Bento Sushi - MC LEAN

I actually drove out of my way to find this place... it's a grocery store sushi section! Completely disappointed. Old fish, no quality and made in the early morning so I wouldn't eat it for dinner. Disappointing!

To be clear: there's maybe like three seats at the sushi bar, so don't assume that this is some hip and happening sushi joint you can drop by; it's literally grab-n-go sushi in Safeway first and foremost. That said, back to the review: You know, until I saw this listing, it didn't even occur to me that this was anything other than an in-market sushi thing run by Safeway itself. I'm surprised it's actually a franchised operation, standardized and everything. I also don't recall the Bento name, so I figured this was a recent change. Turns out this Safeway location outsourced their sushi bar to Bento Sushi almost two years ago. Quality compares to Wasabi Sushi minus the Wasabi novelty markup, so it earns four stars on that alone given that Wasabi isn't perfect but that the pricing here is better. The selection of pre-boxed sushi isn't really as broad as it could be, but there's also not enough business foot traffic (yet) to justify it as there's currently only Northrop and MITRE right next door. As this area is largely being remade over the next few years with more in the way of mixed-use developments and office space, it'd probably make sense to broaden the selection and work with this particular Safeway to improve amenities like seating space. Then again, it's a grab-n-go sushi franchise, so maybe they should just stick to what they know best. 4 stars for food. There's really nothing else I can rate here because it's literally just a boxed sushi vendor that happens to be franchised pretty effectively.

To be honest, if there weren't pictures, you’d never guess this place is just a grocery store. I've never seen a grocery store's sushi section featured on Yelp, but they make the sushi right there, which might be the reason. If you don't arrive early, you won’t have a great selection; it’s definitely a grab-and-go situation. I’ve tried a few rolls, and they’re decent—nothing exceptional, just the standard grocery store sushi vibe. They do offer private parking, and you really don’t need any service here. The grocery store itself is one of my favorites; it’s clean and usually well-stocked if you shop early!

Google mistakenly lists this place as a 24-hour restaurant, but that's not the case—it's actually a Safeway.

I've tried to get sushi here three times, and each time it's been disappointing. The sushi isn’t fresh; it seems like it was made earlier in the day. I noticed one or two plates from last week still sitting out, and they looked unappetizing. Please consider changing your operating hours from 24 hours to just 4 hours a day; that would be more suitable for your management and the quality of food being served.