Arigato: Japanese Restaurant with a Lot of Smoke and Not Much Else

I had a craving for sushi during the New Year's weekend and was told of a restaurant in the Clearwater area called Arigato and we went to eat there. One of my companions never had Japanese food before and she was allergic to seafood so that proved to be interesting. She eventually got a rash which meant that they don't clean those grills too well. She is alright, but they should be more sanitary. My other friend loves Japanese food, except for sushi. She really was looking forward to a good meal. We didn't know the set up of the place, but once we got there we were interesting in knowing how things will work out. We were severely disappointed. I can say that the sushi was the only thing that was good about that restaurant. The sushi, however, did not make up for the lack of service, the awful décor, the outrageous prices and the lack of showmanship in the chef.

The restaurant was packed, but I will be fair and not fault the restaurant as it was New Year's weekend after all. Even though the restaurant was packed, the waiting time wasn't that bad. So, the sushi was good and waiting time not bad. Let's move on then to the other side of the critical spectrum. Let's start with the décor. The purple haze that overcame me from all those magentas and purples was a bit sickening. The gaudy décor should be considered insulting to any real Japanese home. The fish pond just added humidity to the restaurant that was already extremely hot and humid from all the grills' smoke. The tables were oddly placed and some of the seats were so very uncomfortable to get into and out of. I think I exercised half the calories of my meal by just trying to get out of my seat. I tried to do so gracefully, but failed miserably. We were grouped with other people and we passed through the awful decoration and the smokes from the other tables. I wear glasses so the condensation was just annoying. Feeling the heat from the other grills was not great. The tables in my opinion were to close together. This place, in my opinion, is a fire hazard.