Rafi’s Hibachi & Sushi Bar

I'd been planning to take my fiance for his birthday. He loves sushi. But he wasn't even aware there was sushi close to home. He was so surprised when we pulled up. Rafis did NOT disappoint. I had hibachi, I'm not a sushi fan. My chicken and fried rice was so yummy. He had spicy California roll and Philadelphia roll and he said it was better then what he's had in Green Bay! As we were getting ready to leave we were told we had something else coming. We didn't order anything else..they brought fried ice cream for his birthday! Service was fantastic, atmosphere is beautiful ?

Rafi’s Hibachi & Sushi ???????? This place is a must! If you visit Gaylord, MI don’t miss out!! ????Food : I must say I love sushi and try out so many places and Rafi’s restaurant got it! The roll is really good, tasty and fresh the chef know exactly what he do. Well decor on my plate. For Hibachi I order Lobster tails they come with Fried rice and stir-fry Vegetable which is taste very good as well. I think the price is reasonable compare to the amount of food and the freshness. you must know Japanese food it’s a price to eat to keep all the fresh and quality to get to you. ???????????Service : Service is good they are really friendly and nice. ????Atmosphere : Great place stop by for nice lunch or family dinner. Calm and relax vibe but might be a pretty busy at dinner time. Overall this restaurant is nice place to visit and try out!

My only critique is two of the special rolls were so big they were hard to eat. But they were big because they were packed with a lot of goodness (and not just rice). We had the Alaska, Angel and the Caterpillar rolls, all very good. Exquisite presentation. The appetizer of orange ceviche was outstanding. We need to get out of Vanderbilt more often. Had no idea this place has been here six months!

The food looked amazing, the service was great and the place was clean. Overall we were happy and left full and content. Had the Avocado Roll, the Spicy Scallop Roll, the Udon and the Bibimbop Bilgogi. I was surprised that the shrimp in the Avocado Roll was fried, I would have preferred it not fried, but it was good and we ate it anyway. The rice in the Bilgogi was a tad overcooked (crunchy) around the edges, but again, the overall taste was there for the rest of the dish and we ate it all up, except for the rice, there was a lot of rice. This restaurant is a great addition to Gaylord and we look forward to future visits as we learn to navigate the very large menu.

I’ll admit, I was a little hesitant about sushi in northern Michigan considering that my family and I got severe food poisoning TWICE at an unrelated sushi place in traverse city that had 4.9 stars on google (long story). That being said, this place really knocked it out of the park. They even humored me ordering off menu, and waitstaff were super awesome. As a retired sushi chef, I give this place an 9/10, 10/10 considering location. Give it a try, you won’t regret it! Shoutout to Rafi, Lillian, and Jen for being rockstars!