Having eaten at all of the sushi joints in the Cities my girlfriend and I thought we'd try Woodbury's new sushi place - Giapponese. \r
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Food - We were pleased by the food overall. The three rolls that we had were good (although the mango one tended towards being too sweet) but not great.\r
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Drinks - She had the pomegranate martini (avoid - tasted like Kool-Aide and ill-tasting excessive amounts of vodka). I had the cucumber martini (excellent).\r
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Service - We sat at the sushi bar. For a Friday at 8pm it was surprising quiet overall. Unfortunately midway through our meal in a 1/2 empty restaurant we were asked to ""slide down to the end of the bar "" - with a wonderful view of the toilettes. This was odd and we didn't know quite what to do. Being Minnesotans we ended up obliging. What happened next was even more peculiar - we were expected to move all of our food, drinks, plates, sushi and belongings to the end. Very awkward. Awkward at ""The Gopher Bar"" (where you would never be asked to do this) but very awkward when you're dropping a Benjamin on dinner. \r
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A bit distraught we asked for the manager. The 20-something guy that came over was very dismissive. He didn't listen to our concerns. Instead he opened with ""Can I buy you dessert?"" We tried to explain that getting dessert wasn't our goal - a simple apology would have sufficed. Instead we got: ""You should expect that at any sushi bar."" Except that we've eaten at plenty and never been asked to move. \r
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Our waiter, a bit sheepishly, returned and explained that the manager's friends were in a group of four, had shown up late to their reservations and wanted to sit at the bar...in our spots. \r
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So what started as a great night ended poorly. Not because we were asked to move but because it was made fairly clear that our dining experience doesn't matter. The best food in the world can't make up for a careless attitude. In a town with great sushi places we would recommend avoiding this one.
Pros: If you're in Woodbury it's your best bet for sushi...
Cons: ...but there's better food just down the road (not to mention service).
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