Lotus Restaurant

1616 Claremont Ave, Ashland - 44805
145 reviews
Asian Fusion Chinese Sushi Bar
(419) 496-0012

This one's tough. Did I give it two stars because I'm picky? Maybe. Did I give it two stars because the bathroom was the cleanest smelling room in the place? It's possible. But the most likely reason I gave it 2 stars was because the food was awful. Sorry guys, it really was.At first glance the menu looked awesome. They are under new ownership and it shows...they are trying to make the place look classy. However, the sushi is not described in the menu, other than the chef specials, so you have to ask the wait staff what is in each roll if you don't already know. Our server said it was difficult to remember all of the rolls and she had to double check to make sure she wasn't giving us bad information about about the sushi.They had a special that was $14.95 for Your choice of appetizer, soup, sushi roll, and chef's special roll. I decided to give that a try. I chose miso soup, steamed shiumai (a shrimp dumpling), the Crispy Lotus Roll, and asked if they had a sushi roll that had salmon, cream cheese, and cucumber, but they didn't have one. I was told the Philadelphia Roll had cucumber, cream cheese, and crab meat. I opted for that.First the miso soup came out. It was very weak and watery, and not hot - only tepid (Certainly not hot enough to prevent microbial growth), so I sent it back and asked for hot and sour soup. She brought it out and it was also pale and watery, and neither hot, nor HOT nor sour. It WAS soup, so one out of three? I asked for some vinegar to make the soup sour, but I couldn't fix it. I Pushed it aside and moved on to the shiumai.The shiumai wrapper was pale white and waterlogged. It tasted like old frozen food that had been microwaved. Yuck! Bad taste, bad smell, bad texture. I pushed that aside, too.The sushi rolls were presented nicely, each displayed upon a leaf, both on the same plate. Mind you, the chef's special roll is hot and the other roll is cold… supposedly. In this case, the rice that was supposed to be cold on the outside of the Philadelphia roll was cool but definitely not cold, as were the contents. Additionally, imitation crab was used - not real crab meat. They should be more specific because if I had had a fish allergy I could be writing this from the hospital. The other roll was hot but had a very fishy flavor, not like other sushi that I've had for the past 40 years. I ate both the rolls with trepidation... Honestly I was a little worried about the quality, and, unfortunately, my fears were founded. About an hour and a half after we ate, I felt sick to my stomach and I had to be sure I was close to a restroom.I am very underwhelmed by the quality of the food here. The wait person that we had was chipper and cheerful, and appears to truly believe in the quality of the product. She checked on us appropriately and made sure we had everything we needed. She was the best part of this place other than the chocolate fortune cookie at the end.

Went back for the first time since new ownership, SO much better than it used to be. A few years ago i vowed never to go again after some inedible Chinese takeout. Today i had a good lunch, tasty sushi and good service. Will be back. Give them a chance!

Went on Christmas slowest day of the year considering not a soul was in there. Ordered 5 sweet and sour meals drove all the way home to find no rice! Drove all the way back to get my rice. All the way back home to see my chicken has spots where it’s doughy an not cooked all the way. Thanks for the amazing food! Place is a joke cashier looked like she was on drugs!

Best Chinese I've had. Great food, good prices/portions and their egg rolls are AMAZING!! I'd go here over any of the 5 options in Wooster without thinking twice!UPDATE:They changed owners and the egg rolls. They are no longer double double battered. The new egg rolls are frozen and not good. I've only been once since they changed them. The food used to be amazing. Probably won't go back now. Don't change a good thing!

Used to love the scratch made egg rolls and the Thai dishes... There's no resemblance to the rich flavors and hard work we got to enjoy for years. Miss you ma and bossman!

Confusing menu. Food was good. Service was good.

Ate with a group. Good, attentive service. Delicious spring roll. Fried rice very good. Portions generous. Most of our party was satisfied with the food.

The dumplings are awesome looking to try some sushi next visit

Since new owners took over the service here is terrible!!!! The cashier is not friendly at all, and walks around without helping

Service- greatCalamari- disrespectfully over cookedSushi- don't do itSesame chicken- good, nothing special about it.I wouldn't recommend unless you're really pressed for Chinese food. If that's the case, best of luck to you.Also, it's a 90's area golden corral so my nostalgia was buzzing. Unfortunately, I guarantee this isn't the best food that has ever been served in this building.