River Japanese Cuisine

Browsing through Yelp reviews made Flushing Food a little nervous about visiting the Flushing location of River Japanese Cuisine. As of March 23, 2015, forty-eight out of a total ninety-six (50%) indicated that service needed the most improvement.** There were eighteen one-star reviews. Eleven out of this disgruntled fifteen (61%) cited service as the primary reason.  

Yikes! But Flushing Food owes it to our readers to check out each and every eatery with an open mind. 

Service was better than expected. As you probably guessed, this is mainly due to (1) visiting during off-peak hours (late weekday lunchtime), and (2) negative bias from browsing through online reviews. Five waiters and waitresses walked the floor while two sushi chefs and kitchen staff hustled at their assigned stations. Soothing genmaicha (or hojicha; didn’t have my tea A-game on this day) arrived immediately and was refilled in a timely manner. 

Don, a manager from Fujian province, cautioned that weeknights and weekends are another story. “We started out Friday night with five buckets of Mr. Green Tea ice cream. Two-and-a-half gallons (twenty pints) of ice cream in each tub. On Monday? Gone."

As for ambience, River’s décor offsets this Chinese-owned Japanese restaurant’s basement-level location. Carpeted stairs and an automatic glass sliding door entrance punctuate where Main Street ends. As you settle in for lunch or dinner, you’ll note first that the interior gives a calming, inviting effect. Bright lighting highlights warm wood finishes: 

However, the eclectic playlist leaves room for improvement, especially for all-you-can-eat patrons. All songs featured uncomfortably fast tempos, which clashed with the more laid-back surroundings.*** More importantly, this might subconsciously get diners to rush through their meal, raising the chances of a later upset stomach for some!

Onto food. Instead of all-you-can-eat sushi, I asked for a $19.00 sashimi deluxe.**** This entrée came with a choice between complimentary miso soup or garden salad. I picked garden salad, and received this small bowl within two minutes: 

Counting down from when the salad arrived, fifteen minutes had passed when my sashimi deluxe arrived in an exquisite presentation over a bowl of ice and freshly-cut orchid:

The winner of today’s sashimi meal was the white tuna (shiro maguro). Low-fat tuna (akami), red clam (akagai), and yellowtail (buri) were decent in taste and freshness. Last place was the salmon sashimi (sake), because it arrived still a bit chilled, yet left a fishy aftertaste.

Don insisted on trying out $4.00 mochi ice cream (green tea flavor) to cap off the meal. Whether you visit or order, don't miss out on green tea desserts! Sensitive teeth be darned: 

May Flushing Food suggest: trying the green tea mochi!


* River also has a Bayside location.

** http://www.yelp.com/biz/river-japanese-cuisine-flushing. Excluding cell service complaints.

*** Notably, "Dark Horse" (Katy Perry) and "Talk Dirty to Me" (Jason Derulo). Meh.

**** Located under the “sushi bar entrées” section.

Media credits: Helen Y.

Gadget: Nikon® COOLPIX™ AW110  

Software: Fotor