Arata Sushi

The restaurant is set a little back from the main road, and is difficult to find unless you are looking for it. It is in the middle of one of those mini-strip-malls that seem to be breeding across the land. Nicely furnished and decorated, bordering on the pretentious, but then this is Prospect, home of the local Old Money.

Our waiter (Gerald) was very soft-spoken, but a pleasant enough fellow, and very helpful. We started off with a salad and a Miso soup. Both were about twice the size that we are expecting. This was followed by a sushi order consisting of a Spider Roll and "Sunshine" one of the few specialty rolls that worked for both of us (I can't handle spices, and Her Ladyship does not like anything with Cream Cheese in it). Both were very nice - Her Ladyship thought that the Sunshine roll was delightful.

The total for the mean came to $26, which is very reasonable for a meal of this caliber. As Darth Vader would say: "Impressive"

And that's where it went pear-shaped. We had a Groupon for this place, and they add an 18% gratuity for Groupons. I understand why they do this - some Groupon-bearing customers are lousy tippers. I am not one of them; having once waited tables, I normally try to tip well, and always more than 18%. But singling out Groupons for this treatment just seems... wrong.

Even more annoying, having added 18% to the bill, they then have the nerve to ask for a second gratuity. I was tempted to leave nothing more, but that would have just punished our waiter, which would not be fair, so I left a few dollars extra.

This annoyance was the only blot upon an otherwise perfect experience, and that cost them that fifth star. The funny thing was that I would probably have left a bigger tip if they hadn't been so grabby.

I will probably return; the food and service were both excellent. Perhaps the experience is better if you don't have a Groupon.

"nice place. beautiful inside. friendly attentive server. possibly too attentive. great sushi! ordered both specials and two basic rolls. LOVED THEM ALL! will go back for sure!"

"Very good Sushi and the decor is very upscale. Will definitely eat here often"