these places are not dingy
They are very clean, but they have lots of character and atmosphere. Samba has live music and bely dancers as well. If you have been to Europe or Japan you would understand.
The Japanese restaurant there is actually very high end Japanese, again, more ethnic, with real Japanese cooks and waitresses. All the finishings inside look like they are straight out of Japan as well. It is not just another Korean sushi knock off fast food spot.