Murasaki

The sushi rolls were sized ok for the price. Taste was lacking big time. Temp was a little on warm side for typical sushi rolls. Waitress never asked to refill my water and it was empty half way through. There were soap spots on all of the dishes and everything was dated. Only tried because a friend said «best sushi ever» and wish I had followed my gut by the reviews. Not even worth giving a second chance.

Came to this restaurant because of a Groupon deal. I had been here about 8 years ago and had a good experience. Very disappointed in the service. My wife got her drink 20 minutes after I got mine. When we reminded the waitress she had ordered a drink she proceeded to tell us, «we didn’t have a glass available to make drink». It took another 20 minutes to order. The sushi came relatively quickly after we ordered and was good. We finished the sushi and were still waiting for the fried rice we ordered for our young daughter. We waited another 20 minutes before deciding to get the fried rice to go. To top it off I waited another 15 minutes for the check while my wife sat in the car.
Will most likely not return.

Came here to use a living social coupon ($ 25 for $ 50) which states no holidays and apparently valentines day is a holiday now so I’m already out $ 85 on this place. Tried to pay with American Express card but of course that wasn’t accepted either. Called living social and they agreed valentines day is not a holiday and refunded me plus some extra. Some places know how to do business and others dont.
As for the sushi, it was ok but I make my own and I am not good at it thus get some fatty parts that are too chewy. I have never eaten fatty chewy sushi while at a restaurant prepared by a sushi chef until I went to Murasaki tonight.

So… not even able to review food as we did not eat… but will recommend you go somewhere else. We will never return. Purchased an amazon local certificate ($ 50 for $ 25), in hopes of trying a new spot with the family, upon entry we waited… and waited… and waited… then another family entered… and waited… and waited… finally met by a «hostess» that exhaled at the sight if two families wanting to eat… I mean the nerve of TWO families wanting to enjoy a sunday afternoon meal… After we let her know there were only 5 in our party and we were separate families, we asked about the hibachi table and were told «NO it closed now, you sit here», she motioned to a table near the door. When asked again about hibachi we got «you come back later» as the response.
We have received a refund on our certificate and will never «come back later» to this s#!t show of a restaurant… no thanks!
My suggestion: drive past, do not enter, enjoy somewhere else.

Good sushi. Had avacado rolls and California rolls while waiting for habachi room to open up. They made a special vegi-​noodle habachi dinner for me. Delicious and filet for my hubby was good. Nice evening in stillwater away from downtown since the power was out at our hotel tonight.

The waitress apologetically informed us that they weren’t able or willing to honor the coupons that they had created for us through Restau​rant​.Com. Based on the other reviews this is only one of a bunch of business ethics related issues that they have going on. Once you get past the BS that the owner and staff throw your way the food is decent enough along with the décor. All in all though I won’t be coming back here and will be taking my money to one of a handful of other Japanese /​Sushi restaurants in area. At this point I’m just curious to see what opens up in the spot they’re in once they finally go under.

The sushi is decent but when compared to costs, it is a bit much. Furthermore, we had a groupon and for some reason our waitress said she could not settle our tab because we needed 12 dollars worth of food more. We thought it weird because we already had 44 dollars worth of food on a 50 dollar deal. so in the end we had to pay an extra 13 dollars for some ambiguous reason. We do not recommend this place at all when for the same price and a little drive u can get far superior food at Fujia in saint paul. In the end, we departed feeling dissatisfied and confused.

Charged for two beers we did not order, the other group at the Teppanyaki table ordered them and was on our bill in addition to our own drinks. Did not notice until now. Next, the server fudged the tip, we tipped $ 22, a fair percent on a $ 170 bill, our credit card bill says $ 222.00.
Server tells us that the kids Chicken menu for teppenyaki is not enough for a 10 year old, but guess what? Portions for the 7 year old and 9 year old are the same as the adult portion!
Will be reporting this place to the Better Business Bureau.

We went there for our anniversary on a very quiet Tuesday night. Everyone was very friendly (maybe lonely?) and the sushi was F A N T A S T I C! We were there once before to use our Groupon and of course, the wait was much longer as it was a busy Friday night. It’s depressing to read of their service problems, because we really enjoyed ourselves and loved our food. Please get it together, Murasaki!

This review is for the sushi side of the restaurant:
Initial impression was «UHHHGHH STRIP MALL SUSHI». We went in, sat down and waited… and waited… and waited… Oh! Someone came up to answer the phone… and ignored us… so we waited…(we had reservations, but were a little early)…and we still kept waiting for someone to greet us. Finally, we were seated. At a humongous table… when there were two of us. (I bet the four-​top that came in after us was TICKED.)
The sushi took forever (we got two chef’s choice platters). In the process of… waiting some more… we got some free edamame to snack on… and we still waited. By the time our fishies came, we were so hungry we couldn’t even savor it like we wanted to.
So, to sum it up, the food was okay, but you’re going to have to wait for it… even if you have a reservation. Our server was sweet, but the lack of greeting and being ignored by the owner was enough to damper anyone’s enjoyment. We won’t be back.

The scene was pretty much set when the waitress/​host/​bartender sat us at the table. She never said hello, never gave her name, never asked what we wanted to drink, NOTHING. She walked away after we were sat and didn’t come back for almost a full 30 minutes.
Once the family began arriving it took about another 20 minutes for her to appear at the table. Of course, she sat other tables, took other drink orders, even managed to get food out to other tables. When she finally came over to take the order, it was more about ordering food and not drinks even though not a single water or cocktail was at the table. She set a marker down and walked away.
We were essentially supposed to write on the laminated menu what we wanted and wait for her to come by and pick it back up in the hopes that she would even enter it correctly.
When we were able to order waters she even managed to deliver those in a rude way.
Speaking of drinks, did you know that a Sake bomb is now charged as a shot of sake and a house beer? The WORST $ 12 «shot» in the entire state.
When the order arrived on the table it didn’t take long to realize that even though we had hand delivered the menu with our order clearly marked, they had sent out the wrong sushi, not that they delivered the wrong tables food, but they literally did not make what we ordered.
Of course that was sent back.
Now for the real fiasco, the bill. We were STILL charged for the more expensive sushi that we didn’t order, and the woman REFUSED to split the bill up between the separate parties of people and let us know that WE would be responsible for divvying up the bill ourselves.
To add insult to injury we were also charged a gratuity fee (for the 7 people in our «party» that were all on separate tabs), but not the typical 18%. This exorbitant and ridiculous restaurant charges 26% gratuity for parties of just 7 people that weren’t even supposed to be on the same tab.
This place is a complete joke. A HORRIBLE experience, and I will be letting EVERYONE know through social media and word of mouth what a crappy hovel filled with basic and flavorless sushi this place is.
I would at least expect that the manager would contact me or call me back, but I won’t hold my breath on that one.
$ 60 including a RIDICULOUS mandatory tip for 2 people to have 4 rolls and 2 overpriced sake bombs. I would be surprised if they didn’t start charging for water, or the air you breathe there.

While wish I could say better things, but look I got a hundred dollar trust, no soup, no dessert. I left hungury… Go to Asia Bistro they know how to treat a person

It used to be very good. A hidden little spot in a strip mall in Stillwater. Yay — sushi and teppanyaki in Stillwater! (We live here.)
Sadly, it slowly declined in quality over 5 – 6 years.
Then they decided to host a 2 for 1 groupon-​like deal. However, they really couldn’t keep up with the people and the food took an additional nosedive. Very sad.
I doubt there were many repeat customers in that crowd of ruffians, but they did alienate the regulars.
We were almost done with the place already and now we are finished.

I’ll start with a refrain I see is common in these reviews, we had a coupon, the
deal $ 50 worth for $ 25 and decided to try the place out, next to a gas station in a strip mall on a Friday night and we parked right in front, not a good sign. The food was so so, not much flavor, and the automatic 18% tip kinda riled me up a bit, its not like we had a big group, we only had 5 people. The scallops were big and cooked perfect but flavorless, which seemed to be a common theme here. the teriyaki chicken was moist but also had absolutely no flavor, the fried rice was extra $ 3.50/person but good. Three of the four steaks were good but one diners steak was extremely chewy (sirloin). Our bill for 5 diners with 6 drinks was $ 230 fortunately we had two of the deals so that nocked a $ 100 off the top, but still a little pricey for the experience. Probably won’t go back.
Didn’t try the sushi we did the habachi thing. If I was in Stillwater looking for sushi I would hit Shang hi Bistro Downtown on Main Street they have a great deck for summer dining and the sushi is great

So we had a groupon for this location, and we were there on the second to last day to use it, a Monday night where there was a line (yes, for sushi in Stillwater). The other reviews said pretty meh things about this location, but we figured we’d try it out.
The hot towels they bring you were a nice touch, but they were really worn out. Like that towel you use to clean your bike chain when you were a kid, how it was all frayed and disheveled looking, that best describes the look of that towel. The salads were good, we tried the side salad. My wife had a wasabi martini concoction to drink, and while it was tasty, most of the wasabi pooled up at the bottom, leaving the last of it unbearable to drink.
The sushi was nice looking, but two of the specialty rolls we ordered looked exactly the same. I don’t recall what all we ordered, but both of the specialty rolls weren’t rolled very good, they both fell apart when picking them up. The tamago however was great, and I liked the way it was put together.
Overall if you’re hankering for a sushi fix and happen to be in Stillwater proper, with no escape to St Paul or Minneapolis, this will give you your fill. Otherwise, if you do have a car, you can find better.

My husband and I went for a weekend to Stillwater for a family wedding, and decided to try Murasaki since we love hibachi. When we arrived on a Saturday night, and it was completely dead… bad sign. We proceeded to wait 20 minutes while the table filled up with 4 more diners even though we’d had a reservation. The service was poor; we didn’t feel welcomed by the staff, there was almost a fog of animosity in the air, and the waitress threw «rules» at us about the
coupon we had that were not listed on the coupon itself (must buy a drink, must upgrade to fried rice, must get dessert). You get the picture.
The food was pretty good, though the salad and soup were not the usual varieties for this kind of dinner, but were more Americanized and just kind of bland. The actual hibachi itself was excellent, but the chef had no personality and didn’t try to interact with any of the individuals at the table. After our visit, I reviewed the restaurant honestly on the
website, and I got some very snide responses from the owner. It seems instead of taking note of what reviewers are mentioning, he makes excuses and tries to prove you wrong. This just strikes me as bad business. You can be sure we won’t be returning to this restaurant on future visits to Stillwater.

I really wish I could give this place more stars because they were very sweet. We came right as they opened for an early dinner using a Groupon ($ 25 for $ 50 worth of food) and the service was very attentive and nice. They only have Sake martinis which I found interesting. They were a little sweet but it was kind of cool (note: they really don’t have vodka).
We started with the spring rolls — these were the highlight of my experience! I love spring rolls that are made correctly, i.e. not deep fried like an egg roll. They came with a delish peanut dipping sauce and were a perfect starter for two people.
We had a couple sushi rolls and I felt the fish was just mediocre. To be honest, they tasted kind of funny to me. I’ve had better.
The salad and the egg drop soup that came with our entrée was very good.
GRIPE: 18% gratuity automatically added onto bill because of the Groupon. Ugh. I believe it would be a better practice for Murasaki to leave the tip up to their customer’s discretion. If they’re going to add gratuity automatically, it might be best to stick with a more conservative 15%. Not that they didn’t deserve 18%, it just sucks when you feel like you didn’t have control over it and weren’t overly impressed with your food.
I don’t think this area has many options for sushi so if I lived in the area, I would give them another try. Probably without a Groupon.

I had a groupon and have been a regular here for quite some time now. It is recommended to come in during the weekdays or later in the evenings on weekends as the place could get extremely crowded that might result in a poorer service.
The owner, Chi, is an excellent host with a very kindly and comforting attitude. She frequently goes around the restaurant to ask the customers if everything was satisfactory. Besides from the calm but beautiful décor and superb servers, the food itself is great in every aspect. Although some might complain the portions are too small, one calamari app or a soft shell crab could be a great addition to an entrée. Sushis are made from a very fresh selection of fish, not to mention the engaging and friendly sushi chefs.
Great town jam and def recommend this place!

Had read a few negative comments about the place and using Groupons and such, so honestly I was prepared for not the best experience. My visit, I did the Hibachi. We arrived and chilled at the bar for a few while they prepped the area, as we did arrive a bit early. We were seated shortly after, and the server informed us that we would have a full table as there was 3 other couples joining us.
First dish brought out was a pretty excellent egg drop soup, not to thick, and very good flavor. Next was a small salad that consisted of iceberg lettuce, carrots, and some red cabbage. What made this salad so delish was the dressing. Almost like a peanut vinaigrette, I could have just chowed on that! As we are eating this, the chef had started cooking a mound of fresh veggies consisting of zucchini, yellow squash, carrots, and onions, along with the shrimp appetizer (2 shrimps per person), and doing a little show. You are given 2 dipping sauces, 1 shrimp sauce that I thought was pretty decent, and 1 ginger sauce which I really liked. My other half preferred the shrimp sauce.
Prior to the chef coming out, the server had taken our dinner orders. The chef did confirm what we had all ordered before putting it out on the grill. The show was fun, and he was very interactive with our group. No, he was not Asian as someone else mentioned, but who cares? Are all sushi chef’s Asian, are all Mexican food joints owned by Mexicans? He cooked my other half’s steak to perfection (medium), and my scallops were to die for. Not rubbery at all, and very tasty. The teriyaki chicken was just OK, not very flavorful at all. I think if they maybe used a richer sauce, it would enhance it.
With your meal you are given the option of either white rice (included) or chicken fried rice (an extra $ 3.50 per person) we both opted for the chicken fried rice.
Overall the meal was excellent, and the service was very good. Our server would bring us fresh iced tea even if our glasses weren’t empty, just because the ice had melted down, and they were getting a little warm, which I thought was awesome.
When it came time to the bill, every couple at the table had a coupon of sorts it turned out. 3 of us had a Groupon, and one couple had something from restaurant dot com. I overheard the server say that the dot com voucher, they had to include the gratuity, but not for the groupons ones.
All in all a decent evening, this was the first time I have had hibachi here in the north, and it was decent. The steak was pretty good, scallops excellent, shrimp good, and chicken so/​so. Only giving it 3 stars because it just didn’t truly impress me as I had hoped. No complaint with service or staff, guess I’m just maybe a bit spoiled from my other experience’s elsewhere.

We has a $ 25 off $ 50 coupon and that’s the only reason we tried this place. My wife and I are seasoned restaurant eaters and thought we try this place since we had this coupon and all. The portions were small. I ordered the fried rice and got ½ plate with a tomato and lettuce garnishment on the side. The spicy tuna roll and the avocado roll were so small that I really thought the cook was thinking of rolling a cigar rather than a Japanese roll. My wife ordered a meat dish and it was so sweet she could eat it.
This pace is not a good value even with a coupon.