Demae

it pretty good. Well, my first visit to Demae was wonderfull in summer 06. Now, I work at Demae as a busboy. I also Cook. I really enjoy the food there. Lateley, the service there has been bad. I'm not trying to be mean, the waitors are my frends. Sometimes it's not all their fault. The Owner of Demae, Yoshi Hasagawa Is the one at fault because he uses rice that is 1 week old. Sometimes he does not do the sushi right. My Uncle the chef is the one that makes everything so good, so does my aunt who makes tempura. So dont blame the waitors, blame Yoshi.…

Decent sushi, awful service. I am thoroughly convinced that if it weren't for their two-for-one sushi on Tuesday, Damae would be out of business. I'm not sure why people bother to eat in. The service is embarrassing. Yes, I really do feel embarrassed for those who work there. It's typical to be seated and forgotten. The first time I ate in, we sat for 36 minutes (I timed it) before I finally flagged somebody down and asked who would be taking our order. The kid looked around as if to pass the buck onto another employee, but when he realized that he was the only one around, reluctantly took out a notepad to scribble down our order. Thirty minutes later our food was on the table. I ate in again - figuring that the first time was a fluke - and was presented with a similarly awful dining experience.

You MUST get the sushi to go. Walk in, order your sushi, and come back in an hour or so. You pick it up painlessly and you're good to go. Only today, to my disbelief, I went it to order out and they responded with "Oh, we're not allowing to-go orders today."

Like I said, I don't see them in business for much longer.

The only…

Good food for the price. Very casual setting. You have to be assertive with the staff to get served.. I have eaten at De Mae twice now. I will return when I feel like eating sushi that is cheap and tasty in a very casual setting . The food is suprisingly really good, given the price. The restaurant is popular among college students and a crowd of hip young Provo locals (I don't know the term exactly but there is definitely a group of people that embrace a certain "fashion"-- maybe emo or skater?).

Tuesday nights sushi is 3 dollars a roll (2 dollars a nigiri) and this is an amazing deal but the restaurant is typically full (but not beyond full) and less organized on a Tuesday. Normal prices are another dollar or two more per roll, depending on the roll.

The waiters seem friendly and eager to help, but completely unorganized (and a little oblivious). You will need to be assertive with them to get drinks refilled, and they may need a gentle reminder if your food hasn't shown up after a few minutes. Order everything you want, right from first, because the staff might not return for a while unless you get their attention. Both times I've been there, we were served by at least 3 different people, which i found odd, but not necessarily unacceptable. It doesn't seem they assign a watier to the table. I'll admit that one couple came in last time and wasn't attended at all (besides being seated) for about 10 minutes, and finally got up and left, visibly frustrated. Due to this service, I typically tip significantly less than I would at a more service-oriented place.

I've enjoyed the sushi. The chef and owner (a native Japanese gentlemen) does a great job, given the price. Miso soup is up to par but nothing special, same with salad. Haven't tried their terayaki or other dishes.

If you want similar prices and quality in a more organized, intimate, quiet, authentic Japanese setting, try Osaka, on the same block. I like the food slightly better at De Mae. My favorite Japanese in Provo is Asuka. Unless I have an huge pile of cash to drop at Happy Sumo.…