Aji Sai Japanese Restaurant - Markham

If I could give 0 stars I absolutely would!! Horrible dining experience!! I went to this restaurant tonight with my family for dinner and was extremely disappointed. I have frequented this establishment several times in the past but today was the first time I was treated like a thief. We had a party of 5 adults and were seated. I was not feeling hungry enough to have AYCE so I selected a bento box. Immediately the waitress said everyone has to have AYCE at the table. I explained that I did not want AYCE and simply wanted to order a bento box. I further explained that I would only be eating my food and none of the AYCE that the other members would be ordering. I even pointed out that I am sitting right on the end in their full view so that they could see what I'm eating. Ultimately the servers would NOT allow me to sit at the same table at the restaurant with the rest of my family and made me sit at another table apart from my family because they felt I would steal food from other members of my party. I came into the restaurant with the hope to dine with my family but was seated as a single diner at a totally separate table. This was absolutely bizarre, awkward and upsetting for everyone in the party. The waitress even tried to sway my husband to agree that it was acceptable. How delusional is this server!! If this was only my husband and I attending I would have left right at the beginning but I was with other senior family members that were looking forward to a sushi dinner. I definitely voiced my displeasure. On the way out when dinner had ended, another diner approached and told me she could not believe that had happened to me. She fully supported my displeasure and felt that a restaurant has to be smart about how they treat customers. She felt their actions were inappropriate and would just result in a loss of business in the future. This lady is absolutely right and and I will never again pay money at this establishment and I will make sure any potential customers be warned of the prejudice and assumptions that they will experience. RUDE! RUDE! RUDE! There are many Japanese restaurants nearby... spend your money elsewhere! This restaurant clearly doesn't want to treat customers with dignity

New owners with lots of care , energy and great food! Now that restaurants are open, it’s our go to place for all you can eat Japanese food and great overall Asian food. Although it’s pricey since everything has gone up after Covid, we enjoy it very much, and feel it’s well worth it.

We've frequented this restaurant quite a bit over the years. They often get bad reviews for the service but it really is not that bad... it's service. Don't expect to be overly pampered. You order, they serve your food, kindly, that's it. As for the food, It will keep you coming back! It's not loaded with salt and it's always fresh. It became a family favourite because it was one of few places with a 25km radius that actually serve green tea inclusive and they have WAKAME salad! Not seaweed... wakame! Sorry, not many places have it so this is a big deal for me and my family. All things with beef and chicken are great! You have the teriyaki dishes, the skewers and personal fave, enoki. I'm not one that likes saucy dishes like General tsao but it's not bad. The sushi and maki rolls are so fresh to order that your rice is warm and the fill is usually cold. Beer mindful of some rolls, like the Green dragon, because they may contain eel. I only point that out because most places in the area shi not. They did renovate a few years ago and the ambiance is comfortable. The only thing that was not added to the menu even after renos... chocolate ice cream : Note: Parking can be a challenge on the weekends.

Dinner was a choice of a la carte items or their all you can eat choice. We were 2 having dinner and we ordered a la carte items with a $50 value. The server suggested that we switch to the All You Can Eat choice for an additional $10. $30.95 each). We agreed but our a la carte item of Unagi on rice was already on the table. We asked if this item was included because my wife liked this dish. The server said YES everything in the a la carte menu she was even holding the menu and pointing to it) was included in the all you can eat option. When we reordered the unagi rice she suddenly said that this was not included. Bad bad practice ! My wife and I argued that we were just told the unagi on rice was included in the all you can eat option. Now the server was in hot water. She talked to her colleague in Cantonese and she informed us that it was really not included. She could not give us a good answer when we argued that she just said it is included. She went on to explain that only the unagi sushi was included. Tricks tricks...Who would want to eat in a place where they trick you ?? The unagi was sliced so thin that it was like sukiyaki beef. It was not the traditional authentic Japanese style unagi on rice where you can get in any other Japanese resto.

The food was ok, average here, nothing impressive. But the older server was with attitude, it was not a busy night but seems like he was annoyed to serve. The mango pudding was watery. Well, won't come back if I have choice.