The Happy Sumo

Host and wait staff act like they are inconvenienced by your patronage. They were out of the sake I drink, so I ordered the green tea. They were out of green tea! It was Saturday at 1, no excuse for not having beverages. It took 25 min for a deep fried appetizer. We didn’t even get a chance to order food because the waitress never came by. I try happy sumo every couple of months hoping the service is better because the food is decent. Sadly the service gets worse. The food is not worth the terrible staff, will not be going back EVER.

My sister and I went to eat sushi here today… With much disappointment. Ordered crab cheese wontons for an appetizer for 8.95!!! Got 6! With the sweet chili sauce! That is only Mae Ploy sauce! Real original! Not worth the money. Then we ordered the Vegas roll, caterpillar roll and the rockstar roll. The only edible one was the caterpillar roll. But The rice was so warm and gross. None of the rolls were cut in even pieces! Like some were ¼ of an inch and the others were 1 inch long, and weren’t cut fully though. Our waitress dropped of our platter of sushi and was nowhere to be found for 20 minutes. And when we told her the rockstar roll was inedible she asked if we wanted it remade… Rudely. Maybe 20 minutes ago, yes we would want to switch it. But after having no water refills and no ice in our cups we just wanted to leave. I still gave a 20% tip for some rude waitress to not even give us the time of day. No wonder they weren’t busy during the middle of lunch.

$ 132 dollars for three people?!@#$% Thats just way too much. The food was OK but nothing special. Most rolls were full of rice with little protein and covered in heavy sauces. The fish was tough in some areas and really sad. If this is what Colorado has to offer as sushi its a disappointment. I’ve eaten sushi in many places prior to moving here for far less money with greater service and much better food. We will be looking elsewhere for seafood. I hope they see the writing on the wall and turn it around soon.

Was in there for lunch and no one waited on my daughter and I at the hostess stand. Waitresses looked at us but said nothing. Sat at sushi bar the chefs didnt even acknowledge or presence. Sat for 5 mins people looked at us and said nothing. We left. Horrible service. You shouldn’t have to be chasing after them when you came into spend a pretty penny to eat sushi. I am appalled by the lack of customer service. NEVER AGAIN WILL I WASTE MY TIME HERE.

The atmosphere is sexy; velvet looking highback booths, gorgeous tiled and rock walls. So quiet yoy could have a romantic conversation with your date. The music reminds me of a upscale wine bar in Cherry Creek. We started with the Summer Rolls; they were ok, maybe let the rice paper get a little bit softer so all the insides don’t fall out onto the plate. The sauce was very peanut buttery; I’d order again. The Green Muscles had great texture but a little sweet (never hurt anyone) our 2^nd grader ate 4 of 6.
Service had been great so far for our appetizers and drinks granted it is only 6:30 on a Friday night.
We only ordered 4 rolls and they were excellent, we will be back!

Always amazing!!! Appetizers, cocktails, and sushi. One of my favorite spots for sure.

The sushi is good but not happy with the service!

We eat here about once a month hoping that the service will get better because we like the sushi.
There is rarely a hostess up front so you usually either get stuck waiting for someone to do their job, or you have to go find someone and ask them to seat you. The majority of the time, the servers act like you are inconveniencing them. They rarely check back on you. You always run out of beverages. I rarely see a manager around and even when you do, they are also to busy to serve their customers.
We decided to give the place one more shot today. Things have not improved much. The place was dirty, no hostess, no manager. We landed up sitting ourselves at the sushi bar because we got tired of waiting. The server just could not believe the horror of what we had done. She asked us to move and I let her know that if they had decided to do their jobs we wouldn’t have had to sit ourselves. The sushi was good as usual but it’s just not enough to keep us coming back. We will definitely be going somewhere different in the future.

4 stars only bc it’s a bit pricey. But it’s pretty tasty. The Las Vegas roll and the mango roll are incredible. Yum

Was craving some sushi, thought I’d give this place a try after an afternoon of shopping.
After stumbling through the dark to our table — seriously, dark. It was like Batman’s basement with I assume more gothic angst, we browse through the menu.
I don’t mind spending money on good food and for what this place charges, the food should have been great.
Did a combo sushi plate to share at the table.
Sushi was nice and warm, rice fell apart and was underdone and overall had that fishy taste that let you know very soon you’d be camping a bathroom.
Self preservation kicked in and we left more than half the roll on the table.
Our meals were much the same. Expensive, served with a nagging feeling you’d be very sick later.
Service was butt poor. Waitress came by once, no refills, didn’t care to ask if we were ok when it was clear no one was eating. Gave us the wrong check, had to wait forever to get the right one and then forever again to pay.
Guys please — I couldn’t save myself or my group from expensive food poisoning but maybe reading this will save you.
RUN AWAY

I’m not sure why this place has only 3 stars, but if I were you, I would give it a shot! The food is amazing… the service is good! And if you sign up for their VIP Program and go on one of the 2 for 1 specials days, then you’re in the money!
Plus, it’s at a great location! There’s tons of stuff here at the Orchard Town Center… including an AMC Theater.

This company is intentionally misleading customers.
I ordered crab and was served imitation crab. When I asked the waitress, she told me the product I was served was «half real and half imitation.» First of all, that was not true. The product was 100% imitation crab. Secondly, the menu says «crab» and I should have received what I ordered.
When the manager came to our table, he tried to say we were served the wrong roll, but he couldn’t tell us which roll we were served and he couldn’t find it on the menu. When further questioned about what was in the roll we received, he literally ran away from our table, never to be seen again.
Honestly, I think this company is banking on customers not noticing what they’re being served. Imitation crab is cheap and real crab is expensive. You do the math. I’m not going to give my service to a company who is misleading customers.
Where else are they cutting corners?

I came here with one of my friends because this was a central location for both of us and she also worked here before. Since she used to work there, our server was one of her friends. The service was good, she was nice, chatted with us, threw in a couple of free drinks (hot tea) and small dishes like side salad and edamame. I actually really want to come back without my friend to see what the service is really like since apparently a lot of people don’t like the service here from what I read.
We came on a Monday and apparently they had 50% appetizers and maki sushi, which are just really basic sushi rolls (think California roll). Because it was so cheap, we ordered too much food for the both of us, that I did not even get to the sushi. I’m not going to comment on how the sushi was because I ate it about 2 days later (gross, I know). We ordered the ginger tofu, it was pretty good, a hint of spice to it, the Sumo’s Dyn-​O-​Mite which is like a crab and tempura shrimp salad type thing. It has tobiko but we subbed that out for jalapeños. The Dyn-​O-​Mite was actually very tasty, surprisingly! Kind of sweet but not too overpowering, definitely unhealthy though. We also got the calamari and that was typical. Note that they let you sub things out or add extras even to the rolls; we added jalapeños to our spicy salmon roll, which tastes pretty spicy for an American restaurant.
One last thing about the restaurant is that the ambience is kind of weird, half way through dinner they turned down the lights soooo low and the furniture is black so it seemed like I was in a nightclub minus the loud music even though it’s bright and sunny out. I think they try to make it a more intimate experience for consumers but it’s kind of annoying.
All in all, the food is decent, I prefer Hapa for American fusion sushi but I wouldn’t mind coming back since it’s close to my parents house. This isn’t a really an authentic Japanese sushi restaurant, it’s more of an American, throw a bunch of sauce and toppings onto the sushi type of restaurant as well as catered to American people. So if you’re looking for nigiri or authenticity it’s best to go elsewhere (Sushi Den).
Pros:
— Location (the Orchard)
— Specials
Cons:
— Can be pricy
— Ambience

Sticky tables, sticky menus, the overpowering smell of flowers and strange, mediocre sushi all await you here at this dimly lit sushi den in the overcrowded Orchards of Westminster.
I had the cabana roll which was quite good, and the sunomono roll which managed to mess up a simple beautiful thing — pickled delicious cucumbers. My wife had the fried pot stickers and egg rolls, again with strange flavors and poorly balanced sauces.
It seems like this could be a nice place if they cleaned the place, hired an actual Japanese person, and threw out the hippy who turned the restaurant into a location for the next herbal essences commercial shoot.

One of My favorite sushi spots in colorado. I would not say this place is traditional in the historical sense of sushi, this place is like the cheesecake factory for sushi. Major twists on traditional ideas, of course it’s Americanized. the thing that bothers me about sushi places is people don’t really know how to eat sushi the right way anyways, so it’s a bit taxing to say a place is bad if you just Knock back the food as if it’s a burger joint. Sushi is supposed to be eaten quick but again, this ain’t your uncle Jiro’s sushi.
The only issue I’m starting to have with this place is the food is coming out too quick/​sloppy vs 3 – 4 years ago. I remember beautifully crafted dishes with flare to them, now-​a-​days the dish comes out flat and rather minimal. All that said the food is great, still tastes great and is never bland.
The waitresses, are very nice… well the ones who have been there the longest. They are very talkative, interesting and keep the vibes high. I dont know their names but the evening bartender and 2 of the older waitresses are the best. They desserve a raise. It seems the hostesses are never at the desk over the last 8 times I’ve been here. If I were the boss they would be fired immediately.
All in all a great spot, great location, dim lighting, cool music, very modern interior. I’d say it’s in my top 5 sushi spots in colorado.

I came here awhile back for my birthday and had a less than pleasing experience. I was offered a concession to try the restaurant a second time by management.
2^nd experience: The restaurant was fairly empty. We received a booth this time. I asked what their spiciest roll was and our server recommended the baja.
We did not have soy sauce on our table when the Baja Roll arrived, but our server eventually brought us some when we asked. The server accidentally put in an order for two avalanche rolls, which was not a big deal, she credited us back and apologized. I asked at the beginning if the sushi chefs would be willing to make a random or special order roll, and she informed us that could not be done.
Items tried:
Baja Roll — ½ a star
The sriracha on top is the only accent of spicy, the pieces were fairly small and the rice was super cold and over cooked.
Playboy Roll — 3 star
Probably the most flavorful, 13.75 was the price. The pieces were larger than the Baja and rice wasn’t as overcooked. Yay!
Avalanche Roll — 2 star
The only thing I enjoyed about this role was the sauce on top, the fish didn’t taste very fresh to me.
Rockstar Roll — 1 star
An odd Mexican-​esque type combination of fish, green onion, and lime. I couldn’t finish it.
Beautiful atmosphere and an ideal location. Unfortunately, the food just wasn’t for me. I appreciate the efforts that were made to make the situation right by management.

I have been here too many times to count either because it’s a half-​way point to meet my family or I have friends that live in the area. It is right off the highway so it is extremely convenient.
First, I love the décor and design of this place. It looks like a fancy, modern, Asian fusion spot. It is a good size so you normally don’t have to wait THAT long, except sometimes on Fridays/​Saturdays.
Now, the food. The sushi is very good. It is great quality and always tatstes fresh. They have a huge selection of all the fancy rolls with cream cheese, fried, etc., so if you are looking for just fresh sushi without all the bells and whistles, this is probably not your spot. I am a big fan of the firecracker roll (siracha on top, such a cool combination), and the Vegas roll (Warning: this is one of the fancy shmancy cream cheese rolls I was talking about). The price points are average for the area. Last night when I was here, we did both notice the rice did NOT hold together very well which is the base of the entire roll, so we were pretty annoyed about that. The rolls completely fell apart. Still, we got 3 rolls that were decent and we were pretty full.
I am bummed that they took away the killer deals they used to have if you signed up for their membership through your email. We used to get 50% off our entire bill, ugh! Probably took it away because they had a steady clientel, which I understand, but still– boooo!

Growing up in Japan, I was spoiled. I realize that now when I eat at pseudo-​Japanese restaurants.
I had the Benton combo #3 — salmon, gyoza, tempura, rice, salad.
I also split a tuna roll with another member of my family.
~ The prices are $$$, not $$.
~ Gyoza (potstickers) are deep fried in thick doughy skins.
~ salmon was raw on the middle and smothered in a thick sweet gooey sauce.
~ rice was good.
~ salad was great.
~ tempura pieces were good.
Was it all worth the $ 21.00? Definitely not. Find a better place to go. Seriously.

James F and I were «up north» for a record expo and started to get a bit peckish. I didn’t have sushi on the brain, but when he suggested this place, I couldn’t say no.
Happy Sumo is swanky and stylish the moment you walk in: dark interior with dark booths and dark tables. Dark dark dark. I would guess all of the darkness makes for a mysterious date night. In any case, we were sat at a booth in the bar area, very comfy. The menu is huge and has pictures of almost all of the rolls. A bit strange, but this place is in the burbs. There’s also no paper and pencils to make your choices. Again, strange, but the burbs, I guess? We opted to start with some warm house sake and miso soup followed up by three rolls and octopus (tako!) sashimi.
Everything was really tasty, including the octopus, which was a new try for me. It didn’t really have any flavor, just a tough texture. The presentation was lovely as well, contrary to previous reviews. Prices were indeed on point with other sushi joints around town as well.
If you find yourself on this side of town and are craving sushi, Happy Sumo is a cool experience. Beautiful restaurant with good food and good service. I’d certainly poke my head in here again.

As I’ve mentioned before, I feel that sushi fare is best judged by nigiri (rice on bottom, fish on top). It’s easier to compare freshness and there is a certain level of continuity since it’s not all «dressed up.» We got the maguro tuna, shake salmon and unagi eel. All were just ok. Good texture in general but not great flavor.
For an appetizer, we got the edamame. It was nicely prepared (we hate it when it’s really mushy — gross) but we both agreed that it wasn’t fresh. Previously frozen maybe? We got a couple rolls: the Aspen Roll and the Panko Popper. The Aspen Roll was pretty tasty; no complaints. The Panko Popper Roll mostly just tasted like fried panko — there wasn’t enough filling to offset the amount of crunchy on the outside. Meh.
Lastly, I will note that The Happy Sumo is PRICEY! The nigiri — for the most part — cost about $ 1 more for two pieces than what you’d pay for the same nearly anywhere else. They also don’t have many rolls in the $ 5-​$ 7 range. Their «lunch specials» are a JOKE! Not many choices and not a great discount.
I won’t give them 1 star because it wasn’t horrible… but we certainly won’t return.