Jusco

Photo by AndrewChen

Jusco is a sushi buffet restaurant that probably has the most polarized reviews of all the restaurants in Davis. The good news for Jusco is most of the bad reviews were in years past, while the recent reviews overall are much more positive and note improvement in food, atmosphere and service — you may wish to scroll to the bottom of the reviews first. Everyone seems to agree that it is conveniently located downtown across the street from Fuji's, and that there is never a problem finding a table, but the agreements end there. Many people think that the quality is highly questionable. These people complain about overly salted food, sushi that smells really fishy, and poor service. Others seem to like the variety, especially the cooked items. People especially recommend their tasty selection of fried snackables (eg. salt & pepper prawns, calamari). They tend to serve their sushi rice warm and very light on the vinegar; some customers like this as a sign of authenticity, while others think it makes the sushi taste less fresh.

As for the service, although the old man is quite nice, some of the servers are known to forget orders, and allegedly say offensive things about their customers in Cantonese. Many patrons often feel like they are being watched to make sure they eat every grain of sushi rice; If you don't you may be charged extra. You will also be charged extra if you pay with a credit card (visa or mastercard). Over all this is the place to go if you find yourself downtown and want a sushi buffet without having to wait in line for a table, don't want to have to pick your food up from sushi boats, or don't want your food to have been sitting under heat lamps, but cooked fresh.

Also, you get a free meal on your birthday!

This place used to be the Davis Saloon Vietnamese Restaurant.

Add a Review

Note: You must be logged in to add comments

• Reviews from 2005
  

• Reviews from 2006

2007-01-07 12:59:15   Service sucks. They seem stingy about giving you more food even though its a BUFFET! I overheard the guy worker/owner tell a customer that tip isn't including in the meal and the guy placed a quarter on the counter for their rude service. I can understand the owners speaking Chinese and they pretty much want your money and they don't care if you enjoy the food. I'd rather wait in line at Fuji's than to come to this place. Their food is ok but their customer service sucks so bad, its not worth investing time or money into this place. —BeeBooBee

2007-01-21 12:54:53   This restaurant does pick favorite patrons who have loyally gone to their restaurant... I've gone too many times to count and they're always very courteous and polite to me and my friends! their cooked food is actually pretty good and the sushi i've had was great! —CalvinCheng

2007-02-03 21:45:22   It is a good alternative for Fuji Cheff —KaiWan

2007-02-25 02:10:10   I ate there for like the fifth time yesterday night with my cousin for dinner. I'm pretty sure they increased the price for dinner on weekends from $14 to $17 or something like that. I think that's absolutely steep and ridiculous considering I'd rather spend $12 or whatever at Fuji's for so much more variety, color, and taste. I could do without being given dirty looks from that manager or whatever that works there. I thought the nigiri was perfectly fine, different flavors from all the fish. The only rolls I think worth eating are Dragon and Rainbow. The Alaska, Philadelphia, Tekki, and Tempura Rolls aren't bad either. The rest seem pretty boring. The hot food (chicken wings, calamari, shrimp, chicken, eggrolls) is an interesting change of pace if you feel like eating random Chinese snacks. The old man there is very friendly particularly if you speak Cantonese to him. Never ever go here unless you are extremely desperate and craving a quick sushi fix. Eat as much as you can because $17 is robbery.

- I recently returned to Jusco's on October 6th, 2007. I woke up late that day so I didn't get in line like I normally do for Fuji's and my cousin and I still felt like eating sushi. After putting our name on the Fuji's list and waiting an hour, our efforts were fruitless. It would've been an additional hour before we would be seated. But everyone already knows that you have to either go to Fuji's early or really late in the afternoon to get in, we went around 12:30 PM and that was a mistake. Anyways, we decided for the hell of it go to Jusco's, and now they have lunch for $10.50, $11.35 after tax. That sounded like a steal, and for how much I ate, like 40 pieces of nigiri, it was well worth it. This place has a bad reputation, and I don't blame anyone for talking it down, but I'm sure the owner is trying to be better. As I've stated before, if you talk the old man in Cantonese, things generally go a lot smoother. If you can't speak Cantonese, bring a friend who can. The lunch menu is limited compared to the dinner menu, but they still have all the main cuts of fish, I absolutely loved the mackerel and albacore tuna nigiri, and all the typical rolls that everyone likes. The small plus is that they have random fried dishes if you want a break from sushi. Personally, the small selection of rolls was kind of a let down. I enjoy Fuji's colorful and hearty, although often disgustingly saucy, rolls. Jusco's has very boring and plain rolls, especially for lunch. However, all in all, I got my sushi fix, and it was cheap and fantastic. Recommended for lunch if Fuji's is way too packed. I still stand strong with my belief that this place is death for dinner. —CoreyPham

2007-05-02 12:52:01   I came into the restaurant, standing there for a good 7-10 minutes without service and they were not that busy either, so i left. —trambajuice

2007-05-02 20:36:36   We went here for the midweek "all you can eat" buffet. (Is it really a buffet if the food isn't laid out on a table?? Never mind, it was all you can eat, for around $13/person). I had been told that this was a great place for veggie sushi; this was true. The veggie dragon and veggie rainbow sushi were delish. However, the wonton soup had a weird flavor and teriyaki chicken didn't have a very good sauce. Apparently, if you want miso soup you have to go on the weekend... maybe next time. —CovertProfessor

2007-06-09 20:40:14   I thought this plae was awful. Get sushi at Moshi Moshi. —AmyGoogenspa

2007-07-11 17:13:16   I wouldnt go here for sushi, unless you're starving and have a craving for sushi buffet and Fuji's across the street is packed. —JoeLow

2007-08-13 00:32:30   I used to frequent this place until the owners pissed us off. We only wanted sashimi, but they forced the rice balls onto us(obviously to get us full). We decided to leave the balls of rice hidden in one of their plastic bags at the edge of the seat (kind of shady, yes), but they like to charge extra per uneaten item of food. After we paid and walked out, the owner rushed out and grabbed my friend by his collar. He dragged my friend back in and pointed at the plastic bag of rice (there was about 10 rice balls in there). We weren't going to pay extra for food we had already paid for. The onwer threatened to call the police. That's when we got pissed. The owner stood at the door and wouldn't let us out, demanding that we give him our IDs. Obviously, we declined and so he took a cell phone picture of my friend. We took off immediately and vowed never to go back. —AlXBoi

• I hate Jusco, but you're completely in the wrong here. You knew about the policy before you came and you intentionally tried to sneak around it so you could have only sashimi. This is not a sashimi buffet, if you wanted that you should have went to Fuji's. The owner would have been well within his right to call the police. —MattHh
  

• Wait. They charge extra if you don't eat something? Ethically, that makes sense, but wtf? What if you decide to box something up to take home after you've ordered more than you can eat? —SunjeetBaadkar
  

• It's an all-you-can-eat buffet. You shouldn't have "more than you can eat". That's how any a-y-c-e place works, regardless.—JoePomidor
  

2007-10-25 22:58:31   This is my favorite restaurant in Davis— and the main page review of this restaurant is ridiculous. The staff is amazingly nice, and definitely appreciate people coming back. And why wouldn't you go back— the sushi is made fresh, not sitting out like it is at Fuji. And frankly, the quality is just better than Fuji, having been to both. The atmosphere is great, and they accommodate large parties as best they can because of the ingenious seating they have. This is a restaurant for people who actually *like* sushi— not just like being trendy and eating California rolls. AND they serve at G Street Pub, how awesome is that— just walk in, place and order, and they'll bring it over to you at the bar. —Sara1387

2007-10-28 15:02:11   I enjoyed Jusco because for someone who does not know his sushi, I was able to try many different things. I have been there multiple times and I haven't seen anything shady yet —DonGibson

2007-11-29 20:49:56   ew to the quality here. I wander if people make the assumption that just because the food is not foating in boats that it is fresh. The scalop tasted super fishy, the salmon was not fresh at all, and the potstickers tasted like my trash can smells right before i take it out. Just nasty. The service was fine though, wish i could say the same about the food.

—MattHh

2007-12-09 17:03:57   The nigiri here is prepared poorly. It doesn't seem like nigiri... just more like a cut fish slapped on top of a ball of rice. The salmon was not very tasty and even a little fishy at times compared to Nobu and Fuji's. The rolls here are okay, better than Fuji's and a little more detailed than Nobu, but they are cut too thick. The stirfry is tasty but very salty. For how high the price is at dinner, I don't see much reason to go here over Nobu unless you're in downtown and you don't have a car. For lunch, it's okay if you like their rolls and you don't want to wait in a line. The service is okay, though. —BrandonWong

2008-02-04 00:55:47   AMAZING RESTAURANT! Amazing service, really good music, and of course, the food was stupendous. I have been to Japanese restaurants from California to New York, and find this food to be the best tasting. I love that the rice is warm, and I love the sociability of the waiters. Whenever I have enough money to eat at restaurants, I almost always choose Jusco. —wunder1

2008-02-15 14:49:14   First off, the Pro's and Con's are very contridictive.... Now I just ate here last night for the umpteenth time, and I still love it. The size and temp of the rolls are perfect, call me crazy but I don't want my sushi to be freezing. I truly recommend the Shredded Crab rolls. I haven't eaten at Fuji's, because I like to be seated when I'm ready to eat, and the fact that its small and not always busy gives that feeling that you stumbled upon a hidden Gold Mine. And since when is ethnicity play a part in food prep? I know Mexican and Italian Restaurants that are owned by Jewish people... All in All, eat here, you'll like it —nc69chicano

2008-02-17 22:02:41   The quality of the sushis have gone up over the past six months, I have to admit. They've added some new dishes to the menu that are pretty tasty. I mostly like this restaurant for their calamari. :D —BigRedGum

2008-02-21 23:35:09   This place is great. The elderly man speaks little english but is extremely nice. After only two times of coming in (on busy days) he remembered my drink preference and brings me a soup without having me fill out the little paper. Even after not going in for a few weeks he still remembers. The other staff are all also very nice, and treat repeat customers like family. Sometimes they forget orders(if it is busy, or you order a lot), but you can always order anything again. They are always very flexible on leaving things off, or adding things i.e. not putting sauce on the crab cheese wontons. I have been to sushi places not only all over Davis, but San Francisco, and this is the cheapest, most convenient, sushi and hot snacks around. P.S. If you go in for dinner try the calamari. I never would have thought I would eat such a thing, but theirs is great! —lindseyloo9210

2008-03-11 18:47:11   I just visited Jusco again last week after about 8 months. The menu has changed dramatically with more rolls! The hot food menu, which requires, in my opinion, no change whatsoever was excellent as usual. They have different items for lunch and dinner and some extra items for weekends... so people should check it out for lunch and for dinner!

the one thing that impresses me is that the food quality has seem to gone up from when I first tried it in 2005. They still remember me and are still very courteous. And like the other people have said here, the old gentleman is perhaps one of the most attentive people in the restaurant and is extremely polite, though he only knows a little english. I always like to leave a fat tip.

Overall, I'm glad they have approved in food quality and selection and I'm happy to recommend this place to friends and to daviswiki! —CalvinCheng

2008-03-20 13:34:11   I don't know what it is about this place, but I keep coming back here for dinner. Quality wise, Nobu may be the best for dinner, hands down. But for variety, and the option to eat a whole bunch of fried things, Jusco does it best. I heard Fuji's offers dinner now, so I'm pretty sure I'm never going here again. Still, Jusco has new rolls, and they are lively and pretty tasty! Give it a chance. —CoreyPham

2008-04-13 20:17:45   I went last week for a friend's birthday with 13 people, and they accommodated us so well! They were great for serving so many people: they didn't forget anything we wrote down. Evidently they give you a free meal if it's your birthday! —wunder1

2008-04-20 18:58:13   I love this place. The people are very friendly and accommodate. Granted, the sushi isn't that great, but for its cheap price (considering its sushi) and nice atmosphere i say its definitely worth going. —ASQWIK

2008-05-02 19:30:57   I went to Jusco last week wondering what had happened after reading a negative review in the Aggie. Just before going, however, I read the recent reviews here and the reviews overall were very positive. I am pleased to report that I had a very good meal meal, one of the best I've had here. The quality indeed has gone up. It's not the five star sushi that I can get in San Francisco or Santa Barbara, but it is good. I don't understand the person complaining about the price. I usually get about 12-15 items and you can leave with tip Mon-Thu for $20. That's about $1.35-$1.50/per — how can anyone complain?!?!! (A tiny bit more on weekends.) Some of the rolls are quite interesting, and I find the fish tasty (esp. like the makerel and eel.) The service was great! The older guy is one of the nicest servers in Davis without fail. The young guy was doing a great job too, and was very apologetic for missing my filled-out order, but it was only a few minutes and no problem. I usually get two rounds and they have never failed to ask me if I want a third round. They do always seem to push the hot food, I suspect if it is cheaper and fills people up, but they have never complained if I'm only getting Sushi. It is a business; I have no problem with them trying to make a profit as long as they keep a customer-first attitude. In past visits I was annoyed on occasion by drunk patrons from G Street opening the pass-through door and leaving it open with lots of noise and an unwelcome draft coming in to Jusco. But on this visit when this happened the employees promptly shut the door. I've tried all three Sushi places on G Street, and this is by far the best of the three to my taste. There's something about the place I like that I can't quite put my finger on — it's not your typical sushi place, but something about the atmosphere, price, a-y-c-eat, service combo makes it a place I like to frequent.

(I can't even believe the review from the guy who peeled his sushi rice off the fish and put it in a bag and accused them of trying to stuff people with rice - yeah, right - what do you think the margin of profit for such a place is? - certainly not enough to provide all-you-can-eat sashimi.) —AlanMiller

2008-05-27 17:39:07   Jusco's! Makes me extremely happy. A little pricey, but it is all you can eat sushi. Very nice service, and food comes out relatively quickly. If your'e eever in a huge sushi mood, then this is probably one of the best places, if not the best place in davis to go to. —film

2008-06-04 20:42:38   I consider myself a sushi snob. I have eaten at alot of high class sushi places and paid $200+ just for my own bill at these places. The sushi at those places was great but it hurt my wallet. I eat at Jusco alot and for the price it is pretty damn good. I've been eating there ever since it opened and it has continually gotten better. The service is prompt, the food is great and you can't beat the price. If there's something you like that's not on the menu just ask and they'll make it for you. I know the owner and consider him a good friend and if I'm there and witness any of you negative people(ex. plastic bag riceball idiot) on here disrespect this place in any way the owner won't be the one you'll have to worry about I'll toss you out myself. You still need to use your manners at restaurants people!! —Kicker

2008-06-05 11:50:12   Every sushi place has its positives and negatives, but on the whole this is the best place to get a sushi lunch in Davis. —PeteWillits

2008-06-10 01:55:32   Pricy.... D: —xcutioners

2008-06-28 19:00:20   That guy said pricy??? What an idiot! Where else can you get all-u-can-eat sushi for $15. Drive to Reno or Vegas in a casino maybe. —Kicker

• You could try Sushi Nobu... —JoePomidor
  

• Or Fuji Chef or Davis Sushi Buffet —JonathanLawton
  

2008-06-30 20:04:41   I like Nobu too, but they only have all-u-can-eat at lunch and then only at the sushi bar. :( —Kicker

• Actually you might find that they do a decent dinner buffet too, for $14.99. Also, I have had the buffet for lunch at a table before with no problems, besides an inability to order rolls directly from the chefs. I would assume the same applies to dinners, but I cannot definitively back that up. — JoePomidor
  

2008-07-01 12:17:36   This is my most favoirte Sushi place in downtown Davis. I wish I could afford to go here more often. The Sushi is always fresh, quick and good. As are the hot all you can eat items. —JamesLDownie

2008-07-09 18:39:38   Personally I think Fuji sucks. Nobu is good, but Jusco has a better selection of maki and nigiri —Kicker

2008-10-06 18:05:42   This place isnt Mukinis but for the price it is soooooooo GOOD!!!! You always get great customer service, and since it is unlimited you can eat your weight in sushi if you want. —SaraTarro

2008-10-29 21:25:32   I've gone here for quite some time now, and really like this place. The owner's really nice and polite with us, and they've been adding lots of rolls all the time. My favorite roll has to be the Dragon Roll/Green Dragon Roll - normally we get a ton of these every time. Their fried calamari is really good, and especially their crab meat cheese wontons. I prefer Jusco's over Fuji's because there's never a long line to get in, and because I don't really like the boat style sushi, because you never know just how long the fish has been floating there. It's a lot more convenient to just pick and choose what you want from the pictures/descriptions and write down specific numbers of each order, and have them delivered to you. —JaimeG