Taisho was a pretty decent place about 3 to 4 years ago but ever since they renovated it's just gone downhill from there. Before getting seated, the host told us about a 10% gratuity that would be automatically tacked onto the bill. There is a choice for All You Can Eat and regular menu. We chose the regular menu but as we sat down, it was apparent that even for All You Can Eat, there wasn't much choice on the revolving belt by the tables where you can grab sushi. In fact, I'm not even sure how long some items were sitting there but all there really was to choose from was tamago (egg) and California rolls. I think the look of the menu compared to how it was before says a lot about how the restaurant has changed. There aren't as many offerings as there were before.

I ordered the Nabeyaki Udon with salmon and tuna sashimi plus sunomono salad. These were pretty decent but I've had better Nabeyaki Udon. My friends ordered the sushi boat for two people that came with an assortment of nigiri, tempura and sashimi. I gave the tako (octopus) a shot and it wasn't very fresh and tasted quite fishy.

Despite the way the food tasted, the service was decent. Food arrived within a reasonable amount of time. The servers replenished our cups with tea quite regularly, picked up empty plates and even responded to other requests quite quickly. However, by the end of dinner, we weren't very satisfied with our meals and on top of that, weren't completely overjoyed with the idea of paying 10% for tips. We felt that the servers deserved it more than the chefs if they're the kind of place that split tips. After asking for the bill, we were surprised to find out that the server had written down in the blank printed space that appeared as "Gratuities ______%", that he had filled out 15%. This wasn't really much of a problem but I feel it's dishonest to tell people at the beginning that mandatory tips are 10% when in fact, the servers can fill out whatever they want. They should at least tell people it's a minimum. When asked at the cashier why it was upped to 15%, he replied that it's the holiday season. What an excuse.

Considering the nonsense of the mandatory tip for customers who aren't in a large group, along with the food that was almost decent, I would not recommend Taisho unless you are starving and have no place else to go.