California Rollin II

By far the worst service I’ve ever received from start to finish, we came for dinner granted my companion and I both just got out of work and we were starving, I guess that could of made it worse however we asked if we seat ourselves or wait and the sushi chef responded sit were ever you’d like, it was a beautiful day and we sat outside, after waiting 25 minutes with no one coming out offering us drinks or a menu my companion decided to go inside and ask for menus, so finally we at least got menus but waited another 15 minutes just to put in our order for drinks, so I tried to at least get an appetizer in with our drink order and possibly my favorite salad the ginger salad to go with but they were out. I have ate here many times in the past couple years and usually sushi is great but this time it seems a lot lighter on seafood then I’ve ever seen in past dining experiences, however the food made it out in a timely matter our waitress was barely seen until the check was dropped I also had to wait to get soy sauce for my dinner which usually is out right away so all in all I spent 3 hours here when I meant to just eat dinner and leave. I am also in the hospitality industry and one thing I’ve learned is to multi task without having that skill you are definitely in the wrong industry.

Sushi was terrible. Gross, old fish, rice tasted days old, everything looked unappealing. Figured out that you actually can ruin an easy dish such as miso soup and salad if you try hard enough. Wait staff was unfriendly, unprofessional, and not helpful — we had 5 people and they gave us 2 napkins and 2 chopsticks. Great location but the whole experience was awful. Yuck… Will not be back!

My main complaint about their sushi is that it was very bland. The rice had no flavor. It reminded me of sushi you’d make at your house with friends. It was edible, but not as good as it could be. Especially for a place that specializes in sushi.
Honestly, Wegmans sushi is way better and it pains me to say that.
But the positives, the staff are super friendly and the décor is fun and inviting. I just wish the food was better.

I took my wife and daughter here for Mother’s Day dinner, we love the sushi choices, and the Sunday special is quite a value. Our servers were Kristen and Brittany, and they were excellent, attentive, and worked each other’s table when the other server was out of position. The sushi chefs worked quickly and our order was out faster than I was used to at their Village Gate location, which I truly hate because of the slow food preparation and «couldn’t care less» attitude of the servers there.
On our visit today, we got the Courtney Roll (one of my daughter’s favorites), Crunchy Spicy Tuna, Rainbow Roll (Salmon, Tuna and Whitefish), and several tempura rolls including the Dancing Diablo Roll (garnished with Dinosaur BBQ sauce) and the Clams Casino. Every item was great and due to a chef’s error, we got double the Diablo Roll which we noticed when the platter came out because of the distinctive BBQ sauce, they had made two by mistake and of course we were not charged for the spare.
They have free wifi at the location, a full bar and the facility is quite nice. I brag about California Rollin’ II at the Port of Rochester and recommend it to all my out-​of-​town friends. The food is good, the staff is friendly, and after your meal you can walk down the beach or get an ice cream at Abbott’s custard if the spirit moves you. It’s my family’s «happy place,» and it should be yours, too!

The only reason they are gettin a three Is because they used to be quicker and more friendly. I came back after a long hiatus and there are all new chefs and wait staff. The sushi chefs are fine not as talkative and friendly as the older guys and the wait staff is so slow. I came in for take out and it took her ten minutes to get to me to give me a sheet to write my order on then she avoided me for the pick up of my order until the chef said something. It wasn’t that busy Saturday at 12:10 (they open at noon) and had two other tables I don’t get why they were so slow to get to me. I’ve worked in several restaurants that where way busier and have always gotten to a customer within a few minutes of being in the establishment.
Do have to admit that the food is still very good and its hard to find another sushi place that can fill their shoes food wise.

Good idea, bad execution. We tried the new location on Park Ave. which is a great location and we were literally the only ones in there. There were two people available to wait on us behind the counter. They acted like we were inconveniencing them and were rude. They also didn’t take any form of payment other than cash. We tried the Spicy Tuna, a Rajin Cajun and Tuna and Avacado rolls. They were all pretty bland, poorly made and stale. The ingredients just sit out all day in the open air like a Subway so they were pretty dried out. The end pieces of the rolls were pretty much just all rice. But the sad thing is they didn’t taste any less bland than the pieces full of other ingredients. We ended up just smothering it all in soy sauce and wasabi so at least it tasted like something and then we went and got ice cream because we were still hungry. I thought the rolls were overpriced considering the quality. Wegmans makes better sushi rolls for half the price.

I love this place. We usually get the Chef’s special, 3 roll combo for about $ 13.50 and have never been disappointed. It is fun to let serendipity and the chef be our guide. The Crab Rangoon roll was fantastic. It contained crabsticks, cream cheese and scallions, was covered in batter and deep fried then topped with a sweet and spicy sauce. It had spicy heat as well as temperature heat. Wonderful on a cold night.
Everything is made on the spot. We really enjoy watching the chef work via the «Sushi cam» placed over the work area. Clean, cut, clean, cut, roll, clean, wipe, clean, roll, clean…
And don’t get me started on the knives! The way they glide through the fish, vegetables, and completed rolls they’re either surgical scalpels or light sabers. I can’t tell. One thing I can tell for sure — the chefs are skilled in the art. It is a pleasure to watch them prepare and plate the food.
This is by no means a traditional Japanese sushi restaurant. This is a creative, Americanized version that offers great food with unique flavors and a little entertainment.
It is definitely worth a visit.

Disclaimer: I have never been to the actual restaurant, but they cater their sushi rolls at the University of Rochester. Being a student there with a required dining plan, I’m embarrassed to say I’ve tried just about every roll — salmon avocado, eel, spicy tuna, tuna avocado, crab, california, and stinger roll — and I hesitate to call it sushi.
The quality of fish is the worst I’ve ever had. Not just Rochester. I think you’d find better sushi in Africa. Seriously, if you’re reading this now, go somewhere else! If you’re about to walk in the restaurant, turn around! Shiki, plum house, bubble fusion tea, and Osaka are all far better places I’ve been in Rochester.
Now, let’s keep this between us. I have a reputation to uphold and people will laugh at me if they know I’ve eaten this stuff. If you decide to continue on your venture into California Rollin, may god be with you.
PS — I’m from California and a «sushi» place like this wouldn’t roll in my town.

I’ve eaten a lot of Japanese food and I’d have to say this wasn’t really anything special. There seemed to be a lot of unique menu items but nothing we ordered really lived up to the descriptions. We had five rolls — nothing was bad but nothing was special either, and I know just how good sushi CAN be. Maybe it was because of the rice — it had a certain chewiness/​dryness that sushi rice shouldn’t have. We chose to eat outside which was a mistake because the construction nearby meant a cloud of dust lingered around us and although it wasn’t close, the machinery noise was a bit much. It does seem like it must be a happening place at night and for dates, and the proximity to the pier and beach are nice, but if I’d probably keep looking next time.

This location is now better than downtown location. The sushi is prepared correctly every time I go — often 3 times per month. The food arrives as fast as possible, and it’s fast enough to go there for lunch during a work day. The service is really based on the server you get; sometimes it is excellent.

Smells, fish is not even cold. Weird names for things. Inattentive and bored service.

I’ve been going to this location since it’s been open. My opinion of the place is great. I find the staff to be friendly. When you sit at the sushi bar the chefs are always entertaining and happy to answer any questions you have. They are also very accommodating if you can’t consume dairy, gluten, etc.
I will say that I wouldn’t classify this is traditional sushi, it’s more of a fusion. But I love that there are cooked and raw options. I love to try the specialty rolls the staff comes up with.
Yes, you are going to have to wait for your food while it’s being prepared, maybe even an hour if it’s super busy. Don’t people talk to each other anymore? They have a great drink selection, NA too. So have a nice chat, enjoy a beverage and wait for your awesome food and then shovel it in!
My personal favorites are the wosa roll, crawdad bowl, and the spider roll. YUM!

Don’t know why they have bad reviews. I love this place! I’ve been eating here since they opened and I have yet to have a bad experience. When they’re packed they can be a bit slow, but come on! That’s to be expected with a good restaurant. Don’t believe the stars, it’s awesome.

Amazing service. Excellent food. My suggestion is to sit at the bar and talk with the sushi chefs. They are knowledgeable, funny, and add to the experience. Best sushi in the Roc. We come every week and are never disappointed.

Honestly food was great. Very tasty and quick. Nice to see several new rolls daily. I know Tuesday is a huge plus with half off bottles of Sapporo beer. They also have 3 different rolls for $ 12. They also accept coupons, so if you take advantage of specials, and specials the price is a bit more affordable.

Every time. Every time I go to either locations, the service is AWFUL. They don’t ask if you need a refill for water or let alone alcohol. They take your order and then you don’t see them until your food is ready. Which at that point, they should ask about drinks orders again. But then you wait 20 minutes to get the bill. I even ordered another drink and they never brought it to me. Do they not want to make money?
I just want them to get it together but they keep disappointing me.
This past weekend, I was willing to give them one more chance but again, the service was just so awful that I can’t ever justify going to this restaurant again.
Everyone, save your money and time and go to ANY other sushi place in Rochester because I guarantee, you’ll get better service. McDonalds give you better service.

Meh. Where should I start?
Well we arrived. My first time here, with some co workers that have been here a few times mainly dinner for them. There was 4 of us dining in for lunch. We get there at 1230. Not a person insight. No other patrons no host no server no cook. Nothing. We were actually thinking they were closed. But the music was on. So we just say down.
Hung out for about 10+ minutes and then I got up and grabbed a menu and «ahem’ed» kinda loud toward the kitchen to see if a head popped out. Sure enough, a causal man was surprised to see me. «Oh hey! Are you here to eat?!» «Ummmm yeah?» Haha
So a young lady came over to say hello to us gave us some menus and we ordered a couple beers and hot saki.
Getting our saki it was I’ve cold. Hmmm
Well I hate cold saki so I asked her if they had hot saki, like most places. And she looked at me and was puzzled. «Well I can microwave that for you?» Before I could respond she just took it and heated it up. Eh whatever. Sushi was decent. A lot of strange things. I don’t know about you but I don’t want dinosaur BBQ sauce on my sushi. Or bacon. Don’t get me wrong u love those things but I came for some damn sushi!
So we ordered some rolls and between the 4 of us got a pretty decent meal.
Our server was kinda snotty. Probably didn’t think we would too her. Even tho we were 2 bartenders and 2 servers out of the 4 of us and hopefully she felt like a jackass after receiving our tip seeing how there was no other patrons there.
I don’t think I’ll return for the crap service and weird no hot saki and weird BBQ on sushi deal they have going on.

I’ll admit it — I’m a sushi snob. I’ve had my fair share of traditional sushi so Cali Rollin was far, far, far on the other side of the spectrum. I wonder how I would look with my head and eyebrows shaved wearing all black make up and clothes… not pretty, and I feel the same about Cali Rollin.
I’ve been here about 3 times only because my loved ones, who have lost the ability to taste apparently, like it here because it’s close to the house, they have specials/coupons…blah, blah, blah, gag. I usually just taste what they order and none of the rolls are worth using up some of my limited memory capacity to remember it the next time my family’s taste buds go numb.
Even though I didn’t like the rolls, the crawdads appetizer was not that bad. It reminded me of sesame chicken…
For what it’s worth, I can appreciate the creativity they add to make themselves stand out. There’s funky combinations of ingredients that sound interesting, yet lack the… cohesiveness? blending flavors? pulling it all together kind of thing… that kick in the end of chewing on satisfaction. I’m at a loss for words on how to describe that the combo of flavors just didn’t work out. Stop forcing it. Just let them break up and part ways.
I also got the feeling that this was a joint where the kids would hang out because there’s no adult supervision leading the business. If you’re into fast food sushi where you don’t care if it’s not going to be that great but you’re starving and need something, then you may like this place.

I can’t believe this is the same business as the one downtown.
They advertise at both locations that it takes a while to get your food, but it seems like it takes much longer at this location. The manager at this location is constantly bitching at her employees.
I really don’t like this location and do all that I can to avoid it!

Asian chicken wings with spicy sauce were crunchy little spicy nib-​lets, so good. I asked if they use the sauce on any rolls and was dismayed that they don’t. It is neat that they have t.v.‘s set up in the dining area to watch the preparation.
Louisiana Roll, Crawdads spicy jun/​Vietnamese sauce.
Tuscany Roll, Thinly shaved Squid tempura’d to tender perfection in our fresh basil pesto
Carla Roll, Smoked Salmon, cream cheese, raspberries and jalapeño peppers
Wosa Roll, Spicy shrimp and tempura shrimp rolled in onion crunches
All were tasty. Their tempura was a bit moist.