Sushi on Chapel

We walked in to this place at 9:30, starving. I asked for green tea, but was told that they didn’t have any made, and since it was 15 minutes until last call, they weren’t making any more. I should have walked out then — how hard is it to pour hot water over tea leaves? And what does last call have to do with tea? But I ordered a tuna tataki and three rolls. The tuna tataki was sliced too thick, and was a bit fishy. Then the rolls came, yuck. This place uses «mountain berry» rice instead of sushi rice. So weird and strange tasting. When we asked about it, they said «it’s the only kind of rice we have.» I would give them no stars if it was possible.

The Sushi was ok. Nice purple rice gimmick. The main problem was the service. Several examples:
1. My friend ordered pineapple juice from a can, and got it in a glass. When she asked if she can get one in a can, she was refused, as ‘Then we would have to open a new can’. When we again asked they could be more welcoming to customers, were were rudely told ‘we can also not open another can’.
2. Later while we were midway eating, we got the check, and when we complained about that and noted the rude way we were addressed to before, the waitress just left while we were talking! Not letting us complete our sentence!
3. When telling this to another waitress, we asked to talk to he manager, and were refused.
Apart from that, we were charged for triaki sauce. Wouldn’t recommend, there are better places just a block away.

In a nutshell, at Sushi on Chapel, «the customer is NOT right.»
My husband I were craving some sort of Japanese food, and since Sushi on Chapel is really one of the very few substitutes in New Haven, we came here. We’ve been here before, the sushi has been average, not authentic, but fine, we know what to expect — super-​fusion versions of sushi rolls, etc. etc.
And we’ve been *okay* with the food that they serve here.
Until, that is… this night when we ordered two rolls that both come with unagi sauce (word of warning, most of their rolls come with sauces that drench a lot of the actual sashimi flavor away) and one roll with a tempura sauce. What we instead received was all three rolls being covered in this black-​tar-​colored sauce, and upon just one bite of them, tasted burnt to us. And let’s remember the fact that one of these sauces was supposed to be a tempura sauce (which is definitely not supposed to be thick and black?!). We couldn’t eat past 1 piece each.
So, we brought it up to our waitress that the sauces were just not right, especially since we’ve ordered these rolls before and they didn’t taste this horrible and inedible, previously. Who basically told us, «Well… none of the other customers have complained, so… your problem.»
So, we talked to the manager, telling her that, «We’ve had these rolls before, the sauce tastes burnt to us today, can you do anything about it? Also, this other sauce was supposed to be tempura and definitely is not…»
To which she responded with, «We’ve been here 9 years. Nothing has been changed about the sauce. No one else has complained. It is you, you have bad taste. If you don’t want to pay for it, fine. I won’t call the police, today. But you, you are BAD people.»
Now, let me tell you… we’re definitely not super-​picky eaters, at all. [The one time we received a bad bottle of wine at a restaurant, we almost let it pass, but upon finally squeamishly asking the sommelier to taste it, the bottle indeed turned out to have gone sour.] And if anything, we were really hungry and really wanted to eat the rolls, but… just without the sauce?!
The thing I’m surprised about the most it just how angry the manager was with US. She was so defensive, when we were just trying to make some sort of compromise to still enjoy SOMEthing at the restaurant.
So, we left our sushi. We left our half-​drunken beer. Paid for everything (except for the three sushi rolls in question, thank god). And left, still hungry. Have vowed never to go back.
‘Cause, personally… I don’t think my taste buds are bad. I do regret my poor judgment in coming here, though.

The food was excellent the place was packed super loud the waitstaff and hostess were not very friendly.

Yes, the rumors are true, they do in fact have purple rice.
It’s underground and I did like the interior. The atmosphere is nice, which is what I’m assuming we’re playing for here, because besides the purple rice, there wasn’t anything particularly outstanding about the sushi. We saw a few tables dressed especially nicely (obviously either a date night or celebrating some sort of occasion), but the majority of the crowd wasn’t too fancy.
I got the Sushi on Chapel Roll ($ 15) which was an 8 peace roll topped with a variety of fish and way too many sauces. I think that without a few of the sauces (especially given the fact that the rice itself was a little more sweet than normal sushi rice), I would have liked the roll more. The fish was fresh though, yay!
I would give Sushi on Chapel a 3.5, but I bumped it up to 4 instead of down to 3 here because I think there’s potential (also, I really want to like this place because of the purple rice) and I may like it more if I come back and order something different.
I also noticed the recent reviews about poor service… A group of 4 of us went on a weekday around 7:30 pm and service was prompt and staff was friendly! Maybe it’s because it was a weekday night or maybe they’ve stepped it up, further updates to come upon my revisit!

Well this place certainly went downhill since the last time I came here. First major peeve: service has always been INCREDIBLY slow. I understand that sushi-​making is a time-​consuming affair, but it took 15 minutes to even just get everyone waters. Secondly, they used to offer complimentary hot tea but apparently that is no longer a thing. So lame!
Previously I was willing to tolerate the slow service because the sushi was pretty good, but now even the quality of the sushi can’t mitigate everything. Don’t get me wrong. The sushi is still pretty tasty, but for what they are, they are also pretty pricey and not substantial.
I’m disappointed in this place: wish they would take care of some of the basic things!

This restaurant is largely getting two stars for the service my friend and I received during our visit there. But first let’s talk about food. This restaurant’s claim to fame is their black sushi rice, which is served with each maki roll. The rice is a mixture of purplish blue, and makes for interesting presentation. The taste roughly matches the typical taste of sushi rice. I wouldn’t say it added or subtracted from the overall taste of the roll. I was disappointed that the majority of their speciality rolls were either a California roll or shrimp tempura base. As someone who really doesn’t like either of those options, I was left to choose from 2 other rolls. I enjoyed the rolls and sashimi that I eventually received.
Let’s get down to service. I thought that going into this restaurant on a Friday night a little before 7 was going to be a disaster. However, when my friend and I entered the restaurant we were surprised to see that there was only one large party that was receiving their entrees and a couple of two top tables. We were quickly seated, but then not served for almost 15 minutes. By the time someone came to take our order, there were no frills or recommendations. The person who took our order seemed more like a manager than a server. There was no apology for our wait. We placed our order and had to request water as well. We both ordered miso soups, which were immediately brought out — but served lukewarm. While we were waiting another larger party was sat near us. All night we watched the large party continually get served, given waters, and checked in on. Despite asking for a refill of water twice that night, no one ever gave me any additional water. I was even told that the water person would refill my glass, and watched as she looked at my empty glass twice and walked past our table. When I let someone know that this happened, they stated that the person had recently learned English. Literally seconds later, the person who «just learned English» was talking to another server in what sounded like unaccented English. We also had to sit for another 15 minutes until someone would get our check for us.
Overall, the food is mediocre, but the service was so horrendous that my friend and I will not be returning. The staff should really reconsider how they treat all their guests, especially since they weren’t that busy on a Friday evening in downtown New Haven.

If people think this is good sushi I really feel sorry for them and realize that they really have never experienced good sushi in their lives. Very mediocre. One step above grocery store sushi. It’s fine for the budget conscious college students.

Pretty good sushi! Wasn’t amazing, but I really like the purple rice. I never seen it before, but enjoyed it. Great place for a dinner date or a group dinner. Price is reasonable and good for sushi.

Great sushi!
Had the Philly Roll and an Ebi Cu roll, both were delicious! The fish and ingredients are super fresh and taste amazing. The only reason I knocked it down a star is because I wasn’t a huge fan of the purple rice. Myself and a friend both agreed the purple rice was harder than normal sushi rice and just a bit sweet. But great sushi nonetheless.
My sister had bulgogi and it was pretty good. Her rice was less purple and not hard. We had edamame for an appetizer which were really good!
Definitely would go back!

It was ok, the purple rice was interesting to look at but there is a reason why everyone else uses white rice.

The rice was purple! Apparently it has antioxidants in it (it was good). The green tea is complimentary which isn’t always the case so I loved that. We went on a Friday at 9pm and it was pretty empty. Luckily another Unilocaler posted that it is in a basement level, or I might have missed it!

Sushi on Chapel is hard to find for first timers. It is located in the basement off of chapel street, but I love the atmosphere. It is quite cozy and relaxed.
In terms of sushi it is so convenient for Yale Students and people on business in New Haven, CT.
Though it might be a small place downstairs, it is worth a taste of their delicious sushi. But what I love the most is great service, and this place has it down. From the sushi chef to the waitresses great service is a part of Sushi Chapel. Love the antioxidant rice too! Tastes delicious!

So far, my favorite sushi place in New Haven (although I still have a few more to try). I highly recommend coming for lunch because the lunch boxes are such a great deal.
I’ve had the sashimi lunch box more times than I’m willing to admit. For $ 10 you get 9 pieces of sashimi, a side of rice, a California roll, a salad, and some sort of fried vegetable fritter things (not exactly tempura — it’s something else but still tasty). The fish is fresh and good quality, and the food is consistently good.
I will no doubt be a repeat customer here.

The food is great but every time I’ve ordered from here it’s taken half an hour of waiting inside the restaurant before even being acknowledged by a staff member. Unfortunately I have to say I won’t ever go back and it’s not because the food isn’t good…

I probably would not come back here. The prices are fine, the sushi didn’t make me sick, it just was an underwhelming meal.
I called for lunch on MLK day and asked for a lunch box, they said they were not serving the lunch specials that day. Weird.
Ordered sushi, got a tuna & avocado and shrimp & avocado. The tuna had no flavor, and the shrimp was bit over cooked.
My favorite sushi place is still Kumo on State.

It’s hard to get decent sushi in New Haven without putting a hole in your pocket. This place does the trick for me! Their sweet potato roll is super yummy and it served warm and topped with brown sugar. I also love any of their fish rolls (especially the Philadelphia roll) because they are simple but fresh. The rice is a purple color because they use a certain kind of red ride which is similar in texture and taste to brown rice but more flavorful. I always go here for my sushi fix!

Very solid sushi. Very fresh and great presentation. The purple rice is a nice unique touch.
Atmosphere wise, it’s average. It doesn’t have that high end feel that Miso does, but the prices reflect that. Service is adequate.
This is my go-​to for a more casual, reasonably priced sushi in New Haven. I’ve yet to be disappointed.

For the price, the sushi is quite good. I also enjoy their seaweed salad. As has been mentioned, their lunch specials ($ 10 for a takeout box with salad, rice, and sushi) are an excellent deal. I’d advise takeout as the interior is very dark, which isn’t bad when you’re getting dinner but can be disorienting when you emerge outside into the early afternoon sun.

Really good sushi for the price point. we did the lunch special which was a great deal.
Kind of a weird atmosphere, but it was okay. Good service. The fish seemed very fresh. And the rice was purple which was fun. I’m assuming they cook white rice with a little black to turn it purple.