Sushi X & Lounge

Me and my friend love this place! The eel and salmon are so good. They arrange sushi and sashimi in a plate so beautifully that it’s a kind of art.

3 stars! I give this place 3 stars because of the inconsistency. One day the sushi seems fresh and awesome and the other it is warm. This particular visit was one of the better ones after a year long absence because of warm sushi. The rolls during dinner are much better than lunch (they offer more). Anyways, sushi is decent most of the time. Great place to go with friends but prefer Blowfish or Kuma Ani for all you can eat sushi. Worth a shot if you’ve never been!

Service is the key that makes this place great… such a huge variety of Japanese food and sushi to choose from, all served fresh and with a smile… you don’t feel rushed, but they clear you plates really quick..

I love love love sushi x. The sushi is delicious and the appetizers are among my favorite in the capital district. Unfortunately, the service can be hit or miss, as their are so many but no point person. The cocktails are great but sometimes the wait for them is longer than the food!

My favorite sushi restaurant in the Albany-​Saratoga area. I have visited Sushi X over thirty times in the last couple of years. The food is delicious. I mean really top notch. I like the fact that it is all-​you-​can-​eat. Not that I devour half the ocean in every visit, but it takes the anxiety of making a cost-​benefit analysis every time you want to place another order. You know, the kind where your level of fullness and the cost of a roll are balanced against the taste of food and the quality of the conversation you are having. I see some people have complained about the automatically-​added 18% gratuity. This is actually a blessing in disguise. Just like taking an Über, you don’t have to worry about whether to tip %15, %18, or %20. It is automatic — no guesswork. I love it.

Best value for what you pay for. Great selection. Great way to get introduced to sushi if you’re new to raw fish. Very good drink specials.
Now for the bad stuff. Sometime the spicy tuna is not made correctly. The taste is not consistent. Service is not very friendly, however it’s on par with some Japanese joints out there. I’d say it’s more of a cultural thing.
At the end of the day, my friends and I keep coming back!!! We love it.

The variety of choices on the menu is definitely what makes this place stand out from others. So if you’re not crazy about consuming raw fish (like me) you’ll still be enticed by the other delicious options!
I was here with a large group of people do we ordered (and finished) a ton of food. I started off with miso soup which was nothing special– not bad, but not great. Then we had the house salad, which was one of the best things I ate there. I’m not a big fan of salad, but the ginger-​y dressing made the whole salad delightful. After that I tried a bunch of the fried dishes from the lunch buffet menu. All of them were pretty satisfactory, but not spectacular.
Moving on to sushi, I had a few pieces of the X roll, Spicy crab, and shrimp tempura, all of which were amazing. The ingredients tasted fresh and the sauces enhanced the flavors even more. I strongly recommend the spicy crab!
Since I was here for lunch, the price wasn’t as high. This is definitely a higher end buffet place, so it would obviously be more expensive. If you don’t have a large appetite, I recommend ordering off the regular menu. Otherwise, the buffet option is pretty great, especially if you enjoy consuming mass amounts of sushi!

The best place in Albany for the Sushy, the customer service is very bad there and they have no English and it’s hard to communicate with waiters but food is delicious!!! Even the bad service doesn’t stop me to go there and enjoy their food.

This review is based on 20 visits over two years.
A few folks have complained about the service. Here is why:
1. Sushi-​X adds 18% gratuity to every bill. Servers have little incentive to do a good job.
2. Waitstaff works together on all tables. This creates chaos. Mistakes are often made.
3. Many servers speak little or no English. This causes regular miscommunications.
4. It’s appears that nearly all the servers are new to the U.S. and NOT happy to be here. The forced smiles, suppressed personalities, and lethargic body language in most suggests that they have trouble adjusting to the idea that most of their waking lives will be spent serving fat Americans in a dimly-​lit assembly line of sushi gluttony.
Note: The manager I interacted with was very friendly and spoke near-​fluent English. My colleague had instructions to bring specific sushi dishes home to his wife. The manager helped us match up her list and fill the order.
If you don’t mind spending $ 20-​$ 30 each for some very edible sushi and other Asian dishes, it’s still worth it. However, if you have a problem, it can be difficult to find a fluent English-​speaker to resolve it.

Come here with an appetite and be prepared to eat all you can so that you will not have to pay a la carte for items you cant finish. A sign is located on every table to inform guests that the restautant has a right to charge for unconsumed food so choose wisely! With pencil in hand and ready to mark off the menu items whether for lunch (~$ 15) or dinner (~$ 25) to my knowledge, there are several items on the menu ranging from soup and salad to sushi rolls and tempura to udon noodles. Most items are deep fried and most likely full of MSG. I feel extremely thirsty an hour or two after my meal and need a lot of water to satisfy that thirst.
I’ve sampled most of the menu items at lunch including green salad, seaweed salad, miso soup, clear soup, gyoza, fried shumai, age dashi tofu, vegetable tempura, regular and special sushi rolls, hand rolls, nigiri sushi, calamari, teriyaki chicken and fish, katsu, edamame, skewers, harumaki, and some more. For dinner, it’s everything listed on the lunch plus shrimp tempura, sashimi, beef ribs, peppered tuna, and desserts ice cream or tempura banana sundae (not listed but just ask for it). I probably left some things out but that’s because there’s just so many things I can’t remember all of it!
Pros:
— you can try a plethora of items for a decent price
— you will not leave hungry
— good for groups
Cons:
— 18% gratuity is automatically added to your bill whether a single diner or group
— service is kind of tacky (multiple servers/​items forgotten)
— sushi/​sashimi fish not great quality
— sashimi pieces either small and thin or short and blocky
— most rolls have spicy tuna (not spicy tasting?)
— special rolls pretty much all taste the same
— sushi rolls very much not proportional or even rice vs fish
Tips:
— come here if you can with a group so you can try everything and choose wisely
— don’t expect top quality sushi/​sashimi
— don’t over do it with all the fried goods
— get hot tea and water to stay hydrated
— order regular sushi rolls over special rolls because the ingredients are less mushy and more tasteful
So I don’t think it will earn anymore than my generous three stars unless I notice any positive changes to dining, but would come here if my friends or family insist.

You should always go quality over quantity.
And then there are some days where you just don’t care.
Sushi X strives to meet the minimum requirement for sushi-​grade fish while also striving to meet a maximum for their rice-​to-​fish ratio. But that’s what I expected! No, this isn’t a place to get that uni you were craving. And you probably should steer clear of their aka-​gai. This is an all your can eat sushi resturant; go for the bulk fish and nothing else: salmon and tuna.
Food from is kitchen is always good too and are well worth the price point if you can eat enough.
The décor is very clubby and definitely appeals towards younger groups who are trying to get the most bang-​for-​your-​buck out of a sushi dinner. I’ve personally been here a few times with large groups 15+ and its always fun. I’ve also been here with just another person and it was also fun. Trying a little bit of everything is a nice change, even with the lower quality.
If you’re looking to treat yourself to a beyond-​full stomach of Japanese-​fare, have a large group of people who want to go out to eat, or are on a budget and was sushi, Sushi X has your covered.

14 people went there for dinner!
Yellowtail is very dark ! Not fresh ! Don’t trying to order yellowtail! How can u sever customers with dark fish meat? It was make me sick and won’t come back !
I told manger your fish is not fresh !
And he answered me «this is not a excuse not finish your food!» WTF rude and not nice!
Not recommended!!!

Honestly, I’m pretty disappointed in some of the reviews from people below. But I guess they must be expert sushi eaters or owners of Michelin star restaurants focusing on sushi.
My husband and I went earlier this week for dinner one night. We knew that it was about $ 25 per person and honestly if you can’t afford that then you might as well just grab a few rolls from price chopper. Normally when we go out for sushi at a normal (not all you can eat) restaurant we would get a salad each and a roll each. JUST THAT would cost in the range of $ 45 – 50. So I’m finding it ridiculous that people can complain about the price they’re charging.
When you get there they have 2 papers and a pen so you can order when you’re ready. Whoever doesn’t understand that you just write the quantity of each item you want must be missing a few brain cells… PLUS right at the top it tells you what to do. USE YOUR EYES PEOPLE!!!
Anyways, we ordered a bunch of appetizers, salads and rolls. We also took advantage of the $ 3 sangria special going on. The food came out quickly and HOT which was awesome. The tempura was perfect along with the shumai, soup and kani salads we had. Everything is smaller portions which we like because it gives you the chance to eat/​try more. We tried a bunch of the rolls and all were excellent! The fish was fresh and perfectly prepared.
We eat ALOT of sushi and have been everywhere from California to NY (my husband’s in the Navy so we move ALOT) and have always tried a bunch of different sushi places. We both left feeling satisfied and full and both agreed we would be back with friends very soon. The service was excellent and our waitress was kind. Even the food runners were always friendly.

The sushi here isn’t fresh. The fish seems it was rested in the fridge for a couple days. The rice looked like it was leftovers from yesterday.

Great place for sushi! All you can eat sushi for a fixed price. Makes an amazing place for a large group of people that like sushi.
My favorite roll is the peanut avocado roll. Such a delicious and interesting sushi combo.
My advice: just make sure that you order small and eat that, then you can order more. You must eat everything or you have to pay ala carte. Don’t let your eyes be bigger than your stomach.
Delicious, good quality sushi! Love it!

The waiter was kinda rude, they kept telling us it was not a Chinese buffet, and warned us not to waste any food MANY times like we were going to. The food is average and they DO NOT have sashimi. You can’t pick out the food yourself. It’s by order and they serve you really slow. The 18 percent service fee is mandated! :(the place does not meet my expectation, I have had better buffet at A lower price.

Went to sushi x with my family on a Saturday night for the usual sushi buffet. Sushi was never top notch, but that’s expected at a buffet, and we went for the sashimi and value anyway.
This most recent visit, however, after enjoying our meal and receiving the check, we were horrified to find a long piece of plastic wrap in the udon soup mixed in with the vegetables. Upon bringing this to the attention of the restaurant manager, he curtly apologized and offered 20% off a single person buffet price– that’s a meager $ 5 – 7. We insisted on paying the entire bill and simply left.
Mistakes happen in the kitchen, but poor managerial response and disregard for customer service are going to keep us away from this one.

18% gratuity added.
Sushi Rolls are very filling. They are rolled with too much rice.
Waitstaff takes sauces away before you are finished and they hover over you.
They intentionally add 18% gratuity to your subtotal. Service is not worth the 18%.
Will not be eating there again.

When Sushi X opened a few years back, it was understandably applauded as providing sushi and cooked Japanese fare that was comparable in quality to the a la carte competition at a far cheaper price. After many trips there, I can report that the pricing has remained relatively low, the balance has been lost. The quality of the fare seems to ebb and flow and disappoints more often than it pleases, even at Sushi X’s very competitive price levels.
Part of this might be that the competition has upped its game, but that’s not saying too much as the Capital District is a hard market for a top-​quality sushi restaurant to survive in. That no sushi restaurant carries fresh otoro or chu-​toro is an indication that the business to support a high-​end restaurant might not be there. If there is not demand for those items, it is easy to see why sushi restaurants don’t take much risk and don’t want to pay more for higher quality cuts of fish.
Although Sushi X rolls are, thankfully, made to order, as opposed to being churned out on a conveyor belt, the ingredients, especially the fish seem to be of a cheaper quality than the competition. Other shortcuts are taken. For example, the sushi rolls use poor quality or under-​ripe avocados which taste more like banana. Although Sushi X deserves credit for not drowning their rolls in the usual mayonnaise based sauces, far too many selections incorporate overly salty versions of spicy tuna/​salmon/​etc. The restaurant also appears to be managing costs with smaller portions of fish. The eel was barely detectable in an Dragon Roll. Overall, very unsatisfying.
The cooked menu items offer a more reliability and good portions. The kitchen seems to have a decent hand with the fryer and there is a nice variety of cooked options.
The décor is a bit kitschy: dark room with laser lights everywhere and loud music. While not as distracting as it sounds, the poor lighting actually impacts the service. The bar area is so dark, the service might not be alert to the fact that a table needs to be wiped down and ordered items checked on the ordering sheet are sometimes overlooked. The management is also not fastidious about maintaining a clean exterior appearance. The asphalt in the parking lot is severely dilapidated, and no effort has been made to keep the entrance way clean or to trim the landscaping.
Service is attentive and the ordering system and turnaround time show good efficiency. A modest gratuity is added to every check. I recall it being less than 15%, but I have misplaced my receipt so I can’t give you the current figure from my last visit. With AYCE and a beer, look for a bill to be in the $ 30 – 35 range during the week.

Even though 2 stars is almost a total slam, I really can’t stamp this with an «A-​Ok» as «You get what you pay for» rings true.
Perhaps I’m spoiled rotten by the AYCE sushi haven that is Las Vegas, but you pay $ 14.95 (plus 18% gratuity) for sushi that is barely above the quality you can find on a $ 7.99 Chinese lunch buffet and BELOW that of which you can find in an American chain supermarket sitting in the cold section if you’re hurting for a fix.
The fish really wasn’t of fresh quality at all. Just the lowest grade you can find that can satisfy a sushi craving– but barely.
–You aren’t given the option of sitting at the bar (probably because they don’t want you to see the fish coming out of a toothpaste tube.
–The service (although friendly) was forgetful at times and gratuity is 18%
–The fish had zero flavor. I seriously couldn’t tell the difference between tuna and salmon and forget about marbling or texture.
–The shrimp tempura roll had shrimp tempura that was so old and hard I loathed having to finish it.
–The rice wasn’t cooked right and was cold and dense.
–The ratio of cheap fish to anything else that is advertised in the roll is slim
–No nigiri, but with fish quality so low you need a few other ingredients commonly found in sushi rolls to hide the poor quality along with a dumpster truck of wasabi.
–Can anyone tell me what the hell was in the hand roll? (See photo). Bet you $ 10 it’ll glow under a black light.
On a positive note, the miso soup was good (easy enough, thank God) and the red snapper filet was decent. Chicken katsu was alright and props for at least giving us yellow ginger (not that pink stuff). Also no fishy burbs or food poisoning praise Jesus (and baby Jesus)…so yes, it’s above Chinese buffet sushi.
Again, you get what you pay for and I’ll wait to head back to Vegas before I head out for another Albany adventure into ‘All you can eat’ raw fish.