I first ate at Takumi maybe 10 years ago. It's nice to see they have withstood the test of time,…read moreand it's easy to see why. The space remains contemporary and clean, and the service pleasant. Their menu felt extensive and creative a decade ago, and still holds up well today. I'm sure they've made refinements since they've opened, demonstrating their ability to evolve and adapt. It seems they've always taken pride in the presentation of their offerings, and that remains true to this day. I wasn't too impressed with their ramen back then, so I'm curious to see if anything has changed. The sushi and cocktails remain as tasty and enjoyable as I remember, and my daughter thoroughly enjoyed the kid's bento box. Takumi is easily one of the better mid tier sushi spots in Connecticut, and I'm surprised I haven't visited them more over the years. That will definitely need to change!

Ordered through DoorDash and overall had a good experience. The crab Rangoon was creamy on the…read moreinside and crispy on the outside. My favorite was the salmon skin salad--it was fresh, flavorful, and really tasty. The tonkatsu was the only letdown, as it wasn't as flavorful as other ramen I've had. The order arrived in good time and everything was packaged well.

9 East Hibachi was the very first restaurant we tried in Connecticut, and it did not disappoint…read more The ambience is stunning--the koi fish pond, the giant Buddha, and the beaded wall with geisha girls were some of my favorite touches. Now let's talk about the drinks. My husband loves a strong cocktail, so he went with the Scorpion Bowl, which gave him all the nostalgic vibes of his college days ordering a Zombie. He was extremely happy with it. I ordered the Pomegranate Flirtini, and it was absolutely delicious. Service was solid, they were extremely attentive and the music was excellent. For starters, I had miso soup and edamame (my go-to favorites), while my husband ordered a few sushi rolls. I wrapped things up with the basil shrimp fried rice, which was chef's kiss perfection. I'm pretty sure we'll be back again before we leave the state. This spot is definitely a must-try!

This place has the best interior design I've seen! I love the koi ponds they have and the layout of…read moreall the tables! The service is fast and efficient, the workers are friendly and super helpful. The menu is long and full of amazing options (they're all great) so I recommend taking your time to look at everything. The food gets out at a good time always. Always cooked to perfection and always a good portion. They have great prices and great specials depending on the day and time! Definitely recommend this place for a family occasion.

Best ramen and sushi I've had in a LONG time! Service was amazing. The server was very attentive…read moreand refilling drinks / removing used platters almost immediately. Will have to come back next time I'm in Connecticut

Just had lunch here with my family. We are in town from California. I was very impressed with Gio…read morethe waiter. He had top-notch service and was very attentive. The food was good and came out reasonably fast. Everything was cooked to perfection. The restaurant was clean and had a good ambience. Overall, I highly recommend this place and ask for Gio.

Unless they snuck one in on me, there are 3 Hachiroku businesses in New Haven. The Loop. Harchiroku…read moreShokudo and Sake. And Hachiroku Handroll Bar. With my recent visit to the Handroll Bar, I've hit my Trifecta, and I can say that all three businesses are standard setters in what they do. I have had handrolls, but I've never been to a "Handroll Bar". As with Shokudo, the outside of the Hand Roll Bar is understated, and you have to search a bit for the entry. There is a small transition space from the outside, and then you enter into a dimly lit room with an L-shaped bar on the left side of a minimalistic open space. Very atmospheric. They have paper menus, and you check the boxes of what you want. I didn't count the spaces, but I doubt that more than 15 people could eat at a time, and I only saw two employees the entire time I was there. This is obviously meant to be an intimate experience. And it takes time. I wasn't there for a full meal because I had an event. But I'm rarely in New Haven in the evening and I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to visit. I ordered two pieces of pressed salmon sushi with with salmon roe, a snow crab and salmon roe handroll, and a handroll with mackerel and ginger. If you don't know, a handroll is sort of a rustic, uncut, nori wrapped sushi roll. These arrived in Nori shaped cones that you have to hold to keep together. All of the food was elegantly presented, very well executed, had fantastic texture and tasted great. I look forward to returning when I have more time. 5 Stars

Really great, cozy spot by Hachiroku. Nice small plates and handrolls, but my favorite offering…read morehere is the omakase. Very solid for a good value at ~$80.

Food excellent. Above expectations. Service fine…read more Ambiance awful. So noisy and loud that we couldn't bear to be there.

I've been here before but never had any specialty roles until I came with a friend cuz they're so…read morebig. I think it's the best Sushi Japanese restaurant in the area. We had fried Gyoza to start - very good. And then ordered off the special rolls menu and got a Double Decker, Sunshine, and Caterpillar rolls. WOW! Of course, we dug in instantly and I didn't remember to get a photo until we started to slow down. Each one was unique in that the Double Decker had a sauce on it that was slightly sweet but not overwhelming, Sunshine was rolled in caviar so it had that pop and the Caterpillar was crunchy. They were exceptional. 2 Sapporo in chilled mugs. Great food.

Three and a half stars…read more Do you want the "feel" of authentic Japanese, but don't really care two cents which culture your sushi comes from? Well, then this place is for you! Like the Eiffel tower at Vegas, or watching killer whales at Sea World is your experience at August Moon. An asian host dressed in yukata (casual kimono) welcomes you at the door with a Japanese greeting. Asian sushi chefs, also wearing Japanese outfits, tirelessly work at sushi bars. You gaze at the Japanese prints hanging on the walls, waiting quietly for your food to come, half listening to the quiet, calm Asian music. By being Asian, this place subtly gives you the message that you are indeed being "cultured". But if you know anything about Japan, don't expect to start a conversation about Japan here. Don't even try to pronounce your dishes correctly, because waiters or waitresses don't know how to pronounce them either. So, what if you have many fooled, August Moon. I'll still come visit you, because you love me enough to give me 1/2 price on sushi every Monday and Tuesday nights. Besides, you're the closest thing to California rolls here in Branford, even if you don't roll them as tightly as I like them. Who cares if your food isn't Japanese, if it tastes right. California rolls were never invented in Japan anyway.

This is my parent's favorite sushi restaurant. They are known by name and are always seated at the…read moresushi bar so the chef can give them free tastes of whatever he feels like springing on them. It's good to be their offspring so when we go, it's always a good time. However, the restaurant is run by Chinese, so be warned (some people seem to have something against Chinese running sushi restos). The space is enormous and flourescent lit and looks to me like a repurposed diner, but then again, this is the burbs. The special rolls are very good, and the sushi is always fresh. Make sure you check the specials sign at the bar for whatever creation the sushi chefs have recently come up with. All the standards are here, nothing unexpected. Ice cream mochi for desert, check. Warm or cold sake, check. Various udons, tempuras, and bento boxes, check. This is neither a bad nor a stellar sushi/japanese resto. It is simply adequate to good, but would get an extra half a star for having a rather extensive menu. Packed around 6 or 7 when suburban dwellers typically eat dinner, but nearly empty after 8:30pm.

We went for a Friday lunch. The prices were good for a lunch menu, but one of us got the sushi and…read moresashimi lunch and the other got the 3 roll special. Unfortunately, the sushi (esp the tuna) was not all that fresh. - made us wonder whether the lunch specials were made using fish left over from the night before. Service was fast. The salads that came with the lunch specials were high end, with great ginger dressing.

Mr. J Asian Bistro in Guilford did NOT disappoint We went for happy hour and scored $5 dumplings,…read morea $5 spicy tuna roll, and a $5 salmon roll Such a great deal! The dumplings were our absolute favorite Definitely coming back!

I was so pleasantly surprised from our first visit at Sakana that I had to make a return trip later…read morethe same week. It was a humble reminder that you don't need to go to a culinary destination to find good food. Cheshire Connecticut may not be known for its food scene, however, I found Sakana was a genuine diamond in the rough. My expectations were admittedly low going in. My level of skepticism is always high when I see the "Asian Bistro" moniker, as it is frequently used for restaurants to try to appeal to the masses at the expense of quality by having a "jack-of-all-trades" menu that lacks the technical intricacies and mastery required for specific dishes. Additionally, these establishments tend to follow a "cookie-cutter" menu and offer the same boring dishes you can find at every other Asian Bistro. Even when initially walking towards the restaurant, I had my doubts. The exterior of Sakana honestly looked more like a clinic than a restaurant. Once I saw the menu however, my skepticism shifted towards optimism. For a local bistro, they feature a surprisingly extensive wine and cocktail menu, including premium sake options. I was particularly impressed to find toro on the menu; although it's undoubtedly becoming more of a trend in Connecticut, I was nevertheless happy to see it offered at Sakana as well. Overall I liked their sushi selections and everything I ordered was well-prepared and tasted fresh. We ordered a chicken and broccoli for our daughter and found the chicken tender and broccoli perfectly cooked. That may not sound impressive to those reading, but you'll be surprised how many restaurants fail to execute this baseline dish correctly. The service, although pleasant, was probably the only "weak link" of our experiences here. The quality of service was noticeably inconsistent between our two visits, and they would benefit vastly from having a more reliable and experienced front-of-house team to match the execution coming from the kitchen and sushi bar. Despite this minor gripe, Sakana was a standout. As long as I'm in the area, they will definitely be among the top of my list of places to eat!

Dined in for the first time here tonight. Have had takeout a few times in the past. Ambiance is…read morelovely and the bar is nice as well. Service is exceptional. Our waitress was great. So friendly. Is the food exceptional? To me no, but my parents enjoy it. Tonight we started with crab rangoons. Pretty good. Sauce on the side not very exciting. A chili sauce would be better. I got a sushi roll with White tuna inside and cooked shrimp on top and wasabi mayo. I forget the name of the roll but it was better than the two times I've ordered takeout. Miso soup was also good. Their soup bowls are in the shape of a heart which is super cute. Dad got some sort of a mixed protein dish with brown sauce (had shrimp, chicken and beef). Mom got the chicken and garlic sauce. They both got fried rice on the side. I tried it and it was very bland. Dad also got a salad with his meal and the ginger dressing was not very good. Red coloring to it. Usually ginger dressing is more on the orange side. Dad also got the Malaysian chicken coconut soup to start and it could use a bit more flavor. Was a bit watery. Mom loved her sweet and sour soup. Nice that this place is 5 minutes away. Cheshire needs more restaurants. Def not my fav restaurant in town though. Food to me is just ok.

Soga is a fantastic sushi restaurant! The sushi was so fresh and beautifully presented. The menu…read moreis diverse without being overwhelming The service was very attentive and friendly. The restaurant is quiet and lovely inside. We had a great experience!

Good service and great food! Soga sushi is definitely our…read morefavorite sushi spot. I have a daughter who is not a sushi lover, so she always orders the chicken teriyaki which comes with rice and vegetables. It looks amazing and she is always happy with it. We love the variety in the menu, the freshness in the food and the friendliness of the staff. Even when it has been a year since we were less there, they always remember us. We can find our picture on the wall as well!

I've had the pleasure of dining here multiple times. The quality, freshness, and service is…read moreconsistent and unmatched. It truly is a wonderful atmosphere and well worth the price. I've experienced other omakases in CT and I can wholeheartedly say this is the best one I've had to date!

We used to come here for any special occasion. Not anymore. We tried to go for our son's birthday…read morewith his girlfriend. We waited at the locked door as the sushi chef stared coldly at us from his counter. After several long minutes, the hostess opened the door slightly and said nothing. We said we'd like a table for 4 & she brusquely told us they were full. Oddly, we could see that there were 2 tables occupied & the rest were empty. We were pretty shocked. After dining there so many times over 20 years, we'd never been treated so rudely. We'll never come to Otaru again. Their sushi is very good but I have no desire to frequent somewhere that is so lacking in service.