This was my first time going to Kintaro and I'll definitely be back. From the outside, the building honestly doesn't look like much -- I almost wasn't sure what to expect. But once you walk in, it's surprisingly huge inside and really nice! It was pretty empty when we went, which made it feel relaxed and comfortable, and the servers were all very friendly and attentive. I ordered the hibachi chicken and shrimp, which was only $18 -- and I paid $4 extra so I could get both rice and noodles. Totally worth it. The portions were huge and everything was very tasty. The best part by far was the noodles and veggies -- so flavorful and cooked perfectly. The chicken and shrimp were both great too and you get a ton of food for the price. Overall, such a good value and a really solid hibachi spot. Don't judge it by the outside -- it's definitely worth going in! read more

Kintaro - Willowick - Japanese Near Me - Willowick, Ohio

I brought my fiance and 5 year old daughter here today and for starters, his soup was cold. The sushi rice was hard and stale, the fish tasted absolutely horrible. I didn't even touch the spicy tuna roll (save yourself, don't order it). I had asked for a manager and told her my complaints and she proceeded to tell me that she's not gonna make me pay and that it's gonna be taken off our bill. Nothing was taken off our bill. If I could rate this place -10 stars I would. We will not be coming back!! I can't find the option to add pictures but just trust it was horrendous. read more

Kintaro - Willowick - Tuna hand roll - Japanese Near Me - Willowick, Ohio

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I've been to Kintaro about 12 times because the food is consistently good. Unfortunately, the service experience has repeatedly been disappointing. There is one particular female server who has been consistently disrespectful during multiple visits. She often makes slick remarks and creates an uncomfortable atmosphere instead of providing basic hospitality. Service should make customers feel welcome, but my interactions with her have been the opposite. In addition, the front cashier/manager has also come across as extremely rude and aggressive when addressing customers. That kind of attitude reflects poorly on the business. To be fair, when I've had different servers, the experience has been much better. However, the repeated negative interactions with this specific waitress and the manager make the overall service unreliable. The food keeps bringing me back, but the service has been poor enough that I now make sure not to be seated with that particular server if I decide to return. I hope management takes this feedback seriously because the restaurant could easily be a great place if the customer service matched the quality of the food. read more

Very good all you can eat sushi spot. The food is very fresh and delicious. The only reason I took off 1 star was because of the slot service but other than that it's a nice spot where you can have a variety of sushi and other dishes to try. read more

Kintaro - Willowick - Japanese Near Me - Willowick, Ohio

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Been back a couple times since my original review and consistently have good food and great service. Prices have gone up a couple bucks but what hasn't. Also worth noting that on and around holidays they have all day dinner menus/pricing now. read more

Kintaro - Willowick - 3 signature rolls and sashimi - Japanese Near Me - Willowick, Ohio

Did someone say all you can eat sushi?! I'm not going to lie, I was weary of this place at first thinking the sushi can't be that great if it's all you can eat. But wow, the food here is so good! Not the best sushi I've ever had, but for the price - let's just say I'm a regular now lol. From the outside, it is a bit hard to find and looks a little bit sketchy but I promise it's worth the visit. Don't let the exterior fool you! I've always had speedy service and the waiters are very helpful. read more

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Food is soggy and not cooked very well. The service is absolutely terrible very rude no refills or checking on the table then they had the nerve to ask why I didn't leave tip on my way out. The ambience is rather relaxing very quiet and not very busy. read more

Had all you can eat habachi for family of 5. Automattical adding 15% tip for parties of 5 or more. Its my family - not a group all meeting for lunch, Food was average. Waitress surveyed the food on table to determine if you ordered too much to tack on addition charge at end of meal. we ordered at beginning of meal.Did not re order seconds. They bring fried rice on many dishes. Does not say on menu. Enough zucchini to make a soggy salad. Do not eat zucchini. If you want to try different types of sushi, beware. they come in long rolls and if you do not like the taste. You will be surcharge with "waste charge". The sushi is not anything special. Go to Giant eagle and try it instead. Never offered, just water. Server does not talk or interact with you, besides taking paper menu that involbes no talking. Just comes to table to review how much food is left. If the plate left to be discarded has food left on plate, it is left at table to be weighed for 'waste charge". Sever brought manager over to advise she will give a good deal to take leftover food home "waste charge". $7.00 to pay for the food i already paid for! If you dont agree to waste charge, she will bring out scall and for each lb it will be 10.00. Will not be back!! And they do not care! place is almost empty. Beware if you go. But remember there are better options elsewhere! read more

Large family dinner of about 20. Hot Pot not well organized. Orders were mixed up, many of the protein items were frozen hard, and soup was too salty w too much MSG. Most with hot pot did not get what they ordered. Some of the burners did not work so guests had to move around across the tables until finding a burner that worked. One person ordered three scallops for their hot pot and was given one scallop cut into three chips. Sone ordered AYCE sushi, which was better, but equally disorganized. Waiter did not know whose tray belonged to who and they kept the checked menu so guests did not know either. Dessert was ice cream sandwiches from Walmart next door. Waiter came by with the box and handed out the bars. Rarely any cleanup and the tables were too small for these pizza pans with the hot pot fixings or sushi, plus uncovered burners, plates and bowls. Staff actually were a bit mean and tempered. Place was almost empty, so likely this place will close due to poor service and food. Avoid this place unless you like to be abused for $35/person. read more

If it let me give negative stars I would. Went to lunch with co-workers like we always do at the end of the month. One of them bit into her sushi roll and I watched her pull out paper trash from her mouth. It looked like the paper from the chopsticks. We let them know and 10 minutes later our server came back and said that the paper was already on the table and not in the sushi. I couldn't believe what I just heard. At that point we just wanted the bill and get the hell out of there. I will never go back and I urge any of you to stay away from any of these establishments. The food is disgusting and so is ownership. read more

Got sick off this food. Got my daughter something and she also got sick. There's lots of better places.

If you try to order over the phone, whoever picks up just puts the phone down without actually answering the phone and lets you listen to them talking to other people. They never bother to come back to the phone. This has happened twice in the past 2-3 weeks. The food is good, but good luck ordering! read more

The servers and staff are very friendly. The food is delicious and great portions. You can't go wrong with the seafood or Hibachi plates. The restaurant makes on feel like they could be in Japan. It is well lit and welcoming. The Ambiance is good for just about any function. read more

The manager has to go. She's very disrespectful, discourteous, and demeaning. Its unbelievable that this individual is in a customer service position. Poor upper management! read more

Visited Kintaro with my daughter after her volleyball tournament. She loves sushi, so that's what we ordered. We started off with some edamame, which was perfect. The waiter told us the sushi rolls come with four to six pieces of sushi. Judging by that, we both requested three sushi rolls of varying types. A lot of their sushi is the same, but it might have one ingredient that is different. I also requested a Sierra Mist, but when I received it, it tasted like carbonated water. So it was lacking syrup. I notified the waiter and someone adjusted the balance of syrup and carbonation. When I tasted the new glass of Sierra Mist, it had too much sytrup in it, but it was tolerable. After a while, our six sushi rolls were delivered. Instead of six pieces of sushi in each roll, there were eight pieces. They looked very appetizing and they were very tasty. I enjoyed the spicy variants, but I've had better sushi. We weren't able to eat it all, however. So we requested to take what was left to go. Oddly, they charged us extra to take our leftovers home with us. What were they going to do with it, throw it away? I've never heard of that before. It wasn't a buffet. Our sushi was requested from the menu. For $75, I guess I expected more from this visit, but we didn't get more. My daughter said, "Well, we'll just to have to order less next time." And I replied, "There won't be a next time". read more

Kintaro - Willowick - This plate of sushi was $32 - Japanese Near Me - Willowick, Ohio

Honestly, kintaro is better than most sushi joints in the 216. The fact that it is a "can you eat all" and they do not over rice the Maki rolls is quite nice. Do not over order. Take your time. My only gripe is that they automatically add tempura batter crunch to many of the Maki rolls. If your expecting high end sushi you will not find it anywhere for 26.99. The menu includes sashimi read more

This was my stressful experience yesterday at Kintaro's: I apologize if this is long but please read. I was so humiliated yesterday by the staff at Kintaro's restaurant in Willowick. I frequently eat there. I ordered the all you can eat. I usually do not eat all the rice due to the fact I have diabetes. The waitress wasn't very nice from the onset but I just ignored her attitude. When the waitress removed my plate, which I did have rice on it neatly wrapped in a napkin, she took it to the cashier, then showed my plate to all the waiters. I was perplexed . When she came back to the table she first said are you done eating. I had just started my $29.00 meal! I said no please give me the menu. Now I clearly was being mistreated. I asked her very politely, what seems to be your issue why were you showing everyone my plate? She then was pissed and said look here we are going to charge you extra cause you wasted our food and pointed to the menu which stated management can do so. I said I am sorry but I am diabetic and rice makes my sugar rise. I come here all the time and I have never been charged nor had any issues here. She then said we are charging you and started pointing to the raw fish section and said you order here not sushi you are wasting our food. She was raising her voice and treating me like a 2 year old. I replied calming and sort of laughing I am an adult 75 year old and I am diabetic and limit my carbs due to my health. She kept pointing all over the menu (placemat) as to what I should order. At this point I was nearly in tears and said I want to speak to the manager. (Who knew me from many previous visits) This waitress kept arguing with me about the extra charge. At that point I said I am calling the police because of your nastiness and abuse. She then got the cashier/manager who knew me. I was shaking . I stated to the Manager: That waitress has embarrassed me. You know me I just come in to eat quietly. Have I ever given you an issue nor been told I have to pay for not eating rice! She then said I know you but she's the manager and said she is going to charge you. I still was flustered but not raising my voice. She then said don't call the police. I said I don't want to I just want you to know this practice is not legal if a customer has health issues. She then told me to order this or that on the menu. I said I don't eat raw fish and I have a right to choose whatever I want. I am the customer. She then was apologetic and said I will let you order what you want this time but next time we are going to charge you if you don't eat everything. Then she said you done. I said no I just started eating my meal. She said ok and sent another waiter who was very respectful. I then order hibachi and an appetizer and paid my bill. No extra charges were put on my bill. I did leave a $6.00 tip and told the cashier/manager it was for the nice waiter not the waitress. I walked out of there crying. I was so humiliated. None of the staff apologized. I will never go there again. It was like being treated like a child! For nearly $30 plus tip clearly this was not a pleasant experience. read more

I'm going to be honest, I've read all the reviews about this restaurant because I was really interested in looking for a decent Japanese restaurant that's fairly close to me and I almost didn't go based on some of the low rated reviews I read. What caught me off guard was being charged for food waste and I didn't fully understand until I actually went and got hot pot today. While I finished all my food and didn't waste anything, I understand why there's a charge. So here's the thing people: you can't order a ton of food and then sit there and not eat it because it's a huge waste, know what you're able to eat . It is perfectly valid for you to get charged for wasting a bunch of food if your eyes are bigger than your stomach. That is absolutely a "you" problem. I'm glad I decided to see for myself and go to this establishment. I had a great time for my birthday, 10/10 would go again. The ambience was very nice as well. Bonus: Service was great and accommodating. read more

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We'll decided to pop in the place is empty. Not great when ordering sushi maybe it's early. Only thing I can say is I so hope the 2 rolls I ordered are good. The hostess or waitress who is at the front it miserable. Makes me not want to come back. We'll just tasting my food. I will not return. What they described is not what I got. The 2 things I ordered where because I love tobiko. Thought about adding extra but figured I'd just try regular. There is not one drop of tobiko on either roll. I wouldn't bother. Not even willing to finish my food. read more

Kintaro - Willowick - Warm Saki on a cold day. - Japanese Near Me - Willowick, Ohio

I cannot believe I hesitated to eat here. This restaurant was recommended by a couple people I know, and I will certainly be going back to add to this review. I want nothing more but to try the entire menu, but alas, shellfish is not my friend. I can only vouch for the fish: the salmon nigiri and sashimi, eel, and squid are absolutely excellent. Since we had the all-you-can-eat, dinner was 25.99 a person or so, but it's well worth it when sushi can really be expensive if you order whole rolls plus sashimi/nigiri during a dinner anyways. The onion soup is absolutely refreshing, the teriyaki chicken is a fantastic addition to any meal, and I am in love with the Dragon Roll. The smoked salmon is my personal favorite, the eel was prepared well, everything was fresh as fresh can be. Our waitress was so sweet, and was always around; the entire restaurant is cleanly, comfortable and pleasant. I really appreciated how considerate they were of my allergy. The only thing I will mention is the strength of the cocktails... I had the Tokyo Tea, and although I appreciated it for its price, it was quite a heavy pour of alcohol. Overall, Kintaro is worth your time. There is so much to try and so little time, I wish my stomach was as big as my eyes! read more

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People are being too harsh on kintaro. It is a fantastic deal with decent quality seafood!!! Sure it's not "fancy" but it's clean inside with kind staff with a huge variety of food options all for fantastic price points. What else could you ask for How can you not love a lunch "all you can eat sushi" for only $16.99. That's the price of 1.5 complex sushi rolls usually. With this deal, you can have basic sushi rolls (California roll) or complex (rainbow roll). It includes soups, salads, nigiri, noodles, fried rice etc. The udon noodle soup with beef I thought was fantastic. The broth was so soothing and flavorful (almost tastes similar to miso soup). I ordered 2 servings. I also loved that the noodle serving wasn't large so I wasn't worried about not finishing my food. The nigiri tasted fresh. The sushi rolls were huge. FYI, if you over order and waste food you get charged. I don't get why people are upset about that on here because they clearly state their rules about that...it shouldn't be a surprise. Also, you don't have to order all at once...you order more as you eat to get an idea about your fullness level to also not over-order. It's not difficult. Looking forward to try the hot pot deal here sometimes in the future and/or return for sushi. read more

Love this place have been here multiple times over the years. It's a great casual environment to enjoy a lunch or dinner. Lots of unlimited options on the menu the all you can eat sushi is my favorite. Staff friendly and quick to make sure you always have food on the table. Hot pot is more good too I've only done it once. read more

I recently ordered via door dash two separate sushi rolls. One with fish and one avocado roll. They put both orders in one box, which needed to be corrected because my wife has a seafood allergy. I politely asked if the order could be remade. When returning with the order after they just took the avocado roll out, and put it in a separate box, she told us to never order from This establishment again. This type of business is disgraceful and unacceptable. I urge you to never spend a dime to this place. read more

Amazing food for amazing price!!! Hibachi is So good!!!! Highly recommended, take out is awesome too!!!

I have tried their Hot pot, All you can eat sushi, and regular menu on three different visits. I have never been disappointed and I always leave satisfied! The staff is always friendly and I never wait long to sit or to get my food. read more

Kintaro - Willowick - Dragon fruit Drink and Fire dragon egg - Japanese Near Me - Willowick, Ohio

Came for the hot pot, left wishing I hadn't. While there are six soup bases to choose from, what inevitably happens is that your stock is reduced/eaten, and you'll need to ask for a refill. When you do, they simply pour a base stock in, not bothering to match the original order. The result is that any flavor the soup base you originally chose had will be lost over the course of your meal. The contents: Fatty Beef - 1/5 - Absolutely the cheap stuff. I love meat but this was a pass for me. Lamb - 1/5 Extremely gamey, and not in a good way. Never had lamb this bad. Crab Stick - 3/5 It's an imitation crab stick. It's fine. Crab Cluster - 1/5 Small, still-frozen, and not particularly tasty. A waste of space. Claims - 1/5 My clam-loving partner had one order and did not want any more. A very bad sign. Pork Ball - 2/5 Very strong pork flavor, but very one-note. Homemade Fish Ball - 4/5 Gooey before being cooked, but actually quite tasty. Cuttlefish Balls - 4/5 Sweet and delicious. Chinese Cabbage - 3/5 Ours was spotty and old, but still cooked up well. A testament to the endurance of this hearty vegetable. Watercress - 3/5 Very fresh, but also very bitter. An acquired taste. Black Mushroom - 4/5 Shiitake mushrooms. Can't go wrong with those. read more

The food was tasty, and the atmosphere was enjoyable. Portion size was good and all in all food was 8/10. The service on the other hand was abysmal. The server we had was short tempered and not engaging at all. I ordered my meal and asked for a side of eel sauce and before I could finish my request he blurted out "it's $.50 extra for eel sauce", I said that was fine and he brought over the smallest portion cup he could find. All in all, I ordered four sushi rolls. I did not like the flavor of the one roll, so I ate the one piece and left it. When it came time to pay the bill, the server informed me that there was a $5 charge for waste. I mentioned how I didn't like it and didn't want it. He argued with me that I still had to pay the waste fee for food I didn't like. The manager came over and offered to lower the fee to $3 and package it up to go. I reiterated that I did not like and therefore I didn't want to take it home. She was insistent that I pay the fee. We paid the fee and informed her we would not be coming back. I could see the charge if it was a wasteful order, but I genuinely didn't like the sushi roll. Customer service 1/10. read more

I was really impressed. We did the all-you-can-eat sushi and every roll came out amazing. The restaurant looked very clean and had a really calming atmosphere. read more

Kintaro - Willowick - Spicy Tuna Roll , Philadelphia Roll & Special Roll - Japanese Near Me - Willowick, Ohio

I have NEVER had such a bad meal . Food served at room temperature and flavorless . Horrible service . Do not waste your time and money . Then when leaving found one of the pair of entry and exit doors was BOLTED CLOSED , against fire code . read more

*******DO NOT, I repeat do not get the HOT POT THERE UNLESS YOU WANT TO AUTOMATICALLY BE CHARGED an EXTRA $10.99 on top of the $26.99 they already charge. ******* MY DAUGHTER WANTED TO GO. I Told THEM I HAD NEVER Been before, and that they would have to tell me how to order. The waiter said to check the box if everything you want in your soup. We did that. I'm telling you two big hungry men couldn't eat what they bring you, plus a gallon of broth. Then when you are done they reserve the right to charge you a food wasting fee. The thing is they charge you regardless if you leave it there or take it. They are the food wasters!!! Why bring a mountain of food that there is no way you can eat it all. It wasn't even tasty. SUCH SCAMMERS!!! I will never go back. read more

Poor service. Nasty attitude by waitress. Entered the restaurant around 6:30pm on Monday evening. Was not acknowledged right away as me and two others stood by the hostess stand. When finally addressed the hostess grabbed the all you can eat menu and placed us at a table. The waitress approached the table. My party went to the ladies room I requested water. Since we had a child with us she asked how old she was and circle the price. The child picked the items she wanted and the waitress was like that's one piece. So she just walked away without warning. Then she returned a few minutes later. I wanted a soup and some dumplings. The waitress then responded that's it. I responded yes. Then she took all our menus and said you have wrong menu and walked away. She brought three different menus. I am a bariatric patient so I can't eat a lot and since the restaurant charges you for wasted food. I picked something I knew I would eat. The waitress walked away again without warning. So after sitting there for a few minutes trying to figure out what happened. We left. I will not spend my hard earned money at an establishment that has a nasty staff. read more

I would love to say that this place has good food but I can't. I was never even able to try it. See I tried to call and place an order about 27 times and I got a busy signal every time. My first call was around 8:00pm and my last was at about 8:25pm right before I went to the restaurant. I only live a few minutes away so i decided to drive up there and try and place an order maybe they were just busy and couldn't answer the phone. No I get to the restaurant and it's empty the hostess is sitting there doing nothing. I walk in and ask if their phone is working she said yes it's working. So I showed her on my phone how every time I tried to dial their number it would just show up as the line being busy. It literally showed a busy signal while I was in the restaurant talking to the hostess and I was staring at the phone sitting on the counter. How can a phone line be busy when it's not being used? She hands me a menu and says you can order it will be 45 minutes I ask for a discount for my experience considering I had to drive to the restaurant just to place an order and she laughed in my face. The workers at this establishment are rude and unprofessional. Not to mention as soon as I left I tried to call the restaurant again and my call immediately went through. So either they unplug their phones so they don't have to take orders or they just stay on the line with someone after they hang up so they can't take any more calls. Either way the staff is rude unprofessional and I'm glad I didn't eat their food because if they don't care how they treat a customer that walked in the door they don't care about your food either. My main point is. For a hostess to laugh in your face when you've had to drive to the restaurant just to place an order I think is ridiculous and is not okay and it's not a place I would want to support read more

2022, Recent visit was a disappointment. Sushi was made from, what looked like Scraps and Pieces. It had flavor, but was not worth the price of Real Sushi. Have not been back and don't plan to. read more

Food was good service was good ambiance was good. Only issue was paying for leftovers

It's was okay..will try something different next time..the hot pot was mediocre..cuts of meat looked like lunch meat...the dumplings were great..the broth was wishy washy read more

Ordered over the phone and woman that took my order was horribly rude, asked me multiple times if i knew where i was calling, and even asked me to say the name of the street that the restaurant is on. The sushi was good but not worth the ignorance from the lady that took my order. if i could give any recommendations, get rid of her and replace her with someone who will actually respect customers and appreciate there job. Not to mention my order was not complicated at all, but she was insistent that it was and was willing to just hang up the phone because "it was too much". Mind you this was my first meal of the day and all i was trying to do is eat a good meal... I've worked in this field for over 5 years and i would NEVER do that to someone non the less over the phone... (you never know what people are going through) I ordered 1 Miso soup, 2 orders of yellowtail Hamachi, and the Audi Roll but replace soy paper with normal wrap, please tell me what part of that is complicated!! Just absolutely ridiculous service and needs to be taken care of, almost ALL of the reviews on yelp say the exact same thing so i know for a fact I'm not the only one she's treated like this. Also this is ruining your reputation and turning all your customers away, the restaurant was completely empty at 5pm (prime hour for restaurants) and i don't doubt the reason why is her attitude and definitely not the food. read more

I am absolutely extatic that Kintaro has decided to open a location here in Eastlake!!! Kintaro features the ultimate combination of quality AND quantity. For $16 at lunch and $25 at dinner you get all the made to order sushi you can eat. There are things on the all you can eat menu for those who are not necessarily fans of sushi... namly Hibachi. It is best to order food in small batches, there is a fee for food waste. read more

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For an Ohio Sushi place, it is good. Being from Las Vegas, well, we outstanding sushi restaurants, yet I can honestly say this place is worth your time if you are in the area!! read more

This place, is awesome. This is, and will remain my favorite restaurant in mentor!! Low Carb Tip!!!!: Order sashimi and beef/chicken teriyaki (no sauce) all night!!!! read more

Checked out the EASTLAKE location for the 2nd time. Wasn't sure what to expect as my partner mentioned some of the reviews were sliding. We were seated right away and our drinks were delivered quickly. We checked off a list of rolls and were told they were backed up and it could take a while but our selection came out in a reasonable amount of time and as requested without sauce sprayed all over and that's a BIG plus ! (so hard to get places to not draw all over the sushi) Keep up the good work !! read more

Kintaro - Willowick - A BOAT-LOAD of sushi !! Yum !!! - Japanese Near Me - Willowick, Ohio