Odd Times at Ayaka

South University is lined with restaurants to suit all college budgets. When it comes to sushi, my first choice is usually Sadako, but since it was my last night in AA before break, I decided to make tonight different.

Ayaka is located at 1205 South University, near the intersection of Church and South U. The food was great, and for non-sushi eaters, there was a large selection of dinner entrees to choose from, however, it was our odd dining experience that made this dinner so memorable.

As a party of 7, we figured that it would take longer to be seated in the main area, but instead, we were immediately brought down to the basement where there was one large booth. None of us could figure out why we were being seated down there when there were many tables upstairs open, but we shrugged off the interesting seating arrangement.

Our waiter immediately came to ask us about drinks and appetizers. We enjoyed having such attentive service, until he continued to come back every three minutes to joke about our names, our choice of entrees or to ask us what we wanted. His constant presence soon became an annoyance to our table, and after being asked for the 7^th time in 10 minutes if there was anything else we need or wanted, we realized something bizarre was going on. Was it his first day and he was nervous or trying to impress? Was it the lack of traffic in the restaurant that caused him to linger by our table? And…what was up with this single table in the basement?

After our plates were cleared (some voluntarily, some taken away before we finished our meals) our waiter came by, cell phone in hand, to inform us that we could “take our time” because the restaurant would be open for thirty more minutes. We proceeded to take our time, feeling more uncomfortable and unwanted as the minutes passed. When we ultimately decided to go, our waiter stood by our table, keeping himself involved in our conversation. Overall, the experience was unexpected at a restaurant that, from the outside, looked really good.

Best dishes? Udon noodles and sushi rolls. The udon noodle soup was filled with tons of flavor and large enough to be a satisfying dinner. The sushi fish was extremely fresh and inexpensive, I’d highly recommend the spicy salmon roll if you’re on a budget and want something good.

Atmosphere? If our dining experience was typical to any dining experience at Ayaka, I’d advise ordering in. While the food was good, and came out extremely fast, the overall dining experience was uncomfortable, though I am not sure if it would have been different if we were seated upstairs. The upstairs atmosphere is much more intimate and reminiscent of a typical sushi restaurant.