It's always a little sad to say goodbye to a place that meant more than just good food. Thank you for all the wonderful memories, incredible meals, and experiences over the years. We always looked forward to coming here, and the food never disappointed. The environment was inviting, and you could have privacy in a booth or be front and center at the window and enjoy the view. What made it even more special was the people. Mem was always so incredibly sweet, remembering us and asking about our cats, while happily sharing updates and stories about hers. Those little personal touches are what you remember long after the last meal. We're truly going to miss this place and everyone who made it special. Thank you for the food, the hospitality, the laughs, and the memories. Wishing everyone who was part of it nothing but the best. read more

Came to Aozara last Saturday to meet up with some friends for lunch and didn't take a single picture :( We were seated quickly along the left wall which had tables. The other side of the restaurant had these big white booths which were pretty cool. I ordered the Spicy Scallop Roll and Sexy Girl Roll for myself. We all ordered on the provided menu sheet and were able to check off the items we each wanted. Because we got there so early, the food came out fast. I LOVED my scallop roll and plant to come back here just for that. Aozara is located on Bloomfield Ave right across from the Wellmont. I'll be honest, I go to the Wellmont for shows at least once a month and had never been here before but I plan to come back now that I know the food and service are good. It's BYOB - so make sure to bring your fave wine with you! read more

This place is super cute, a nice date not spot. The super was super fresh, my favorite was the Montclair girl. I like normally sushi rolls where there's not too much rice and more fish. I definitely would come here again for the basic rolls since their special rolls weren't too crazy. The staff was also super friendly and attentive. read more

Aozora - Montclair girl - Japanese Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

Honestly, probably more like 3.5 but I'll round up. The interior is beautiful. Very serene and tasteful. We were greeted right away, and sat quickly. The service was helpful. I ordered the Chirashi Don, and my friends had the Unagi Don and Chicken Udon. The Chirashi Don was good. I did feel that the sashimi slices were quite thin. However, the fish tasted very fresh and of high quality. The rice was seasoned and cooked well. The Unagi was ok. Maybe a little too heavy on the eel sauce. My friend loved the Udon noodles, but wasn't crazy about the chicken. Our experience was fine. Nothing terrific, but nothing terrible. Prices are reasonable. read more

Got a takeout order from here, and it was pretty good if you can find parking around this busy street in Montclair. The interior is really nice though if you want to dine in. I got 2 specialty rolls (the NJ roll and the Jessica roll) which were both very good. The shrimp udon was okay, but I would have preferred a bit more vegetables than a few slivers. Overall, the food was good and made on time. It was easy to order online. read more

Aozora - Shrimp udon - Japanese Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

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An average sushi spot. Good for a week night date or pre-show dinner. Got an assortment of sushi pieces, which were good but nothing out of the ordinary. We also got the miso seabass and the rack of lamb. The seabass wasn't charred enough, and even though we asked for the lamb med rare...it was a bit too rare for me, like barely cooked. The flavors for the seabass and lamb were good, but could've been cooked a bit better. Service was quick and friendly. read more

Flawless quality sushi the three times we've eaten here. Anyone not giving this spot five stars must not have had the sushi. Best sushi I've had in the continental US. read more

Aozora - Japanese Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

Despite being on a busy street, it seemed to be quite empty. The service was so amazing and the atmosphere was so nice. I really recommend the seaweed salad it was delicious and came out super quickly. Definitely coming back and it's 100% a hidden gem read more

Amazing sushi. Great service. Well worth being on Bloomfield Ave and a lack of parking. It sounds crazy to say, but if you do not get the cheesecake (yes, cheesecake!) for dessert, you are truly missing something! read more

We have been dining here for over 15 years!!! NEVER EVER DISAPPOINTED!!!! The owner is a sweetheart and the Sushi Chefs are NUMBER one!! The employees are friendly and care taking!!! Excellent cleaning in the food preparation!!!!! If I could rate a 10 this is the place!! read more

Came here for dinner a few nights ago. Even though we didn't have a reservation they were able to seat us quickly so that was great. For appetizers we got the gyoza and then for our entree we got the montclair and the sexy girl rolls. Gyoza we're great! The sexy girl (shrimp tempura) roll was definitely our favorite of the two. While the montclair roll featured tuna, avocado, and eel sauce - which are all things I normally love - both of us thought it lacked something. One thing I will say is that we checked in on Yelp thinking we would get a free dessert but they said that promotion was only available when ordering from the kitchen (and did not include sushi.) While that ordinarily wouldn't bother me it was a little annoying that stipulation wasn't on Yelp. Overall this is a nice and reasonably priced sushi restaurant right off of Bloomfield avenue that would be great for meeting a friend, a small-ish gathering, or even date night! read more

Aozora - Gyoza - Japanese Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

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I had been wanting to try this place for a while, and I finally got to have dinner here. The interior was nicely decorated, and the staff were friendly and attentive. Everything I ordered was delicious, fresh, and reasonably priced. read more

Aozora - Sashimi - Japanese Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

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Parking was directly behind this amazing restaurant in a public parking complex. The rear entrance was like walking into the home of a traditional Japanese family. Walking into the restaurant from the back door drives you senses crazy with the delicious fragrances coming from the kitchen. The staff greats you in traditional Japanese style and service is so close to Japan that you almost feel as if you were there. The food was excellent and probably the freshest beef I've had in years. Grilled to perfection and the huge portion was hot to the last bite. Everyone even the youngest child in our group were stuffed, with plenty to take home for lunch the next day. If you can find this spot go and enjoy, the beef, salmon, shrimp, scallops and duck was the best in a long time. I really enjoyed the hospitality and the interaction with the baby in our group. read more

Aozora - Spring roll and mushrooms - Japanese Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

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Went with a party of 7 at around 7:30pm and WOW! This place blew me away! Every single dish was fantastic. Highlights for me were the duck, Omakase sushi & sashimi, Vegetable Udon, and the sumashi mambo soup ( still cannot get over how amazing the broth was. Every person in our group was very pleased with the food!!!! The staff was extremely attentive and timely. The quality of the fish and presentation was top notch. Absolutely fantastic experience and can't wait to go back!!! read more

Visited my son in college and we came here for dinner. Our first time here. The service is awesome, the food is excellent. We enjoyed every dish we ordered. Will come back again when we are in the area. The interior looks nice. read more

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This my favorite sushi spot in my neighborhood. The fish is fresh, the service is excellent. I brought my little cousin with me one time and she's a picky 7yr old, she LOVED the miso soup, udon noodles, and mango juice. The inside is very pretty and classy. read more

Aozora - Japanese Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

Just about every Wednesday night is Sushi night at my place and it's always AOZORA!! The Fusion Yellowtail is my new favorite along with the Kiani Salad and let's not forget the Sexy Girl Roll!! They're food is Fresh and always comes quickly. Have never had a problem and Always recommend AOZORA to anyone who asks!!! read more

Everything was fresh, tasty and clean. It's BYOB so it was perfect for an after work Friday night vibe. read more

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The service was great! We had a bit of a wait but that was alright. We all went for my MIL's bday. Ordered a few appetizers - stuffed mushrooms, beef tataki with ponzu sauce (which was AMAZING! The beef melts in your mouth), duck spring rolls, shrimp tempura. All the appetizers were good but tataki beef was the best! For our main course we ordered a sushi platter which was average, and the rest of us ordered tofu teriyaki, shrimp teriyaki and chicken teriyaki - everything was delicious just wish chicken was cut into pieces more than an entire breast piece but other than that it was good. For dessert we ordered mochi, creme brûlée, green tea ice cream, and coconut and read bean flan. Creme brûlée was alright would have been better had it been cold. Green tea ice cream was good, the coconut flan was nice some of us liked it more than others. Over all - an enjoyable event. Our server was fabulous I believe she was an Indian lady. She was super sweet and kind. She made our experience even better! read more

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I give this place a solid 3 stars. Food: Sushi quality is alright - nothing special that you can't get anywhere else. Service: Service wasn't bad until they lost the check with my card inside. Took us 30 mins to find it. Ambience: Very cute place - nicely decorated. Location Location Location: Heart of Montclair - great place to be to get more customer but they also have VERY strong competition around them. read more

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We was craving sushi so stopped here and got a bunch of delicious food. To start we had a few of the sushi rolls apologies I forgot the name. Then for meal we tried the shrimp dish and scallops but had great flavor. The service was great too. read more

Aozora - scallops and spinach on a bed of rice - Japanese Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

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Aozora offers a great selection of Japanese and European food on their menu. With a great variety from lobster to sushi, they sure are catering to a big audience. The ambiance was really cozy and warm and they decorated for Valentine's early with all the hearts. It is very warm and lovely, you could see the sushi chefs cook up a great meal. The food that came out was very tasty, they have vegetarian and vegan options available. I ended up having some sushi, a miso soup and a tofu teriyaki. I would definitely come back to try some more things. The service was really good and the waiters were very attentive. I gave it 4 stars because of the long wait for food, but it helped my appetite. read more

Aozora - Japanese Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

My parents love this restaurant so I've been here a few times now. It never disappoints. Everything is always tasty, fresh, and plated in an aesthetically pleasing way. They have a large menu with a variety of appetizers, sushi, soups, entrees, desserts, etc. The service is fast and friendly. On my last visit, I tried the filet mignon roll, the shrimp gyoza, and the scallops. Everything was delicious. The shrimp gyoza was some of the best I've had. Very generously packed with shrimp. BYOB. Parking is a bit of a pain because it's Montclair. I recommend checking N. Fullerton. We usually find a metered spot there. If you're really desperate, the Chase bank lot on N. Fullerton usually has paid parking (I forget the cost). There's an attendant. Not sure if this is only on weekends or what. I highly recommend this restaurant! read more

A mediocre experience, the decor in the place lacks identity, some pale walls, shelf units housing lit candles, exposed light fixtures for a rustic look; just some odd choices for a "European fusion" sushi joint. The good: sushi was good, their hand rolls were packed with meat. Got the tuna and salmon ones respectively, nice fluffy, sticky rice. Great crunch on the roll and sushi itself tasted fresh. The bad: their special dumpling is one covered in "peanut sauce". Might as well say what it is, which is melted down peanut butter or at least that was my interpretation of it. I've had peanut sauces before, I love them; this was no peanut sauce. Service could've been a little more attentive, they took quite awhile to get around. Was it a Friday? Sure I get it, busy night and peak time for dinner but the house wasn't packed and you had 3 servers on staff! Not sure if I would come back, but I guess try it for yourself! read more

Aozora - Tuna hand rolls, spicy salmon and eel rolls - Japanese Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

I love when I get to order what ever sashimi I won't!! Their cut's of yellow tail and salmon are like butter. The service as pleasant as one would expect and the ambiance is just right! BYOB and first date perfection! read more

Came here for a friends birthday. In total, we were about 13 people. They allowed us to sit down and order although all 13 people were not there at the same time. Restaurant is BYOB so feel free to bring a bottle! We ordered our food at 8:07 pm and by 9:56 pm, the main entrees still had not yet come out yet! We eventually asked them to just bring any entree that was ready. Of course the raw dishes came out first. We think they were trying to bring out the entrees at the same time but at that point, we didn't want to wait. First entree came at 10 pm and kept coming minutes after that. Keep in mind the restaurant closes at 10:30 but of course we stayed later than that to eat and cut cake. The apps came out about 45 minutes after we ordered. I ordered vegetable rolls (4) x2 as an appetizer. They were $7 and I enjoyed them. They were bigger than I expected, had a nice crunch and were well seasoned. I ordered the salmon entree which was very tasty. Overall, the meal tasted very fresh. I could tell the mashed potatoes did not have any butter or crème, but it was still very tasty. I would order both again. Appetizers Ordered: Vegetable spring rolls, Duck spring rolls, Kani salad, edamame, French fries, Magura Taru Taru, Quail, Sushi rock and roll Entrees Ordered: Shrimp fried rice, chicken fried rice, Salmon, Lamb The salmon and lamb were 10/10 and we all agreed we would order again. The fried rice was bland and a 6/10. Besides the longggggggg wait time, I would come back. If I did return, it would be with a smaller group or as a solo visit, as I believe the amount of people contributed to the wait. A couple of people ordered late, so that might have contributed to the wait time. The staff were incredibly nice and accommodating. The general manager is the one to speak with if you need something done asap. read more

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We got sushi and a couple of appetizers. We got the Kani and seaweed salad. We also got the gyoza. The sushi was decent, not the freshest. The service was slow. The place was clean and nicely decorated. read more

Aozora - Japanese Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

So I stopped by this place to get some lunch. I called in my order of the vegetable udon lunch special with miso soup. It came to about $10.64. When I arrived I found parking on the street not too far. I walked in and was greeted by the lady that took my order. I told her my name and she handed my food to me. I paid by the exit door with credit card and left. When I got in and ate I enjoyed the miso soup and the udon was ok. It had a sweet taste to it which I had to add spice to make it more to my liking. I had an ok experience. read more

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Delicious food attentive service very pretty restaurant! Must try! Right across from the Wellmont theater

This is a solid sushi restaurant right in the heart of Montclair. I got the omakase sushi and sashimi combo for $30 and shrimp shumai to start. Checking in on Yelp will also get your table a free dessert. The cheesecake is light and fluffy and won't make you feel so bloated. This whole meal was such a delight, reasonably priced and filling! read more

Aozora - Cheesecake - Japanese Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

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Such a great place. We've eaten gear twice now and our daughters life coming here. The food is great and the atmosphere is also very nice. Friendly service too. Love their avocado salad and rolls. Only issue is parking but that's the same for all restaurants in Montclair. read more

Aozora - Japanese Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

I'm back. Service was outstanding and restaurant was crowded. Food is 5 star level. I had vegetable and shrimp tempura. It was City quality! My wife loved her pumpkin soup. I then had lamb chops. 8 lamb chops for less than $40, incredible. The taste was also excellent. I tried some of the shrimp and scallops from my wife's surf and turn. They were excellent. My son said it was the best chicken teriyaki he ever had. My daughters' boyfriends had sushi/rolls. They thought it was outstanding (they live in the City). My daughter had vegetable udon. She said it was very good. Had the free dessert, bread pudding. It was excellent. Will be back in the near future to continue exploring the menu. read more

This is a solid sushi place located in Montclair, Nj. I highly recommend the vegetable spring rolls as a starter. All the sushi served was fresh and tasty. They offer outdoor and indoor seating at this time. A few dollars pricer than the average sushi restaurant. My only complaint is that service was a little slow. Very slow considering when I visited it was only myself and one other table. read more

Aozora - Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

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Aozora has quickly become one of our go-to Japanese restaurants both for take-out and dine-in. We tried it first on the recommendation of our neighbors; from the outside, the concept of the restaurant seems a little strange, advertised as a Japanese- European fusion place. Their fish is fresh and we love their unique specialty rolls, in particular: 1) Sexy Girl Roll 2) Gavin Roll 3) Out of Control Roll 4) Valentine Roll Appreciate that their specialty rolls are not overly sauced up; they're nicely balanced. They have some great classic desserts as well including bread pudding and poached pear, both served with vanilla ice cream. The restaurant is never too crowded and has a calm, classy ambiance. Definitely a place where you can have a leisurely conversation over a nice meal. read more

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Tonight we had Mam as our server as we were celebrating a big milestone and she truly made our night so special!!! This place never disappoints. read more

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We stopped in before a show on a Thursday night. The place was empty except for an obnoxious wanna be valley girl group of women who were extremely loud. The staff did not address their rude behavior. The food was ok. I did not enjoy my experience here. I'm sure I will never return. read more

This is a nice restaurant with a good ambience. Got the kani salad, a few of the chef special rolls, and the cheesecake sith vanilla ice cream. The kani salad was nice and didn't have a fishy taste. The chef's specials were good- sexy roll was probably the best and tuna amazing was probably the worst but they were all good. The cheesecake had a bruleed crust and was overall good. I think this is a solid sushi spot, very nice/peaceful decor, and good service. Would recommend for anyone in the area. read more

Aozora - Sexy girl roll, galaxy roll, and tuna amazing rolls. - Japanese Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

This is a tremendous BYOB spot. All the food is excellent and the service has always been terrific as well. The atmosphere is cozy and pleasant . My wife and I have been coming here for many years to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries. Just make sure you give yourself a few extra minutes to park as the lot behind the restaurant is usually full so you may have to park a few blocks away. read more

Really good fish! I got: Miso soup Caterpillar roll Roasted quail hot appetizer Belgian chocolate lava cake Miso soup was very good quality and was a standout compared to most of the other Japanese places I've eaten at (which is many in my lifetime)! Caterpillar roll had fresh fish. Quail was least impressive. You get the whole bird and I felt like it could have used more seasoning. LOVED the belgian chocolate cake! Especially the vanilla bean topping to balance it out. read more

Aozora - Roasted quail - Japanese Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

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I've only lived in NJ for 2 months now, and what I am realizing is that people in Montclair or anywhere else in this local vicinity haven't a single clue as to what good food is. The reviews on yelp are inflated to pointlessness. Take this Aozora establishment for instance: the food is mediocre at best, and the service is 0/10 no cap. This should result in an average rating of 2.5 stars, but instead you see here a solid 4 stars. Dig deep into the reviews and you will see the handful of sane people in NJ with functioning tongues who actually know what they're talking about. Hidden amongst reviews written by the pretend-highbrow citizens of Montclair exclaiming just how much they jizzed when they ate at Aozora, the hidden samurai gem of the west, you will notice a trend by more reserved observants that service is 'slow' and the food is 'passable'. The reality of my own experience at this trash-tier establishment was a 1.5 hour wait between getting our shrimp tempura appetizer and any entrees. Let me repeat that for you again, 90 minutes. Something was fishy ehhe get it when we first got inside the restaurant because every couple was dead silent, sitting across from each other, overlooking tables that were devoid of food. Their glazed, glassy thousand-yard stares showed little signs of life, beyond a hint of animosity and regret. Yes, this is the silence of a restaurant that has unbearably slow service. The deafening silence that is punctuated by the lazy sounds of chopping and wok-sizzling in the distant kitchen, you could literally feel the apathy of the kitchen staff as they languished in a perpetual state of disregard for timeliness and customer service. Slowly our own table's conversation diminished into a state of discontent and silent fury. To top it all off, the food was mediocre. Sometimes the wait for food can be justified by life-changing culinary works of art. It's an exponential scale of time and expectations. At 1.5 hours, I better be served the most blue-ball releasing mouthfeel orgasm of all time to justify such a wait time. But what was presented to us instead was a pathetically mediocre sushi plate and udon that arrived a further 20 minutes after the sushi. I took 2 bites of what turned out to be sickeningly sweet-brothed noodles and vegetables that were sliced with the delicacy of a lumberjack. You might ask, was the table wait staff at least competent? Surely there is something redeeming about Aozora. No. I asked for a diet coke at the start, and I had to ask them 20 minutes later when they finally came back around to our table to take our order to get me a diet coke. I also ordered udon with vegetable tempura on the side. What I got instead was finely shredded mulch soaking in a broth-nectar that even a hummingbird would get diabetes from. The main waitress even admitted it was her fault but did not apologize. In fact she said "oh yea that was on me you want me to fix it?" Her brazenly nonchalant attitude and absolute lack of remorse was honestly impressive and also, no I don't want to wait another painfully slow hour for a new udon. The worst offense was the salmon roll. It came... cooked? ... ? With mayo and avocado? Like honestly, what in fuck is this shit. Montclair, have some standards and for fuck's sake Aozora, try to at least pretend to care about your customers. 0/10 Aozora more like Aopure Garbage. To the owner who replied: I wasn't insulting your staff for being slow, I was insulting her for being savagely inconsiderate. The spicy salmon roll was literally what we checked off the sheet, I'm not sure what you're talking about with the other name, but ok I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and call it my mistake. The udon, like i said, wasn't worth waiting for a replacement. I didn't want to spend a second longer in the presence of a disgruntled staff member and long service times. Unfortunately it wasn't simply a matter of not wanting to say anything on the spot, it was really that I had no choice but to decline what would have been a terrible second udon on top of another long wait. I can understand the wait times during covid, but unlike other establishments, yours did nothing to alleviate the pain. There are other things I didn't mention in the review, for example the table to our left actually got their food first because the lady complained loudly about not getting food quickly enough, despite the fact that they arrived after us. I leave harsh reviews when things go really wrong, and I haven't had this bad of an experience in quite some time. Sure, I get that you're trying to defend your staff, they're people like anyone else. But you weren't there and her behavior wasn't acceptable by any standard, covid or not. read more

Aozora - Pathetic - Japanese Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey