was part of why the service was poor...? Anyhow, when you add the close proximity to my home and the deliciously cheep sushi, this could be my new favorite sushi spot in town.

    (4)

  • David S.

    AH! Went to Osaka tonight for my friend's birthday dinner. The restaurant itself is beautiful! The design and layout has a great flow and provides a nice atmosphere. But for opening night, I was severely disappointed with the food , service, AND management. As we entered, a group of 5 or 6 hostesses in kimonos were sitting down at the hostess station. All of them were just sitting around and drinking water when we entered. No greeting, or smiles, really felt like they treated us like intruders, while they were busy gossiping and on phones. As a couple of our party were late, they made us wait by the door due to their seating policy. However, the restaurant was fairly empty and it was extremely awkward to have to wait so long in the front. As we had to wait to be seated, I watched how the hostesses interacted with customers. One hostess in particular was downright rude in asking if parties had reservations and it seemed like they were interrogating patrons. Out of the group, I never heard a single " Welcome to Osaka" or any greeting, and no one bothered to open doors for larger groups. Hostesses should learn to use discretion in certain circumstances or at least explain more so than " its just our policy." Once seated, we were shortly greeted by our server. She was great, and offered to take the birthday cake right away. She took our orders and gave us ample time to decide. However, after placing our order , we had to wait approximately 25-30 mins for our chef to arrive. As it was a Hibachi dinner, the cooking process is equally as important as the food, and should be treated as an performance. The chef arrived rather disgruntled and did not know our orders so went around asking to verify, and even had to go back to the kitchen to get it right. As another server walked be he casually just started talking to them and ignored the table. Just seemed very unprofessional of the chef not to know the orders prior to coming to the table after such a long wait. The food itself was ok, but too greasy due to the unnecessarily large amount of oil he used to "enhance" the show. My scallop mayo roll was AWESOME but took forever to arrive and was too small for the price. Although the hibachi chef went through the usual actions of creating a onion volcano, he himself seemed very disinterested, and made numerous jokes in referencing how everything is directly from Kroger. He really did seem to enjoy flinging the onions and rice on some of my friends.... By the time the meat was done cooking the rice and veggies were cold. Although I made it clear I had ordered scallops, the chef placed my scallops on my friends plate sitting next to me. Although he realized he had put the food on the wrong plate, he made no attempts to rectify the situation in offering to cook me another batch or even apologize. He just continued to cook EXPECTING TO EAT OFF MY FRIEND'S PLATE. Although I normally would have, I wasn't inclined to as he had placed it on top of his rice which had a sauce on it which I dislike. Only when he finished cooking my friend's steak and seeing I did not eat the scallops off of his plate, did he realize I was unhappy. As everyone else was already eating away, I did not want to order anything else and told our waitress about the situation. She was very nice and professional and offered me the menu. After everyone finished, I tried to talk to the manager about the unprofessional service of the hostess and chef, and he really seemed disinterested and by and large, just brushed me off. For a restaurant that was no where near capacity, and on their opening night, I was AMAZED how nonchalant the manager handled my criticism as he just walked away. As we were paying, the waitress profusely apologized about the mixup, and informed me that they had taken away the charge for my scallop hibachi. It felt kind of ridiculous she was apologizing and not the manager... Needless to say, I was very underwhelmed with this restaurant's service and food. I know it is opening night, ,so perhaps I will try it out again once it settles down or gets a new more competent manager.....

    (1)

  • Amos S.

    We were a little cautious visiting Osaka after reading some of the reviews. To keep it short, we had a great night, great food and great service. It was a Saturday night, the place was VERY packed. But it still felt comfortable. The old Bookstar is huge inside. The sushi belt looks fantastic. We're trying it at our next visit. This visit we sat hibachi. It was our 1st anniversary, and the guy next to us proposed to his date while we were there. It was a fantastic night! I've read the reviews about bad service, but ours was just fine. We had 2 wines, 2 beers and several soft drinks at our table. All were delivered and refreshed quickly. The food was typical hibachi teriyaki... Chicken, beef or shrimp? But it was good! Like I said, we're going back to try the sushi conveyor belt or regular table/menu. My only suggestion... When you walk in you will see two hostess desks. The first is to-go orders only, and everyone ends up sent forward to the second set of hostesses. It's pretty awkward. Hopefully that is just a kink that will be worked out, because this place is really close to home and a decent place to hang out for drinks. Recommended!

    (5)

  • Tanya T.

    Well, maybe I went to Osaka before anyone realized it was open because I did not experience bad service or bad food, as some of the reviewers have stated. My husband and I took our kids the evening after their grand opening and we were ushered right to the hibachi area. We shared our table with a couple of pleasant folks and the kids loved our chef and his bag of tricks, including the egg in the pocket thing, the volcano and a new one for me- the choo choo train. The food was great, and the companions at our table agreed with me. I got the steak and shrimp and it was just as good as the Splash N' Meadow that I order every time we go to Benihana's. The decor is pretty impressive and the place is huge- a couple of bars, a regular dining area and the hibachi area. The hostesses wore kimono dresses, which my girls flipped over. All in all, a fun family experience and a great meal.

    (4)

  • Ellie B.

    Very bad experience at this restaurant. Absolutely horrible customer service! The waiter forgot some sushi rolls - twice. He overcharged our bill. We got our food an hour afetr order, even though it was not full. After that the waiter did not see our signed receipt copy on the table in the check book and run yelling after us as we were walking out - what kind of idiot does that? Food sucks as well! I would not definetely go there again!

    (2)

  • Amy D.

    I go to the one in Cordova and popular ave!! The one in Cordova is smaller than the popular location! Popular one is huge and very beautiful inside!! They are not expensive at all!! The sushi is delish and the chicken fried rice is the best i ever had!!

    (5)

  • Richard B.

    Food and service are not very good. Atmosphere is great but not enough to make up the downside.

    (2)

  • Ree O.

    If you are interested in a large, stylishly designed space to eat meh, edible food and feel vaguely hip, then Osaka on Poplar is an excellent choice. It would be a nice place to take a new date, just so you can chit chat in a dark, semi-intimate and stylish location. It's clearly popular, at least with the diverse crowd that I saw the Sunday afternoon I stopped by to check it out. There were a few couples who seemed like they had just started dating and were still into and trying to impress each other. There was a funny small wedding party, a few book club-looking folks, a sorority that arrived looking as if they had just jumped off the stripper's pole (well, that's the mode of some fashion today) on their way to church that day, and a family with a few kids. Hey, it was the Sunday brunch period, not prime time on the weekend, so take that into consideration. The hostesses at the door were dressed in various, haphazardly adorned kimonos, and they were friendly and professional. The other wait staff who appeared to be between shifts were hanging out front for some reason, and were particularly chatty, but in an unoffensive, non-annoying way. Well, except for one, but she was funny, too. We waited with a few guests, although the place is so large, that it didn't look remotely so busy as to require a wait, but perhaps they were a little understaffed for brunch? I'm not sure. We weren't in a hurry or that hungry, so it wasn't especially noticeable. The decor is reminiscent of what one would typically see in restaurants and watering holes along the US coasts (i.e., NYC, San Francisco, etc.), so it was a welcome surprise to see a restaurant that has taken the time to try to create an upscale stylish atmosphere in Memphis-proper that isn't downtown or what have you. Memphians shouldn't have to drive to the ends of the earth--out of their friggin' city!--just to get a style hit every now and then. Even so, if you have noticed that I have little to say about the food, that would be because I found our sushi and such edible but fairly forgettable. As I ate, I kept thinking that I could have just ordered from my usual take out spot and saved some gas and time. Heh! But don't let that stop you from trying it for yourself, because the Hibachi bar/grill smelled divine, and throughout my meal I kept thinking that I had definitely ordered the wrong fare. So, despite my meh, eh, whatever take on the sushi, I will give Osaka on Poplar Avenue (right near Spin City) another try, but next time I'm going to go for something a little more substantial.

    (2)

  • Nichole B.

    if you want really good Hibachi you don't need to spend a bunch of money at Benihana come here. the chef are not as fancy but the food is very good. I also enjoy their sushi. take out is a breeze. highly recommend.

    (4)

  • Christine L.

    Beautiful interior. Bad food. Awkward service. I have been anticipating the opening of Osaka on Poplar since they put up their towering red sign. I heard from a friend that the owner spent more than a million designing the interior of the restaurant, and you can definitely tell! I was more than impressed when I stepped inside. The first thing I noticed was how huge the space was. I'm not sure if they have their liquor license yet, because the bar area was empty. However, the tables in the bar area were very eye-catching! They were fluorescent lighted and the color smoothly transitioned from cool blues all the way to warm reds. We were seated in the tatami style room, which is a great addition to a Japanese restaurant. I ordered the jellyfish salad to start. It was drowned in ponzu sauce. Jellyfish itself is more of a texture food and a platform for flavors. Basically, it is as good as the flavors you use to enhance the natural texture. All I tasted was ponzu. I resisted the urge to ask for some lime, fish oil, and chili flakes to make it more interesting. I proceeded to ask the waitress if she had any recommendations on the sushi rolls at Osaka. She replied with a short, "I don't even like sushi", which was followed by awkward laughter. I waited for her to answer my question on some popular rolls, but no answer came. My friend and I ordered three rolls to share: the osaka roll, the white tiger, and the new york. The presentation of the rolls were not very spectacular, but I was excited to taste! Alas, the osaka roll was the only roll that was acceptable. The white tiger tasted like a roll I would pick up at the sushi counter in a grocery store. It was very flimsy and just lacking in good taste. The new york was a cucumber wrapped roll and it was also lacking. Very watered down taste and the fish quality could be much better. The hostesses all wore floor length overwhelming kimonos. I understand the feel that the restaurant is trying to achieve, but it comes off as slightly tacky when not done right... I feel like Osaka has a lot of potential given the wonderful interior and look of the restaurant. The food and the service however, needs major improvement. It is definitely not a restaurant I would go to for the food, but I would bring friends there just to ogle at the pretty interior.

    (2)

  • Tracy W.

    So to start my rating has nothing to do with the food or atmosphere here. I am giving them 1 star based on the fact that I HAVE NOT had the food here. We walked in to get some hibachi and were told it would be 10-15 minutes. We went to the (basically empty) bar to get a drink while we waited. After 12 minutes we still had no drinks...I had to go complain to a manager to get a cocktail. After 20 mintues from our arrival I asked about our hibachi table she said 2 minutes. The manager came and got us and tried to seat us at a regular table...we said we wanted Hibachi...he advised it would be another 10 minutes. After 10 more minutes we walked out. This place needs some SERIOUS help with management. Bad bad experience. We went across the street to A-Tan...I would have preferred to try the new place but at least wwere promptly seated at A-Tan and were DONE with our meal in less time than I spent WAITING for a table that never came at Osaka.

    (1)

  • Cortez W.

    Omg, this place is so sexy. It has that night club vibe very classy. You have four areas to choose from when to dine in. You can sit at the regular dine in area which is has hot decor. You can dit Indian style, you can sit at the hibachi grill, or one of the bars. They also play different types of Pop music and the employee are super friendly. On top of that the prices are very decent. Definitely becoming the best Japanese place in town.

    (5)

  • Alexandria E.

    I love this place. It's probably my favorite spot for sushi. The prices are good. Especially if you go during lunchtime during the week. They're fried rice is pretty good too. I also like the ambience that it offers. It looks nice and they play cool music, and I've always gotten pretty good service from the waiter and waitresses

    (5)

  • David S.

    AH! Went to Osaka tonight for my friend's birthday dinner. The restaurant itself is beautiful! The design and layout has a great flow and provides a nice atmosphere. But for opening night, I was severely disappointed with the food , service, AND management. As we entered, a group of 5 or 6 hostesses in kimonos were sitting down at the hostess station. All of them were just sitting around and drinking water when we entered. No greeting, or smiles, really felt like they treated us like intruders, while they were busy gossiping and on phones. As a couple of our party were late, they made us wait by the door due to their seating policy. However, the restaurant was fairly empty and it was extremely awkward to have to wait so long in the front. As we had to wait to be seated, I watched how the hostesses interacted with customers. One hostess in particular was downright rude in asking if parties had reservations and it seemed like they were interrogating patrons. Out of the group, I never heard a single " Welcome to Osaka" or any greeting, and no one bothered to open doors for larger groups. Hostesses should learn to use discretion in certain circumstances or at least explain more so than " its just our policy." Once seated, we were shortly greeted by our server. She was great, and offered to take the birthday cake right away. She took our orders and gave us ample time to decide. However, after placing our order , we had to wait approximately 25-30 mins for our chef to arrive. As it was a Hibachi dinner, the cooking process is equally as important as the food, and should be treated as an performance. The chef arrived rather disgruntled and did not know our orders so went around asking to verify, and even had to go back to the kitchen to get it right. As another server walked be he casually just started talking to them and ignored the table. Just seemed very unprofessional of the chef not to know the orders prior to coming to the table after such a long wait. The food itself was ok, but too greasy due to the unnecessarily large amount of oil he used to "enhance" the show. My scallop mayo roll was AWESOME but took forever to arrive and was too small for the price. Although the hibachi chef went through the usual actions of creating a onion volcano, he himself seemed very disinterested, and made numerous jokes in referencing how everything is directly from Kroger. He really did seem to enjoy flinging the onions and rice on some of my friends.... By the time the meat was done cooking the rice and veggies were cold. Although I made it clear I had ordered scallops, the chef placed my scallops on my friends plate sitting next to me. Although he realized he had put the food on the wrong plate, he made no attempts to rectify the situation in offering to cook me another batch or even apologize. He just continued to cook EXPECTING TO EAT OFF MY FRIEND'S PLATE. Although I normally would have, I wasn't inclined to as he had placed it on top of his rice which had a sauce on it which I dislike. Only when he finished cooking my friend's steak and seeing I did not eat the scallops off of his plate, did he realize I was unhappy. As everyone else was already eating away, I did not want to order anything else and told our waitress about the situation. She was very nice and professional and offered me the menu. After everyone finished, I tried to talk to the manager about the unprofessional service of the hostess and chef, and he really seemed disinterested and by and large, just brushed me off. For a restaurant that was no where near capacity, and on their opening night, I was AMAZED how nonchalant the manager handled my criticism as he just walked away. As we were paying, the waitress profusely apologized about the mixup, and informed me that they had taken away the charge for my scallop hibachi. It felt kind of ridiculous she was apologizing and not the manager... Needless to say, I was very underwhelmed with this restaurant's service and food. I know it is opening night, ,so perhaps I will try it out again once it settles down or gets a new more competent manager.....

    (1)

  • Greg D.

    My girlfriend and I went to Osaka last night for dinner. We were told by the hostess there would be a 10 minute wait, which was fine by us. After 10 minutes and realizing that three other parties of two people were still ahead of us, we realized the hostess was inexperienced. The sushi bar was totally empty so I asked the hostess if we could just sit there, and she replied that we couldn't because they didn't have enough servers in the restaurant. The manager was obviously frustrated with her lack of experience and showed that when he approached the hostess stand to coach her on continuing to seat people as patrons left. I also must point out that another party of two arrived after us and clearly knew one of the managers. That party was seated right BEFORE us, which I find totally unacceptable. So if that particular manager is reading this, you should be more attentive to the guests already waiting to be seated and don't show favoritism. That alone angered me enough to almost walk out of the restaurant. So, back to civility. After 25 minutes, we were seated. Took another 10 minutes to get our drinks once we were at our table. That said, our waitress was apologetic, and she was great to us after we received our drinks. We ordered 4 specialty rolls and one general roll. They came out in about 15 minutes, which was perfect. I've read other reviews about the sushi at Osaka being terrible, but that was just not the case for us. We really enjoyed all of our rolls, and we eat at many different sushi restaurants. Not only was it tasty, but the prices were closer to reasonable than many other sushi establishments. Try the Dyno-Dynamite roll if you go there. Quite good. So all said and done, the hostesses need to be more professional and generally nicer, the decor looks great, our sushi was good for us, the pricing was reasonable, but the manager(s) needs to actually be a manager. I will try Osaka again and just hope that the front service is improved.

    (3)

  • Halle W.

    The service was awful. They forgot to put our order in the kitchen. We had to wait an hour to receive our food. Once it came out the order was wrong and over-cooked. Management said they would not charge us for one of the dinners. This sounded fair until they informed us that they require the server pay for it!! Really?? Everyone in our group agreed we would never return.

    (1)

  • Zach D.

    Came here a while back and it was great. Came here tonight for my sister's birthday and the waitress was extremely mean. She came to take our order and we didn't hear her and she replies one more time, are you ordering. As a frequent customer at Osaka I don't appreciate service like this. Osaka's management should look into rehiring because their reputation as a whole is being effected. I have heard numerous people comment on their rude service.

    (1)

  • Peter N.

    Very nice atmosphere but the food and service was HORRIBLE. A big group of my friends usually dine out and drink a lot. This time we had a party of 6 come in on a saturday night and wanted to sit at the bar area to order drinks and food. The hostess brought us to our table and said that we can moved the bar tables together to seat our party. These tables light up and look quite nice. When we were helping the hostess, a manager came running by and yelled across the room, "NO! NO! NO!, You can not move the tables". All the customers around us were looking at our party. I was shocked to believe that a manager had yelled at us. He came over and said that these tables cost 10-15k each and are verrrrry expensive. Then repeated himself again. I seriously doubt these cost 15k each unless someone is really getting ripped off. All of us just looked at each other and we were in awe that a manager would yell at their customers. I didn't say a word and I just let it be and didn't want to make a scene on front of everyone. It was condescending and very embarrassing and we decided to sit at the bar instead. We ordered a couple of rolls and sashimi. When it came out, our salmon sashimi still had ice and was frozen in the middle. Our roll that we order fell apart when picked up with chopsticks. This was our second time here and the first time we had the same experience with the salmon still being frozen on a roll that we ordered. I'll give the restaurant thumbs up for the decor. But as for the food and the management, I would give it 0 stars. Definitely unacceptable and me and all of my friends will never come here again.

    (1)

  • Lena M.

    i like the variety, the hip atomsphere and the overhead 80's rock..good food mostly... the happy hr is better..

    (4)

  • Simon H.

    Located what it used to be Bookstar this Osaka is probably the most lavish of all the Osaka around Memphis. Though sometimes those bright colors can be a bit overkill. As for a Japanese Resturant, their main hibachi and sushi are just Ok. Nothing too special. Though their Udon, on the other hand, is probably one of the best in town, mainly cause it tastes authentic. So If you are a noodle fan, I suggest you come here and try out their Udon with Tempura. I always get the Shrimp Tempura Udon; plus the broth is perfect during those cold Memphis Winter season. The service was ok in my opinion during all of my visits here, but I can see some mishaps due the size of the place. Above all, it's a great place for a family night out.

    (3)

  • Mark B.

    I waited a while to try Osaka but would have been better served to read the reviews first. I rarely rip restaurants to pieces but this place should be shut down. For starters there was dried food on the silverware and plates. We should have left when that red flag shot up in the air. It took 40 minutes after ordering for the food to come out. We ordered the filet and it was the cheapest cut filet I've ever been served. The place has a bit of a sheik look but it's all about the food and the food here is HORRIBLE.

    (1)

  • Jackie B.

    We enjoyed Osaka. To start, lots of the reviews mention poor service, but we had excellent service the entire meal. We started with edamame, which is hard to brag on, but it was hot and came to the table quickly. Our hibachi meals were well prepared and flavorful, and the vegetables were also well done. The rice was a little dry and bland, but that was the only complaint I had. We'll probably go back the next time we want Japanese.

    (4)

  • joy m.

    The biggest waste of time! As others have said, the service is terrible. If you value your time at all, you do not want to spend it in here. Before I continue, let me first start off by saying that all I can say are praises of Osaka... in Cordova. I thought it would be similar in this location. I decided to give the poplar location a chance since it was closer to work. Service: I am a fan of the early bird special and definitely take advantage of it if i'm lucky to get off of work early enough. I checked online to make sure that their menus are the same, or if they at least offer this deal on Friday (as Cordova's location is Mon-Fri). The girl who picked up the phone assured me that it was exactly the same menu and that they have the early bird special today (Friday). I asked if she was sure.. she said yes. I rush over after work to make sure that we get there in time... only to find that they do NOT offer this deal on Fridays. I told the server (who appeared in a daze, but still sane) what I was told and she just simply said there was nothing she could do about the misinformation. I then ask about other menu items, which she could not answer questions about. She told me she would ask and come back.... 30 minutes later there was no revisit. She had apparently LEFT without telling anyone. The manager comes and has no idea where the server has left off to and attempts to continue taking orders (at this point, 45 minutes into sitting at our table). He also can not answer any questions about menu items. Decor: Completely over decorated with many themes throughout the restaurant. I believe they were attempting to achieve chic and modern, but there was too much going on. The host sat us down at a faux floor table which was awkward to get in and out of.. especially in a non stretch skirt. I'm sure other girls will appreciate this comment! After mentioning this, the hostess gave me a "duh" look and continued to sit us down at this table that I obviously was not interested in! Food: The prices are right for a sushi restaurant.. I could admit that. The sashimi slices are thick which they are supposed to be (to the other commentor). In fact, that is the only reason why I gave one extra star. However, there were some that were thick, some that were not as thick. Obviously a properly trained sushi chef would not make this same mistake. But I can overlook this as the fish quality appeared fresh. The sushi rice: 6/10. Just enough flavor for it to be sushi rice, but the consistency and balance are off. What can I expect in Memphis, I suppose? My friend had nothing negative to say about the food- he had sushi rolls. I will not recommend - in fact I will discourage giving this place a chance to any of my friends (I will instead recommend Osaka Cordova or Sakura). I had already recommended Osaka Cordova, but a friend had visited here before I did. She was also very disappointed at the service.. I should have listened to her! A suggestion to the owners: please enforce Menu knowledge and perhaps move some experienced Osaka workers into the new Osaka restaurant. It is obvious this place is ran by a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off!

    (2)

  • Kristi P.

    Very disappointed with my first (very brief) experience. Since I had heard so many negative comments regarding poor/slow service, I decided to order take out. I wanted to look at the menu in person, so I went to the restaurant. When I walked through the door I immediately sensed chaos. By the time I made it to the counter to ask the hostess about ordering "to go" I was told...."We aren't taking to go orders because we're reeeaallly busy". Seriously???? Get your stuff together Osaka. In the meantime, I'll be going elsewhere.

    (1)

  • Cori A.

    We have eaten here before a few times and enjoyed it. We settled in at a table and began asking our usual gluten free questions. We were planning on ordering sushi with gluten free soy sauce. We were double checking that the miso soup was gluten free when the manager comes out and before she introduces herself says, "The only thing we can serve you is steamed vegetables and rice." Mind you we had already ordered a glass of wine each when she said this. I'm not sitting down to a meal of steamed vegetables and rice when I came into eat sushi. She also asked if we could eat butter. We seriously questioned whether she knew what gluten was. Oh, did I mention that she could not comp two glasses of wine (I can understand) but didn't offer to do anything else? She also never tried or offered to make it up to us nor made any effort to try and keep us as customers. I think she either failed marketing or slept through the class where she should have learned it costs more to gain a new customer than to keep an existing one. Our waitress was very nice and apologetic to say the least. She knew about the gluten free soy sauce and was going to get some for us. She thought she was doing the right thing by getting her manager. We did go ahead and tip her because it wasn't her fault that her manager sucks at customer service and is ignorant of food allergens. The food is good as is the service, unless you have a problem and need a manager or have a good allergy. Avoid if you have any type of food allergy.

    (1)

  • Justus S.

    Service in this restaurant is abysmal; and that's putting it nicely. Whoever manages this restaurant is doing it poorly because there seems to be no direction in this restaurant in regards to service. I saw some of the food leaving the sushi bar, it looked mediocre at best. But I wouldn't know how it tastes because I sat there for 30 minutes without a single person talking to me, despite my attempts to flag down a waitress (which I shouldn't have to do). Servers lounge around and chit chat while dozens of customers look as if they want something. I explained to the hostess( a short girl with curly brown hair) that nobody had attempted to take my order and that I was leaving. Instead of apologizing, she simply stared at me with me with her mouth slightly agape; as if she had the intelligence of a fruit fly. And the server she had been chatting with had nothing to say either. If the front of house manager doesn't get a handle on this, I foresee a bad future for this establishment. I advise those reading this review to consider going to Tokyo Grill instead, much faster service and they actually have good manners, more than I can say for the Osaka staff. My only regret in this review is that I have to give at least one star to this restaurant.

    (1)

  • Frank C.

    I arrived about 9pm on a Friday night. My party was seated promptly, and the server appeared within minutes. We ordered sushi appetizers, and a few main entrées. Food arrived quickly, was tasty, and overall we had a pleasant experience. I noticed that many of the negative reviews focused on poor service. We did not have that problem at all.

    (4)

  • Lakesha S.

    This is my first time visiting Osaka and the service was great and they are very people friendly. The chefs are amazing and the food is great.

    (5)

  • Trevelyan E.

    Ok, I'm partially being a bit mean for pushing their 5 down to 4 stars. It's only because they closed the portion of the restaurant that we wanted to sit in. But... Let's get to the grit and grind of the actual review! 1!!! Walking in to Osaka, you notice all the fancy lights and the beautiful seating arrangements. Want to sit at the bar? NO PROBLEM! Take a seat at a tall table for 2? Feel free!!! Have a group and need a bit more room? Find you seat here!!! Or want a cool seat where the seat themselves are built into the ground? Sit yourself down now! Either way, you'll be amazed at everything that you are seeing when you're in this amazing place. 2!! The service! We had a great waitress. She brought drinks rather quickly, then the sushi, then the actual food. VERY QUICKLY! Even gave us a few laughs while taking the order. We came into Osaka somewhat late and walked into music chiming in above us. I mention this because our waitress hummed some good tunes while walking back and forth. It was nice! 3! The food!!!! Now from the Crunchy Shrimp Roll, to the Chicken Fried Rice, and the Hawaiian Fried Rice (Chicken, Shrimp, and Pineapples in fried rice), it was all GREAT! I asked for an extra 2 servings of Osaka Sauce and drizzled it over the top for a great flavor! It. Was. Awesome! We also had a 10% off to use, so that made it a major plus as well. Just as a side note. :)

    (4)

  • T S.

    Very nice establishment. Very colorful and aurhentic. Made me feel as if I were in Japan again. The food is good and flavorable The chefs put on a good show. Nice plays to go to impress. We spent $100 fir three people which was average.

    (4)

  • Anna K.

    Awesome lunch specials...you can get fried rice, chicken and steak, vegetables, and salad or soup for $15 or less. Also they have $2.50 sushi plates for lunch and I'm all about a good deal. They have a good variety of sushi and I am usually never disappointed with the quality and appearance of it. They have my favorite fried rice in Memphis. The chicken and rice itself has great flavor. My favorite rolls include the Osaka sauce. If you haven't had it with your sushi you must try it. If you like spicy that is. Overall I really recommend this place for good drinks, sushi, and hibachi. The service is not something to compliment on but it's also not something to complain about. But, I have had some pretty rude waiters/waitresses there. The atmosphere is upscale but laid back at the same time which is unusual but cool.

    (4)

  • Nova F.

    Their miso soup tastes more like msg soup. I also got the hibachi chicken lunch. I couldn't stomach more than a few bites. It was so salty, it was making me sick to my stomach. Now I have a migraine from all the msg. If you like msg and tons of salt, you might enjoy eating here.

    (2)

  • Winnie J.

    Best hibachi ever their rice is amazing. I get filet and shrimp and it's a winner every time!

    (5)

  • Gina P.

    This was my second time here trying to give them a second chance and it still was terrible. Service is extremely slow and our waiter kept confusing the order (which was just 2 regular rolls for me and 2 regular rolls for my friend). The rolls were just ok but the prices especially for lunch are on the high side. I will still to Red Koi, where the place can be packed yet we still get our food in 10-15 mins from ordering instead of 30 and food is always great and prices are reasonable. I won't be back.

    (1)

  • Anna S.

    No, I won't be back. Unappealing environment, rushed/almost stormily abrupt waitress (I felt like she was mad at ME the minute I sat down), and the food was just blech. I can overlook the tacky, plasticky funhouse exterior... The interior wasn't dirty, but it also didn't feel clean... The service wasn't horrible, but it felt MAD. Ultimately, My main issue is with the food. We started off with an assortment of sushi, and I took one bite of the spicy tuna roll, and crunched on something that was undeniably dirt. Aaaauuuugh. Dirty sushi, frackin' disgusting. Probably the first time in my life I haven't finished all my sushi. I also had a huge issue with the rice. The sushi rice was not sticky and compact, it was mushy and falling apart - this is very very bad. An Asian restaurant must be able to at least have some decent rice. I don't care if it's in all-you-can-eat buffet for $4.99 in the backwoods of Nowhere. Decent steamed rice is requisite. The clear soup was forgettable. The filet mignon hibachi lunch box was likewise forgettable. The vegetables had no seasoning, I got about four unappealing cubes of beef, and the rice was just more of the mushy stuff sogged in grease. However you get a ridiculously huge portion for very cheap.

    (2)

  • Jennifer G.

    There was a 5 minute wait when we arrived at 5:00 on a Thursday night which is relatively decent for a wait however the place was hardly busy. They actually have a few veggie rolls here. We ordered the aged tofu appetizer with our sushi. They are the cucumber roll, vegetable roll and fried tofu roll. I skipped the salad and soup and just ordered water so I can't give an opinion as to anything else. The waitress was very friendly and we were satisfied with our meal. Full but not too full!

    (4)

  • T B.

    Hey, You may want to wait a while before you visit this place! Service is poor! Was told I need to wait 15-20 minutes for to go. Went to patio for 10 minutes came back to front to wait. After about another 20 minutes the hostess tried to service me food that had been left at the to go counter for the entire 20 minutes that I was up front. I SAW THEM CHANGE THE TICKET BEFORE THEY ATTEMPTED TO GIVE IT TO ME! She apologized after I called her on it?! She would have had not problem with this stunt had I not been watching.

    (1)

  • Amanda C.

    I'm not one to jump on visiting a chain restaurant, but if said restaurant had sushi, sign me up. I had been to the Osaka in Cordova and in Collierville and enjoyed both places. I ate at the one in Cordova regularly when it first opened and enjoyed the sushi and hibachi. So, when the new Osaka was put in, I was excited to try it. We sat at the sushi bar, and I ordered 2 rolls, the dragon roll (my fav) and the Louisiana roll. The dragon roll was delicious. While I can't remember everything it had in it, the eel, sweet sauce and little bit of crunch stood out. The Louisiana roll had a bit of a kick and was equally delicious with big hunks of crawfish in it. I enjoyed the sushi more than I thought I would. My only complaint was that the rolls were huge. I had to cut most of them in half (go ahead, call me a wimp) and a few of them kept falling apart. Overall, it was a good experience. I will definitely be back, and will have to try the hibachi!

    (3)

  • Sarah B.

    Like all the reviews, the ambiance is probably the best thing about Osaka. The RBGs in the sushi bar make it a bit like a club rather than an understated Japanese dining establishment, but to each their own. The service was good. Our waitress was attentive but not overbearing. In contrast to other reviews, I didn't think this place was very expensive. We seemed to order a lot of food: a roll 2 apps 2 habachi dinners all under $40. The main dishes were a little cold, bland and the salad was drenched in dressing. Definitely not the worst meal I have ever had but certainly not the best. I would dine here again but it would really have to blow me away to bring me back a 3rd time.

    (3)

  • Gabriel P.

    I entered the restaurant. I was full of hope. I miss the bookstar but I was ready to embrace change (I consider myself very progressive like that) so from Memphis I traveled to Osaka. Then things became a bit bizarre. 3 satin dressed hostesses stared at me, looking past them was a backboard of dark hues with emphasis on the blues and the purples. Behind the colors and the "authentic" Japanese garb was a most disappointing dinner experience. What not to eat, wait, hold on. Let me go back again. I sat in the bar that flashed annoying colors of pink and blue. Reading the menu either put me in a nightmare trance or triggered a seizure. I am still figuring it out. The restaurant was half full. People from a distance appeared to be enjoying their experience, wilder things have happened. Back to the food: bartender, poor to terrible TVs, ok, didn't have a ruler, but probably 32in. easily visible from a bar stool Sake: push wasabi wontons. (admittedly I was optimistic), I couldn't have dreamed up a worse cacophony of flavors in a dumpling if I had time and a million dollars to do such things. But they have, and this is what they did. Barf Fried rice is fried rice Sushi: worse in memphis. Makes me miss Do on its bad days. Its hard to explain but take my word for it, you don't want to try this. I repeat: YOU DONT WANT TO TRY THIS. I hate to be sour grapes. Maybe time will work out the kinks but I suspect not. The underlying disease afflicting osaka appears terminal, and like any malignancy the question is not if... but when.

    (1)

  • Alisha M.

    Loved it! The sushi and atmosphere were great! I can't wait to return. Nice first date spot, he earned extra points ;)

    (5)

  • Anna S.

    Well I won't be going back. It is just not worth the hassle. And that's what it was. let's start with the positive- the decor is nice (cheap in places) but nice. And there is low sodium soy sauce already on the table so I didn't have to ask for it, which is great. They also have a little conveyor belt sushi thing at the bar but it's $2.15 a plate, which is a bit pricey for that style. Sadly, that's where positive stops. The sushi is just meh. Their salmon roll tastes like it came from Kroger. Poorly seasoned rice will do that. Their salmon skin roll is just cooked salmon and non-crispy skin which is very unappetizing! I wish they would go to Mulan and try their salmon skin roll because that's how it's supposed to be done. I got the calamari and this is where it all went down the drain. BE WARNED if you have ever ordered calamari, this is not what you think it is. First, you get this horizontal slice of tempura sweet potato that is about 6 inches long (eating that with chopsticks is like slapstick comedy). Then you get some tempura mushrooms, broccoli, onion. And then three slabs of 'calamari' which are tougher than normal calamari and impossible to eat because you can't take a bite from it and it's too big to put in your mouth whole because it is covered in a very thick, doughy tempura batter. When I asked our nice but new and inexperienced waitress what was on my plate, she got the manager. He then told me he can give me a knife and fork but that's how they make calamari. I tried to explain that it's not at all what I expected and suggested they let customers know their calamari is different than the standard, he told me he can take it off my bill but that I should just ask (um yeah I don't think that's how it works). He then looked at my sushi rolls and kept asking if I wanted them because one of them was tempura battered as well, and when I would say yeah I just don't want these veggies and calamari gobs, he wouldn't leave it alone. He was just a jerk about it all. He even said that in all the years they've been open they never had a complaint (look at your yelp rating buddy, I think you may be mistaken!!!) Totally turned me off my meal and they just DO NOT know how to tempura! There was a 2 cm deep glob of chewy under-cooked tempura on the end. I just left it on the plate, it was revolting. I will not be going back. Mulan has a sushi special that is the same price but the service is great and it tastes so much better!

    (1)

  • Jeremy M.

    When I walked in, the decor was rather surprising. Not exactly what I was expecting. But it was brilliant. The atmosphere in the bar area was nice. I'm not a sushi fan, so I passed on that. I went on to the hibachi grills. Let me say, it was impressive. I don't have any negative things to say about the food. It was fantastic. The fried rice was perfect. The meat was great. I would give this five stars but I thought the service was just a little sluggish. But overall it was a great experience.

    (4)

  • Kevin W.

    I came here on a weekday afternoon and enjoyed their happy hour specials. Best prices ever for two sushi rolls and a side salad. I would come here all the time if I lived in Memphis.

    (4)

  • Christine L.

    Beautiful interior. Bad food. Awkward service. I have been anticipating the opening of Osaka on Poplar since they put up their towering red sign. I heard from a friend that the owner spent more than a million designing the interior of the restaurant, and you can definitely tell! I was more than impressed when I stepped inside. The first thing I noticed was how huge the space was. I'm not sure if they have their liquor license yet, because the bar area was empty. However, the tables in the bar area were very eye-catching! They were fluorescent lighted and the color smoothly transitioned from cool blues all the way to warm reds. We were seated in the tatami style room, which is a great addition to a Japanese restaurant. I ordered the jellyfish salad to start. It was drowned in ponzu sauce. Jellyfish itself is more of a texture food and a platform for flavors. Basically, it is as good as the flavors you use to enhance the natural texture. All I tasted was ponzu. I resisted the urge to ask for some lime, fish oil, and chili flakes to make it more interesting. I proceeded to ask the waitress if she had any recommendations on the sushi rolls at Osaka. She replied with a short, "I don't even like sushi", which was followed by awkward laughter. I waited for her to answer my question on some popular rolls, but no answer came. My friend and I ordered three rolls to share: the osaka roll, the white tiger, and the new york. The presentation of the rolls were not very spectacular, but I was excited to taste! Alas, the osaka roll was the only roll that was acceptable. The white tiger tasted like a roll I would pick up at the sushi counter in a grocery store. It was very flimsy and just lacking in good taste. The new york was a cucumber wrapped roll and it was also lacking. Very watered down taste and the fish quality could be much better. The hostesses all wore floor length overwhelming kimonos. I understand the feel that the restaurant is trying to achieve, but it comes off as slightly tacky when not done right... I feel like Osaka has a lot of potential given the wonderful interior and look of the restaurant. The food and the service however, needs major improvement. It is definitely not a restaurant I would go to for the food, but I would bring friends there just to ogle at the pretty interior.

    (2)

  • Tracy W.

    So to start my rating has nothing to do with the food or atmosphere here. I am giving them 1 star based on the fact that I HAVE NOT had the food here. We walked in to get some hibachi and were told it would be 10-15 minutes. We went to the (basically empty) bar to get a drink while we waited. After 12 minutes we still had no drinks...I had to go complain to a manager to get a cocktail. After 20 mintues from our arrival I asked about our hibachi table she said 2 minutes. The manager came and got us and tried to seat us at a regular table...we said we wanted Hibachi...he advised it would be another 10 minutes. After 10 more minutes we walked out. This place needs some SERIOUS help with management. Bad bad experience. We went across the street to A-Tan...I would have preferred to try the new place but at least wwere promptly seated at A-Tan and were DONE with our meal in less time than I spent WAITING for a table that never came at Osaka.

    (1)

  • Cortez W.

    Omg, this place is so sexy. It has that night club vibe very classy. You have four areas to choose from when to dine in. You can sit at the regular dine in area which is has hot decor. You can dit Indian style, you can sit at the hibachi grill, or one of the bars. They also play different types of Pop music and the employee are super friendly. On top of that the prices are very decent. Definitely becoming the best Japanese place in town.

    (5)

  • Greg D.

    My girlfriend and I went to Osaka last night for dinner. We were told by the hostess there would be a 10 minute wait, which was fine by us. After 10 minutes and realizing that three other parties of two people were still ahead of us, we realized the hostess was inexperienced. The sushi bar was totally empty so I asked the hostess if we could just sit there, and she replied that we couldn't because they didn't have enough servers in the restaurant. The manager was obviously frustrated with her lack of experience and showed that when he approached the hostess stand to coach her on continuing to seat people as patrons left. I also must point out that another party of two arrived after us and clearly knew one of the managers. That party was seated right BEFORE us, which I find totally unacceptable. So if that particular manager is reading this, you should be more attentive to the guests already waiting to be seated and don't show favoritism. That alone angered me enough to almost walk out of the restaurant. So, back to civility. After 25 minutes, we were seated. Took another 10 minutes to get our drinks once we were at our table. That said, our waitress was apologetic, and she was great to us after we received our drinks. We ordered 4 specialty rolls and one general roll. They came out in about 15 minutes, which was perfect. I've read other reviews about the sushi at Osaka being terrible, but that was just not the case for us. We really enjoyed all of our rolls, and we eat at many different sushi restaurants. Not only was it tasty, but the prices were closer to reasonable than many other sushi establishments. Try the Dyno-Dynamite roll if you go there. Quite good. So all said and done, the hostesses need to be more professional and generally nicer, the decor looks great, our sushi was good for us, the pricing was reasonable, but the manager(s) needs to actually be a manager. I will try Osaka again and just hope that the front service is improved.

    (3)

  • Halle W.

    The service was awful. They forgot to put our order in the kitchen. We had to wait an hour to receive our food. Once it came out the order was wrong and over-cooked. Management said they would not charge us for one of the dinners. This sounded fair until they informed us that they require the server pay for it!! Really?? Everyone in our group agreed we would never return.

    (1)

  • Zach D.

    Came here a while back and it was great. Came here tonight for my sister's birthday and the waitress was extremely mean. She came to take our order and we didn't hear her and she replies one more time, are you ordering. As a frequent customer at Osaka I don't appreciate service like this. Osaka's management should look into rehiring because their reputation as a whole is being effected. I have heard numerous people comment on their rude service.

    (1)

  • Peter N.

    Very nice atmosphere but the food and service was HORRIBLE. A big group of my friends usually dine out and drink a lot. This time we had a party of 6 come in on a saturday night and wanted to sit at the bar area to order drinks and food. The hostess brought us to our table and said that we can moved the bar tables together to seat our party. These tables light up and look quite nice. When we were helping the hostess, a manager came running by and yelled across the room, "NO! NO! NO!, You can not move the tables". All the customers around us were looking at our party. I was shocked to believe that a manager had yelled at us. He came over and said that these tables cost 10-15k each and are verrrrry expensive. Then repeated himself again. I seriously doubt these cost 15k each unless someone is really getting ripped off. All of us just looked at each other and we were in awe that a manager would yell at their customers. I didn't say a word and I just let it be and didn't want to make a scene on front of everyone. It was condescending and very embarrassing and we decided to sit at the bar instead. We ordered a couple of rolls and sashimi. When it came out, our salmon sashimi still had ice and was frozen in the middle. Our roll that we order fell apart when picked up with chopsticks. This was our second time here and the first time we had the same experience with the salmon still being frozen on a roll that we ordered. I'll give the restaurant thumbs up for the decor. But as for the food and the management, I would give it 0 stars. Definitely unacceptable and me and all of my friends will never come here again.

    (1)

  • Lena M.

    i like the variety, the hip atomsphere and the overhead 80's rock..good food mostly... the happy hr is better..

    (4)

  • joy m.

    The biggest waste of time! As others have said, the service is terrible. If you value your time at all, you do not want to spend it in here. Before I continue, let me first start off by saying that all I can say are praises of Osaka... in Cordova. I thought it would be similar in this location. I decided to give the poplar location a chance since it was closer to work. Service: I am a fan of the early bird special and definitely take advantage of it if i'm lucky to get off of work early enough. I checked online to make sure that their menus are the same, or if they at least offer this deal on Friday (as Cordova's location is Mon-Fri). The girl who picked up the phone assured me that it was exactly the same menu and that they have the early bird special today (Friday). I asked if she was sure.. she said yes. I rush over after work to make sure that we get there in time... only to find that they do NOT offer this deal on Fridays. I told the server (who appeared in a daze, but still sane) what I was told and she just simply said there was nothing she could do about the misinformation. I then ask about other menu items, which she could not answer questions about. She told me she would ask and come back.... 30 minutes later there was no revisit. She had apparently LEFT without telling anyone. The manager comes and has no idea where the server has left off to and attempts to continue taking orders (at this point, 45 minutes into sitting at our table). He also can not answer any questions about menu items. Decor: Completely over decorated with many themes throughout the restaurant. I believe they were attempting to achieve chic and modern, but there was too much going on. The host sat us down at a faux floor table which was awkward to get in and out of.. especially in a non stretch skirt. I'm sure other girls will appreciate this comment! After mentioning this, the hostess gave me a "duh" look and continued to sit us down at this table that I obviously was not interested in! Food: The prices are right for a sushi restaurant.. I could admit that. The sashimi slices are thick which they are supposed to be (to the other commentor). In fact, that is the only reason why I gave one extra star. However, there were some that were thick, some that were not as thick. Obviously a properly trained sushi chef would not make this same mistake. But I can overlook this as the fish quality appeared fresh. The sushi rice: 6/10. Just enough flavor for it to be sushi rice, but the consistency and balance are off. What can I expect in Memphis, I suppose? My friend had nothing negative to say about the food- he had sushi rolls. I will not recommend - in fact I will discourage giving this place a chance to any of my friends (I will instead recommend Osaka Cordova or Sakura). I had already recommended Osaka Cordova, but a friend had visited here before I did. She was also very disappointed at the service.. I should have listened to her! A suggestion to the owners: please enforce Menu knowledge and perhaps move some experienced Osaka workers into the new Osaka restaurant. It is obvious this place is ran by a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off!

    (2)

  • Kristi P.

    Very disappointed with my first (very brief) experience. Since I had heard so many negative comments regarding poor/slow service, I decided to order take out. I wanted to look at the menu in person, so I went to the restaurant. When I walked through the door I immediately sensed chaos. By the time I made it to the counter to ask the hostess about ordering "to go" I was told...."We aren't taking to go orders because we're reeeaallly busy". Seriously???? Get your stuff together Osaka. In the meantime, I'll be going elsewhere.

    (1)

  • Robin B.

    3 stars for the food and service, 5 for the decor! This place blows Blue Fin out of the water. Very current, this restaurant location occupies the former Bookstar in the Poplar Plaza shopping center, at Poplar between Highland and Prescott. In fact, I believe we were sitting in what used to be the old Self Help section of my once-favorite bookstore. Our server was a young woman, polite, concerned with our satisfaction, but she did not hear anything we said! She missed my dining companions' salad orders and diet coke order. The sushi was good, top 10% I've had here in Memphis on freshness, though the tuna nigiri was quite sinewy. The Dynamite roll truly was! I start my Japanese initial orders with a new restaurant with a seaweed salad (I had a friend who had a fajita test for all Mexican restaurants to test quality and ingredients). The seaweed salad was fresh, light, not at all fishy, and not overdressed (in fact, maybe a bit underdressed, though I wouldn't dare complain and end up with a pool of ponzu in the bottom of my dish). Wish I'd taken photos of this bar, table, or anything else. You have to see this place for yourself. It will be a great spot for hibachi, special nights out, or a small group- ladies' night, anyone?

    (4)

  • Joelle P.

    Having read the bad reviews, I went into this with a bad attitude. But as soon as I walked in the door, all of that washed away! I was very impressed by how much thought they put into the decor. You can tell they want you to have a good experience - the bright lights, the multiple bars, different styles of tables - I was on sensory overload. And the host was a doll. My friends were already seated and he kept telling me how much I was going to love the table. When I arrived I found them sitting around a traditional style table. But here's the kicker: there was a back to the chair and your legs went into this hole. It sounds weird and I'm sure I'm not describing it very well...but it is very cute! And more importantly, comfortable! Our waiter was also another huge plus. He was so attentive and made us laugh all night long. He made great suggestions and was most importantly, quick. I would have given the restaurant 5 stars but my food didn't blow me away. I think I just ordered the wrong thing because my friends were obsessed with their sushi...leave it to me to order steak. I can't wait to go back!

    (4)

  • Anthony C.

    Wow, what a transformation this place has endured. From a movie theater to a bookstore, to a fabulous Japanese restaurant. I love what they've done to the place! Though I'm not a sushi eater, I thought the never ending sushi conveyor belt at the sushi bar was cool. Had delicious calamari for an appetizer, followed by hibachi steak served with hibachi vegetables, house salad, soup, and chicken fried rice - all delicious! Couldn't resist some warm sake to accompany my meal. Prices were very reasonable. Base don the ambiance I was expecting them to be higher. I can't speak to ALL servers, but mine was courteous and attentive. Highly recommend a visit if you're looking for Japanese cuisine!

    (4)

  • Ebonye B.

    I love Osaka's ambience. The service is quick and attentive. My rolls always taste great. I sampled my friend's fried rice and it was tasty as well. I've been on different occasions and everything has been just right each time. I also like that fact that I can order half-rolls. It allows me to have more variety on my plate. I cannot comment on the hibachi as I have not dined at the hibachi grills.

    (4)

  • DJuan L.

    I was really craving sushi and decided to stop by this new place and check it out. The first thing that I noticed when I stepped in the restaurant was that the ambiance was really nice. I liked the decor and the low lighting as well, but the thing that grabbed my attention the most was the conveyer belt. I've always wanted to try sushi on a conveyer belt for some reason and this place offered it! Too bad it didn't offer much else. The first disappointment was the wait staff. The waitress seemed to not know what she was doing, didn't know the lunch specials and just didn't seem familiar with the menu at all. When I was finally ready to order, the waitress was nowhere to be found, so I had to wait even longer until she came back. The second disappointment was the food. I ordered salmon and chicken from the hibachi. The chicken was ok and the salmon was a little over cooked (although I did enjoy the sauce on the salmon). The veggies on the plate were too big to eat without cutting up and had a propane taste to them as if they were cooked on a gas grill with the gas turned up too high. The fried rice was just ok but it had a bit of that gas taste as well. The sushi that came by on the conveyer belt was good (even though the waitress couldn't tell me what the rolls were or what was in them) but there was no ginger or wasabi readily available. In order to get ginger or wasabi, I had to get the attention of one of the chefs making the sushi and have him send it (uncovered) down the conveyer belt and hope that no one grabbed it before it got to me. One thing I think this place should definitely improve on is the wait staff. They should also explain to their customers how the conveyer belt sushi works as soon as the guests are seated at the bar because not everyone is going to automatically understand how it works. I would probably come back again to try the sushi, but that's about it.

    (2)

  • Jerry S.

    Great design--definitely a birthday surprise kinda place (they shout and bang on stuff in an entertaining manner)... the drinks are cool, and there's always something on the menu for everyone! I love the soft shell crab appetizer!

    (4)

  • Joy C.

    OMG!!! Went here for my husbands birthday. Walked in about 30 min before closing, was seated in the bar area. He was uncomfortable because of the hi-table. So we were moved to the dining area..about 10 mins in..a girl rushed passed us and threw up right in the freaking walkway..grossed out was a understatement!! And to add to it, staff was just walking over it still serving food!!! This went on for about 5 min before they actually cleaned it up!! I know some would have walked out by now..but we were moved again to another booth. Food finally came and it was #blah. Bad experience probably made the food worse..want be back!

    (2)

  • Hal R.

    It's ok. Japanese food is so much of the same that something really has to pop to make it great. Everything is pretty generic. Good food though.

    (3)

  • Michelle M.

    I've been to Osaka on Poplar twice and both times were quite the unpleasant experience, so I will not be returning. Which is quite a shame, as the food is decent. DECOR: Incredibly tacky, but also sorta fun. I felt like I was walking into a restaurant in Vegas, but I can appreciate that and even seek out that type of environment at times, so the decor did not bother me at all. The restaurant seemed clean to me, no obvious infractions in that respect. FOOD: I have ordered the house salad (LOVE the ginger dressing...has a subtle peppery-ness to it that I enjoy), miso soup (standard), edamame (also standard) and a couple of rolls. The cordova and orlando rolls were pretty dang good....fish tasted fresh, great flavor from the sauces. My only complaint was that some of the pieces would start to crumble apart in my soy sauce dish. SERVICE: Herein lies the one glaring problem with this restaurant. My first visit was early on a Friday evening, around 5:30. They weren't busy at all and were able to seat us immediately. Our waitress was a young girl who proceeded to spill an entire HUGE glass of ice water all over my lap and phone, which had been sitting on the table. Not only was she not apologetic AT ALL, but she actually looked like she found the entire situation humorous. While my boyfriend and I were frantically trying to clean up the mess with our TWO napkins, she just stood there and watched and appeared to be stifling giggles. She made no offer to assist in our cleaning efforts, no offer to go grab some more napkins or a towel and no offer to switch tables. Now, as someone who has had 6 years of serving experience in New York City, I am well aware that accidents happen. I can excuse that. HOWEVER. That being said, it is customary to offer some type of recompense...a complimentary beverage or appetizer perhaps. But no, all I got were smirks and a DRENCHED lap in an already-freezing-cold restaurant. On my second visit, which was this past Friday, the restaurant was much busier. Without even glancing up at me, the hostess abruptly and rudely asked "how many". To my knowledge, hostesses are actually supposed to WELCOME you to their restaurant. This young lady appeared to not even want to be bothered. I replied 'two' and she threw the seating device at me without even asking me for my name nor telling me how long the wait was. As I was about to inquire on this, a gentleman, who I can only presume was the manager, came up and interrupted me, commanding the hostesses to seat a particular party that had a reservation. All I can say is...if that really is the manager...now I can understand why the service here is so poor. Once we were seated, our waiter, who appeared confused and lost the entire evening, came over with waters (which he did NOT drop on me). I asked for a sake recommendation. He couldn't give one. Okaaaaaay. Fine, I guess just a glass of wine. When he finally got around to coming back to take our orders, he stared blank-faced at me when I concluded my order with asking for a salmon-avocado roll. When he read the order back to me, he said "and a salmon roll and an avocado roll". I say, "No, not 2 separate rolls...one roll with salmon and avocado in it". He says "We don't have that." First of all, what kind of sushi restaurant does not have a simple salmon avocado roll? He offers to add avocado to a plain salmon roll, but will have to charge me extra. Ridiculous, but fine. When the food arrives, we get the salmon-avocado roll as we requested, but also a separate avocado roll. At this point, i am just so exhausted from trying to communicate with this young man, that I just give up and accept that I will have to pay for an avocado roll that I did not ask for. In closing, if the managers happen to read this, which I am assuming from previous reviews that they don't, you really need to hire people that WANT to be servers. All your restaurant seems to offer are sniveling, bratty, young people who would rather be anywhere else.

    (2)

  • Happie H.

    Was skeptical because of some previous yelp reviews, but it was great. Delicious food, great sushi, awesome atmosphere, great service from a waitress named Abby, and the host was extremely friendly and welcoming. Everything negative that previous reviewers complained about was not true with my family's experience. The food was awesome, and the restaurants decor is amazing. Impressed, and will come back.

    (5)

  • Kevin D.

    First off, before I rant about Osaka, let me say that I enjoy their menu. It's everything else that gets in the way. When you walk into Osaka, the first thing you see is the broken water feature in the foyer. There are paper signs everywhere telling you the times, the takeout order policies, etc. There are two hostess stands, one for takeouts and the other for dining, but the hostesses won't bother explaining that you and simply point to the other one while she texts. Over the cool, underlit hostess stand, there are tacky paper signs, too. The hostess may or may not acknowledge you, then sit there smacking her gum while she waits for another equally apathetic employee to come and seat you. There will be a long conversation between the two about where to seat you, even if the entire place is empty. When you get to your table, you'll wait a good ten minutes before you are greeted. Don't bother asking about anything on the drink menu, because the waiter won't know. They'll forget to bring you silverware, and you'll have to ask for it twice. Your edamame appetizer will come out around the time that your entree comes out. Most likely, there will be an error since the wait staff doesn't quite understand the menu as much as you do. You won't get quick refills on your drinks, so don't order anything spicy. When you try to pay your check, you'll wait another 15 minutes. Hopefully there won't be any errors on your check (but most likely there will be.) The food, however, will be enjoyable. The ambiance has great potential, as the renovations were obviously expensive and well thought out. The lunch menu is reasonable. Why doesn't the owner fire everyone and start over? This may be the only way to save a potentially great restaurant. Tabitha Takes Over from Bravo needs to come and knock some sense into people.

    (2)

  • Kristen D.

    Osaka ruined a special day for my boyfriend and me. They always leave out part of the sauces for takeout. And, for whatever reason, it is the most difficult to get them to ever answer the phone. I have many complaints, but the foremost is what happened to my boyfriend and I while we were celebrating out dual graduations from college. We reserved a room for 20 people four months before. Four months!! In addition, I called multiple times. But, of course, when we arrived there was a 30 minute wait only to find that we would have to wait two more hours to get the room we reserved. Some group had been late and thrown the entire schedule off. The manager didn't offer any apologies or comps. He just sat us at a hibachi table, where we couldn't talk and that was it. In all, I cannot stand the way this place is run. While the food has been good, the experience has always been terrible

    (1)

  • Marvin S.

    I was never allowed in. I saw that the establishment was open and teaming with people. There was a short line and people were being seated. When I was greeted,I was informed that I was not allowed to be there (in those words). Only invited guests for their soft opening were allowed. I was told to come back for lunch the next day. I did not go. I was willing to spend good money and was made to believe that Osaka was opened for business. The man who informed me of their unposted soft opening even had the nerve to touch the small of my back as I was leaving, giving a slight push. I have informed others and they are not patrons of this chain restaurant in a shopping center. I was disgusted by their unwillingness to accept a paying customer. I will not return. Neither will others.

    (1)

  • Chris G.

    Good food. Terrible service. We were waited on by what appeared to be an 18-20 year old boy who was clueless about everything. We were seated and then it took an eternity for someone to come and take our order, and then a second eternity to get our food. We ordered calimari as an entree and were given a plate of assorted fried fish and fried mushrooms - no squid to be found. Then our entrees were brought out 5 minutes after the appetizer had been brought out. We had hardly begun to eat it. Two of our entrees were brought out and the 3rd person had to sit there a good 15 minutes before his food arrived. Diet coke was poured into my iced tea when refills were finally brought around. And then the refills were cut off when I was still enjoying extra spicy sushi and ran out of drink. You would think that a nice new restaurant such as this one would have much better help and much better service.

    (1)

  • Diana K.

    Prefer the Shogun in Cordova. The food was alright but the service was horrible, and this was not the first time. It was not even that busy, but the waitress never came to refill our drinks. NEVER. Absolutely disapointed.

    (1)

  • Sara K.

    If you want sushi, done right (don't go to Blue Fin) - i would go here. Its kind of over priced because of the area and honestly, when you go to a sushi restaurant with this atmosphere, it's kind of expected to pay more because of the crowd. Cliff got the Shrimp and Steak Habachi and i got the half orders of 4 different kinds of sushi. I would go again but it's loud and the servers are drowning.

    (3)

  • Olivia F.

    Boring. Nothing special. While somewhat visually appealing the food is just okay. Had worse but have had tons better. Don't even think of going there with more than 3 people! (eye roll) If you ignore this advise make sure everyone orders the same thing whether it be sushi or teppanyaki because it seems the timing of when you are served is hit-or-miss.

    (2)

  • Daniel M.

    This place just exudes style. The interior is tastefully modern with great attention to details such as Oriental themed woodworking, Hibachi grills and even neon fluorescent lit tables (bar area) which all blends together nicely. Extensive sushi menu that is reasonably priced. Seriously good eats. The bar area plays music but not so loud enough as to carry to the Hibachi grill tables in the back of the restaurant where people are gathered for a more intimate meal. A great interior design. Top notch all around.

    (5)

  • Zachary P.

    Personally I love this place. Good food, but better atmosphere. Being a Vegas kid this reminds me alot of that. #VegasAtmosphere

    (4)

  • Lynda J.

    What a great experience. Visiting and read the reviews, which were all good, and correct! Hibachi was great as well as the service!!

    (5)

  • Jen M.

    I would rate it a 4 for the fresh sushi rolls, but a 3 for the way they put them together (sloppy and didn't even give me ginger, soy sauce or a bowl), as well as the customer service. Went back a second time. The customer service and cleanliness was still lacking. Had some different rolls, they were just ok. I love the decor here, was great for a Friday evening out with the husband. Will come back during happy hour for the specials.

    (3)

  • Andy S.

    They recently opened a new Japanese restaurant on Poplar, and we decided to give it a try for dinner. It's in Poplar Plaza where Bookstar used to be. Back in the day, it was even a movie theatre. The decor is very trendy feeling. It is a casual place, but it has a fancier feel. They have hibachi tables. They have a sushi bar. And a liquor bar. They had a lot of different drinks. Garrett ordered the spring roles. I tasted one, and it was good. I think an order was $4. I had the fried calamari as an appetizer. It was good, but if you want calamari, I wouldn't order it. It was mostly vegetable tempura. I liked it, but it wasn't what I was expecting. It was only $6. We had hot sake to drink. The large was $12. The tables in the bar area were kind of cool. They constantly change colors. It was rather psychedelic. We ordered the big boat of sushi. It was about $25. I'm not sure what everything was. It had several pieces of sushi, including salmon, tuna, and squid or octopus. It also had several nigiri rolls. I enjoyed the meal. I love seafood and sushi. I'm sure we'll go back. It looked like they have lunch specials and early bird dinner specials.

    (4)

  • Wayne R.

    I went during the grand opening back in October. First off, the atmosphere was amazing. They have great lighting, and the interior was constructed with amazing design and craftsmanship. The service was okay, but it wasn't anything to go home and call your mama about. The food, perhaps the most important part of any food service establishment, was not very good. The soup was cold. The food, once ordered, was not very plentiful, and was only okay. Nothing special, and certaintly not worth the price. I advise everyone to try the other Osaka on Macon Road. That one is FAR better than this one, and is my favorite sushi bar to eat at. I will perhaps one day go back here to see if there has been any improvement, but you know what they say. . . The first impression is the last impression!

    (1)

  • Ed W.

    Memphis, we have a bad one here. I went with my friend Jeff G. aka Griff to lunch here today, as we were giving a presentation near UM and did not have time to run further east for a bite. We thought this would be a nice time to check out a new restaurant. Here are brief opinions. 1. The sign outside is extremely cheesy. Whoever designed it needs to refund the monies charged. 2. The restaurant did a decent job on remodeling the inside. It does not seem at all like the old bookstore. This is, unfortunately, the only positive from the meal. 3. The food is overpriced. 4. The food is bland. 5. We both found it odd there is an extraordinary amount of non-hibachi seating. In most Hibachi restaurants, there is Hibachi seating and a small bar. Here, there are 6 hibachi table areas, and then a ton of seating and a huge bar. Jeff G made the remark that the restaurant is having an identity crisis. I agree. 6. In years of frequenting other hibachi restaurants, we collectively decided that the sauces served with the Hibachi meals were the worst ever. One tasted like a chemical. The other tasted like A-1. In a ramekin. With a trendy name. The waiter seemed shocked when we asked for sauced. "You want sauced? With the meal?" Uh, yes. We do. Because the meal is bland and overpriced. 7. Griff decided that this would be a good restaurant for someone to choose for lunch if they had to walk to lunch and ate at Buffalo Wild Wings the day before. I reminded him El Porton is in that shopping center, too. I would choose a taco. Or hot wings. Or Picadilly across the street. 2 stars.

    (2)

  • Elle S.

    Like everyone said the decorations are great, but service sucks donkey b*lls. FIRST to the genius who put the to-go stand first and the hostess stand second... please fix this... EVERYone goes to the first hostess stand and once you are acknowledged (insert sarcasm here) they tell you to go to the next one so everyone looks like an idiot. I told them we can sit at the bar, it still took 30 minutes. then it look 30 minutes or longer for my seaweed salad... sushi i can understand but salad?!?!? I got sashimi so i cant say anything about the food, but i can say the sashimi was too tick.... it should be thin.... not a place i would crave to go back to..... i'm giving u three stars and not two since i didnt really eat food food. 2 is taken away because your teen staff is terrible.

    (3)

  • June F.

    I had never been overly impressed with the service here in my 6 or so visits, but the food was good so I just dealt with it. Until my birthday. Our waitress was visibly upset, extremely unfriendly, and made at least 2 mistakes with our order. We had to get the manager twice and had to ask for another server's help once. Toward the end of the evening she was audibly cursing about us from a few tables away. She was throwing dishes onto to the table, rolling her eyes, and scowling. After hours of feeling uncomfortable, unsatisfied, and unhappy, we were literally afraid to walk across the restaurant to exit in case we ran into her. I and my 3 fellow diners have all worked as servers and are usually very forgiving and kind diners. I really don't think we were to blame for her foul attitude. I am not only unwilling, but afraid to return to Osaka.

    (2)

  • Elizabeth C.

    As someone who absolutely adores the other locations, I was beyond excited when I moved deeper into Memphis and right down the road from this location. My family would drive from Oakland, TN to the Macon location on special occasions to eat at my favorite restaurant, so living so closely to this location was truly a blessing. Upon walking into Osaka, I was amazed by such attention to detail in the design. It offers quite a different vibe than the other locations and I really do enjoy it, but the decor can't make up for the poor service. Once placing your order with your server, who typically has an "I don't care to be here" attitude, you are left for a lengthy period of time to wait on your sushi. During this time you can do nothing but listen to the horrible playlist that the restaurant plays. I'm in love with the playlist from the Macon location and was hoping to find the same at the Poplar location, but I was sadly mistaken. So there you sit... listening to the countless melancholy ballads of Bruno Mars. I would say it took about 20 minutes to get my sushi on one very slow Sunday afternoon. The sushi is consistent with the other locations, but all things considered, I was disappointed. I only go back because of their heavenly sushi rolls. I wish the restaurant had paid less attention to details in interior design and more attention to the quality of service.

    (2)

  • Kay H.

    I went there with my wife when they opened, It is a great place, it is at the pricey side though, we had sushi and Hibachi grilled beef rice noodles. The servers there are dressed like you are in japan, the seating areas are pretty descent ranging from the bar, to regular table, to kinda table/floor seating, and a hibachi grill seating where they charge you extra if you choose that as we have been told by the server. the only drawback is the wait time where we waited for about 30 mins to be seated.

    (3)

  • Nate W.

    Food is just not good. I tried to get the Oyakudon which is a chicken and egg rice bowl. Oyakudon is something I have had at multiple japanese restaurants. It is EASY to make and usually very tastey. Here is it too literal. My had literally dry eggs and over cooked chicken. No sauce. DRY DRY DRY! haha. Food is just not impressive overall and I think it's one of those places that looks cooler than it is. Won't be back.

    (1)

  • Paul H.

    Osaka Japanese fusion cuisine is a great concept for the Memphis area. However, it is one of the most poorly run restaurants I've ever encountered. Not only are the waiters unprofessional, they are rude as well. I do not blame the poor customer service on the wait staff, though, I blame it on the manager/owner. The entire staff has no idea how to conduct in a business let alone a service industry business. Their conveyor belt concept should KILL IT in Memphis, especially with the east Memphis/midtown crowd. Unfortunately, Osaka doesn't even come close to the other sushi restaurants in the area.

    (2)

  • Lori S.

    Worst experience and service. I went here for a friend's birthday and had to wait a ridiculous amount of time for the food, drinks, corrected orders, and then the bill. To top it off, the server spilled soy sauce on the birthday boy and acted like it wasn't a big deal. The manager was totally unprofessional and only offered 30% off of the bill for the terrible service and accident. The whole thing ruined what was supposed to be a fun light hearted night.I'll never go back.

    (1)

  • Toni T.

    The food is really good. However the chefs are rude. Well I'm not sure if all of them are but the chef at our grill had a very nasty attitude.

    (3)

  • Halsey J.

    The food is great. I practically lived at their cordova location so when I moved to midtown I was genuinely excited that they opened a location close to where I would live, but as I frequented this location, I grew to resent this place. It's like the staff doesn't care! How can you hire such careless workers?! The hostesses would rather be anywhere but at work and it's written all over their face when you walk in the door! I shouldn't have to greet a greeter! The amount of money that has gone into this beautiful location has gone to waste because of the staff hired. It's a shame, Osaka. I had such High hopes and loved this food! You really need to clean house and start over. It's the only way you're going to get people to come back. Good luck with your business because I know I won't be returning.

    (2)

  • Jennifer M.

    It wasn't extraordinary, but it was a nice, inexpensive lunch option. And my server, Emily, was quite patient with me and my addle-brained self as I ordered.

    (3)

  • Chris W.

    Manager is a dip $&#%. Don't get the chicken fried rice unless you feel like feeling ripped off. Actually the rice was good but I only got 5 little pieces of chicken. It looked like a prank.

    (1)

  • Corey E.

    I thoroughly enjoy every visit to this Osaka location. At the entrance, it gives off an upscale lounge/bar vibe and has great happy hour drink specials. I particularly like the Dynamite and spicy crawfish rolls here. Their early bird specials are very reasonably priced and they have great roll selections under the early bird specials.

    (4)

  • Amanda H.

    The hibachi shrimp is freaking amazing. Their decor is a little cheesy and reminds me of something in Vegas, but its fun. Their sushi is good, and their service is really pretty great.

    (4)

  • Casey B.

    I'm very surprised this only has 3 stars. The special sushi rolls are like crack for me. Jamaican drift, Tokyo drift, mango dragon, and Florida roll are a few of my favorites. The first two aren't on the menu, but were on a dry erase board for a special. On Monday to Friday for lunch they have the conveyor belt going with plates of 3-4 pieces for $2.25 a plate (used to be $1.95, damn economy). You can ask the chefs for any roll ya want (be decent and tip them and you will get whatever you want). The spicy crawfish roll is great too. I wish they did this on weekends. If you don't do the conveyor belt it gets expensive, but the food is worth it.

    (5)

  • Huyen T.

    I went there during lunch hours and the place was sort of packed. The interior of the restaurant was beautiful. There was three part to the place: Hibachi, sushi belt, and regular sitting...and perhaps a bar place also? not sure. Of course, I had to try the sushi belt cause i've been dying to try it for so long since I discovered that they had such a thing in LA. When we first walked in, we were greeted and was led by our server. The half rolls plate were regular rolls that was priced 1.95 each. Usually the plate are priced by colors, but I guess it was the grand opening special. I'm not sure whose the owner for this place, but I've ate at the other two osakas and they were amazing. So i grabbed quite a few plates just to try. The rice was a little bit moist than what I would expect, but over it was okay...not too "omg this shit is good" or "WTF is this shit" lol. it was OKAY... Then we ordered the Seafood tempura Udon before we grabbed sushi plates. The udon took forever to come out and it was getting frustrating. The udon finally came out after such a long wait. It soup itself was a bit salty. Some of the server was nice enough to refill my water and offer me an extra bowl to try to udon...i guess it's cause they saw me taking picture and predict that I will blog or something about it lol. I would add picture, but internet is not letting me do that right now. I grabbed more sushi plate than I plan so...I asked our waitress if its okay to togo it, but she say that we dont usually let people to go their sushi (the half rolls plate). I was kind of disappointed because I am paying for these, but then she say that she will go ask the manager. She came back with our to go containers and check. I asked her again and she was like, "it's okay..you can go ahead and take it. I trust you." So here's an head up; Dont get more than you can eat, because you cant to go those half rolls plate on the sushi belts!

    (3)

  • Chris M.

    Clear soup tasted too much like miso for me and was way over salted. The goyoza was ok but not great and undercooked. Spicy squid app was like shoe leather. The shabu shabu was not very good either. More show than go and pretty weak flavors. Had to dip the meat in the hot sauce to get any flavor. Nothing was horrible and the service was good but I can't say I would want to come back. Really probably a 2.5 star.

    (3)

  • Amanda G.

    Horrible sushi & terrible service. I don't know why anyone goes here or likes this place. It has a cold ambiance and there is way too much sauce on the sushi. Ick

    (1)

  • Katherine R.

    Love love the food here. Used to eat here all the time but moved to the other side of the city. Jumped at the chance to eat here with friends. Service is pretty good - a little pricy but with it!

    (5)

  • Kate E.

    Because I cannot give less than one star. What else would you rate a restaurant where you didn't actually get to eat? I chose to have lunch at Osaka on Poplar today. Big mistake. After being seated for 15 minutes, no one had even acknowledged my presence. To add insult to injury, multiple servers were just lounging around leisurely having a nice chat. Needless to say, I was never acknowledged and so I left. On the way out I mentioned to the hosts that no one ever came to wait on me so I was leaving. They seemed VERY unconcerned about losing a customer. Now perhaps Osaka is doing so well that they don't need my business. So be it. They won't be getting it in the future. Although, judging from their ratings, I would suggest reevaluating their customer service.

    (1)

  • Stephanie B.

    Visited this location for a family birthday. We arrived right for the evening open. Our waitress was great and accommodating. Our food, however, was undercooked and bland (tempura). Maybe try to focus more on food quality as opposed to being like a club.

    (2)

  • Stephanie S.

    I have given Osaka several chances. Tonight was the last straw. I'm usually not one to write Yelp reviews, but tonight was so awful that I actually made an account on here to write this review. Where do I even start... I walked in the door with my friends and the hostesses barely even whispered a "hello" to us. One girl was sitting on her phone and didn't even look up at us when we walked in. This is pretty usual for them though because every time I have been there the hostess' friendliness and hospitality were definitely lacking. I am the head hostess at a fine dining restaurant, so I know how important it is to be welcoming to the guests. We are the first and last thing they see in the restaurant and how we act towards guests sets the tone for how the guests' experience will be at the restaurant. So we finally get seated. It takes the server several minutes to greet us. Then when he finally greets us, he doesn't tell us his name or anything. The first thing that comes out of his mouth is him asking for our drink orders. The drinks took at least 10 minutes to get to the table. I ordered the Samurai Steak Hibachi for dinner. I asked for my steak to be cooked medium. It came out COMPLETELY raw. The rice and veggies were cold too. I waited and waited for the server to come back to the table to check on us so I could tell him to please get my food cooked correctly, but after 10 minutes passed and he was nowhere in sight, I finally went to the hostess stand and asked to speak to a manager. I went back to the table and waited for the manager to come. I got no apologies from the manager whatsoever. He offered to recook the food, but i declined because I was ready to leave and by that point my friends were already done eating. I have NEVER had good service here, but I always liked to go back because the sushi was pretty decent. I just can't do it anymore though. The rude, untrained, unprofessional staff is not worth suffering through just to enjoy some decent sushi. I suggest all new management and waitstaff. I will never go back here again and neither will any of my friends. Such a disappointment.

    (1)

  • Stephanie H.

    This place is really hard to review because I've been here at least 10 times now, and I get a different experience each time I go. In terms of layout and decor, the place is awesome. Very spacious and accommodates very large groups of people. The food is usually delicious and I've never had any major problems with it. Sometimes the rolls are perfectly done, but other times they look like they were rolled by an amateur because they keep coming undone, and all their contents keep falling out. The main problem with Osaka is their service. Very hit-or-miss. I've had incredibly wonderful waiters that were so attentive and friendly, and I've had horrible waiters that took so long to take orders, messed up orders, forgot requests, and were very unfriendly. The funny thing is, I've had several waiters complain to me about how unreasonable the manager is. For example, when I came in February right before Valentine's Day, one of the waiters told me not to bother coming or calling in for a reservation for V-day because the manager instructed the hostesses to take all reservations regardless of whether they had room for them or not. I was horrified because imagine getting all dressed up and going to the restaurant you thought you had a reservation for, only to find that there was no room! So before you bring your out of town friends/family here, be sure to come and experience it for yourself. If you're okay with the randomness of the experience, then this place is right for you. If not, definitely try another sushi place.

    (3)

  • Dusty L.

    The sushi belt is nice. A lot of different types of rolls are available, and they make more pretty regularly. I do wonder if they keep track of how long a roll has been on the belt. Surely there is a time limit before they have to toss it? I was there for about an hour and saw a tempura shrimp roll pass by the whole time. My friend asked for gluten free soy sauce and they looked at him like he had two heads. Guess a simple "no" just wouldn't do. This place gets ripped often about the service. I think the only time we had TERRIBLE service was the opening week. I can't really say we have ever had great service, but not bad enough to not go back.

    (4)

  • Katie B.

    Absolutely the Worst service I have ever had!! We ordered several appetizers several were to be served hot. Not only did they come out cold bit there was a table seated after us who got their food first!! When we spoke to the manager he offered to replace the order. But when it came back out there were only 6 pieces instead of the 9 we were supposed to have. They just threw the 6 left in the fryer again!!! Horrible Horrible Horrible

    (1)

  • Dani J.

    Love this place!!! Never disappoints!! Great food and service! Not a big fan of the sauce in the salad but it was still refreshing!! Hibachi!!!!!

    (4)

  • Miguel M.

    Awesome as usual !!! I eat here at least once a week. They are pretty consistent with the food. Service could be hit or miss. There is room to improve. However, I love their sushi, fresh and quality ingredients that they use, and the fried rice . Tasty, tasty......besides I also love the decors of this place, like no where else, very different and unique.

    (4)

  • Sherry F.

    Well made reservations for mothers day. First of all they told me didnt open until 430 but we find out been open all day. Then we get here at 430 and have to wait. So far not good.

    (2)

  • Hayes H.

    Outstanding sushi and great service. This is by far the best interior of all the Osaka's; the atmosphere is very cool, with a great Japanese theme. I was greeted and tended to, great timing and order accuracy- couldn't ask for more! Try the Cordova Roll.. It's a delicious combination of tuna, salmon, and tempura shrimp in the secret chile sauce.. Great date restaurant.

    (5)

  • Paul C.

    Ohhhh Osaka.....oh boy oh boy. I looooove your other locations, but how different are thou from thy brothers!! I came here on a Sat night on a double date. The ambiance is great; I'd definitely say it has one of the most interesting decors that any restaurant has to offer in Memphis. It reminds me of restaurants you'd find out in LA or SoCal in general. Too bad this is the only good thing about this place...... We ordered some spicy rolls, some tuna rolls, and we also got the sashimi dinner. The staff was nice enough to bring it all out on a boat......after a long wait. They brought out the food for the other couple with us, and our boat didn't come out until 20 minutes later. Everyone hates the awkward wait to eat courtesy; they should have brought out everything at the same time. The presentation of the rolls and the sashimi were fine, but the taste of some of the fish was awful. Some were okay, but half were extremely fishy. You can't tell as much in a roll, but it's still there as well. To say the least, I was extremely disappointed in the quality of the fish here. I'd love to say that this is a one time deal, but apparently it's a trend as I've been told that the fish was bad here before. I've been to the other Osakas out in East Memphis and Collierville, and those places are excellent. I guess they have different operating procedures at this Osaka..... Bottom line: If you're coming for raw fish, go elsewhere, if for cooked japanese food, I'm sure you'll be fine!

    (2)

  • Veronica X.

    The first time I visited Osaka, I was quite taken by the beautiful interior. The three items I ordered were presented in three different shapes of dishes -- a triangle plate for the jellyfish salad, a square for the agedashi tofu and a rectangle for 1/2 order of the white tiger roll -- seriously, who doesn't love a quick geometry 101 while dining out. Even though the food was nothing to write home about, I wanted to go back. The second visit was quite a let-down. We sat in the bar area with color-changing tables. Cool as it may be, it was nearly impossible to read the menu full of small and funky prints with slight glare from under and little light from above. Overcoming visual impairment, we ordered tuna tataki, vegetable tempura, hirekatsu (pork tenderloin cutlet) and my standby eel nigiri. The tuna itself was seared beautifully as far as I could tell -- though the sauce was not very flavorful, this dish was all about the fish. Vegetable tempura was so-so and awkwardly served atop a bulky wooden box. The katsu was probably the worst part of the meal as it was dry and bland with a rather coarse breading, not to mention what almost tasted like store-bought BBQ sauce on the side. Since I wasn't offered chopsticks and was too proud to ask, I attempted to eat the eel nigiri with my fork and the rice crumbled to my lap. Should have practiced using fork better or packed my own chopsticks but then I had better packed nigiri before. I agreed with Christine that the service (in the bar area at least) was a little awkward. Now I am in no hurry to go back to Osaka unless I am feeling hip, which is a once-in-a-blue-moon thing.

    (2)

  • Sarah A.

    My husband and I have tried Osaka in east Memphis three times and the service is HORRIBLE! First off, right when you walk into the restaurant there is two hostess stations. The first station, I'm assuming is for takeout orders, and the second is for seating guests. Neither station greets their customers and people are standing around awkwardly not knowing what to do. The first time we went, the sushi was good, but the service between the hostess to the waiter was beyond words. We decided to go back for the conveyer sushi bar belt for lunch. Heard it was good. Well....once again we were extremely, disappointed. Sat at the bar, I guess it is over at 2 but we got there at 1. The chefs didn't acknowledge us at all and we sat there looking like idiots waiting for them to throw some sushi on the belt. Nothing happened! We finally asked our waitress and she just said, " oh it slows down around 1. I can put an order in for you". What?! We were so annoyed that we each had 4 pieces of sushi and left. I really hope a manager/owner, acknowledge these reviews over their restaurant and try to make the necessary adjustments for the success of the business. I wish I could have given this place a zero. Do not go to this Osaka try the one in Cordova.

    (1)

  • Olivia B.

    I decided I would brave the sushi bar at lunch. 5 plates and a soda for only $14 and some change. OH MY LORD. I will surely be returning. I picked up whatever looked good and ate every bite. The servers are super attentive and nice. The music is great. But the sushi is what got me here and it did not disappoint! This is great, fast, and delicious!

    (5)

  • Gordon P.

    I tried this place twice in the last week -- once for dinner, today I was nearby and tried them for lunch. For dinner, we ordered appetizers, sushi, entree. The sushi came last, the waiter said when things are busy, he can't control when the food will come out. Also, he didn't know what salmon roe looked like and tried to convince us that smelt roe was salmon roe. After taking it back to the chef he agreed with us. Sushi overall was not that good, but the entrees were good. Today at lunch it wasn't very busy, but it took a long time for the waiter to come see me -- then he said he was busy and he'd be back in a few minutes. Several minutes later he came back. The place wasn't busy. Then lunch took a long time to come out, finally brought by the manager. The shrimp was overcooked and tough and nothing was hot. When the manager came by to ask how lunch went, I told him it hadn't gone that well and all he had to say about it was "new waiter -- what can you do?". I don't think I'll be back here.

    (2)

  • Sarah B.

    Like all the reviews, the ambiance is probably the best thing about Osaka. The RBGs in the sushi bar make it a bit like a club rather than an understated Japanese dining establishment, but to each their own. The service was good. Our waitress was attentive but not overbearing. In contrast to other reviews, I didn't think this place was very expensive. We seemed to order a lot of food: a roll 2 apps 2 habachi dinners all under $40. The main dishes were a little cold, bland and the salad was drenched in dressing. Definitely not the worst meal I have ever had but certainly not the best. I would dine here again but it would really have to blow me away to bring me back a 3rd time.

    (3)

  • Adrienne R.

    The sushi gets a 4, but the rating goes down when we get to the service and the cheap ass chopsticks! I mean really, I could write this whole review about these horrible chopsticks and the fact that (maybe just my luck?) both times I've eaten here no one has brought bowls for us to pour our soy sauce into.There's nothing worse then anticipating your great sushi and then not being able to eat it because you have no utensils and no soy sauce. I will say that both visits I had the same [super-sweet] waitress so that could explain the similaries in my two experiences. She couldn't recommend any sake because she doesn't drink it (NOTE TO MANAGER: make sure you give your servers some sake recommendations to share with guests) and we concluded that maybe she doesn't think to bring soy sauce bowls because maybe she doesn't eat sushi either? ANOTHER NOTE TO MANAGER: since so many families bring kids here, you really should spend a little more on chopsticks that don't splinter apart and harm your guests) My first visit was on 5/13/13 around 5pm. I was craving sushi and Hana Peach sake after my long travel day. I got the early bird special...THE SUSHI AND SAKE WERE PERFECT BUT, I opened the chopsticks, broke them apart, and half of one stayed attached to the other one so I had to request a new set. The second set was also far from smooth and gave me a splinter that I tried to get out ouf my finger for the remainder of the week. I also had to ask a few servers for the little soy sauce bowls because mine didn't bring me one and disappeared after she brought my food. Second visit was this Saturday evening 5/1/13. My boyfrend and I sat in the bar area and enjoyed the music and colorful decor. The energy was great. We ordered Purple Haze sake and 4 rolls. All were great, BUT our server never brought us soy sauce bowls AND my chopsticks broke into splintery fourths when I tried to gingerly separate them. We almost got up and got our own soy sauce bowls, but she finally came back so we could ask for some and a replacement set of chopsticks. Not saying I won't come here again, because I love the atomosphere and the sushi, but I will definitely bring my own chopsticks and be sure to request soy sauce bowls up front.

    (2)

  • Colby T.

    I'm honestly a bit surprised that this place isn't rated higher. The restaurant sits in a former Bookstar that was once a movie theater. I was very impressed by the renovations to the interior-- the place has a very trendy and modern feel and is huge inside. I've only gone for lunch, but the hibachi specials are reasonably priced and are tasty. As far as sushi goes, this place is my favorite in the city. The lunch specials are very hard to beat, both price-wise and taste-wise. I always order the Makimona lunch special that comes with a salmon roll and two rolls of your choice (I always get the dyno-dynamite and spicy eel tempura, as I am a sucker for the fried stuff).

    (4)

  • Ben B.

    Osaka has by far the best sushi prices in the city. Much like some, I has read the bad reviews before hand but wanted to give it a try anyway because it is located so close to home. As we walked in me and my wife were both very impressed with the decor. The one negative I read about was the service, and that alone is what kept me from giving them 5 stars. We sat at the sushi bar so maybe that was part of why the service was poor...? Anyhow, when you add the close proximity to my home and the deliciously cheep sushi, this could be my new favorite sushi spot in town.

    (4)

  • Amos S.

    We were a little cautious visiting Osaka after reading some of the reviews. To keep it short, we had a great night, great food and great service. It was a Saturday night, the place was VERY packed. But it still felt comfortable. The old Bookstar is huge inside. The sushi belt looks fantastic. We're trying it at our next visit. This visit we sat hibachi. It was our 1st anniversary, and the guy next to us proposed to his date while we were there. It was a fantastic night! I've read the reviews about bad service, but ours was just fine. We had 2 wines, 2 beers and several soft drinks at our table. All were delivered and refreshed quickly. The food was typical hibachi teriyaki... Chicken, beef or shrimp? But it was good! Like I said, we're going back to try the sushi conveyor belt or regular table/menu. My only suggestion... When you walk in you will see two hostess desks. The first is to-go orders only, and everyone ends up sent forward to the second set of hostesses. It's pretty awkward. Hopefully that is just a kink that will be worked out, because this place is really close to home and a decent place to hang out for drinks. Recommended!

    (5)

  • Tanya T.

    Well, maybe I went to Osaka before anyone realized it was open because I did not experience bad service or bad food, as some of the reviewers have stated. My husband and I took our kids the evening after their grand opening and we were ushered right to the hibachi area. We shared our table with a couple of pleasant folks and the kids loved our chef and his bag of tricks, including the egg in the pocket thing, the volcano and a new one for me- the choo choo train. The food was great, and the companions at our table agreed with me. I got the steak and shrimp and it was just as good as the Splash N' Meadow that I order every time we go to Benihana's. The decor is pretty impressive and the place is huge- a couple of bars, a regular dining area and the hibachi area. The hostesses wore kimono dresses, which my girls flipped over. All in all, a fun family experience and a great meal.

    (4)

  • Nichole B.

    if you want really good Hibachi you don't need to spend a bunch of money at Benihana come here. the chef are not as fancy but the food is very good. I also enjoy their sushi. take out is a breeze. highly recommend.

    (4)

  • Amanda C.

    I'm not one to jump on visiting a chain restaurant, but if said restaurant had sushi, sign me up. I had been to the Osaka in Cordova and in Collierville and enjoyed both places. I ate at the one in Cordova regularly when it first opened and enjoyed the sushi and hibachi. So, when the new Osaka was put in, I was excited to try it. We sat at the sushi bar, and I ordered 2 rolls, the dragon roll (my fav) and the Louisiana roll. The dragon roll was delicious. While I can't remember everything it had in it, the eel, sweet sauce and little bit of crunch stood out. The Louisiana roll had a bit of a kick and was equally delicious with big hunks of crawfish in it. I enjoyed the sushi more than I thought I would. My only complaint was that the rolls were huge. I had to cut most of them in half (go ahead, call me a wimp) and a few of them kept falling apart. Overall, it was a good experience. I will definitely be back, and will have to try the hibachi!

    (3)

  • Ree O.

    If you are interested in a large, stylishly designed space to eat meh, edible food and feel vaguely hip, then Osaka on Poplar is an excellent choice. It would be a nice place to take a new date, just so you can chit chat in a dark, semi-intimate and stylish location. It's clearly popular, at least with the diverse crowd that I saw the Sunday afternoon I stopped by to check it out. There were a few couples who seemed like they had just started dating and were still into and trying to impress each other. There was a funny small wedding party, a few book club-looking folks, a sorority that arrived looking as if they had just jumped off the stripper's pole (well, that's the mode of some fashion today) on their way to church that day, and a family with a few kids. Hey, it was the Sunday brunch period, not prime time on the weekend, so take that into consideration. The hostesses at the door were dressed in various, haphazardly adorned kimonos, and they were friendly and professional. The other wait staff who appeared to be between shifts were hanging out front for some reason, and were particularly chatty, but in an unoffensive, non-annoying way. Well, except for one, but she was funny, too. We waited with a few guests, although the place is so large, that it didn't look remotely so busy as to require a wait, but perhaps they were a little understaffed for brunch? I'm not sure. We weren't in a hurry or that hungry, so it wasn't especially noticeable. The decor is reminiscent of what one would typically see in restaurants and watering holes along the US coasts (i.e., NYC, San Francisco, etc.), so it was a welcome surprise to see a restaurant that has taken the time to try to create an upscale stylish atmosphere in Memphis-proper that isn't downtown or what have you. Memphians shouldn't have to drive to the ends of the earth--out of their friggin' city!--just to get a style hit every now and then. Even so, if you have noticed that I have little to say about the food, that would be because I found our sushi and such edible but fairly forgettable. As I ate, I kept thinking that I could have just ordered from my usual take out spot and saved some gas and time. Heh! But don't let that stop you from trying it for yourself, because the Hibachi bar/grill smelled divine, and throughout my meal I kept thinking that I had definitely ordered the wrong fare. So, despite my meh, eh, whatever take on the sushi, I will give Osaka on Poplar Avenue (right near Spin City) another try, but next time I'm going to go for something a little more substantial.

    (2)

  • Ellie B.

    Very bad experience at this restaurant. Absolutely horrible customer service! The waiter forgot some sushi rolls - twice. He overcharged our bill. We got our food an hour afetr order, even though it was not full. After that the waiter did not see our signed receipt copy on the table in the check book and run yelling after us as we were walking out - what kind of idiot does that? Food sucks as well! I would not definetely go there again!

    (2)

  • T B.

    Hey, You may want to wait a while before you visit this place! Service is poor! Was told I need to wait 15-20 minutes for to go. Went to patio for 10 minutes came back to front to wait. After about another 20 minutes the hostess tried to service me food that had been left at the to go counter for the entire 20 minutes that I was up front. I SAW THEM CHANGE THE TICKET BEFORE THEY ATTEMPTED TO GIVE IT TO ME! She apologized after I called her on it?! She would have had not problem with this stunt had I not been watching.

    (1)

  • Gabriel P.

    I entered the restaurant. I was full of hope. I miss the bookstar but I was ready to embrace change (I consider myself very progressive like that) so from Memphis I traveled to Osaka. Then things became a bit bizarre. 3 satin dressed hostesses stared at me, looking past them was a backboard of dark hues with emphasis on the blues and the purples. Behind the colors and the "authentic" Japanese garb was a most disappointing dinner experience. What not to eat, wait, hold on. Let me go back again. I sat in the bar that flashed annoying colors of pink and blue. Reading the menu either put me in a nightmare trance or triggered a seizure. I am still figuring it out. The restaurant was half full. People from a distance appeared to be enjoying their experience, wilder things have happened. Back to the food: bartender, poor to terrible TVs, ok, didn't have a ruler, but probably 32in. easily visible from a bar stool Sake: push wasabi wontons. (admittedly I was optimistic), I couldn't have dreamed up a worse cacophony of flavors in a dumpling if I had time and a million dollars to do such things. But they have, and this is what they did. Barf Fried rice is fried rice Sushi: worse in memphis. Makes me miss Do on its bad days. Its hard to explain but take my word for it, you don't want to try this. I repeat: YOU DONT WANT TO TRY THIS. I hate to be sour grapes. Maybe time will work out the kinks but I suspect not. The underlying disease afflicting osaka appears terminal, and like any malignancy the question is not if... but when.

    (1)

  • Alisha M.

    Loved it! The sushi and atmosphere were great! I can't wait to return. Nice first date spot, he earned extra points ;)

    (5)

  • Amy D.

    I go to the one in Cordova and popular ave!! The one in Cordova is smaller than the popular location! Popular one is huge and very beautiful inside!! They are not expensive at all!! The sushi is delish and the chicken fried rice is the best i ever had!!

    (5)

  • Richard B.

    Food and service are not very good. Atmosphere is great but not enough to make up the downside.

    (2)

  • Katie K.

    The atmosphere is awesome! Very trendy and upscale! The sushi tasted really good! I would recommend the Cordova Roll, Anchorage Roll, Sunrise Roll and Volcano roll. They are mostly filled with shrimp crunchies osaka sauce and crab meat baked. The fried rice is some of my favorite in Memphis. As far as service goes I was not pleased though. There were five of us and he charged us 18% gratuity. I would have complained but the food and atmosphere were so great that it covered the fact the service was so terrible. I will be back here to eat soon!

    (5)

  • Coco J.

    The food here is not what I'd consider authentic Japanese food. The food is comparable to Benihana to me. When I ate at Osaka, it was very crowded and loud, just an FYI if you're looking for a quiet place to sit down and eat.

    (2)

  • Anna S.

    Well I won't be going back. It is just not worth the hassle. And that's what it was. let's start with the positive- the decor is nice (cheap in places) but nice. And there is low sodium soy sauce already on the table so I didn't have to ask for it, which is great. They also have a little conveyor belt sushi thing at the bar but it's $2.15 a plate, which is a bit pricey for that style. Sadly, that's where positive stops. The sushi is just meh. Their salmon roll tastes like it came from Kroger. Poorly seasoned rice will do that. Their salmon skin roll is just cooked salmon and non-crispy skin which is very unappetizing! I wish they would go to Mulan and try their salmon skin roll because that's how it's supposed to be done. I got the calamari and this is where it all went down the drain. BE WARNED if you have ever ordered calamari, this is not what you think it is. First, you get this horizontal slice of tempura sweet potato that is about 6 inches long (eating that with chopsticks is like slapstick comedy). Then you get some tempura mushrooms, broccoli, onion. And then three slabs of 'calamari' which are tougher than normal calamari and impossible to eat because you can't take a bite from it and it's too big to put in your mouth whole because it is covered in a very thick, doughy tempura batter. When I asked our nice but new and inexperienced waitress what was on my plate, she got the manager. He then told me he can give me a knife and fork but that's how they make calamari. I tried to explain that it's not at all what I expected and suggested they let customers know their calamari is different than the standard, he told me he can take it off my bill but that I should just ask (um yeah I don't think that's how it works). He then looked at my sushi rolls and kept asking if I wanted them because one of them was tempura battered as well, and when I would say yeah I just don't want these veggies and calamari gobs, he wouldn't leave it alone. He was just a jerk about it all. He even said that in all the years they've been open they never had a complaint (look at your yelp rating buddy, I think you may be mistaken!!!) Totally turned me off my meal and they just DO NOT know how to tempura! There was a 2 cm deep glob of chewy under-cooked tempura on the end. I just left it on the plate, it was revolting. I will not be going back. Mulan has a sushi special that is the same price but the service is great and it tastes so much better!

    (1)

  • Jeremy M.

    When I walked in, the decor was rather surprising. Not exactly what I was expecting. But it was brilliant. The atmosphere in the bar area was nice. I'm not a sushi fan, so I passed on that. I went on to the hibachi grills. Let me say, it was impressive. I don't have any negative things to say about the food. It was fantastic. The fried rice was perfect. The meat was great. I would give this five stars but I thought the service was just a little sluggish. But overall it was a great experience.

    (4)

  • Kevin W.

    I came here on a weekday afternoon and enjoyed their happy hour specials. Best prices ever for two sushi rolls and a side salad. I would come here all the time if I lived in Memphis.

    (4)

  • Frank C.

    I arrived about 9pm on a Friday night. My party was seated promptly, and the server appeared within minutes. We ordered sushi appetizers, and a few main entrées. Food arrived quickly, was tasty, and overall we had a pleasant experience. I noticed that many of the negative reviews focused on poor service. We did not have that problem at all.

    (4)

  • Lakesha S.

    This is my first time visiting Osaka and the service was great and they are very people friendly. The chefs are amazing and the food is great.

    (5)

  • Nova F.

    Their miso soup tastes more like msg soup. I also got the hibachi chicken lunch. I couldn't stomach more than a few bites. It was so salty, it was making me sick to my stomach. Now I have a migraine from all the msg. If you like msg and tons of salt, you might enjoy eating here.

    (2)

  • Winnie J.

    Best hibachi ever their rice is amazing. I get filet and shrimp and it's a winner every time!

    (5)

  • Gina P.

    This was my second time here trying to give them a second chance and it still was terrible. Service is extremely slow and our waiter kept confusing the order (which was just 2 regular rolls for me and 2 regular rolls for my friend). The rolls were just ok but the prices especially for lunch are on the high side. I will still to Red Koi, where the place can be packed yet we still get our food in 10-15 mins from ordering instead of 30 and food is always great and prices are reasonable. I won't be back.

    (1)

  • Simon H.

    Located what it used to be Bookstar this Osaka is probably the most lavish of all the Osaka around Memphis. Though sometimes those bright colors can be a bit overkill. As for a Japanese Resturant, their main hibachi and sushi are just Ok. Nothing too special. Though their Udon, on the other hand, is probably one of the best in town, mainly cause it tastes authentic. So If you are a noodle fan, I suggest you come here and try out their Udon with Tempura. I always get the Shrimp Tempura Udon; plus the broth is perfect during those cold Memphis Winter season. The service was ok in my opinion during all of my visits here, but I can see some mishaps due the size of the place. Above all, it's a great place for a family night out.

    (3)

  • Cori A.

    We have eaten here before a few times and enjoyed it. We settled in at a table and began asking our usual gluten free questions. We were planning on ordering sushi with gluten free soy sauce. We were double checking that the miso soup was gluten free when the manager comes out and before she introduces herself says, "The only thing we can serve you is steamed vegetables and rice." Mind you we had already ordered a glass of wine each when she said this. I'm not sitting down to a meal of steamed vegetables and rice when I came into eat sushi. She also asked if we could eat butter. We seriously questioned whether she knew what gluten was. Oh, did I mention that she could not comp two glasses of wine (I can understand) but didn't offer to do anything else? She also never tried or offered to make it up to us nor made any effort to try and keep us as customers. I think she either failed marketing or slept through the class where she should have learned it costs more to gain a new customer than to keep an existing one. Our waitress was very nice and apologetic to say the least. She knew about the gluten free soy sauce and was going to get some for us. She thought she was doing the right thing by getting her manager. We did go ahead and tip her because it wasn't her fault that her manager sucks at customer service and is ignorant of food allergens. The food is good as is the service, unless you have a problem and need a manager or have a good allergy. Avoid if you have any type of food allergy.

    (1)

  • Justus S.

    Service in this restaurant is abysmal; and that's putting it nicely. Whoever manages this restaurant is doing it poorly because there seems to be no direction in this restaurant in regards to service. I saw some of the food leaving the sushi bar, it looked mediocre at best. But I wouldn't know how it tastes because I sat there for 30 minutes without a single person talking to me, despite my attempts to flag down a waitress (which I shouldn't have to do). Servers lounge around and chit chat while dozens of customers look as if they want something. I explained to the hostess( a short girl with curly brown hair) that nobody had attempted to take my order and that I was leaving. Instead of apologizing, she simply stared at me with me with her mouth slightly agape; as if she had the intelligence of a fruit fly. And the server she had been chatting with had nothing to say either. If the front of house manager doesn't get a handle on this, I foresee a bad future for this establishment. I advise those reading this review to consider going to Tokyo Grill instead, much faster service and they actually have good manners, more than I can say for the Osaka staff. My only regret in this review is that I have to give at least one star to this restaurant.

    (1)

  • Trevelyan E.

    Ok, I'm partially being a bit mean for pushing their 5 down to 4 stars. It's only because they closed the portion of the restaurant that we wanted to sit in. But... Let's get to the grit and grind of the actual review! 1!!! Walking in to Osaka, you notice all the fancy lights and the beautiful seating arrangements. Want to sit at the bar? NO PROBLEM! Take a seat at a tall table for 2? Feel free!!! Have a group and need a bit more room? Find you seat here!!! Or want a cool seat where the seat themselves are built into the ground? Sit yourself down now! Either way, you'll be amazed at everything that you are seeing when you're in this amazing place. 2!! The service! We had a great waitress. She brought drinks rather quickly, then the sushi, then the actual food. VERY QUICKLY! Even gave us a few laughs while taking the order. We came into Osaka somewhat late and walked into music chiming in above us. I mention this because our waitress hummed some good tunes while walking back and forth. It was nice! 3! The food!!!! Now from the Crunchy Shrimp Roll, to the Chicken Fried Rice, and the Hawaiian Fried Rice (Chicken, Shrimp, and Pineapples in fried rice), it was all GREAT! I asked for an extra 2 servings of Osaka Sauce and drizzled it over the top for a great flavor! It. Was. Awesome! We also had a 10% off to use, so that made it a major plus as well. Just as a side note. :)

    (4)

  • T S.

    Very nice establishment. Very colorful and aurhentic. Made me feel as if I were in Japan again. The food is good and flavorable The chefs put on a good show. Nice plays to go to impress. We spent $100 fir three people which was average.

    (4)

  • Anna K.

    Awesome lunch specials...you can get fried rice, chicken and steak, vegetables, and salad or soup for $15 or less. Also they have $2.50 sushi plates for lunch and I'm all about a good deal. They have a good variety of sushi and I am usually never disappointed with the quality and appearance of it. They have my favorite fried rice in Memphis. The chicken and rice itself has great flavor. My favorite rolls include the Osaka sauce. If you haven't had it with your sushi you must try it. If you like spicy that is. Overall I really recommend this place for good drinks, sushi, and hibachi. The service is not something to compliment on but it's also not something to complain about. But, I have had some pretty rude waiters/waitresses there. The atmosphere is upscale but laid back at the same time which is unusual but cool.

    (4)

  • Jackie B.

    We enjoyed Osaka. To start, lots of the reviews mention poor service, but we had excellent service the entire meal. We started with edamame, which is hard to brag on, but it was hot and came to the table quickly. Our hibachi meals were well prepared and flavorful, and the vegetables were also well done. The rice was a little dry and bland, but that was the only complaint I had. We'll probably go back the next time we want Japanese.

    (4)

  • Anna S.

    No, I won't be back. Unappealing environment, rushed/almost stormily abrupt waitress (I felt like she was mad at ME the minute I sat down), and the food was just blech. I can overlook the tacky, plasticky funhouse exterior... The interior wasn't dirty, but it also didn't feel clean... The service wasn't horrible, but it felt MAD. Ultimately, My main issue is with the food. We started off with an assortment of sushi, and I took one bite of the spicy tuna roll, and crunched on something that was undeniably dirt. Aaaauuuugh. Dirty sushi, frackin' disgusting. Probably the first time in my life I haven't finished all my sushi. I also had a huge issue with the rice. The sushi rice was not sticky and compact, it was mushy and falling apart - this is very very bad. An Asian restaurant must be able to at least have some decent rice. I don't care if it's in all-you-can-eat buffet for $4.99 in the backwoods of Nowhere. Decent steamed rice is requisite. The clear soup was forgettable. The filet mignon hibachi lunch box was likewise forgettable. The vegetables had no seasoning, I got about four unappealing cubes of beef, and the rice was just more of the mushy stuff sogged in grease. However you get a ridiculously huge portion for very cheap.

    (2)

  • Amanda G.

    Horrible sushi & terrible service. I don't know why anyone goes here or likes this place. It has a cold ambiance and there is way too much sauce on the sushi. Ick

    (1)

  • Katherine R.

    Love love the food here. Used to eat here all the time but moved to the other side of the city. Jumped at the chance to eat here with friends. Service is pretty good - a little pricy but with it!

    (5)

  • Kate E.

    Because I cannot give less than one star. What else would you rate a restaurant where you didn't actually get to eat? I chose to have lunch at Osaka on Poplar today. Big mistake. After being seated for 15 minutes, no one had even acknowledged my presence. To add insult to injury, multiple servers were just lounging around leisurely having a nice chat. Needless to say, I was never acknowledged and so I left. On the way out I mentioned to the hosts that no one ever came to wait on me so I was leaving. They seemed VERY unconcerned about losing a customer. Now perhaps Osaka is doing so well that they don't need my business. So be it. They won't be getting it in the future. Although, judging from their ratings, I would suggest reevaluating their customer service.

    (1)

  • Stephanie B.

    Visited this location for a family birthday. We arrived right for the evening open. Our waitress was great and accommodating. Our food, however, was undercooked and bland (tempura). Maybe try to focus more on food quality as opposed to being like a club.

    (2)

  • Mark B.

    I waited a while to try Osaka but would have been better served to read the reviews first. I rarely rip restaurants to pieces but this place should be shut down. For starters there was dried food on the silverware and plates. We should have left when that red flag shot up in the air. It took 40 minutes after ordering for the food to come out. We ordered the filet and it was the cheapest cut filet I've ever been served. The place has a bit of a sheik look but it's all about the food and the food here is HORRIBLE.

    (1)

  • Stephanie S.

    I have given Osaka several chances. Tonight was the last straw. I'm usually not one to write Yelp reviews, but tonight was so awful that I actually made an account on here to write this review. Where do I even start... I walked in the door with my friends and the hostesses barely even whispered a "hello" to us. One girl was sitting on her phone and didn't even look up at us when we walked in. This is pretty usual for them though because every time I have been there the hostess' friendliness and hospitality were definitely lacking. I am the head hostess at a fine dining restaurant, so I know how important it is to be welcoming to the guests. We are the first and last thing they see in the restaurant and how we act towards guests sets the tone for how the guests' experience will be at the restaurant. So we finally get seated. It takes the server several minutes to greet us. Then when he finally greets us, he doesn't tell us his name or anything. The first thing that comes out of his mouth is him asking for our drink orders. The drinks took at least 10 minutes to get to the table. I ordered the Samurai Steak Hibachi for dinner. I asked for my steak to be cooked medium. It came out COMPLETELY raw. The rice and veggies were cold too. I waited and waited for the server to come back to the table to check on us so I could tell him to please get my food cooked correctly, but after 10 minutes passed and he was nowhere in sight, I finally went to the hostess stand and asked to speak to a manager. I went back to the table and waited for the manager to come. I got no apologies from the manager whatsoever. He offered to recook the food, but i declined because I was ready to leave and by that point my friends were already done eating. I have NEVER had good service here, but I always liked to go back because the sushi was pretty decent. I just can't do it anymore though. The rude, untrained, unprofessional staff is not worth suffering through just to enjoy some decent sushi. I suggest all new management and waitstaff. I will never go back here again and neither will any of my friends. Such a disappointment.

    (1)

  • Stephanie H.

    This place is really hard to review because I've been here at least 10 times now, and I get a different experience each time I go. In terms of layout and decor, the place is awesome. Very spacious and accommodates very large groups of people. The food is usually delicious and I've never had any major problems with it. Sometimes the rolls are perfectly done, but other times they look like they were rolled by an amateur because they keep coming undone, and all their contents keep falling out. The main problem with Osaka is their service. Very hit-or-miss. I've had incredibly wonderful waiters that were so attentive and friendly, and I've had horrible waiters that took so long to take orders, messed up orders, forgot requests, and were very unfriendly. The funny thing is, I've had several waiters complain to me about how unreasonable the manager is. For example, when I came in February right before Valentine's Day, one of the waiters told me not to bother coming or calling in for a reservation for V-day because the manager instructed the hostesses to take all reservations regardless of whether they had room for them or not. I was horrified because imagine getting all dressed up and going to the restaurant you thought you had a reservation for, only to find that there was no room! So before you bring your out of town friends/family here, be sure to come and experience it for yourself. If you're okay with the randomness of the experience, then this place is right for you. If not, definitely try another sushi place.

    (3)

  • Katie B.

    Absolutely the Worst service I have ever had!! We ordered several appetizers several were to be served hot. Not only did they come out cold bit there was a table seated after us who got their food first!! When we spoke to the manager he offered to replace the order. But when it came back out there were only 6 pieces instead of the 9 we were supposed to have. They just threw the 6 left in the fryer again!!! Horrible Horrible Horrible

    (1)

  • Miguel M.

    Awesome as usual !!! I eat here at least once a week. They are pretty consistent with the food. Service could be hit or miss. There is room to improve. However, I love their sushi, fresh and quality ingredients that they use, and the fried rice . Tasty, tasty......besides I also love the decors of this place, like no where else, very different and unique.

    (4)

  • Jennifer G.

    There was a 5 minute wait when we arrived at 5:00 on a Thursday night which is relatively decent for a wait however the place was hardly busy. They actually have a few veggie rolls here. We ordered the aged tofu appetizer with our sushi. They are the cucumber roll, vegetable roll and fried tofu roll. I skipped the salad and soup and just ordered water so I can't give an opinion as to anything else. The waitress was very friendly and we were satisfied with our meal. Full but not too full!

    (4)

  • Dusty L.

    The sushi belt is nice. A lot of different types of rolls are available, and they make more pretty regularly. I do wonder if they keep track of how long a roll has been on the belt. Surely there is a time limit before they have to toss it? I was there for about an hour and saw a tempura shrimp roll pass by the whole time. My friend asked for gluten free soy sauce and they looked at him like he had two heads. Guess a simple "no" just wouldn't do. This place gets ripped often about the service. I think the only time we had TERRIBLE service was the opening week. I can't really say we have ever had great service, but not bad enough to not go back.

    (4)

  • Dani J.

    Love this place!!! Never disappoints!! Great food and service! Not a big fan of the sauce in the salad but it was still refreshing!! Hibachi!!!!!

    (4)

  • Sherry F.

    Well made reservations for mothers day. First of all they told me didnt open until 430 but we find out been open all day. Then we get here at 430 and have to wait. So far not good.

    (2)

  • Anthony C.

    Wow, what a transformation this place has endured. From a movie theater to a bookstore, to a fabulous Japanese restaurant. I love what they've done to the place! Though I'm not a sushi eater, I thought the never ending sushi conveyor belt at the sushi bar was cool. Had delicious calamari for an appetizer, followed by hibachi steak served with hibachi vegetables, house salad, soup, and chicken fried rice - all delicious! Couldn't resist some warm sake to accompany my meal. Prices were very reasonable. Base don the ambiance I was expecting them to be higher. I can't speak to ALL servers, but mine was courteous and attentive. Highly recommend a visit if you're looking for Japanese cuisine!

    (4)

  • Justin B.

    The best way to sum up Osaka is hit and miss (at any of their locations here, I've been to all of them multiple times and once to their newest location in Cordova next to Gigi's). First off, let me say I am not an americanized-Japanese food fan. I have been to Japan so I know what real Japanese food tastes like. Japanese food, when done right, is one of the purest, most beautiful, and delicious cuisines in the world in my opinion. Let's just get it clear straight away that Osaka does not deliver nor claim to deliver this experience. With that basic understanding, we can talk simply on terms of americanized Japanese places. Sushi What you have heard about Osaka's sushi is probably true: it is one of the better places to go for sushi in Memphis, albeit not the authentic kind. They have one of the largest selections I have seen in this regard; others that come to mind would be Blue Fin (although I would consider Blue Fin to be superior in that respect). I would take a friend there to get some good sushi. Atmosphere This place is definitely overt in terms of design, although it's pretty fun and has lots of interesting little things here and there. Service Contrary to the many poor reviews of the service, I haven't had a "bad" experience at any of the 3 occasions I've been. Granted, I wouldn't say they have great service; the staff is very young and seems pretty untrained and not very professional. But I've always had a full drink and never had any unduly long wait times for anything, nor have any of my servers been rude. Menu The menu at Osaka is bloated, but for people like me who love a wide variety of Japanese food and know what the items are, it can be appreciated. However, since I tend to think of Osaka as catering to the american palette, this may not be such a good thing for them. They could easily cut back on some of their offerings and be better off. And when it comes to some items, they would do best to get rid of them, because... Food Here is where Osaka misses the target most often. Everything I've ever tried at Osaka I have had elsewhere and had it better. Some of their food items are good; others decent, still more are bad and some are practically inedible. Where I feel Osaka does a pretty good job are Noodles, Tempura and Katsu. Still, not authentic, but it tastes good (plus I give them props for having the guts to serve tsukemono). However, other items like: croquettes, kara-age, yakitori, teriyaki meats and grilled items (hibachi), sauces, vegetables, fried rice, soup and salad, etc...are all sub-par compared with many other Japanese places in town. Even worse, some items like the curry, are offensive and inedible. If you have ever had real Japanese curry, you would be insulted to get the curry here. It makes me wonder if whoever decided on the recipes has ever even had Japanese curry (which is amazing and a staple in Japan). Instead, what you get is something that resembles soup and tastes like badly flavored chicken broth. So stay away. You've been warned! Overall, Osaka is a good place to go casually with friends for sushi or to try a variety of their menu items. Just be sure to bring a little patience and an open mind to try new things. And if it's not good, there are plenty of other things to choose from next time on their menu that are. The sushi is pretty consistently good, unlike the food and the service. But if you're wanting to up your game and go for a more authentic experience, look somewhere else.

    (3)

  • Amanda H.

    Everything here is amazing, I haven't had a roll I didn't like and the hibachi is DELICIOUS!! My son loves the chicken nugget appetizer and the dumpling appetizer. The mixed drinks are pretty awesome too! The place is huge and a great place for large groups.

    (5)

  • Ren G.

    This place is fabulous. It was like being back in Los Angeles for a couple of minutes (which, incidentally, is about how long I'd want to be there.) The radio was blasting Some Nights and the revolving sushi bar was gorgeous. Its almost like walking into a really hip night club that just happens to serve sushi. The plates are less than 2$ each on the revolving bar, so you really can't go wrong. Not to mention the huge menu of other Japanese favorites. Don't miss out on the Cream Croquette with mustard sauce! It was delicious. I've also had the tempura, which was fairly standard, but to me, fairly standard is the type of tempura I got at an Izakaya where the waiters didn't speak English, and this didn't defer from that at all. I also couldn't resist dessert when I saw that they serve tempura bananas with ice cream. It was delightful. Next time I think I'll try the tempura cheescake. If you're looking for an authentic Japanese experience in Memphis, Osaka will not fail you. The sushi might not be as fresh as you'd find on the coast, but the night club atmosphere and the prices are unbeatable.

    (5)

  • Robin B.

    3 stars for the food and service, 5 for the decor! This place blows Blue Fin out of the water. Very current, this restaurant location occupies the former Bookstar in the Poplar Plaza shopping center, at Poplar between Highland and Prescott. In fact, I believe we were sitting in what used to be the old Self Help section of my once-favorite bookstore. Our server was a young woman, polite, concerned with our satisfaction, but she did not hear anything we said! She missed my dining companions' salad orders and diet coke order. The sushi was good, top 10% I've had here in Memphis on freshness, though the tuna nigiri was quite sinewy. The Dynamite roll truly was! I start my Japanese initial orders with a new restaurant with a seaweed salad (I had a friend who had a fajita test for all Mexican restaurants to test quality and ingredients). The seaweed salad was fresh, light, not at all fishy, and not overdressed (in fact, maybe a bit underdressed, though I wouldn't dare complain and end up with a pool of ponzu in the bottom of my dish). Wish I'd taken photos of this bar, table, or anything else. You have to see this place for yourself. It will be a great spot for hibachi, special nights out, or a small group- ladies' night, anyone?

    (4)

  • Joelle P.

    Having read the bad reviews, I went into this with a bad attitude. But as soon as I walked in the door, all of that washed away! I was very impressed by how much thought they put into the decor. You can tell they want you to have a good experience - the bright lights, the multiple bars, different styles of tables - I was on sensory overload. And the host was a doll. My friends were already seated and he kept telling me how much I was going to love the table. When I arrived I found them sitting around a traditional style table. But here's the kicker: there was a back to the chair and your legs went into this hole. It sounds weird and I'm sure I'm not describing it very well...but it is very cute! And more importantly, comfortable! Our waiter was also another huge plus. He was so attentive and made us laugh all night long. He made great suggestions and was most importantly, quick. I would have given the restaurant 5 stars but my food didn't blow me away. I think I just ordered the wrong thing because my friends were obsessed with their sushi...leave it to me to order steak. I can't wait to go back!

    (4)

  • Ebonye B.

    I love Osaka's ambience. The service is quick and attentive. My rolls always taste great. I sampled my friend's fried rice and it was tasty as well. I've been on different occasions and everything has been just right each time. I also like that fact that I can order half-rolls. It allows me to have more variety on my plate. I cannot comment on the hibachi as I have not dined at the hibachi grills.

    (4)

  • DJuan L.

    I was really craving sushi and decided to stop by this new place and check it out. The first thing that I noticed when I stepped in the restaurant was that the ambiance was really nice. I liked the decor and the low lighting as well, but the thing that grabbed my attention the most was the conveyer belt. I've always wanted to try sushi on a conveyer belt for some reason and this place offered it! Too bad it didn't offer much else. The first disappointment was the wait staff. The waitress seemed to not know what she was doing, didn't know the lunch specials and just didn't seem familiar with the menu at all. When I was finally ready to order, the waitress was nowhere to be found, so I had to wait even longer until she came back. The second disappointment was the food. I ordered salmon and chicken from the hibachi. The chicken was ok and the salmon was a little over cooked (although I did enjoy the sauce on the salmon). The veggies on the plate were too big to eat without cutting up and had a propane taste to them as if they were cooked on a gas grill with the gas turned up too high. The fried rice was just ok but it had a bit of that gas taste as well. The sushi that came by on the conveyer belt was good (even though the waitress couldn't tell me what the rolls were or what was in them) but there was no ginger or wasabi readily available. In order to get ginger or wasabi, I had to get the attention of one of the chefs making the sushi and have him send it (uncovered) down the conveyer belt and hope that no one grabbed it before it got to me. One thing I think this place should definitely improve on is the wait staff. They should also explain to their customers how the conveyer belt sushi works as soon as the guests are seated at the bar because not everyone is going to automatically understand how it works. I would probably come back again to try the sushi, but that's about it.

    (2)

  • Ren G.

    This place is fabulous. It was like being back in Los Angeles for a couple of minutes (which, incidentally, is about how long I'd want to be there.) The radio was blasting Some Nights and the revolving sushi bar was gorgeous. Its almost like walking into a really hip night club that just happens to serve sushi. The plates are less than 2$ each on the revolving bar, so you really can't go wrong. Not to mention the huge menu of other Japanese favorites. Don't miss out on the Cream Croquette with mustard sauce! It was delicious. I've also had the tempura, which was fairly standard, but to me, fairly standard is the type of tempura I got at an Izakaya where the waiters didn't speak English, and this didn't defer from that at all. I also couldn't resist dessert when I saw that they serve tempura bananas with ice cream. It was delightful. Next time I think I'll try the tempura cheescake. If you're looking for an authentic Japanese experience in Memphis, Osaka will not fail you. The sushi might not be as fresh as you'd find on the coast, but the night club atmosphere and the prices are unbeatable.

    (5)

  • Kelly B.

    The food was excellent, but the hostesses we extremely rude and stupid, and need to be terminated. Instead of addressing people as they come in, they stand there gossiping and talking amongst themselves. My husband stood in front of them for 5 minutes before anyone even addressed him. There are 2 hostess stands, and you aren't sure when you walk in where to go. If this place wants to make it seem like they are a classy place, they need to start with the first people their customers meet, since they give out the first impression.

    (1)

  • Justin B.

    The best way to sum up Osaka is hit and miss (at any of their locations here, I've been to all of them multiple times and once to their newest location in Cordova next to Gigi's). First off, let me say I am not an americanized-Japanese food fan. I have been to Japan so I know what real Japanese food tastes like. Japanese food, when done right, is one of the purest, most beautiful, and delicious cuisines in the world in my opinion. Let's just get it clear straight away that Osaka does not deliver nor claim to deliver this experience. With that basic understanding, we can talk simply on terms of americanized Japanese places. Sushi What you have heard about Osaka's sushi is probably true: it is one of the better places to go for sushi in Memphis, albeit not the authentic kind. They have one of the largest selections I have seen in this regard; others that come to mind would be Blue Fin (although I would consider Blue Fin to be superior in that respect). I would take a friend there to get some good sushi. Atmosphere This place is definitely overt in terms of design, although it's pretty fun and has lots of interesting little things here and there. Service Contrary to the many poor reviews of the service, I haven't had a "bad" experience at any of the 3 occasions I've been. Granted, I wouldn't say they have great service; the staff is very young and seems pretty untrained and not very professional. But I've always had a full drink and never had any unduly long wait times for anything, nor have any of my servers been rude. Menu The menu at Osaka is bloated, but for people like me who love a wide variety of Japanese food and know what the items are, it can be appreciated. However, since I tend to think of Osaka as catering to the american palette, this may not be such a good thing for them. They could easily cut back on some of their offerings and be better off. And when it comes to some items, they would do best to get rid of them, because... Food Here is where Osaka misses the target most often. Everything I've ever tried at Osaka I have had elsewhere and had it better. Some of their food items are good; others decent, still more are bad and some are practically inedible. Where I feel Osaka does a pretty good job are Noodles, Tempura and Katsu. Still, not authentic, but it tastes good (plus I give them props for having the guts to serve tsukemono). However, other items like: croquettes, kara-age, yakitori, teriyaki meats and grilled items (hibachi), sauces, vegetables, fried rice, soup and salad, etc...are all sub-par compared with many other Japanese places in town. Even worse, some items like the curry, are offensive and inedible. If you have ever had real Japanese curry, you would be insulted to get the curry here. It makes me wonder if whoever decided on the recipes has ever even had Japanese curry (which is amazing and a staple in Japan). Instead, what you get is something that resembles soup and tastes like badly flavored chicken broth. So stay away. You've been warned! Overall, Osaka is a good place to go casually with friends for sushi or to try a variety of their menu items. Just be sure to bring a little patience and an open mind to try new things. And if it's not good, there are plenty of other things to choose from next time on their menu that are. The sushi is pretty consistently good, unlike the food and the service. But if you're wanting to up your game and go for a more authentic experience, look somewhere else.

    (3)

  • Amanda H.

    Everything here is amazing, I haven't had a roll I didn't like and the hibachi is DELICIOUS!! My son loves the chicken nugget appetizer and the dumpling appetizer. The mixed drinks are pretty awesome too! The place is huge and a great place for large groups.

    (5)

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Map

Opening Hours

  • Mon :11:00 am - 2:00pm

Specialities

  • Takes Reservations : Yes
    Delivery : No
    Take-out : Yes
    Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
    Good For : Dinner
    Parking : Private Lot
    Bike Parking : Yes
    Good for Kids : Yes
    Good for Groups : Yes
    Attire : Casual
    Ambience : Trendy
    Noise Level : Average
    Alcohol : Full Bar
    Outdoor Seating : No
    Wi-Fi : No
    Has TV : Yes
    Waiter Service : Yes
    Caters : No

Osaka

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