Yes :-) Michelle's review (Sep 16th 2006)

This is a yes with a qualification. We’ve been to Bonsai Bistro only once and we did enjoy the experience. You can expect above average food, nice ambiance, nice presentation of the food, and competent if a tad pretentious service. Prices are on the spendy side and overall, I think this is a place for business lunches or dinners and is a place to be seen “Dining Out.”

Don’t get me wrong; it’s good food. I just feel like I have to sit up straight the whole time because everyone is surreptitiously checking everyone else out. Think a Moxie-type atmosphere (well a little better than Moxie) but without the warm staff and more self-conscious patrons.

For my money, I prefer to go a couple blocks away to Takara for a more relaxed atmosphere, pretty good sushi, and reasonable prices.

No :-( Scott MacPhee's review (Mar 12th 2007)

With a Sunday night jones for sushi, the wife and I were disappointed to find neither Syringa nor Takara open. Desperate, we tried the sushi bar at Bonsai Bistro.

We parked in the Bonsai lot and entered to find no greeter and no real indication of what we should do. Should we sit? Should we wait? We decided not to decide and ambled up to the sushi bar.

A woman came over to take our drink order and we ordered water like we always do. Then one of my dining out pet peeves: The server’s smile vanished and she left without saying anything. Clearly, she was not happy that we were just drinking water. I could almost hear her say “cheapskates” in my mind.

As we waited for our water, my wife and I tried to converse. But it was to no avail. The kitchen noise was so loud that we had to shout to make ourselves heard. Banging of dishes, shouting of cooks, and the general sound of cooking? This wouldn’t do.

Another young woman brought our water and some sushi menus and then disappeared before we could ask for a table. After my wife and I spent five minutes trying to talk with each other about what to order our waiter came to see us. We asked if we could have a table, although I had to ask twice to make my meaning clear over the kitchen clamour.

We did finally get seated at a table but without sushi menus, so we had to order from memory. Our fourth server came to take our drink orders. Still water. Same annoyed walk away from the server. I sensed a pattern: If you want to take the family for a meal and pull out all the stops, I’m sure the Bonsai servers are friendly and efficient. If you want to pop in for a few rolls of sushi, forget it.

Even from our seat away from the kitchen the noise was still distracting. The sushi took a long time to get to us. We ordered a spicy tuna roll, which was good, an ordinary tuna roll, which was mediocre, and a northwest roll, which was pretty bad. The tuna was not of the best quality, and the salmon was not nearly as good as at Takara or Syringa. It lacked the bright orange color and buttery flavor that makes it so good.

So I wouldn’t recommend the restaurant. We had bad service. The atmosphere was not at all what I expected. The noise really kept us from enjoying our meal. And the food wasn’t great.

No :-( CB's review (Sep 17th 2007)

Horrible food. I am a vegetarian and I tried their veggie malaysian curry. It was so bad and was like eating just unsalted grilled veggies. The mentioned coconut sauce had absolutely no flavor and it was just a big plate of veggies and zero curry. My husband ordered pad thai, which was minus noodles. Totally overpriced!!! A Waste of Money. The decor was very nice though and the waitress was really nice too. She got me extra curry but unfortunately it had no taste..

Yes :-) John Rigsby's review (Dec 3rd 2007)

One of the best places I’ve been to. The restaurant is always full of life and excitement. The decor is amazing and they even have a Koi stream downstairs that you can sit by. The food is very good, a little pricey, but it is worth paying for with food quality this good and the great atmosphere. Very good sushi is served there as well. The sushi chefs work very hard to keep up with the demand, can be a little slow sometimes, but they have three chefs rolling fresh rolls almost continuously throughout the night. Would definitely check it out!!!

No :-( Scott MacPhee's review (Dec 21st 2007)

Well, months later we decided to try Bonsai Bistro again. This time my parents and brother joined me and my wife. My wife and I got there first, and waited more than five minutes for a greeter to acknowledge and seat us. There were three other employees gathered near the greeter’s podium, but none even made eye contact while we waited.

Once we got seated, we ordered a mix of things. My brother and I love sushi, so we ordered a big platter as an appetizer. My brother ordered a bowl of miso soup ($4!) and a seaweed salad, and he specifically asked that they be brought out first. We all ordered an entree: spicy Thai mint chicken, General Tso’s chicken, orange beef, kung pao chicken, and the emperor’s fried rice.

All the food came at once: sushi, miso, salad, entrees. Two of the entrees were cold. I never send food back-I’ve worked in a kitchen-but I was tempted. Our waitress let our water glasses sit empty for about a half hour.

The sushi quality is much improved. Mr. Whiteside knows his sushi, and it shows. The entrees were . . . a little uninspired. Two of our dishes were supposed to be spicy, but we had a tough time telling them from the other bland food.

Look, there are better Chinese restaurants in town. Pau Pau’s in Hayden does an outstanding job, for example. Syringa’s and Takara’s sushi are just as good. Bonsai Bistro’s service is awful. The ambiance is nice, and the restaurant is in a good location. If you’re looking for ambiance and good location, I can recommend BB. But if you want good food, get it elsewhere for cheaper.

No :-( Laura McKelvie's review (Feb 26th 2008)

I agree with the review of the horrible malaysian curry. It tasted like soap.

No :-( Corey's review (Apr 1st 2008)

BEWARE PARTIES OVER 6!

I visited with a party of 23 for a birthday, and when requesting a split check before ordering, the server replied with “no, it will all be on one”.

Upon arrival of the check, we were informed that only 3 combined methods of payment would be accepted for the total bill. The server suggested that we pay cash or write checks to a single person, and submit one credit card.

After speaking with the manager, he informed me that this is done to keep the checks “convenient” for the server. My understanding of customer service is convenience for the guest, but I guess I’m way off base with that.

My particular server also lied to the manager in front of me, and told him that I had been told of the policy. I informed the manager of exactly what the server had said to me, or lack thereof, at which point she shrugged her shoulders and replied with, “that’s my bad”. My server also put a completely undeserved, hand written, 20% gratuity at the bottom of the check. I usually tip 18-20 percent anyway, but the self-imposed amount is a little presumptuous.

The icing on the cake was the bartender’s bellowing to another coworker, “How hard is it really, to pay a check with out getting a manager involved?” as my group was exiting the restaurant. Thank you, Mr. Bartender for ensuring that I will never return to your establishment.

Yes :-) Ashley 's review (May 8th 2008)

Both times I’ve been to Bonsai I’ve enjoyed the food. My recommendation would be to sit downstairs by the pond and watch the turtles swim around and around. Upstairs is very loud from what I remember.

No :-( Blair Tellers's review (Aug 6th 2008)

Horrible. Absolutely horrible. I have been waiting tables for a long time, and I know what a bad review can do to a restaurant. I have never gone out of my way to do this, but my experience at Bonsai was so awful I felt compelled to say something.

First of all the hostess sat us without so much as a word, i.e “Enjoy your dinner,” or “You server’s name is Blank,” or “Your server will be right with you.” Nothing. Talk about the personality of a door knob.

Our waiter went through the motions of what a waiter should do but displayed no personality whatsoever. He could have been a pillar of basalt and given us the same service. He also seemed to be absolutely clueless in terms of what he recommended to us. I asked him if I should get the Duck rolls over the chicken lettuce wraps, and he said to go with the wraps because he thought “they tasted good.” I however, am convinced he was merely trying to up-sell to me, because the chicken wraps smelled like dog food and had a disgusting aftertaste. I apologetically sent them back, and instead of being understanding about the fact that I didn’t like the wraps, he made it seem like I was inconveniencing him. He didn’t even seem sorry. Yeah, I know he didn’t cook the food, but when one of my tables is unhappy with their meal, I whole heartedly apologize and do whatever it takes to make them happy.

My boyfriend ordered some sort of meat dish with rice. The meat was undercooked and had little to no flavor. The rice tasted like it had been sitting under a heat lamp.
And what’s up with the tacky tables and chairs? If you have such a fantastic location and building, why wouldn’t you go all out and make the interior ambiance just as beautiful as the exterior?

Anybody who says they enjoyed the food must have an extremely under-developed pallet. Or eat at McDonald’s a lot.

PS, the edemame and chicken goyza weren’t good, either.