We're going to say that this place started out with 5 stars:
- they get to keep 1 for good food (this surprised me, I wasn't expecting anything other than dry sushi and uber sticky rice from a joint in the mall)
- they get another star because our waiter, Ryan, was a pretty nice guy to us
- then we take away three stars for Ryan, the hostess (red haired chick who had to leave early to go put eyelashes on), and the manager
Apparently my boyfriend and I had a lull in our conversation because I started paying attention to what was going on in the restaurant. I noticed an interaction between the hostess and a girl who I later found out was named Taylor. It seems like Taylor asked her where she was going or why she was taking a break or something like that, it's not really that important. Anyway, Ms. Hostess turns around and says to Ryan, "Did you like my response to her? That I had to go put my eyelashes on. (hahaha) Fuck her." First, your customers shouldn't be listening to you cuss out a fellow coworker. Second, fuck her because you had to put EYELASHES on?! Oh wow, priorities people.
I kept observing and noticed that this Taylor chick was literally running around doing everything (waiting on tables, cleaning up, saying goodbye to customers, refilling water, whatever) while Ryan was walking from one side to the other gabbing with whom I later found out was the GM. Only because of his inattentive gossip sesh did I end up calling Taylor over to find out why she was the restaurant version of Cinderella.
I have never in my life had a restaurant experience ruined because of the interactions between the STAFF! How absurd is that? Paying (too much) money for mall sushi and then watching the three evil stepsisters in action pissed me off so much that had I not been on a mini vacation from Chicago, I would probably have wasted my time making a stink that day, but I didn't really want to sour my mood. The fact that Taylor was able to very cheerfully say goodbye to everyone was kind of amazing, especially considering that our own waiter didn't say thank you or goodbye to us.
Despite the surprisingly good sushi, I would never support this establishment should I ever visit the Mall of America again. There is that saying that a person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter is not a nice person - I think this totally applies here and I wouldn't want to help pay the salaries of or compensate rude people with tips. I am concerned that given the nastiness of this group, this girl that I thought was being treated ridiculously will get singled out, in which case, I hope there are some pro-bono lawyers in the lurch. What I hope will happen is that the GM will open up her eyes to how her management of the employees is being viewed by customers.
It was delicious. It's a small, round, snug as a bug in a rug dead smack in the middle of the largest mall in America, but it wasn't too noisy or too rustle bustle. Although my waitress did take a while to bring me my check, it's justified because the place is full pretty much the entire time it's open. Expensive, yes. Duh, the location. But worth it. So worth it. Get the Miso Soup, it's the bet I've ever had and I've had a lot of Miso Soup.
Review Source:Goodness!!! I rarely give 5 stars, but this place has the best sushi ever. I moved to Boston couple years ago and now I still crave for their food. If I ever have the chance to go back to MN, this would be the first stop once I get off the plane! Although I have to admit the price is high, I never regretted spending money here because it's just so good.
Review Source:GLUTEN FREE TEMPURA, enough said. I freaking lost my shit (not literally, thank gosh, that would be awkward) when the waitress told me they have gluten free tempura. I have been craving vegetable tempura for years, literally years. They also have gluten free soy sauce, which is essential for a celiac when chosing a sushi restaurant. Sushi without soy sauce it like eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich without peanut butter.
Also, their tiger balls are delicious! Yum Yum.
I am not sure about this place. Is it ambitious and failing to meet its high goals? Or just a little quirky, weird for its own sake? I went there with a "tough crowd" - a 10 year old boy who won't eat much besides junk food and hates fish, and a very sophisticated 70-something woman. She had the "scallop purses" - I tried one and was massively disappointed. It was basically a cream cheese wonton, which is basically American food for Chinese restaurants, so why is it in a Japanese sushi bar? If there was a scallop in there, you would never taste it, and in fact it had a vaguely fishy taste, more like salmon than scallop. The boy had a mochi ice cream special. He liked the ice cream and hated the mochi. He said it was fuzzy, and his guardian (the 70-something) tasted it and agreed. I used to make mochi desserts at home and I never remember them being fuzzy, so I don't know what was going on there. I had age-dashi, which was good, but not right at all. The tofu was just lightly breaded fried tofu, not age, and the soup was not dashi, but sort of a thinned down teriyaki sauce. And tuna maki, which was acceptable. I had a Tiger beer, which now I have tasted and will not order again. It tasted like Miller Lite to me. We really liked the glassware.
Review Source:We traveled all over the world, including Japan. Â We were being tourist at MOA and was craving for a light, fresh, and non fast food option. Â We ce across this place, pricey. Â I guess being in MOA, you can charge more. The sushi was better then average for Minnesota. Â Good service depending the time of day you visit.
Review Source:I had my very first sushi experience here; it all started out with the veggie rolls... aw. Â This is my favorite sushi place and has been for years. The number 10/ Zen is my favorite roll of all time. I'm sad that it gets bad reviews... I've never had a bad time here and have probably been here over 20 times. I've been a few times on my birthday and the chefs always take care of me and make a fun fancy fruit sushi dessert or dinner. Love it here!
Review Source:I came here for a quick lunch while shopping at the Mall of America. Â Little did I know that I was about to encounter the most gross sushi I've ever had.
Place was quiet, I sat at the which is nice. Â The chef asked for my order (almost demanded), so I quick went for the crunchy tuna salmon roll. Â Everything was extremely overpriced, but this was $13 for 10 pieces. Â It turns out the roll was completely deep fried. Â Not delicious deep fried like blue shelled crab...no, like State Fair deep fried. Â I honestly believe the reason this is done is because the quality of the fish is so terrible. Â The tuna legitimately looked like chicken of the sea. Â My stomach ached for hours.
Service was with a smile. Â Avoid at all costs.
I was back in my hometown hood again for a girls weekend and we decided to venture to MOA for some shopping. While there, we grabbed lunch at Tiger Sushi. I've been to their uptown location recently too and loved it. Â I expected nothing less at this intimate location. I was RIGHT!!! YUM-O! And its not just the great sushi, the whole dining experience was so much fun!
Our server, Ryan was so upbeat, charming and knowledgeable and he made our whole experience delightful. Â He recommended that we order the Lucky 13 roll -- but then he recommended that we request it to be made a "special" way with all Sockeye Salmon. Â He said that Sockeye Salmon is great for your skin - loaded with Omega 3's. Â Great way to get four women on board! When he brought it to our table, he said "and here is your instant face lift, ladies". Cute. Â Then he recommended another roll to my friend who is a vegetarian. Â It had the oddest name (Fungus Amoungus) but it was incredible. Â It was made with Shitake mushrooms that had been marinated in a rich, yummy sauce which gave them a nice sort of rich, meaty texture. Â It's hard for vegetarians to eat out because they're often limited to the salad or vegetables or a "tasteless" vegetarian option that is a big letdown. Â This Shitake Mushroom roll was like a hearty meal - very filling and satisfying yet still completely vegetarian.
A highlight for me, lover of all things spicy, was the "Screaming Sauce" which was a creamy sauce made with pickled Habeneros. We ALL loved it. Â It kind of sneaks up on you with the heat - but the creaminess tamed it down just enough.
Overall, we LOVED our lunch. The place is so cute and intimate and provides a nice, healthy, non-food court option while dining during shopping. I will be back!
Going to the Mall of America can be overwhelming for food choices. For me it is no choice. Not a big Mall person I find it comforting that Tiger Sushi is there to feed my healthy food craving of sushi. Â The other day it was cold and windy so I went to the Mall to walk and get some blood flowing and then went for sushi with Chef Joe. He created for me a Sock It To Me roll. It was made up out of his creative mind with the unique fish he had that day. In this case it was tuna and yellowtail kicked up spicy and lots flavors. The roll was huge as it contains a lot of ingredients. More than enough to fill me up. Almost forgot I started with darkened edamame. Spicy and fun with cashews and a serrano pepper sauce. I like a draft beer to wash down the heat but they only have bottles...darn...But Liz was so nice to explain the fact of no cellar for the keg that I tolerated the Corona bottle. I will repeat whenever I am at the Mall.
Review Source:I used to work at the Mall of America and would go here occasionally for lunch.
The last time I ate there changed everything and I will never eat there again! Â A co-worker & I were sitting right at the sushi bar for lunch. Â I ordered a winter roll that day. Â As my friend and I were conversing, I was also interested in watching our sushi be made. Â Suddenly, I was fairly certain that the guy making our food cut himself with the knife he was using. Â I could tell by his reaction, but was also still half talking with my friend so I wondered if I had just not been paying close enough attention.
The guy kept wiping his finger on the cloth sitting on the counter & running his finger under water. Â He also kept sneaking glances over to us to see if we had noticed. Â There was clearly blood on the towel & my friend also noticed it & was just as shocked. Â Long story short, the guy continued wiping off blood while he finished our rolls & proceeded to serve us the sushi that he had just bled in!!!!!!!! Â He was not wearing gloves & immediately headed to the bathroom nearby.
Another guy noticed the obvious look of disgust on our faces. Â He was hardly apologetic and only offered to remake our rolls while another worker that overheard the story went to the bathroom to check on the guy. Â The guy that made the bloody sushi rolls came back with his finger bandaged. Â At that point I didn't stick around to see if anyone sent him home.
Insanitary & disgusting!!!!!!!
Perfect spot. Unwind,..post splurge at Mall of America?!!  Good place to stop for re -charge for shopper post mania. Quality of fish uncertain. Excellent stop for regroup in midst of frenzy. Have a nice hot sake with a low calorie  sushi order or a nice hand roll.  The lack of space for shopping bags is a good sign that  this is a time to eat, drink, and leave the mall...UNTIL THE NEXT DAY,. Ha, ha!
Review Source:Yeah, Target called, and they want their sushi recipe back.
I've had bad sushi, and then I've had THEIR sushi. Both are bad, but if you like dried up rice, partially refrigerated fish, and funky after-tastes than you will most assuredly enjoy this!
Add to it the terrible customer service and the Spanish speaking sushi roller and you have yourself a winning combination for disaster.
If I want decent and affordable sushi on my lunch break, I will stop off at Lunds/Byerly's on my way to the mall and have their Japanese chef roll me a fresh one in store. At least then I can be assured of freshness, authenticity, quality, and he doesn't act like I'm a walking dollar bill.
This place is located in the Mall of America. It's very small and trendy. We went during lunch time and they were out of some of the items that I wanted to order. The sushi - was ok at best. Lots of rice very little fish. I also ordered some chicken for my son and it tasted bad. I wouldn't go here if you really want sushi and know good sushi. Prices are expensive.
Review Source:For being in the Mall of America, this place is pretty good and reasonably priced. My girlfriend and I ate off the lunch menu with the smaller rolls, and it was both satisfying and inexpensive. Some of the other menu items are more "Mall-of-Amerca" priced. I wouldn't suggest it as a regular place in the Cities.
Review Source:I have to say that being from the SF Bay Area I've been forced to adjust my standards for Sushi dramatically. However, they have tempura here that reminds me of home so I go several times a week and have established myself as a regular regular. The uptown location is larger but the MOA location is, well?... kinda like Frank Sinatra: on the small side but with tons of charisma.
Review Source:I came here bc I had some time to kill before my flight. I'm always craving sushi and this spot looked pretty good - moderately crowded with 3 sushi chefs. I was immediately seated and ordered the Dymamighty roll, sake maki and tiger bombs. The rolls came in about 10 mins which was awesome! The portions, however was pretty tiny and each roll only came with six tiny, very thin pieces. Luckily, they messed up one roll so I got that one and the correct roll for free. Overall, it was good but expensive for what you get. It is fresh though, so definitely come here if you need your fix (or if you're not paying)!
Review Source:I was craving sushi and being in town on business staying across the street I had ran out of new places to try that look appealing. To me, sushi in the mall and such a small place either means its bad or its a goldmine.
I had 2 rolls and the skewer combo with salmon, chicken, and beef. The two sushi rolls were large in size which i was happy to see. I have the spicy tuna and the crunchy salmon tuna roll. The skewers came with a sweet glaze and a hot mustard to dip into. The 2 sauces were good but nothing special.
To top off this delightful meal I see a little nugget of gold on the menu "habenero mayo". I forgot what the name they had for this sauce. I promptly had that at my table to dip into. This is what made the meal for me by amplifying the heat of everything by 1000. Dipped the sushi in the soy and then a nice little bit of the may and BOOM it was heaven in every bite.
Give this place a try for sure. Would go back and try their White authentic japanese beer.
The original Tiger Sushi in Mall of America was my first exposure to Tiger Sushi. I went in with low expectations, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.
I've found the fish to be fresh. They say the ultimate test of how good a sushi restaurant is is the uni. I haven't tried it but those who really like uni that I've taken there were struck by how good it is (uni is best fresh).
Tiger is known for it's creative rolls and sauces, amongst the most creative in the Twin Cities. Traditionalists will be disappointed, perhaps irritated by this, but there are traditional rolls as well. Cooked items are also tasty. The tempura ice cream is the best I've ever had bar none.
Recommended whether it was in the MOA or not!
Nestled in Mall of America, it's a small restaurant away from the food court crowd. Â I was seated right away around 2p for a late lunch, it was very busy. Â I ordered the peach iced tea, it wasn't sweet at all. Â The miso soup had a nice twist, it had green onions and crisped rice pieces (I think) in it. Â The crunch gave the soup a different texture than the regular miso soups. Â I order the toro roll, fatty tuna with salmon topped with sesame seeds. Â It was alright. Â The amount of fish was a little small, the rice was slightly too sticky. Â Their wasabi is extra weak, not sure if that's because it's Minnesota.
The food is okay, good for mall food. Â It is overpriced though. Â Sashimi comes in pieces of 5, I think they should also come in 2's so you're not paying $11 for a sashimi order if you want a variety. Â My roll was $11, I know it had fatty tuna, but there wasn't much in there and the pieces were small. Â Knowing what other restaurants are in the mall, I'll come again if I want sushi and my husband is paying.
I literally eat here EVERY single Saturday (unless I'm out of town) and I absolutely love it.
For appetizers, the edamame is great and the scallop purses are fantastic. The crunchy Rolls (especially if you add cream cheese!) are incredible, as well as the scorpion rolls. Sushi not necessarily your thing? No problem. The Udon Noodle soup is wonderful! Pair any of it with a Hitachino white ale or a bottle of sparkling sake and trust me, you'll be in heaven.
The staff is fantastic, ask for either of the Liz's as your server, they won't let you down ;)
I've been a fan of this great respite in the Mall of America for years. I love the water feature and the round glass design of the space, not to mention the counter area at the sushi bar being perfectly accessible for wheelchair-users.
I always order the green tea, the spicy "Toro" balls (spicy tuna w/ lots of wasabi), their shrimp tempura rolls and veggie tempura. It's consistently good, fast service, and when inside, it feels like you're not at the mall, but in a cool area of Minneapolis (a good thing!).
Tiger, the old Japanese man who owns it, is a gem. He treats returning customers great and if you're lucky, he'll even give you free pineapple for dessert (thx Tiger!).
Ok, I get it: Â Fresh sushi at the Mall of America is kind of an oxymoron, right? Â How could the plasticized shopping experience that is MOA carry any weight of authenticity? Â Well I don't know how these guys did it, but I'm telling you, it's a MUST EAT if you're in the neighborhood. Â Don't get me wrong, there is another Tiger in uptown, so nothing about this particular venue that can't be experienced elsewhere, but this establishment has my very favorite roll ever created: the Winter Roll. Â (See my "last meal" for evidence of my love for this little piece ov heaven.) I always try something new on the side. This weekend I had the salmon roe sushi, which was awesome. Â I had the sparkling sake for the first time as well. Â I am not a big fan of sake, but was pleasantly suprised at how crisp and sweet it was, almost like champagne!
It's not a huge restaurant, so unless you go off peak times, prepare to wait a bit for a space to free up. Â You best not be claustrophobic if seated at the sushi bar. Â You will be invited in on other people's conversations, and you can expect to have some eavesdropping take place on your gossip as well. Â But watching the sushi chefs create their mini-masterpieces is like watching a magician contort...well, raw fish into pure bliss. Â Two thumbs up for service. Â Say hello to JR if you go!
We were in town for a couple days for business and on our last night went to the MOA. After a couple of hours of walking around we got hungry and walked over to Tiger Sushi.
I should preface this review by saying that I'm Japanese and from Hawaii, so my taste for sushi might be more refined than most.
For the most part the sushi that we ordered was OK. I'd say it's on par with the sushi we eat at kaiten restaurants back home (fast, casual sushi places with the conveyor belt). To my surprise the prices were much higher than we would have expected. We were ignored a little by our server when we first came in, but the sushi chef caught on to our growing impatience and took our order himself.
The place is nice and clean with a lively atmosphere.
I was a little underwhelmed by the experience given the high price tag and while all-in-all we walked out somewhat satisfied, I don't think we would come back again in the future.
PROS: Â convenient location in the MOA, clean, decent food, a few unique menu offerings
CONS: Â high price with average taste, slow service, cramped seating
I love the Volcano -- kind of like a sushi salad. I only order it take-out now. Â We were regulars until a waiter wouldn't seat us at a table because we weren't a party of 3. My daughter was with us but I guess she doesn't count. Â Other Tiger Sushi location is great! JR went over there!
Review Source:I love Tiger Sushi at the MOA for what it is: very reasonably-priced sushi and more in kitschy-cool setting (it IS a mall) and friendly and efficient service. OK, so it's not the most authentic, but c'mon...just because it's at all mall doesn't mean you need to diss it. To all those reviewers here...stop being so snooty.
I am not a mall person, but sometimes I come to Tiger Sushi just for their their caterpillar roll and california roll (I like mine with topped a bit of masugo). I LOVE the fact that I get a sauce to dip it in, not just plain soy sauce. Their pickled ginger is nicely sweet-tart. And I am addicted to the parsley in their veggie tempura...who knew deep fried parsley could be so good?
On account that my boyfriend and I had just closed on our first home (together) we decided to go out and celebrate. Â And what is our go-to special occasion food? Â SUSHI!
An account that we were headed to Bloomington for the night (since we hadn't yet moved anything in our new house) and the fact that we were pretty tired from an overwhelming day - we didn't want to stray too far from our crash landing pad - we decided to give Tiger Sushi in the MOA a try.
Got there and at first was ignored by any server - but once we finally flagged someone down - we were off!
An order of edemame to begin of course. Â Then we got the Rainbow Roll - pretty good, Crunchy Roll - excellent! Â Loved the eel sauce!
Apparently we thought that was enough - but it wasn't and we were celebrating so we sprung for one more. Â We got the Scorpion Roll - also very good.
Since I (we) were so thrilled about celebrating our new house - I of course had to tell our server why we were out celebrating. Â She was very excited for us - and to our surprise, she brought out a beautiful plate full of fruit, even some tempura bananas! Â It was a very nice gesture and definitely made up for our lack service at the beginning of the meal.
Would love to go back for the take out sushi for a delicious sushi meal at home.
Damn - now I'm hungry for sushi.
Once again, my boyfriend and I found ourselves inside a shopping mall. Â Ugh. Â This time it was to run into Urban Outfitters. Â After the shopping chore was over we realized we were hungry for something fresh and light, so we decided to give Tiger Sushi a whirl.
The staff was high-energy and pleasant. Â The decor was nice. Â I liked the glass walls. Â From where I was sitting, I could watch the people walking around the mall. Â Oh how I love to people watch!
We ordered edamame, seaweed salad, a veggie roll, and agedashi tofu. Â The edamame was cooked to delicious perfection and sprinkled with just the right amount of coarse ground sea salt. Â The seaweed salad was better than some I've had around town, amazingly enough. Â I wasn't crazy about the veggie roll, but the agedashi tofu was a treat for the palette.
I'd  never go out of my way to eat at this location, but Tiger Sushi just opened a new location on Lyndale near Lake.  I think it's worth a visit based on our satisfactory trip here.
From the outside, Tiger Sushi is a sight! Â Welcoming its patrons with the sights and sounds of flowing water from the rooftops, this zen-like, soothing aesthetic can only promise a great experience. And that, was our cue to step in and give it a try...
So how was the food? The food was A-OK. Surprisingly, the sushi was not the restaurants strong point. What I really enjoyed most were the tempura and rice plates. So I usually go with the rice and chicken meals whenever I am here. Â In my opinion, the restaurant decor is more appealing than the food itself.
The people there are great, fortunately. The service is friendly and fast. And altough the prices are quite high for regular rolls, its worth a visit. What a story to tell your friends that you were able to  dine-in for sushi at a Mall!
Tiger Sushi would not be my first choice for sushi in MN. But if you are looking for Asian food/sushi at the Mall of America, this is the place.
Tiger Sushi is inside the cavernous Mall of America, down near Macy's, on the 4th? Floor of the mall.
It is designed like a fish bowl, with glass all around to look at the mall surroundings, and features a sushi bar in the middle with 4 sides. There are 5 "chefs" in the bullpen, and there are counters facing out through the large plate glass windows, and a few tables in between.
The decor is contemporary trendy, with long chorded drop DC spotllights throughout with lemon candy covers. It has a large monolith water fall fountain in front of the entry, perhaps its best feature.
They offer sushi, sashimi platter, and some cooked dishes like Soba (buckwheat noodles), and grilled Calamari. They also offer creations like "Well Thymed Salmon Cakes", Tataki (seared tuna with a lot of condiments thrown on top), Deep Fried Splendido Cakes (Mango pound cake with fresh mangos, caramel sauce and dark chocolate deep fried in Tempura batter, and covered with Vanilla Creme en Glace...Bleh!), Â and something called Mofu Asparagus (aka greens in a blanket, the blanket being wonton skins, covered with wasabi cream cheese, green onions, and a cilantro tosa mayo) Huh?
I know what a MoFo is, but still don't understand what a Mofu is. I know what it is not...Japanese, or anything remotely associated with Sushi!
The sushi is poor at best. Most Americans wouldn't know the difference, but the Shari (sushi rice) was terrible: poor texture, not cooked properly, and lacking any mirin for the right flaver or consistency. Many American sushi places underestimate the importance of the Shari preparation, and often leave that to the lowest paid cook....a mistake.
We had Toro ($10.25), 2 Sockeye Salmon ($5.75), Hamachi ($5.50), Blue Fin Tuna ($6.75), and my partner ordered Avacado Maki ($5) and Sake (salmon, $6.50) Maki.
Speaking of Sake (the drinkable type) they only offered one, Ozeki, which is like Bud Beer in the Sake world. ($6.50).
It was a $50 forgettable sushi lunch, but almost passable for a quick snack before giving a ride to my partner to the airport nearby at MSP.
before i discovered fuji-ya in uptown, tiger sushi was my default sushi place due to its proximity to my office and my initial lack of food locale knowledge (i lived in chicago and worked in minneapolis). if i didn't love sushi so much, i never would have come here. the limited menu and unreasonable pricing were immediate turnoffs, but what ultimately made me stop coming here was the quality of the fish--i had the misfortune of being seated at the sushi bar on my last visit, where i noticed the dried out and slightly discolored salmon sashimi lying under a sad old piece of cling wrap behind the glass case. ew.
even the sushi in concourse C at MSP is better... and cheaper.
As far as Minnesota sushi goes, this place was pretty good (that's not saying much). The California roll was made with real crab meat and contrary to what another reviewer here claimed, it had no lettuce in it. The other rolls we tried were pretty good with the fish being fresh. The one that stands out was the winter roll, a deep-fried beast with a tasty sauce.
The environment is pretty cool as you can people watch all of the tourists blowing their money and the employees were pretty cool. Our waitress was helpful and the sushi chefs said something about being the best sushi in MN. A bit of a stretch I'm sure, but given the competition in MN, it may not be.
In short, it's mall sushi in Minnesota. Don't expect too much, but there's still plenty to enjoy.
It definitely says something when you walk past and they tell you to try their Americanized sushi and they convince you that their sushi is mostly for first timers. Â We tried one California roll with a coupon that we had and immediately regretted it.
Who puts lettuce in sushi or California rolls? Â Seriously??
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