Aoi Blue Bar

Aoi is high on the three-​star meter for me. Despite going on a Friday night, the place was empty. Still, of the tables that were there (including ours), everyone was laughing their heads off. I don’t know what they put in the water, but Aoi was infecting the sparse crowd with revelry somehow.
Our waitress was fun and attentive. I liked my warm house sake, and for $ 8/​carafe it was a good price. They’re running a half-​price sushi winter deal right now (on the regular rolls), PLUS there’s a 10% off your bill check in offer.
The space is decorated nicely. Almost verging on the «themey» end of things, but nevertheless modern and clean. The dining room was MUCH smaller than I was expecting from the outside. The other half of the restaurant looks like a dance club area. I’m not sure if it ever gets the traffic it was intended for, but if anyone knows of a night where it’s bumping I’d be down to give it a try.
The whole iPad menu thing is … okay. Really you’re just looking through iPhoto pics. Many of the rolls on the iPad were not listed on the menu, so I didn’t know if they were available or not. It would be cool if you could order via the iPad; kind of like replacing the normal paper-​and-​pencil sushi ordering system. But, I’m familiar enough with sushi that the word descriptions on the menu are sufficient for me. Clever idea, but I’m just not sure the iPads really add much.
Speaking of the sushi– just aight. Not bad, not awesome. It’s kind of that «middle tier» of Columbus sushi where everything is tasty enough, but it relies a lot on sauces, tempura, and cream cheese. It’s more «night club sushi» than Japanese seafood mouthgasm. Which is fine for what it is, you know?
I’m glad we went, and I had a blast. I’d come again and rock out in the dancin’ room. But for «real» sushi, Aki Hana isn’t too much farther down the road.

We just got home from having dinner here and we’re happy campers! This place is great! The service was awesome; he made several recommendations to help us make a decision and he had an iPad so we could have a visual. The food was fantastic! We had several different rolls, a few pieces of sashimi, miso soup and dessert and I would definitely order all of it again. The seating was kind of cool because you had the option of sitting in the dining room or the «lounge,» which had club lighting and a bar. We opted for the lounge which made it kind of fun.
We will definitely be back, but next time we will bring friends!

I picked up a restaurantdotcom coupon for this place after driving past it several times on the way to CAM for groceries. The boy and I came here on a Monday evening for an earlyish dinner.
We were seated in the left dining room; three parties were already seated there, and I agree with Nijole that it seemed a little cramped. A few couples were sitting or were seated nearby, with both people sitting on the same side of the table, making it feel a little like we were on display. The dining room is visually appealing; there were black tablecloths and white paper covers, nice wall hangings and shades for the windows, and decently comfortable chairs. I was a little surprised at the diversity of the clientele, although suspiciously there were no other Asians. The music, which was akin to Kenny G., made the boy want to drown himself in his water glass.
Our waitress was very friendly and talkative, although I’m glad that we were not served by the owner/​manager (?) who was schmoozing the other tables with complements and talk of his business’s adventures. However, the other tables seemed receptive enough to his chatter, though I know I wouldn’t have particularly cared for it. We were walked through the menu and brought an iPad to look at pictures of the food, which was nice, but a little confusing since the menu items were not listed individually in each category, so if you wanted to jump to a picture of a particular item, you either had to know what it looked like already in the thumbnails, or scroll through each one til you found it.
We ended up ordering the all salmon roll, the miso roll, the dragon roll, salmon nigiri and udon with vegetables. The rolls were presented attractively on a wooden platter. We were given what looked like nice china dishes, but were actually plastic. The miso roll was the best of the three, with the asparagus adding a nice crunch — the miso flavor was fairly subdued. The dragon roll was passable; the salmon roll, which was accompanied by a nicely spicy sauce, was fairly bland, even with the «spicy» salmon in the center. The nigiri was just «ok.» The udon was a little disappointing for the $ 11 price tag, though again, presented nicely.
Pricing for happy hour seemed decent, with a good number of rolls being half off. I wouldn’t pay full price for what they were offering (it would have been ~$ 60 without the discount). The sushi was very mild (almost bland) in taste, which would probably appeal to those who have not experienced much sushi. The place has nice ambiance and friendly service, so I can see its appeal. However, for the price, I expect something a little more in the flavor department.

I recently purchased a Faveroo for AOI and decided to give it a whirl for dinner tonight. Since I was solo, I asked to sit at the sushi bar. After reviewing the menu and checking out pictures of a few sushi rolls on the iPad (a very helpful complement to the menu I might add), I decided on the following:
: Red Dragon roll — two of my favorite rolls combined into one (shrimp tempura with spicy tuna on top); seven or eight standard size pieces; $ 11
: Lobster roll — eight standard size pieces of perfection; the two pieces of lobster claw meat was «icing on the cake»; worthy of the $ 15 price
: Vegetable miso soup — better than just plain olé miso soup; $ 4
: Plum wine — never tasted a bad one; $ 6
Both rolls were so flavorful that it wasn’t necessary for me to use my usual mixture of soy with wasabi. The ingredients in the rolls and soup were fresh, and the rolls stayed intact. As you can tell, I’m not super adventurous with my rolls, but I consider the two I enjoyed both excellent and will be ordering them again.
My server Mike was attentive and friendly. The two sushi chefs also asked how I liked the rolls. I could overhear a few of the other patrons raving how much they loved their food, so that’s a good sign.
The only con: I found it a bit odd that they use plastic plates and bowls which to me implies it’s more of a casual restaurant. Perhaps the vibe is different later in the evening.
I will definitely be back with friends to try more things on the menu!

I should start by saying that I’m a huge sushi fan — and I’ve had a LOT of sushi around the country, but never overseas.
With that all said, AOI is my 3^rd or 4^th favorite sushi place in Col’s, but definitely good — and a good experience. My other ranking would be:
Tied for 1^st) Sushi Ko
Tied for 1^st) Sushi Ronin
2^nd) Akai Hana
The experience at AOI was pretty cool though. They have a wide selection of normal sushi and rolls, and a good list of special rolls. The really nice thing about the visit was the iPads they have, with all the sushi rolls’ pictures for you to swipe thru. This made ordering (especially at a new sushi restaurant) pretty easy.
So, I’d definitely check it out if you’re in the area & looking for a good eat-​in or take-​out sushi.

I tried out Aoi while on a Food Hop this week.
I was impressed with the service and the sushi was great. I tried the ox tongue and believe it or not, it was pretty good!
The atmosphere is kind of clubby, so if you’re not into that kind of thing, this may not be the place for you.
I’d definitely go back!

Was here for a birthday party and noticed how uncrowded this place is. Regardless, although the service is extremely slow, the waiters are friendly and the food is legit.
Sake Bombs– this place freaking has legit sake bombs! woohoo!
Seaweed Salad– pretty authentic tasting. a bit pricey, but it’s good
Shrimp Tempura– a bit small in portion size to the price i’m paying, but it’s made pretty well. the batter could be fried more though.

I took my wife here for her birthday and we brought 10 of our friends. The drinks were not badly priced and they seated us at a large table with an iPad to show us all the sushi they had to offer which was fun to see, though we really didn’t use it. 2 of the couples that came got the sushi for two which looked awesome, served on a large bridge neither of the couples finished them or the soup and salad that came with it. my wife and I got an appetizer and a smattering of house special rolls… I remember the caterpillar and the tempura asparagus the best. All of the food we had was great and I didn’t hear any complaints from our guest. After dinner they surprised me and my wife with party balloons and a hat and served the cake that I had brought myself and had them hide in the fridge.
All in all our server was very nice and we had a great time. I just wanted to thank them for hosting our party.

Started off being disspointed we could not sit in the club area, only at dinner.
The restaurant is oddly split in half with a formal dining room on one side and a club on the other.
The dining room has 8 tables very close to each other and we were told to sit right between 2 other couples and as it got fuller, they kept seating the people wight next to each other.
Odd and definetly not romantic, no conversation needed, we were part of other diners dates and oh joy someone brought in a newborn… fun.
Sure the ipad with the menu is clever and kept my son occupied the entire meal.
My husband had the seafood tempura and I had the chicken bento box and they were pretty good.
We don’t like sushi so those were the only options on the menu for us, salmon tempura is strange and mushy, but the rest was pretty good.
The portions are small, so I find it a bit pricey, especially the salad.
I tried the ginger dressing, but have to say I prefer Benihanas anyday.
The soy and jalopeno dressings were unedible.
In all ok, but we won’t be back.

This place is confusing as hell, because i feel like they’re trying to hard to create a hip, high end restaurant that unfortunately comes across as an 80’s, neony flashback. I don’t mean to be mean, but that was the initial feel that I got walking in. Also, the hostess was wearing a skin tight mini-​skirt that literally was up to her crotch. I don’t know what theme they were trying to convey there.
What is interesting is that adjacent to the dining area they also have a side party room/​bar where there’s a stage for a dj or open mic for comedians. This night they did have a comedian on stage.
As I was looking at the menu, I jokingly thought to myself «where’s the pictures??» Well, they bring an ipad to fill in this void. The ipad has a photo album of menu items for you to view, so when you read something in the menu that peaks your interest, you can then go to the ipad to find it and see what it looks like. A little gimmicky and also a little gross as you could see hundreds of finger prints on it.
Let’s move onto the food. For starters I got the tuna tataki, tuna that is seared on the surface served in a vinegar sauce and garnished with ginger. It was actually very good, and the vinegar sauce was perfect. I love acidic sauces, so much so I requested a bowl of rice to go with the vinegar sauce. You know how some people eat rice doused with soy sauce, well that was me with this vinegar sauce.
Now onto the entrée. I saw they offered yakitori, so I ordered the yakitori platter. It came with 6 skewers, which entailed scallops, chicken and mushrooms with 2 sauces and wasabi butter. Edible but certainly not memorable. When I think of yakitori, I think of grilled to order right on the spot sticks of yummy meat (and veggies if I was so inclined). These were not. It seems like they were prepared mcdonald’s style, cooked ahead of time then kept warm under some heat lamps. Also, since when does yakitori come breaded? Tiny dime sized breaded scallops, really?
For dessert I order their crème brûlée, which is presented 3 ways, one infused with green tea, another with red wine and finally the last one with sake. i could taste the green tea and sake, but the red wine was hard to discern. In either case, it really didn’t add anything special to the dessert. It was interesting to try, but I’ll pass next time (if there is a next time).
Our server was patient, attentive and friendly. The managers and chefs also seem to have a friendly demeanor. But aside from the tuna tataki, the price and quality just doesn’t cut it.

After some deliberation, my friends and I decided to check out the new Japanese place across from Microcenter…(none of us could remember the name). My wife and I got there a bit after our friends, but when we arrived we could see what their text message meant when they said it was empty. We were literally the only cars in the lot.
Usually that’s a bad sign, but I knew that Aoi had only been in for a few weeks, and sometimes it takes a while for a new restaurant to get established (particularly in a niche like sushi), so I talked them into trying it. Besides, if we got our food and didn’t like it, we didn’t have to eat it, right?
Man, am I glad we went in.
I’m certain that once word gets around, it won’t be possible to get the. uhh…personalized service… that we received, but everyone was very friendly toward us, and very helpful and patient in dealing with some food sensitivities that one of my dining companions had.
Most sushi places have menus which have the occasional photograph with a picture of some of their rolls, in case you aren’t familiar with the offerings. Aoi has a menu without this, but supplements it with a stand-​mounted iPad which features beautiful high-​res photos of all of their offerings. It was a nice way to get a sense of the chef’s skill, and was accurate to what we received on our plates.
Their selection isn’t as varied as some sushi restaurants, but what they did have was done very well. Their sashimi tasted fresh and their rolls were well assembled. I’m probably showing my lack of taste, but I felt like they could have put a little bit more wasabi and ginger on the platter, but I probably prefer too much wasabi anyway.
Overall, I really enjoyed it here, and I’ll definitely be back.

I have been here twice and was satisfied both times. The first time I went for lunch and got a bento box. Everything was very tasty. We splurged that day and ordered the crème brûlée trio that included green tea, red wine, and sake. Now I know some one said in their review that they didn’t really care for the crème brûlée, but I thought each one was caramelized perfectly (table side) and that under the crunchy top was a lovely creamy custard.
The next time we went we went for their happy hour on a Wednesday. We were in the mood for a quick light dinner, so this was perfect. Even though the happy hour only includes basic rolls, that is what we were looking for. If you are looking for fancy rolls at a discounted price, then I wouldn’t suggest going here for that. The fish was fresh and our sushi came out really fast. It was exactly what we were wanting.
Both times I had a lovely dining experience and the staff were very friendly. I also love the lights in the dining room. They are beautiful! Oh, and I almost forgot, I love looking through the ipad photos to help you know what you are getting. The sushi chef has created dishes that look so beautiful!

Actually, pronounced «ah-​oi» (not «ow-​ee»), which means «blue» in Japanese if you haven’t already figured it out. Sorry, had to get that off my chest.
First things first, the place has panache! I didn’t realize until we walked in that one side was restaurant and the other side was a full bar (for Halloween, it looks like they had a sumo ring ready). We got friendly welcomes from the sushi chefs and host who happily led us to our table in the dimly lit dining area.
And that brings us to my first minor complaint: the lighting. In general I don’t mind a dimly lit restaurant, but this lighting brought attention to itself. Our table was in the corner, by the windows, lit slightly by a light above, but predominantly by the candle on the table. Don’t get me wrong, I could read my menu fine, my issue is with the color balance! I want a warm atmosphere and not a cold one. This was worsened by the cool light outside. Okay, minor complaint but I thought I would mention it since it bothered me so much.
Moving on to the service, which was awesome, thanks to our probably New Yorker waitress. In other words, the waitress is just awesome, or the restaurant trains well (I’m sort of leaning towards the former). She made good recommendations, even brought out an Ipad complete with pictures to aid in our selection. Good stuff.
For dinner, we avoided the entire front page of the menu which seemed less Japanese cuisine and more «fusion» creations inspired from other culinary corners. We ended up ordering mackerel nigiri, spider roll (soft shell crab), and hmm something else, one of those guys with a fancy name like dynamite or samurai. The mackerel tasted like mackerel should, and fresh. The spider roll was all right, but my girlfriend pointed out that it tasted a bit off, sort of like they fried the crab too long, and with old oil. I agreed. The mystery roll was pretty tasty I thought, topped with salmon and a dab of rooster sauce.
We ordered desert as well! The crème brûlée, and the tofu. pudding? Crème brûlée came out first, with our waitress, wielding a small blowtorch. This is where I give Aoi Sushi a huge thumbs down, and sad face. Immediately when I saw her with the torch I thought «crap, I’m going to regret ordering this». There were three small cups, different flavors, she browned the tops lightly and served them. I was eager to try them out, so I dipped my spoon, slowly… what? No caramelized sugar on top? No satisfying crunchy sweetness? The crème was all there. but I don’t think they should be calling this crème brûlée. As for the tofu pudding, it tasted like… tofu. Maybe I was asking for that one, but I found it odd that the lemon garnish tasted better than the desert itself. Actually, because the crème was so sweet, and the tofu so bland, the two tasted best on the same spoon. So it goes.
Overall, I love that Aoi is trying something different and fun. The atmosphere… I’m on the fence about, some might find it hard to get comfortable, but it does have some appeal to it. As far as the sushi goes, for the most part, they seem to have a handle on what they’re doing, though I can’t speak to any of the fusion dishes. Prices are high, but I guess you pay for atmosphere whether you like it or not; and whether or not the food is worth it. Ugh. I’m sure the deserts are hit and miss, I just happened to miss twice, on two deserts likely outsourced, stored in the fridge/​freezer for weeks.
Get rid of the blow torch.

I was pleasantly surprised as well.
Pronounced «ow-​ee» for those of us who had to ask. I wasn’t sure what to expect from a bagel shop turned sushi bar…
The décor is well done, not too crazy. Intimate lighting, some club-​ish accents. We had dinner on a Monday night, very few people, no one on the bar/​dance side so it was pretty quiet. I would imagine if the DJ was going full-​steam, it might get loud on the restaurant side as well.
They are obviously trying some new things. Not sushi like I’ve had it before. We tried the grilled scallops appetizer, different, interesting, very tasty — you’ll want to pick up the shells to eat this. The more traditional spicy scallop and tuna rolls were ‘ok’, fresh, smallish. We also tried their Parmesana Roll, we loved it. This felt like an American take on sushi — grilled Parmesan cheese atop a roll served in a foil boat, good stuff. We each tried their cocktail special ($ 5), martini & a mojito both very good. The chef J.C. also came out to ask about our dinner.
One nitpicky thing was that they served tea bags for their green tea, didn’t love that. Getting into the parking lot from Bethel is a pain if you’re driving East (enter through Bob Evans driveway).
Overall, the staff was nice, the food and atmosphere was good. They are obviously trying to do something a little different. We want to go back with some friends next time.

I can’t say I’m much of a Japanese food connoisseur. Unless a sushi roll is made with out of this world quality fish or is very unique tasting in some way, sushi kind of all tastes the same to me more or less. I kind of found that to be true about this new joint.
I ordered the crunchy spicy tuna roll and the spicy salmon roll. Both were good. (Remember a 3 star review is still good!) The tuna roll had a nice crunch from the tempura flakes and the meat quality seemed fairly good. I also got a side of vege udon. The udon noodles were perfectly cooked and had a really nice savory/​umami flavor.
My visit was at lunchtime on a weekday so I can’t really speak for the ambience. The place was clean, nicely decorated and we were one of the only customers there at the time. The service was friendly. I’d come back during the evening. I’m curious about the other side of the restaurant that has a bar and DJ. Would it be weird to get my dance on in the middle of a sushi bar? Let’s find out!

While I am definitely a neophyte when it comes to «sushi bars» the regular Japanese fare here left a lot to be desired in my opinion. The California Roll was o.k. and tasted good enough to me; however, the other dishes were over priced and just did not taste a well as they were priced; nor, did they compare to other area Japanese dishes. Their menu does not offer any explanations so you had better know your Japanese food before dining here.
The left half is nicely decorated just like a fine restaurant … while the right half is a bar décor with dance floor and DJ. You can clearly hear the dance beat on the dining side as well as within the bar area as there is no wall separating the two sides.
In all fairness, this place just opened and there were not many folks there at all when my family visited on Thursday night at 8:00p.m. They were slow preparing our food considering we were almost the only folks there at the time.

Decent rolls and a wide selection of lunch options. I got the bento sashimi box. The fish was fresh, shrimp shumai was ok. Green tea was weak. Décor is nice, clean and modern inside, with ample room between tables. The outside is unfortunately garish. Also, good wine and sake selection. It’s nice that they are open until 2 or 2:30 am everyday. Will likely return.