Vanilla Fish

READ MY REVIEW!
I visited this restaurant on a random Tuesday with three of my employees, and we had a great time. Our server was very polite and quick to answer any questions we had. She did tell us that they close at 1:30. We ordered our last round at 1:20 and did not get rushed by anyone. We stayed until 1:50, and they still gave us water and drinks. Amazing service.

I went there again a week later, and as usual, the food was amazing. I used to drive all the way to Show Sushi in San Dimas, which has a great all-you-can-eat menu, but Vallian Fish is my new spot. The fish was better quality, and you can't beat the prices.

I came here to leave a review and saw a lot of negative reviews that are not justified. This is not a Michelin-star restaurant. For the price, the food is incredible. If you want a Michelin-star sushi restaurant, be prepared to pay $500 plus per person. Also, the staff is NOT rude; everyone was so nice. I eat out every single day for business and pleasure. This spot is definitely 5 out of 5 stars.

Visited 7 months ago

We order takeout and it’s pretty mid. Not many other choices nearby unfortunately. Usually we get rolls and the Fish portions are very small and they often use the less good parts of the fish. For instance, if you order yellowtail you often get a lot of the brown part of the fish which tastes very different from the good ( buttery) part of the fish. Tuna comes in little slices like it’s a deli cut meat. Just weird. Ordering here is like a roll of the dice. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes not. Often the orders are missing ingredients, (like no avocado on California rolls).

Visited 6 months ago

I have been going here about 1 time a week for the last 2 months. The food is great. I love sitting at the bar the best but the the tables are nice also. The price is great for everything you get. I love the special limited items. Soooo tasty. I have been to all the sushi places around and by far vanilla fish is my favorite. The owner is a nice guy and his staff

Visited 2 years ago

Very VERY impressed with the quality of the sushi here. All you can eat is on the pricier for dinner and weekends ($38 at this time) but definitely worth it! The AYCE offers a lot of variety and even a couple of “unique” options, just with limits of how many of those unique options you can get. I have not been disappointed coming here yet. One word of caution before you come, check the times they are open. They close for a couple of hours between lunch and dinner. They are very strict and will not seat you within ~ 45 minutes of closing.
Overall definitely recommend!

Visited 3 years ago

I have been here 3 times now, and it has all been amazing - the ramen is good, the AYCE is INCREDIBLE. The sushi is so fresh and delicious, and I literally would eat it every day if I could (this coming from someone who doesn't normally crave sushi). The service has been great as well - all the servers I've had were attentive, asking if I needed anything else or more water frequently.
One thing to note with the AYCE is that they charge for uneaten sushi - I wasn't aware of this, but I'm sure it's very common. They were very generous with my first time and let it slide, but now I know - and so do you! Honestly the service has been above average in my opinion.
Fave dishes :
ALL the nigiri
The cream salmon 😍
The ginger albacore (has onions which I am hesitant about, but I didn't taste the onion flavor at all, and the crunchy texture with the ginger sauce is SO good)
Baked salmon
Goyza and tempura veggies are good
Garlic edamame 🤤
For myself, I paid $34 plus $8 tip, so about $42 total for the AYCE.

Visited 6 months ago

We waited a little over an hour, but it was worth it!

Our server was absolutely wonderful and helpful. I forgot her name, but she had glasses, and long dark curly hair.

The sushi itself is one of the better places I have tried in Riverside, this would be more geared for patrons that love American styled sushi and they have AYCE (all you can't eat) which is an added bonus!

My favorite selections were:
Salmon Sushi
Sea Bass Sushi
Cajun Salmon Sushi
Yellow Tail Sushi
Miso Soup

The oysters were well prepared, and if you love them,, order them! Personally, I found out I'm not a fan of the taste of oysters. If you haven't tried oysters, this is a great place to try them. If you're curious,my experience with them was that the taste of oysters mimick a light taste of ocean water. Even so, I would eat these again if offered.

The tempura we had in the Lemon roll was a bit too sweet for me, but wasn't bad either. I think I just like light, fresh sushi, so you may love it!

I feel like with the quality of sushi grade fish they carry, Vanilla Fish is missing on an opportunity to do more with their fresh sushi styles. I would love to see more sushi catered to traditional sushi eaters in Riverside with less tempura, less creamy sauces, more simple sushi whose cuts of fish are highlighted in flavor with fresh lemon grass/ herbs, citrus salt, marinating the fish in quality ponzu/ soy&giner, adding thinly sliced lemon, etc. (Sugarfish in LA is a wonderful example).

Honestly, I would even be happy seeing a fresh salmon sushi roll with thinly sliced fresh lemon or quality citrus salt on top available.

Even so, with what we tried, this sushi restaurant is still, in my book, one of the better AYCE spots in Riverside because their fish tasted fresh and wasn't sticky in texture like other sushi spots I've tried in Riverside.

On that note, I would definitely mark this as a place I would venture to if I was looking for AYCE in Riverside. I am excited to see if their specialty sushi rotates!

Visited 4 years ago

As always, everything is soooo good here. If you like salmon, get the salmon collar, best I've ever had. *update* they finally updated their menus!!! But they also increased all their prices and modified how the ayce menu works (5 rounds now and each person can only order 5 things at once)

Visited 4 years ago

I went here and the person who greets the customers was very rude. I asked her where the restroom was she pointed and said there. The restrooms were so dirty and the door didn’t even lock and no toilet paper either. The server was sweet but very shy and I expected better overall service and to have the place be cleaner for the area. The sushi was a great deal. I hope they clean up there restaurant and train better servers.

Visited 10 months ago

Primera vez que me toca esperar para ser sentado. El lugar esta tranquilo sin música un ambiente relajante la iluminación es poca. Las meseras muy amables el servicio bastante lento ya que tienen solamente dos sushi man esa es la razón de la lentitud a la hora de hacer tu orden, lo recomiendo el lugar tiene buen sabor el sushi y buena presentación

Visited 4 months ago

This rude guy wouldent even let me read the menu bc it was 5 mins closed. It was my first time in the area and I went to Vanilla Fish to just see the menu to see if I like anything I can come back. The rude waiter told me to “get out” because they were 3 minutes closed. Insanely rude people and I heard the food is terrible from my friends.

Visited 5 months ago

Visited 5 months ago

I have been here 3 times now, and it has all been amazing - the ramen is good, the AYCE is INCREDIBLE. The sushi is so fresh and delicious, and I literally would eat it every day if I could (this coming from someone who doesn't normally crave sushi). The service has been great as well - all the servers I've had were attentive, asking if I needed anything else or more water frequently.
One thing to note with the AYCE is that they charge for uneaten sushi - I wasn't aware of this, but I'm sure it's very common. They were very generous with my first time and let it slide, but now I know - and so do you! Honestly the service has been above average in my opinion.
Fave dishes :
ALL the nigiri
The cream salmon 😍
The ginger albacore (has onions which I am hesitant about, but I didn't taste the onion flavor at all, and the crunchy texture with the ginger sauce is SO good)
Baked salmon
Goyza and tempura veggies are good
Garlic edamame 🤤
For myself, I paid $34 plus $8 tip, so about $42 total for the AYCE.

Visited 6 months ago

We called the day of and they said they closed at 9pm. At 7:20pm we got there and they said they are closing early and no longer serving customers since there isn’t many customers tonight.

Visited 6 months ago

We order takeout and it’s pretty mid. Not many other choices nearby unfortunately. Usually we get rolls and the Fish portions are very small and they often use the less good parts of the fish. For instance, if you order yellowtail you often get a lot of the brown part of the fish which tastes very different from the good ( buttery) part of the fish. Tuna comes in little slices like it’s a deli cut meat. Just weird. Ordering here is like a roll of the dice. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes not. Often the orders are missing ingredients, (like no avocado on California rolls).

Visited 6 months ago

They took off the half off takeout. Sushi was mid at best but the 50% off made it worth it. Not anymore

Visited 6 months ago

Be very careful you do not get sick eating here.
I personally watched the "larger stature" chefs while preparing food...eating food with thier hands, touch multiple surfaces no food prep surfaces, and use the same hands to mix food with fingers.
GROSS!
I was in shock! Normally the other chefs do not display this disgusting behavior.

I'm sorry. But watch.. if you're not seeing hands washing and eating in the food preparation area... get out before you get sick.
If these people are preparing raw food this way. ...OMG!

Visited 7 months ago

READ MY REVIEW!
I visited this restaurant on a random Tuesday with three of my employees, and we had a great time. Our server was very polite and quick to answer any questions we had. She did tell us that they close at 1:30. We ordered our last round at 1:20 and did not get rushed by anyone. We stayed until 1:50, and they still gave us water and drinks. Amazing service.

I went there again a week later, and as usual, the food was amazing. I used to drive all the way to Show Sushi in San Dimas, which has a great all-you-can-eat menu, but Vallian Fish is my new spot. The fish was better quality, and you can't beat the prices.

I came here to leave a review and saw a lot of negative reviews that are not justified. This is not a Michelin-star restaurant. For the price, the food is incredible. If you want a Michelin-star sushi restaurant, be prepared to pay $500 plus per person. Also, the staff is NOT rude; everyone was so nice. I eat out every single day for business and pleasure. This spot is definitely 5 out of 5 stars.

Visited 7 months ago

Visited 7 months ago

Came in at 12:45 and was told last call was at 1:30 they gave us paper just like ayce sushi. (Was not told what menu I was given or even asked which menu I want) turns out it was not all you can eat and they ended up charging us per roll. When I asked why wasn't there all you can eat, the waiter kept saying "they told me to give you the other menu" then I asked when can I order from the ayce menu she told us last call for ayce is at 1:30. Apparently we came in "too late" for ayce but we literally came in at 12:45.
This place is a scam and should be ashamed of their service. The sushi has gone downhill too mostly rice to fill you up. Overall horrible experience not coming back here again and I will make sure people I know don't come here.

Visited 7 months ago

Delicious good service

Visited 7 months ago

AYCE is where it's at. Just ordered to go...100 bucks + tip gets you a snack.

Update 8/24: Went to dine-in. Hostess/server was extremely pushy and rude. Gave us a very limited selection of seating (1 of 2 small tables), even tho the restaurant was pretty much empty and they had plenty of staff. Even so, we chose to sit at the bar. Server continued to exude attitude for seemingly no reason, so we left.

I had heard the quality has dropped quite a bit and that the current staff were pretty bad. This attempt to dine-in confirmed what I had heard. Will not be coming back to this spot until it inevitably changes ownership/business.

Visited 8 months ago

Visited 9 months ago

Vanilla Fish has a relaxing atmosphere and great service! I recommend their dynamite roll and Dragon roll! :)

Visited 10 months ago

My first visit. not impressed with the food quality or cleanliness of this place.
I've eaten at most restaurants in the Canyon Crest Center, but this one does not live up to expectations.
Food quality: The texture of the sushi was gummy and did not appear to be fresh fish. They serve your food on a wooden board that appears to hold mold because it does not have a protective coding; therefore, unless they bleach those boards after every use, they probably hold bacteria.
Cleanliness: The floor was dirty, but I did notice until we were leaving. The restroom had no toilet paper, and the floor needed to be moped due to the layers of dirt build up and sticky floor.
I knew better, but I wanted to give it a try. Last time there. 🤢

Visited 10 months ago

Thee absolute worst place for service. I never write reviews and always like to give chances. Good Luck Vanilla Fish.

Visited 10 months ago

Visited 10 months ago

I went here and the person who greets the customers was very rude. I asked her where the restroom was she pointed and said there. The restrooms were so dirty and the door didn’t even lock and no toilet paper either. The server was sweet but very shy and I expected better overall service and to have the place be cleaner for the area. The sushi was a great deal. I hope they clean up there restaurant and train better servers.

Visited 10 months ago

Restaurant is 1/2 full and I came in for a to go order. After paying an obscene amount of money for sushi that I’m expecting to now blow my socks off comes in the smallest of forms and tastes like old fish. Don’t go here.

Visited a year ago

Me and my bro had been wanting to try this place for a bit but were afraid of the negative reviews about the customer service.
We wrote it off to being Karen's or overly picky people who demand too much. Unfortunately we should've just believed the reviews, cause they were pretty spot on accurate.
Waited about 40 mins between our 1st and 2nd rounds of AYCE cause they forgot to give us back our order menu. We'd seen other people given their menus back when their orders were complete and we'd been missing some side dishes so we thought they'd been backed up. Once it was down to only 2 other groups in the restaurant tho we got kinda tired of twiddling our thumbs and had to flag down one of the two waiters who'd spent most of that 40 mins we were waiting on their phone, conversing, or literally anything else. Won't be revisiting. Go to sushi okoku near Tyler mall. Better prices. Better food. Cheaper booze. It gets busy sometimes but once you've got a table, the turnaround rate between orderingand getting the food is phenomenal.

Visited a year ago

The customer service at this sushi place has sadly degraded over time. Although the sushi is delicious, the servers have been treating us very poorly and showing a complete lack of respect. It's evident this has been a common occurrence based on the most recent reviews. We have been loyal customers for three years and have always recommended this restaurant to many of our friends. However, on our last three visits, we have had negative experiences. To be specific, the servers have been very rude in their actions when we try placing our order. On our most recent visit, our server was argumentative when we reported missing side dishes with our order, and they made us wait up to 30 minutes between our first and second rounds of AYCE sushi. We sat there while others were being served, and it was not until we spoke up that they attended to us. We finished our food and simply said thank you after we paid, yet the young lady at the register didn't even acknowledge us and had an off-putting demeanor towards us. Ultimately, this business should take into consideration the most recent negative reviews because it is not an isolated incident; rather, it is a common occurrence. At the moment, their service treats their customers like transactions. The sushi chefs are incredibly talented, and the food is delicious, but unless the customer service improves, we will be taking our business elsewhere.

Visited a year ago

Pretty bummed with this sushi place. It's so close to us and the food's good, but the customer service is a letdown. We've had multiple bad experiences with rude staff and SLOW service. Honestly rather make the drive to our other spot which is quite a bit further away. Easily could’ve been our new go-to, but definitely won’t be going back any time soon. 😕

Visited a year ago

We have visited vanilla fish a lot in the last couple of months. Every experience has been different but we've had more bad than Good experiences. We continued to give it another shot because we actually like the taste and it's closer to home than Asahi (our old spot). The sushi is actually very good. The problem, it will take about an hour for you to get your second round. Not only does the sushi take long but the service is absolutely terrible. They've never had good customer service but yesterday, was on a different level, and the reason I will not be returning. We were literally ignored the entire time. The waitress almost seemed annoyed that we were there. She brought us two waters (there was 4 of us). We gave her some time to come back, but she went back to the register to get on her phone) we asked for the other two. She looked very annoyed. Then after we finished our first round, we waited and waited. No one checked on us, the same waitress was busy taking selfies behind the register. They all hide in the corner by the register to talk and hang out. Our drinks were never refilled, when we asked ( she got upset again).

We waited at least 40 mins for our second round, when we finally spoke up (in fear of being that "inpatient" customer) the other waitress went to check. Turns out, they never got the paper ( we gave it to them but it must have gotten "overlooked"). I saw both of them lookin at us waiting but never approached us to check. Instead, they hid behind the register. Eventually the other waitress did apologize but at this point we ate our second round & left. I don't know if it's a tactic to get people to leave but it's absolutely ridiculous. When our food finally arrived the rude waitress practically slammed the food on the table. We said thank you and she rolled her eyes. We are paying customers. Management needs to re hire asap. I'll be going back to my old spot Asahi, it's worth the drive. I've never experienced such horrible customer service. Maybe if they do a rehire of all the staff or have proper customer service training, we would consider going back. Also, please don't take long on making the sushi in order to rush your customers out. Cancel ayce if it's not working out. It's false advertisement at this point.

Visited a year ago

The inside is ugly. There is this weird open space in the restaurant like it is missing tables. There is a patio they do not use, which could offer more seating. The food at the local college must be bad, so the students come here with no frame of reference. The service was not that good. Not worth waiting for.

Visited a year ago

Got a basic california roll and it was not good. I got my order to go and sat outside. Theres a really nice area to eat outside. Would not go back.

Visited a year ago

Rude service. I will NEVER return. The two men were silent every time we would thank them for our food. At least acknowledge us! I prefer to give our money to somewhere that appreciates our money. Ouishis would never treat people like these miserable staff did. 😤

Visited a year ago

If you don’t want to be poor after eating, do not com

Visited a year ago

Waiter was very rude and unhelpful. He would roll his eyes at us and make loud rude sighing noises. It sucked we had to pay all you can eat and they even missed the dishes we check marked. We had reminded our waiter what we were missing and it never came out. We were so tired of the service by the end.

Visited a year ago

Visited a year ago

Visited yesterday. Their hours posted 11:30 - 9:00. We arrived at 1:40 and were told they were closed at 1:30. My protests were met with "it's not my policy it's the managers." Read current reviews on Yelp and discover service is a big problem at this store. Chino Hills Vanilla Fish is great - go there.

Visited a year ago

Super delicious and good service. The only thing tables are too small.

Visited a year ago

This place does not deserve 3.5 stars it should be 1 star. The service is very bad and the food is extremely disappointing. Not coming back again

Visited a year ago

I used to come here often and I’ve noticed a decline in the service and the sushi but this time was the last draw. Waiter rolled his eyes when we asked for extra ginger which was shocking to us. Also never come dine in during lunch time they will scam you and charge you for sushi individually, It is not ayce. If I could give this place negative stars I would

Visited a year ago

Sushi mostly rice. Service is horrible. This place should stop being Ayce if they want to be stingy with their sushi. Came here with my fiend they ended up charging us for individual sushi for NO reason. Never coming back here again.

Visited a year ago

Poor service and overall bad experience

Visited a year ago

Visited a year ago

Overall terrible experience, would not recommend at all. Not only is the sushi low quality and terrible, the staff charged us for the sushi individually instead of charging us for all you can eat. Their excuse was that they gave us the "dollar menu" instead of the "all you can eat menu" which looks almost EXACTLY like it. We tried to reason with them and let them know we ordered before 1:30 which is when the all you can eat time period ends, but they refused. The workers could have notified us that it wasn't all you can eat considering all the food we were ordering but they didn't say a thing. Also one other thing, their hours are terrible and don't make any sense. You're better off eating sushi literally anywhere else instead of this place. We ended up paying double what we pay at a usual sushi spot 🤬

Visited a year ago

Great all you can eat sushi

Visited a year ago

If money isn't an issue go here. Every bite was delicious. If you want fresh Wasabi it's an extra $5 but again, worth it. Had three premium rolls, shrimp tempura, and yellow tail collar. With one beer...spent $120 (for two people). No complaints...waitress was very helpful. The menu had this page of sushi etiquette.

Visited a year ago

Came here a couple weeks ago and was not amused with the ambience. We were seated in the very corner of the little restaurant. The table was tiny, there is nowhere to put your purse if you have one. I literally put it on the floor. The "waiters" didn't seem to really care about customer service at all. This younger lady seemed to almost ignore us or avoid bringing us drinks or our orders of sushi. All you can eat is not the best experience here. It's also pretty quiet. HOWEVER, the food was amazing. Super filling and full of flavor. Everything was cooked perfectly. The sauces were rich and the fish was fresh and perfect texture.

Visited a year ago

Good sushi, looots of food with their All You Can Eat, service was pretty friendly but just a little on the slow side.

Sometimes there was relatively less rice than fish but portions were not skimpy at all. Langostino roll was addictively good.

Visited a year ago

Visited a year ago

Visited a year ago

Visited a year ago

Best sushi in have had in a long time!!! All you can eat and quality. Presentation and service were amazing Well worth the wait.

Visited a year ago

Food was wonderful, but service could have been a little bit better and more attentive.

Visited a year ago

Rip off of a place. They have $1 sign but no $1 menu. At least rn. 3 couples walked out we shoulda done the same but we just went with 4 pieces for $14 ! Scam

Visited a year ago

Waiter sat us down. We didn't get service for 30min. When we flagged the waitress she asked us to check in at the front desk next time instead of just sitting down. We told her we did and she looked sorry and said that neither of them remembered. We then filled out the AYCE menu and waited another 23min before walking out. Very unfortunate, I came here when there was no other customers and the sushi is good but the service is not worth it

Visited a year ago

I’m a local and I’ve been going to this place for a while, the service is awful. They’re rude, barely talk to you, and get upset if you don’t order right away or change something in your order, you’ll get the “rolling eyes” . There’s no managerial supervision or any effort to improve this. The food is good, but it’s not worth the costumer service for the price.

Visited a year ago

Visited a year ago

Visited a year ago

I dine here every so often & noticed that the portions ( cut ) of the fish 🐠 is getting smaller & smaller not good when you pay $50 dollars per person for the full menu “ they now wrap the fish with too MUCH RICE .
Also the male asian guy that works there is not friendly at all , actually he’s pretty mean .

Visited a year ago

This is coming from a customer who doesn't usually eat sushi. Yet I had a roommate moving out and he wanted the whole gang to go out for dinner one last time. I'll be honest, with the negative reviews I was somewhat skeptical, yet it was all for not. We had a blast sitting in front of the chef and everything I tried was effing legit.

PS. We had the "all you can eat" special.

Visited a year ago

The food is awesome! Best sushi we've had in a long time. Everything on the menu that we tried was excellent. The only reason a 4 star on the service is that we didn't get everything we asked for in the first round of all-you-can-eat or the second. We had to point out the missing items. The atmosphere is good, but the restaurant is small. They need to expand!

Visited 2 years ago

Visited 2 years ago

Visited 2 years ago

Visited 2 years ago

This place is not professional at all, they close literally 45 minutes before what they mention on google. Change your hours if that’s the case instead of misleading people. It happens to me for over a month now so ridiculous

Visited 2 years ago

Visited 2 years ago

Visited 2 years ago

sushi was fake and old

Visited 2 years ago

Just a FYI make sure you check your receipt prior to leaving the restaurant. The servers showed us 3 different receipts. 1 that was missing the hot tea, 1 that had the hot tea on it, and then the last receipt where they over charged us by $20. The lady didn't think I would catch it. But of course I did. She had to make a call to get it fixed. She "supposedly" voided the 1st charge which I need to ask my uncle to see if it was done. But that being said I recommend you to double check and not trust them...

Visited 2 years ago

Unfortunately I can no longer support this establishment or any sharing its name for fear that it may be a related franchise.

The fish used to be decent for the IE but its gotten worse. That paired with the following was what made me give up on them.

Do anything you can to avoid Vanilla Fish... especially Canyon Crest in Riverside. The place is dirty and so too are the tables and plates... alas even the soy sauce is filthy? Further, the staff are incorrigibly rude and mean, today they stepped on my actual feet... they slam things and bring out wet dishes. They ignore customers and also seem to intentionally antagonize people. I shouldn't be punished for spending money in your restaurant?

Often when I stop by canyon crest to shop at Ralphs I pass by Vanilla fish and notice that its both empty and that the staff are surly and mock their customers. They seem to get off on belittling people. Its a shame what has happened because there was a time I enjoyed this place, now I'm sad I ever heard the name.

To be clear, there's tons of bad reviews, the issue is the staff and the management for sure since they do nothing about the overtly horrible server (taller, portly man and smaller lady).

Vanilla Fish has changed my mood from good to bad every time I've gone, whether its afternoon or evening. Never again. I wonder what the heck is wrong with the tall server, I've never seen him be nice to anyone ever, for any reason, at all, masovero or bandido. Doesn't matter who, when, doesn't matter where there coming from or where there going to, he's horrible to everyone. Why?

Visited 2 years ago

Place has a moderated atmosphere yet, food is very good, prices are very good, and service is fantastic. I will definitely come back.

Visited 2 years ago

Definitely not a good sushi place, both workers are rude. Find a different restaurant to go to

Visited 2 years ago

Can't say. CPR instructor here for the free concert. I sat in my lounge chair in front of the store.

Visited 2 years ago

This Sushi spot is the Best in Riverside hands down. Everyone who gets a chance check this place out Sit at the Bar and ask for James. Tell him Luis sent you and get that VIP treatment. The staff is on top of their game.

Visited 2 years ago

I Love Sushi and I wanted to like this place.

The worst vegetable and tempura I've ever had in my life. It's supposed to be crispy and light this was a quadruple coated pancake-like batter and the vegetables were cooked but the outside was mushy.

The portions of sushi were small, and to make it worse the ratio from rice to fish was way off probably three to one rice to fish. I will say the fish quality was good though...the slivers I was given.

Service was non-existent, never checked on me never see if I wanted napkins or water I end up having to grab some napkins from the bar and caught some dirty looks from the sushi chef but hey if no one's going to offer it somebody's got to clean up my mess of all my rice!

The one time my waitress came around, she tried to take my full plate of green mussels away from me without even looking yet she didn't even try to take away the two empty plates that were just sitting there cluttering up my space.

Honestly I don't know how this place is in business. All you can eat was $36 with tip out the door and I was not leaving happy and I won't come back. Do yourself a favor avoid this place and find a real Sushi Joint.

Visited 2 years ago

The place is very dark. We love rolls and were surprised how rolls are small here. The price a bit high too.

Visited 2 years ago

Visited 2 years ago

Its a beautiful day in SoCal, all the other restaurants in the same commerce center are doing outdoor seating.

Im craving sushi so give Vanilla Fish a try.

They took 10 minutes to greet us, sushi staff is standing awkwardly because we have not been greeted and no server/greeter around.

When she does show up, we kindly ask for outdoor seating. Its a small restaurant with a couple tables outside, and she said it would be too much work for her because she is by herself. It would be maybe 5-10 additional steps, right outside the door, no compromise.

Then said they could do indoors only and walked away.

Thanks for 'Great Service', thanks for 'trying'.

We went to a neighboring restaurant, were accomadated promptly, and had a great time.

Visited 2 years ago

My favorite sushi spot. Great food, always fresh. I love the ooh baby. But the service here is never good. Servers take too long to seat you and evem Take your order.

Visited 2 years ago

I have been going here about 1 time a week for the last 2 months. The food is great. I love sitting at the bar the best but the the tables are nice also. The price is great for everything you get. I love the special limited items. Soooo tasty. I have been to all the sushi places around and by far vanilla fish is my favorite. The owner is a nice guy and his staff

Visited 2 years ago

2nd time at Vanilla Fish and it was phenomenal! Amazing food, great service, and they even had Drake on the whole time. Lol. 😎

Visited 2 years ago

We went about a week ago. The sushi was actually very good. Fresh and tasty. They were very small pieces but I actually loved that about it. However the staff was very rude and I felt it was definitely overpriced. We were hoping to dine in, but we had somewhere to be and their wait was long so we ordered Togo. When we came back to
Check on the food, there was an open table so we asked if we could dine in after all, the man didn’t say anything and gave us a look of frustration and walked away. A woman came back and told us that they could not seat us because they had a waitlist.

However, I watched them seat the people behind us who had just arrived. I heard them put their names AFTER we asked them to dine in after all.

The food was bit pricey. I actually just thought of this now, but I remember seeing a sign saying if you places a Togo order you’d receive a discount. There’s no way that was applied to our order as we spent $50 for an order we normally spend about $35 for and the pieces were so small that I don’t feel the prices were justified.

Visited 2 years ago

I had a lunch with my daughter there. We took AYCE, it was USD35. I was unexpected the food was so good. We really eat a lot. I highly recommend this restaurant.

Visited 2 years ago

Visited 2 years ago

Sushi chef that wears the Atlanta Braves hat wiped his mouth with a paper towel and then wiped his hand with the same paper towel and went back to making Sushi. Shut it down 🤮

Visited 2 years ago

I would suggest to sit at the bar and strike up a conversation with the chefs. Order nigiri for the most part to show your serious about sushi, get cut rolls and 2nd/3rd orders. Dinner comes with some premium stuff. We had sea bass, halibut, uni, wagyu nigiri. Salmon belly was ayce. And it was amazing.

Visited 2 years ago

Fresh, friendly, fast. It can be hit or miss, but last night was on point!

Visited 2 years ago

Marky is the dopest Sushi Chef at this place! Don't let the Mexican American Keanu Reeves Vibes foo you. He's on point with his fish. He can slice and dice the sea bass to perfection... All you can Eat and all you can DRINK specials highly recommended!!

Visited 2 years ago

I'm not sure what happened to this place. The food is mediocre. After ordering the poke bowl from before I was served lettuce with poke and dressing. They refused to acknowledge the poke bowl ingredients and then followed up with "since its a Togo order the chef doesn't add all the ingredients" my response was.. you've got to be kidding me. I asked to have ingredients added and u would pay, but they still said the ingredients would have to be charged separately, which would be rice, edemane, seaweed (salad) and cucumbers.

We used to love this place and come with our kiddos and sit on the patio, now they don't want anyone outside as they say they're short staffed, yea.. no one wants to work there.

Then the sushi chef comes walking up to me eating something, no gloves. Talkes all over his hands as he's trying to cover his mouth. I didn't care to explain the situation and had them refund my money. He then walks back over and starts making rolls.. with no gloves. I looked at the server and she saw it to.. she went and told him. He quickly put gloves on.

We're done going here!

Visited 2 years ago

Food was delicious, good portions and staff was great.

Visited 2 years ago

Visited 2 years ago

Visited 2 years ago

Bathroom in this place is horrible!

Visited 2 years ago

Visited 2 years ago

The food is excellent, exceed my expectations ❣️

Visited 2 years ago

Visited 2 years ago

Visited 2 years ago

good vibes

Visited 2 years ago

Visited 2 years ago

Visited 2 years ago

Visited 2 years ago

Great food and service

Visited 2 years ago

Visited 2 years ago

Hands Down the BEST maybe The GREATEST sushi Place I’ve ever eaten at! Hands down! If you don’t believe me Try it Yourself…

Visited 2 years ago

My first experience here was not so great. Communication between staff and customer was not so good. There was no update of when the food would be brought out or if our table needed any condiments while waiting. The food took too long to be brought out including having the order wrong and having to be done again. A simple appetizer like fried rice took more than 40 mins and was finally brought out just before we asked for the check. However, they did understand their service was not their greatest that evening and gave us 20% off from the check. Its better off finding another spot for a more reasonable price and better service.

Visited 2 years ago

Visited 2 years ago

Visited 2 years ago

Nothing but disappointment for me and my wife. The yellowtail collar almost made me barf. Some of the other dishes were palatable but they have to know when their fish goes bad and not to serve it.

Visited 2 years ago

Have come here a number of times use to be really good but last two visits were disappointing, first wasnt told they were doing last call so only got two rounds which i was eating light so i could get another round once i tried was told chefs already did last round after the fact. Next time i came rolls not as good as usual rice was hard etc

Visited 2 years ago

Visited 2 years ago

Took my girlfriend here for her birthday and it was everything we could have wanted! We got to sit at the sushi bar and see our food be prepared! The staff was a little overwhelmed at times but still did their best to attend to our needs, we left happy and full!

Visited 2 years ago

Visited 2 years ago

This restaurant is my absolute favorite! A few months ago we were hesitant to try it based on the reviews, but once we did we were immediately hooked. The service has always been above standard (five stars), I'm not sure why they have a lot of negative feedback on that.
Vanilla Fish is probably the only place I would do AYCE just based on prices of individual items, but the quality taste better than other non-ayce sushi places.
The Escolar and Albacore are my favorite items followed by the mussels, and the spicy garlic edamame. I haven't tried too many rolls but the super sexy (wrapped with cucumber) is always a must. The Mango rolls are really tasty too.

*if anything I would recommend feeding your littles something before hand, the little bites/small plate items on the menu can add up fast.

Regardless.. Definitely a five star rating in my book ❤️

Visited 2 years ago

Visited 2 years ago

The only place in the area that offers all you can eat. The fish here is delectable. Them baked rolls be hitting different. This is definitely my go to sushi spot.

Visited 2 years ago

Visited 2 years ago

We came here for a birthday celebration, my daughter wanted sushi for her 19th birthday, but they had way too many rules. We had a party of 9, and we had to either ALL have “all you can eat,” or everyone had to order a la cart (weird). Then, because the entire party wasn’t there yet, they told us we had to wait outside until we were all present. When they finally sat us (the place was empty), they were out of every wine but Chardonnay, the ice machine was broken, and the staff was rude. To top it all off, after spending almost $500, they tried to kick us out after a certain time. I would NEVER recommend this place, I felt like I was in elementary school again with all the rules. Aren’t you supposed to make your customers feel happy and wanted?? Definitely not the case at Vanilla Fish. I haven’t had this horrible of an experience in years.

Visited 2 years ago

Best sushi I've been to

Visited 2 years ago

This is my second review of this place. It's an absolute knockout! The attention to detail is incredible... Especially for AYCE sushi!

Sitting at the bar guarantees excellent company and perfect service every time.

I'll be back!

Visited 2 years ago

It's nice to sit at a Sushi bar and eat AYCE style again. My visit was for lunch and I received friendly and fast service. The price is right too!

Fresh fresh fresh!

Visited 3 years ago

The waitress was so nice over the phone and in person, just that alone makes me want to keep coming back! She left a sweet note and homemade helper chop sticks. Take out was good, probably better dining in, but as expected for getting take out. It's 50% off for 2 or more rolls so I'm not complaining!

Visited 3 years ago

Great sushi! Lots of rounds for all you can eat.

Visited 3 years ago

I deleted a previous review as I feel Vanilla Fish has gone downhill. My friend and I went there recently and both got the buffet. We were basically sat in the corner and ignored. For example, they spilled clam sauce on our table when removing a tray and left the table without cleaning it. I used my napkin (we were each provided with one napkin) to clean the table. It took two additional requests and over 20 minutes to obtain a replacement napkin.

Visited 3 years ago

Great food. AYCE is great. They have the whole menu to choose from. It is well worth it

Visited 3 years ago

Wow duck tacos go hard b! Thanks Ramon for the choice.

Visited 3 years ago

I'll keep this Short......
New Place that just opened, but to be located near the college area of Riverside, I don't see this place staying around 2 Long. I remember when I was in college, it was hard to by myself a Meal from McDonald's for Having to spend most of My Money on Tuition, Books and transportation. Ther prices are Way Over priced, and for Sush Small Portions,. A 6 or 8 piece roll was Around 22 to 25 Dollars. I mean I'm Not Picky But GD, really, That Sushi better be Orgazmic or Like Life Changing to Be That Prices. But Whatever, I guess the people that pay those prices feel Better about themselves. U Pay 30 dollars for A Single person to Enjoy a Meal, And On Its way Out, Ther Toilets take Half That Pay. So Yeah, Great Place to Take The Fam..... 🤭

Visited 3 years ago

Food can be fresh and good at times...
very poor service & stingeness. 🙄 😒THIS PLACE NEEDS TO GO OUT OF BUSINESS "BE AWARE"

Visited 3 years ago

Visited 3 years ago

Visited 3 years ago

Amazing food, great service! Perfect sized small portions all you can eat for 5 rounds.

Visited 3 years ago

Awesome place! I decided to take my nieces to all you can eat sushi and it was a wonderful experience. The rolls are good sizes and they have a variety of different rolls. All you can eat also includes other yummy things like teriyaki, edamame, etc. Totally worth the drive and the price.

Visited 3 years ago

The food was amazing but I do recommend investing into new seats as the current ones made my butt hurt

Visited 3 years ago

Their “policy” on ordering from the menus are not family friendly. They require all kids to pay for all you can eat. Most parent know kids do not eat a ton and we have two little ones that typically share a plate the manager came over and said it’s policy to pay full price all you can eat. Good location and no wait but not a family spot. Kids are 4 & 7. No way I’m paying all you can eat price for a 4 year old. Very disappointed

Visited 3 years ago

Vanilla fish was spectacular!
My best friend and I did All you can Eat, pretty good deal.
Their rolls were delicious, the Red Mango Roll blew our minds, we would come back specifically for that roll. The baked salmon roll was small but packed with flavor. The pepper salmon had this lovely smoky flavor we enjoyed it a lot. Gem was our server she was so sweet, energetic and fun! Also Shout out to James for the delicious heart attack he made! My bestie and I had pretty low expectations for this place because a lot of the restaurants in the town center are sub-par but we were pleasantly surprised at how delicious and great everything was. We will definitely come back.

Visited 3 years ago

Visited 3 years ago

Fantastic

Visited 3 years ago

The rolls were delicious! I also loved that a lot of the rolls have pictures and descriptions to go with. The service was prompt. The restaurant itself was a little tight, but that isn't uncommon for sushi places in my experience. I like that almost all the rolls come on one plate which is great for sharing; usually you end up with a ton of plates on the table. The bathroom was not air conditioned and pretty dusty which is the only reason I didn't give 5 stars. Bathroom cleanliness is a reflection of a lot of other aspects of the restaurant itself.

Visited 3 years ago

Tiny rolls. Need new cheffs.
What u see in the pic is a baked salmon 4 piece its as big as my index finger not even my thumb.
Loose rolls. Check out the tiny Cali roll. So sad.

Visited 3 years ago

Visited 3 years ago

Yikes! After reading how horrible the customer service is here, and review after review talking of how horrible you treat your guests, I've decided not to even risk it. Sorry. Bummer as I was really looking forward to trying this spot out

Visited 3 years ago

It sucked

Visited 3 years ago

Visited 3 years ago

The new manager Enoch is the awesome sauce. He knows what customers want and came out personally to greet us. Food is sensational and the beer cold and crispy. Ten out of ten will come back again.

Visited 3 years ago

Great service!! Best poke sale around !! They have a lot of selection for the all you can eat !!

Visited 3 years ago

Visited 3 years ago

Visited 3 years ago

First time at Vanilla Fish, we had all you can eat, yellowtail, salmon, albacore, Tuna, ell, spicy had roll. Red dragon roll , all good, will come back again for sure!!!

Visited 3 years ago

Nice big fresh pieces. Very clean and organized. And super sweet staff! The sushi here is always so yummy and consistent! It’s a must!

Visited 3 years ago

This is the closest place to my house and we’ve been here before and were unfortunately disappointed. But today the food was fantastic. Definitely looking forward to coming back sometime.

Visited 3 years ago

Food was good/decent. All you can eat price for dinner is $36 per person. Service was good. However, you can't get seated until all your party is there. Parking is always packed

Visited 3 years ago

Expensive and you walk out hungry.

Visited 3 years ago

Horrible service and management are you came in multiple times with my brother.. Last couple times it was a disgraceful graceful thing to even walk in!! Super honest review🤙🏽🤘🏽

Visited 3 years ago

Very VERY impressed with the quality of the sushi here. All you can eat is on the pricier for dinner and weekends ($38 at this time) but definitely worth it! The AYCE offers a lot of variety and even a couple of “unique” options, just with limits of how many of those unique options you can get. I have not been disappointed coming here yet. One word of caution before you come, check the times they are open. They close for a couple of hours between lunch and dinner. They are very strict and will not seat you within ~ 45 minutes of closing.
Overall definitely recommend!

Visited 3 years ago

Sushi was fantastic and the servers were friendly.

Visited 3 years ago

Mark was very nice, knowledgeable, and made the best sushi. I'll definitely be back because of him! 10/10

Visited 3 years ago

All you can eat sushi.
Fish is fresh and has great taste. Everything I tried was amazing. The cut rolls were sized perfectly, each piece was bite size (not too big or too small). The Nigri cuts were large and portioned very well to the the rice. The cost is higher than most places but worth it. This is our new favorite spot.

Visited 3 years ago

Really love this place. The AYCE here is a great deal and includes almost their entire menu. Good quality fish. Noodle dishes, gyoza, and especially the spicy garlic edamame are all fantastic.

Visited 3 years ago

Visited 3 years ago

Great food and good fish to rice ratio. Super nice crew and delicious food

Visited 3 years ago

We just had a terrible experience here and I would avoid Vanilla Fish at all costs. I usually don't leave reviews, but it was so bad that I feel that I have a moral obligation to—in the off chance that someone else accidentally comes here and experiences something similar.

Our server, Mandy, was very nice. However, the "sushi chefs" (if you can even call them that) were clearly slacking off and not preparing the food. They were busy talking with each other about increasingly unappetizing topics. Here were some of the topics:

- Talking about how he would hit his kid, and that the "kid could call who he wanted to call"
- Flirting with the server
- Joking about having AIDS, while preparing the food without a mask

We should have known when we came in and noticed a slight sewage smell, but we decided to sit down anyways because we had come here before.

All of this is already bad, but I haven't even mentioned the food. The sushi rice was extremely hard—to the point where someone in our party said that their jaw hurt chewing it. Our server apologized and said that they didn't use enough water, but we heard the chefs say that they only had a single batch of rice cooked the night before. Is it too much to expect that the "sushi chefs" are able to cook rice in a place that uses rice in almost every menu item?

They recently added a restriction that limits the number of items per round (now 5 per person per round). This would have been perfectly fine, but they made the food so slowly that it wouldn't have mattered. We came near the beginning of the lunch period, but only made it to round 2 before we were asked for the last call.

It was not as if they had a large number of people for lunch either. There were only ever 1-2 other parties (of 1-2 people each) the whole time. I have been to other AYCE sushi places that have put out larger orders faster with a single chef and a full restaurant.

The rolls were also poorly made. The avocado in one of the rolls tasted like it was spoiled. The garlic edamame was extremely salty and overly torched (why even torch it in the first place?)

I would also like to note that this is not the first time I have been here. I have been here before for both lunch and dinner (it was much much better), but it was the first time coming back in several months and I will not be coming back.

I'd like to end this review with some other places in the area so you won't have to suffer here. For non-AYCE rolls, Sushi R91is solid (but can get a bit pricey). Oishii Sushi is probably your best bet for AYCE sushi in the area. Sushi Asahi is also okay, but has gone a bit downhill in recent years (but still MUCH better than Vanilla Fish).

Visited 3 years ago

The food here is great but the service and pricing is not. It can be extremely hard to get a table, especially because the patio is never open. We have gone every month or two since they opened because we liked the food, it is walking distance from our apartment, and we had a better service experience by sitting at the sushi bar. However I would not recommend Vanilla Fish anymore after their recent price change. $37 a person when you are limited to only 5 items per person when you order is ridiculous. Part of what made this place enjoyable before was your ability to get a lot of different appetizers, rolls, and nigiri. I am disappointed that I now have to find another sushi spot.

Visited 3 years ago

As always, everything is soooo good here. If you like salmon, get the salmon collar, best I've ever had. *update* they finally updated their menus!!! But they also increased all their prices and modified how the ayce menu works (5 rounds now and each person can only order 5 things at once)

Visited 3 years ago

Good sushi with excellent service. I loved their food presentation. Recommend yo visit.

Visited 3 years ago

This place is cramped and the older woman who covers the door is rude. They stuff as many people as possible inside because they don't utilize their patio area. I visited once as a party of 2 and they sat us fairly quickly. The food was great so I returned with more family, but this time they didn't want our service. As a party of 5, we were told we would wait 1-2 hours and she couldn't guarantee we would be seated. I couldn't belive what she was saying so I asked her multiple times to clarify and she confirmed that she may not seat us since we need so many seats. As we were still standing by her, a couple walked up and they were told the wait was 20 minutes. Go somewhere that appreciates all business. We went to Oishii instead and it was great!!

Visited 3 years ago

No way they can maintain this good of food!

Visited 3 years ago

Their policy on All You Can Eat (AYCE) is so ridiculous and not family/group friendly. If one person is doing AYCE, then EVERYONE has to do AYCE. Went with my dad and my partner. My partner and I wanted to get AYCE and my dad is old so he just wanted a chicken teriyaki bowl, they would not allow us to have AYCE unless every person at the table was partaking. Ended up going to Smokey Canyon BBQ in the same shopping center for lunch (which is amazing, by the way).

Visited 3 years ago

Visited 3 years ago

Went to Vanilla Fish on a Thursday evening looking to dine in for 3. We got checked in with the hostess at 6:50, expecting that to be plenty of time before closing at 8:30 since there were only 2 groups of 2 in front of us; of note the hostess told us to expect a 40 minute wait at check in. We waited for over an hour in view of the hostess stand and never got any updates with our cell phone number taken down to be called in when a table was ready. We decided to leave at 7:55 when the hostess told someone checking in that they were now only doing takeout due to closing soon. We never got an update by the hostess or their texting service. If you decide to try to dine at this restaurant you may waste an hour of your time, but you can rejoice that there are other options nearby that can communicate their wait times and get you seated.

Visited 3 years ago

An AYCE (All You Can Eat) Sushi place that is one of the best AYCE Sushi around Riverside.

They definitely stepped up and gave us some amazing cuts of sushi and great service. The sushi chef was awesome!

If you have a craving and don't want to spend much, come and try this sushi place!

Visited 3 years ago

Very fresh made to order food with a friendly smile and conversation if you choose.

Visited 3 years ago

Customer service is awful and make it not worth coming. My husband and I drove here to get sushi. With 3 hours left in the evening, we were told the waitlist was full. We had called earlier to see if there was still room, we were told there was room and to come on by. If space was limited, why were we not told that over the phone? We were told there was availability and could be seated relatively quickly. Very disappointing.

Visited 3 years ago

Amazing sushi! By far, some of the best in the area and very well priced, especially if you do AYCE. Now I will admit that the customer service is not the best that I’ve experienced, but the quality of the sushi makes up for it all!

Visited 3 years ago

If I was rating this place solely on its sushi I would give it a 3/3.5, but because I was extorted and treated despicably it gets 1 star. Every other waiter aside from the militaristic manager gets 10/10. This restaurant has a scheme to wring its customers out of every penny they can and guise their tactics by calling it a “policy”. Anyways I went with my brother and he wanted to have the sashimi AYCE, and I’m vegan so of course I didn’t want the SASHIMI. But because he was getting it and we were sat at the same table, I had to pay for it as well. I told that militaristic Manger that I am vegan and I will not be paying for sashimi that i can’t even eat. In the end I had to pay more for food that I was not eating. It was completely embarrassing for both parties especially cause she made me feel like I was wrong for NOT WANTING TO PAY FOR FOOD I WILL NOT EAT. Safe to say I will not be returning due to the appalling treatment I received from the manager and for being extorted. Paid about $110 for 2 ppl, and were rushed out.

Visited 3 years ago

A really good all you can eat sushi place. This was my second time going to this place and it was again superb. They have a huge selection of rolls and other assorted things.
Excellent service that made for a great night with friends.

Visited 3 years ago

Great sushi! Everything was tried was delicious 😋. Average price for sushi dinner. Easy to find in the plaza... every sushi chef was funny and had a great attitude... We've been there 3 time and I know we'll be regulars.

Visited 3 years ago

Visited 3 years ago

Just thinking of Vanilla Fish now and I start drooling. My family and I can't go a week or two without stopping by. The ratio of fish to rice is perfect. Presentation is good. Service is good, most of the time. In a rush? Take a seat at the bar. Just a great place for sushi.

Visited 3 years ago

The food is excellent, nevertheless, they have POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE. I ordered a to-go order and they didn't let me enter to the restaurant neither to pay nor wait even though there were many empty tables (I asked many times to enter). I wouldn't be bothered by this, but it was FREEZING outside. I only ordered because I really wanted sushi, otherwise I would have left the premises. Expect good food but horrible customer service.

Visited 3 years ago

Great Food. Great Quality. And pleasant experience. Will go back for the ONLY all you can eat in the IE. A+++ for that alone!!

Visited 3 years ago

It’s a cool little place… the food was amazing. The fish was fresh and tasted great. Will be back again!!

Visited 3 years ago

Visited 3 years ago

Excellent!!!! The sashimi is salad was yummy

Visited 3 years ago

The lady in the front who supposedly is a manager has no customer service.

Visited 3 years ago

Visited 3 years ago

Your manager needs to go she is horrible! I’m extremely appalled how rude and disrespectful she is. It’s truly disgusting that I came in with my family from out of state and couldn’t be seated even though their was availability. We decided to wait even though the manager or “owner” told us she needs to wait to call people off her waitlist who didn’t even show up. I’m really confused of why she would turn us away. More importantly, stay away from this place.

Visited 3 years ago

If I could give this place a 0 star I would. This place needs to start off with the customer service skills which they lack tremendously!! The manager at the front desk is extremely rude and could cost this place to shut down due to poor customer service. I wish I would of read the reviews before stepping foot inside. I wonder if the owner ever checks the reviews to his business. She needs to be eliminated and retrained how to handle customers. I highly advise you taking your hard earned money and spending it elsewhere!

Visited 3 years ago

Visited 3 years ago

My wife and I have been eating sushi since 1978 in multiple cities across the US and internationally. We have had excellent , good, fair and bad sushi over the decades. I cannot comment on the sushi at this establishment because the attitude of the manager or hostess, was so harsh, vulgar and unwelcoming we got up and left the restaurant. Smaller venues with good sushi are a treat as over time you get to know the sushi chef and your dining experience is enhanced by trying new recommendations from the chef. Some of the reviewers here say the sushi was really good, but you should not have to be abused to enjoy good sushi. People who say sushi is good should also include the frequency of their partaking at various establishments, we have eating sushi ~ 1600 times at 35-40 different restaurants. So I can’t comment on the sushi here, but the service is a minus 10.

Visited 3 years ago

Manager has to be the most difficult person to deal with, makes you want to find another place to eat. And I did! All she cares about is taking your money. Won’t help you with anything and just wants you in and out. The owner should get rid of her before the business fails. Looking at other reviews this isn’t the first time she has done this and obviously the owner does not care. Will not be back and will not be surprised when it’s not here in a year. I will support a better business even if it’s a little longer of a drive they are not worth the time. Hope this helps others make there mind up on if they should go here. And God Bless the good employees that work there!

Visited 3 years ago

Visited 3 years ago

Absolutely embarrassing place.
Heard the food is worth the staffs/owners horrible hospitality but I could not believe we were going to be forced to pay for a "all you can eat" for the entire table.
We had 2 adults and 3 kids (all under 5 years old) who had little appetite and only wanted soup.
Left instantly after we were told we could not use the baby chair for our 3 year old

Visited 4 years ago

Visited 4 years ago

Visited 4 years ago

All delicious, especially the mussels.

Visited 4 years ago

All you can eat was excellent. Very fresh too.

Visited 4 years ago

Decent sushi, no atmosphere, overpriced.

Visited 4 years ago

Initially it was supposed to be party of 6. They wouldn’t seat us because one hasn’t arrived yet. Even though the place was not even half full. Then we told the lady staff it’ll be just 5 of us after all, multiple times. We waited outside in the heat for an hour and watched them let others in. Turns out she didn’t understand us. Then inside, they kept messing up our orders even our to go orders. Food was good though…

Visited 4 years ago

Visited 4 years ago

Why can’t I give zero stars? Do not go here!!! It is currently 4am and I cannot sleep because of the immense pain I am in. Vanilla fish definitely gave me food poisoning- all I had yesterday was my usual breakfast and I went to lunch at Vanilla Fish, came home and took a nap, and woke up feeling super sick :( I am a huge sushi fan and I was super excited to try this place but I will never be going back!! Don’t run a sushi business if you don’t know sh!t about what sushi grade fish is! On top of that, there wasn’t much hospitality from any of the workers… This place will be out of the town center in no longer than 6 months

Visited 4 years ago

About a month ago, me and my family thought it would be nice to try Vanilla Fish, one of Riverside’s newest sushi spots. Well, suffice to say, we were severely disappointed with our experience — an unfortunate outcome in what had been promising expectations.

Upon our arrival, we quickly noticed that the restaurant had not adjusted to new California guidelines regarding masking for the vaccinated (we are fully vaccinated), and entrance protocol. The doorway was blocked off by an adjustable rope line, the windows were filled with dated Covid signs and our presence was seemingly regarded as an unwelcoming nuisance to the establishment.

Later, after being seated and placing our orders, we quickly realized that we were in for an unexpected ride. Our waitress (and manager), ANGELA, was totally inept and ill-equipped for customer service. She could barely answer simple questions regarding the menu, she was pervasively dismissive and treated us as obstructive objects to her busy day. But it doesn’t end there with Angela.

Make no mistake, the food was decently good for a sushi restaurant. And as we slowly got full, we realized that we were not going to finish our food. Now, this food had been fully paid for, the restaurant was not losing any sort of profit on our visit. As we planned to leave a few pieces behind, we were told that there would be a waste policy enforced. While that policy is well-documented at sushi restaurants, it’s rarely enforced. So, we decided that we come up with a compromise: box the remaining pieces of sushi for home consumption. Well, that wasn’t gonna work for Angela. Angela decided that our boxing was going to be a $10 box fee! Now, what sense does it make to charge someone a hefty box fee when your restaurant had already been guaranteed a payment that corresponds to the price of the listed food item? It was a classic gyp to us.

But just as we were prepare to leave, we stopped another waitress, Brianna, to inquire about the restaurant’s policy, and to express concern about Angela’s total disregard for basic hosting duties. She kindly explained and expressed empathy for our experience. It was Brianna’s good graces that tempered our frustrated moods.

Maybe it’s just our high standards, but our hopes were dashed at Vanilla Fish that day. However, I encourage the readers of this post to give it a try, maybe you’ll enjoy a militaristically aggressive dining option.

Visited 4 years ago

Probably some of the best sushi I have had outside of Japan (within relatively similar price comparisons).
Excellent quality rice, good fish to rice ratio on the Nigiri, fresh tasting fish.
We went with the premium which essentially just adds a sashimi platter... delicious albacore but we will probably just go with standard next time. Also if you are a sea urchin fan there are a few great choices.
I can't speak for the rolls as I did not order any but I would assume they would be great based on what I experienced.

Visited 4 years ago

Visited 4 years ago

Excellent customer service, friendly and attentive. We were very pleased. The sushi was perfection, tender and fresh. They have a wide variety of delicious rolls. We loved everything about this place. We will be making this one of our regulars.

Visited 4 years ago

Great sushi. They only have a few table so expect to wait if you show up during peak times. Service was good and it was relatively cheap for sushi dinner.

Visited 4 years ago

I’m a huge fan of the Chino Hills location… like HUGE! so if you’re ever craving amazing sushi- go there at least once to try it. This location is exciting, but their AYCE option does not have the entire menu that you’d normally get at the other location: The fish here is some of the best quality here in Riverside. Every bite melts in your mouth.
Also, order the heart attack— they fill it the jalapeño with spicy tuna.
Support small businesses 😁 the ladies I’ve met so far have been lovely.

Visited 4 years ago

Visited 4 years ago