Kissaki Sushi

Food poisoning. BAD food poisoning. This was an unfortunate incident made far worse by the response and behavior of "Joe Johnson", supposedly the Dir of Operations at Kissaki Hospitality Group - although, I can't find any information about him online so I'm going on the assumption that it's an alias. Perhaps he's Justin Marquez who is the listed Dir of Operations on Linkedin. Again, that's an assumption. I have no idea who "Joe Johnson" actually is. First off, I don't want to be posting bad reviews on restaurants. I am a business owner myself, I have very close friends who are restauranteurs in and around NYC, and I understand that mistakes happen. I take no pleasure in this. However, in any other market - with any other product or service, our experience would warrant a refund. That's what I asked for - and that's what "Joe" refused me. On April 10th, my girlfriend and I went to Kissaki Bowery for omakase. We had not seen each other or eaten together for a couple days prior to meeting there. The staff was lovely. The food was mediocre at best. Certain courses were quite 'fishy' and some oddly heavy tasting for sushi with a finish that left your mouth feeling tingly - in a bad way. But the real problem was the food poisoning which followed. Our stomachs felt quite uncomfortable towards the end of the meal but things got much worse after getting home. SHARP ABDOMINAL PAIN and VOMITING. All night. We were curled up on the bathroom floor in pain, taking turns vomiting into the toilet. My girlfriend is a physician. We both eat sushi regularly. We know what food poisoning looks and feels like. The next day I reached out to the only email I could find online for the restaurant. We reported our experience, asked that they check the inventory before serving anyone else, and politely asked for a refund. I've since checked with a couple of friends in the business and the consensus was, under such circumstances, a refund should definitely be issued. Independent of whether the restaurant accepts responsibility for the illness or not, the customer was clearly not satisfied and considering the extent of the 'dissatisfaction', a refund is the clear 'low hanging fruit' to deescalating the situation. Instead, we got an email from "Joe Johnson" with a phone number on it asking when would be a good time to talk. I got on the phone with him and explained the scenario. His response was formulaic, almost as if he was reading a script on how to handle such complaints. I told him I wasn't casting blame, that I understand these things happen, and that I just wanted him to make sure they checked the inventory and issue us a refund. He said the fish was fine and refused to issue said refund. He said the best he could do was have us back at Kissaki for more omakase - an offer I refused because well... we won't be eating sushi for a while to say the least. I have since reached out to "Joe Johnson" giving him or anyone at Kissaki Hospitality Group the opportunity to refund our money for the incredibly awful experience we had at their establishment. I've reached out several times. The last communication was him telling me on the phone that he thinks "this relationship is over" and that he will not issue a refund and no longer wishes to speak to me. So, now I'm forced to be the 'bad guy' and post this review on every platform available to me followed by reporting a food poisoning incident to the NYC Health Department and New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. Because Kissaki refuses to accept the possibility that a piece of raw seafood they served could have been tainted, and therefore refuses to issue a refund. So... avoid Kissaki Bowery at all costs, and in my humble opinion, the Kissaki Hospitality Group organization is managed by short sighted, condescending, arrogant dullards who can't take a layup no matter how many times it's offered to them.

fresh and delicious! great customer service!