I've been here a few times since their opening and usually I can count on decent service, and yummy rolls. Specifically their Christmas roll and Orchard roll are among my favorites. However a few weeks ago I came in with some friends and was severely let down with the service. I believe they were severely understaffed at the time, but I was not thrilled with how management handled the evening. I came in with two friends and it took 10 minutes after being seated for someone to come and ask if we wanted anything to drink. By then we decided on our orders too. It took almost 30 minutes for them to get any of us drinks, including a simple water for myself. After an hour after arriving we finally got our food. And it took a long time to get someone's attention to get the bill. If it were not for this being entirely out of the usual I would give it less stars, but it was an isolated event so far. Unfortunately it didn't make a good impression on the two friends I brought (it being their first time). I hope they hire more help soon! read more

Given the string of bad luck I've had with sushi in Ithaca, I decided to just go for a bento box and not order any sushi here. The lunch specials are pretty good deals. Most things are under $10 which is reasonable for a Japanese restaurant. Unlike other Japanese restaurants, this place offers a salad bar so you can make it however you like (although their selection of ingredients is relatively limited). The bento boxes come with three California rolls, which is one fewer than other places usually do but the pieces here are a lot fatter. They also come with two pieces of shu mai. The main item I got was chicken teriyaki. The chicken itself was great - it was thoroughly cooked but not dry. One complaint is that the teriyaki sauce they use seems more watery than I've tasted at other places, so it was a bit unusual. I was offered two complimentary pieces of volcano roll too. I ordinarily try to avoid sushi in this city but free is free, and these were actually surprisingly good. I also tried the fried ice cream here. It's $4.50 but they give you a very generous bowl of it. I liked it, but there were places in the bowl which the batter was not thoroughly fried, so they may need to work on that. Overall, it was a nice dining experience and the service was great. read more

This place is great for lunch specials. I got the combo with two sushi rolls, a salad, and soup. It'll clock you in at around 9 bucks which is amazingly cheap for ithaca. Sushi was above average but not the GREATEST. I just got two basic rolls though so im sure if I got something a little more extravagant it'd be better. No complaints though. Definitely better than a lot of sushi places I've been to! And the sushi bar itself was clean and well stocked. All the fish looked really fresh and the plate presentation was beautiful. The service here is great. Fast, friendly, and not pushy. They even gave us a few pieces of sushi on the house and the manager came over to make sure our meal was great. So we would definitely return for the service at the very least. The salad bar is nice. Making your own salad is better than having to ask for more dressing, things on the side, etc. I liked that concept a lot. I will be returning and trying it for dinner at some point. read more

Unfortunately we waited an hour for our food without being served. We wound up leaving before we could eat because we couldn't wait any longer for our food to come. read more

Don't eat here; there are plenty of other much better options in Ithaca. We ordered the tofu teriyaki, the vegetable hibachi, edamame, and an avocado roll. The avocado roll was placed in the bag between the hot food, so by the time we got it home it was warm, not to mention it just tasted not that fresh. The tofu teriyaki was so soggy and greasy that I could not eat it. The hibachi was edible, but it was not nearly at the level it should have been. The salads that the entrees came with contain some pieces of floppy, browning lettuce. Service wise, when I went to pick up the food I had a coupon from downloading their app. There wasn't any way to redeem it on the app, so I asked about it when I got there and they refused to accept the coupon. They also guaranteed me there was yum yum sauce in the bag, but alas, I found there was not once I got home. I would not even feed this food to my dogs. read more

First time ever at mitsuba and they served me a half full pint. Needless to say i will never go there again. read more

Mitsuba - Are you kidding me? - Japanese Near Me - Ithaca, New York

This is my second time being here for its new Chinese spicy food. The first time, I brought four friends for dinner. We ordered seven dishes and I liked most of them. They add tips automatically without notice though. I would give four star based on that visit. The second time, I came here for lunch and ordered three new dishes from the Chinese menu to try. The taste is totally different from last time. I could not eat much due to their strange flavor. So I guess choosing right dishes is very important. Avoid picking these three dishes in the pic will save you some money :) read more

Mitsuba - Strange flavors - Japanese Near Me - Ithaca, New York

I have been on a sushi kick for weeks now, so when the craving hit I decided to head to the place with the highest number of great reviews! Mitsuba is a relatively new place; none of my coworkers had heard of it and even during the dinner hours they were almost empty. Obviously this was just fine with me as I didn't have to wait to sit down and my food was out fairly quickly. The place itself is nice. It's very spacious and the set up is generally attractive, though nothing special. This is your standard dining hall look, so might not be right for a romantic night out. The service is good, albeit a little weird. None of the servers really engaged with us from the moment we came in, until we left. They asked only the most perfunctory questions and avoided eye contact. I'm chalking it up to a cultural difference? Other than that, however, everything was very nicely done. We got hot towels for our hands (especially nice when it's freezing and snowy outside!) Soon after sitting down, we were surprised to get a free volcano roll. Unfortunately, my friend and I are both vegetarian so we had to send it back, but the gesture is awesome! Finally, as I mentioned, the food was out fairly quickly. Note that you will not get tea with your meal as is so frequently the case in Japanese restaurants. For whatever reason, Mitsuba only offers water. You can, of course, order tea, but it's always a nice little perk to get it for free. Not a big deal, just something to keep in mind. The vegetarian rolls all looked very appetizing, so I had a hard time deciding and ended up getting four rolls: the avocado peanut, avocado cucumber, sweet potato, and the house vegetable maki. The first three were excellent and I would highly recommend them. The house vegetable maki was a little weird, but it could just be personal taste. Since this was the most expensive roll, I was disappointed that it was not my favorite, but it was no big deal. I think something about the melange of vegetables just didn't work for me. The price is completely on par with other sushi restaurants and way cheaper than Wegman's, so nothing to complain about there. One thing that I noticed and really liked was Mistuba's reciprocity with yelp. If a customer writes a review, they get a free appetizer, checking in usually results in some sort of freebie (in my case it was a miso soup); in short, using yelp will get you tons of good deals here! I love when restaurants make use of such promotions. Overall, a great dining experience! read more

Great atmosphere, wonderful service. I recommend the miso soup! I ate here while in town for work and will definitely be coming back for more sushi! read more

Came here for quick dinner, the complementary volcano is delicious as always. Service was really slow but food was overall satisfying. Update: returned here on a cold winter night and the heat wasn't even on. Also the normally warm deep fried volcano roll seems it came straight from the fridge, cold and hard. read more

Came here after dropping off a sibling at CU, exhausted and famished. My standards were pretty low and Mitsuba still disappointed. There were only 2 servers for approximately 12 tables (one group with 8-10 people). The servers were clearly overwhelmed and it took forever to get any service. The waitress brought my boyfriend a water after he asked for a Sprite. After waiting for 20 minutes, we got a complimentary volcano roll. Deep-fried roll with rice and what tasted like leftover odds and ends. I ordered Yaki Udon with vegetables and chicken and it was supposed to be a stir fry but the dish has liquid on the bottom. Boyfriend had the oyako-don. He liked it but gives the disclaimer that "it's hard to fuck it up." The spicy salmon roll had too much vinegary rice with old salmon. We ordered another roll with spicy salmon, avocado in the middle with eel on top. It wasn't great. All in all, this place might do in a pinch. Order the kitchen items, not the sushi and expect a wait. They must have known they would have been swamped with CU families, poor planning on their part. read more

Mitsuba has done a good job promoting itself. I've received mailers and seen promotions online through 4square and yelp. The adverts were successful as the restaurant got my business. My wife and I were in the mood for sushi so we decided to try Mitsuba. The restaurant was a little quiet for a Sunday afternoon, but the weather was poor so maybe potential customers stayed in. We ordered a few rolls to split between us and I presented the waitress my phone as I unlocked an offer from 4square for free edamame, salad bar and volcano roll. I'm not sure how much of a free offer this is, as it seemed like the other patrons all received the same complimentary items as a included in their meal. The better promotion would be the Yelp 1/2 off $20 deal, since it seems as though salad and volcano roll is included. Also, the complimentary roll is more like half a roll it is rather small, but it is free. I ordered an eel and avacado handroll and a rainbow roll. My wife ordered a dragon roll and a tempura shrimp roll. I thought we ordered way too much food, and normally I would be right. But, the rolls here are rather small. They fill the plate with beautiful garnishes and decorations but not much food. Really, the plates are beautiful to look at but I didn't come here for flowers and inedible leaves on the plate. Besides the small portion the sushi tasted ok. The tempura roll tasted frozen, like they used frozen tempura from a big box store. Overall our experience was OK. read more

I'm writing reviews becuase I'm bored. My husband and I we didn't want to cook this noon so we went trying this place for the second time. Last time we came as a group and we got tasted a bit of every pricy rolls. Not impressive in general. The chicken hibatch was overcooked and not juicy at all. Rolls are slightly worse than the ones in Sumo, although I'm not a big fan of Sumo as well. To be fair, the raw meat in sushi is ok, but the rice wrapped outside just doesn't taste like the right texture. Why people here just can't make some good, qualitied sushi? If you are craving for sushi, I'd say the only place to go is Wegmans. Seriously, don't waste you time trying sumo/Mitsuba or any sushi restaurant in town. The unagi don wasn't satisfying either. Eel was overcooked and a little burnt on the bottom. Meat was lean and just isn't the right type for unagi don. No eel sause on top so the rice became very dry and not saucy. Now after this venting out I do need to mention that the free salad is pretty good. Fresh if you go during lunch time. The valcano rolls are ok but since they are free, i can't complain too much. If you do get that voucher $10 for $4 and plan to go by yourself I think it's still worth it, anyways what can you ask if you only paid $4 for a Rainbow roll? read more

My wife and I have been to Mitsuba about a dozen times and the sushi is fantastic! Great variety of rolls to choose from. The restaurant is clean and inviting and the service is also good. I enjoy the Mohawk roll and the rainbow roll in particular. I'm excited to order from the Chinese menu on our next visit. I really have no experience with authentic Chinese food, so any suggestions would be appreciated! read more

I've been fairly disappointed. Overall, just "meh." I'll say here what I said for Sumo: If a menu states that something is spicy, I expect spice. Spicy tuna rolls are supposed to be spicy - the ones at Mitsuba don't even register a tingle on my tongue. I also tried stuffing wasabi in it to spice it up, but after nothing changed, I took a chunk of wasabi and put it in my mouth. Nothing. I can handle some spice, but my tongue didn't even tingle. I really don't get the 4 stars. It's standard sushi fare, I guess, but I've had way, way better. read more

My husband and I ate here for the first time tonight. We were seated shortly after we arrived and ordered soon there after. We were never told about and never received the free volcano roll. Our waitress was pleasant enough but not very attentive so maybe that explains the skip?! The miso soup and vegetable tempura were good as were the three rolls (lightening roll, dragon roll and alaskan maki roll) we ordered. We were not impressed with the spring rolls: two very small rolls cut into four pieces. The lightening roll however was particularly good. Overall a pretty good experience. read more

Mitsuba - Alaskan Maki Roll, Dragon Roll, Lightening Roll - Japanese Near Me - Ithaca, New York

I went here with my parents because we had a Groupon for it. We figured we'd have typical hibachi/sushi food but we were completely floored by the quality of the food and the service. We all ordered hot tea and it was delicious genmaicha tea. My parents ordered chicken teriyaki and tempura chicken. I ordered a seaweed salad and the Dynamite roll. The meal started with the server bringing us hot towels for our hands--Awesome! Then she brought us a volcano roll on the house. It was the most amazing volcano roll I've ever had. The whole roll was tempura fried and came to our table warm. It was also sliced on an angle to look like little volcanoes. My mom doesn't eat sushi but she tried it and thought it was delicious. All of our meals were excellent and wonderfully presented. The chicken teriyaki came out on a sizzling skillet and my seaweed salad and dynamite roll were on a plate with decorative dried ice and orchids. To finish up, they brought out sliced oranges. Overall a wonderful meal and experience. Very attentive servers who truly cared about your experience. The whole meal came to $45 before the groupon. I will definitely go there again! read more

Food: Restaurant serves Chinese and Japanese food, using two different menus. Sometimes they assume you want one or the other when you are seated and only bring out one menu. Much better options for authentic Chinese food can be had elsewhere in Ithaca (Spicy Asian, Hot Pot, etc.), but the Japanese food is on par with the rest of the area. The variety of sushi, rolls, and sashimi are probably the highlights of the menu. Haven't tried the hibachi, and will not be trying the Chinese food again. Also, the food presentation has gone down slightly since they opened - they used to have orchids and dry ice decorating their sushi plates. Service: Service ranges from fair to good, depending on the crowd and the particular waitstaff on a given day. Waiters generally assume you've visited before, and so make no mention of the complimentary salad bar or sushi appetizer. More often than not, they need to be flagged down for drink refills and the meal check. On the plus side, the manager or owner (I think his name is Eric) is always friendly and makes every effort to accommodate reasonable requests when he is around. Value: For sushi in Ithaca, Mitsuba provides the best value. Salad bar, hot tea, and a sushi appetizer are all included with the meal, and entree prices are comparable with the competition (mainly Sumo, since I don't recommend Mitsuba for Chinese food). Restaurant participates in groupon and has its own rewards/points program as well, so you can really get your money's worth. read more

Overall expensive for the Hibachi Emperor's Deluxe Dinner for 2 with Filet Mignon, Lobster Tail, Shrimp and Chicken @ 49.95, more than half of the plate were chicken and broccoli/onion/veggies, only got 4 shrimp, 4 pieces of "steak" and 6 pieces of lobster. The presentation is more a like mix stir fried and the portion is relative small for $50 for dinner for two. Very disappointed as it was for a birthday dinner. Better off ordering separately. read more

Mitsuba - Hibachi - Emperor's Deluxe Dinner for 2 - Japanese Near Me - Ithaca, New York

Friendly service, great lunch special prices ($8.50 for two rolls plus soup and salad), and an average dining room. The fish was pretty fresh - good texture and flavor. We had the salmon, yellowtail, tuna, and eel. The rice was definitely lacking in seasoning and thus also in consistency. There was also a little too much of it in the rolls. So the bland, mushy rice overwhelmed any flavor of the fish. The eel sauce is also too sweet. With a couple little tweaks, though, this place could be a good staple for those on the hunt for sushi in Ithaca. I think I'm most curious about the Szezuan menu now... read more

Excellent quality of food. Maybe one of the best Asian restaurants in Ithaca. Flavors and rich but well controlled (especially the spiciness). Service is warm and atmosphere is nice. Sometimes the grilled foods are more for show than for flavor, but to be honest a lot of grilled foods are like this. I want to give it 4.5 stars for really minor issues, but that's not an option so here's a four stars. read more

Mitsuba - Didn't take a photo of the dish, but here's an interestingly cut orange they served after the meal. - Japanese Near Me - Ithaca, New York

I had an early dinner here on a Saturday night. Everything was fantastic. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the sushi. No complaints about service. I would definitely return. So far Mitsuba is my favorite of the many Japanese restaurants in town. read more

The ambiance is very calm and the music is peaceful. Very relaxing! The wait staff is attentive and kind. The variety of sushi is fantastic and flavorFULL! Yum! read more

Giving it one star for having chairs and tables and a door to walk through. TERRIBLE service. Food is mediocre. If you are looking for decent/edible sushi, go across the street to Sumo. I really wanted to like this place because it's a bit more charming than Sumo, but seriously don't waste your time and money eating here. Service is absolutely terrible! Waiters are rude and unfriendly. If you have ever eaten good/quality sushi....this place will certainly disappoint even the lowest of expectations. read more

The food at Mitsuba is good, I liked all the rolls I ordered (Sushi 3 Kinds, Mitsuba roll, fried vanilla ice cream) and my friend also liked what she ordered (Spicy Maki Combo, Philly roll, green tea ice cream). I felt like the fish on the Sushi 3 Kinds could have been fresher, but they weren't bad. The waitress I had (I don't think she ever gave her name?) was either very new or just inattentive/erratic with her service. She seemed very confused and didn't mention the free volcano appetizer or salad bar until I asked... My sister came in earlier with friends for dinner and apparently the waitress ignored her and her friends for 40 minutes (which made them late for a movie) and didn't ask them for their drink orders! :( I did see the manager walk around and supervising a lot, so that's something. All and all, it was OK experience and I only tipped 15% (usually I tip more, having waitressed myself!). It's funny because sometimes I find Sumo's service to be a little over-attentive/over-eager (there are so many people to check in on your meal/ask for drink orders) but I think I'd prefer over-eager service than inattentiveness. I might get them another shot but if it fails to impress me again, I might just go to Sumo instead. read more

This was a terrible restaurant located at 2300 N Triphammer Rd in Ithaca, NY. It was pricey and I ordered seafood tempura to go. When I got home and opened it I found several different types of seafood soaked in grease. It had been dipped in light batter and it was wet, limp, and undercooked. I ordered two egg rolls. I think that is pretty clear. One plus one equals two. Instead they gave me two orders of two egg rolls. So I got four undercooked soggy egg rolls and the price was doubled. The salad was in a tiny styrofoam container and was a mound of old looking lettuce with a slice of cucumber unceremoniously tossed on top. I could not eat any if it and immediately threw it out. The woman working there was clean and friendly. I hope she has thick skin because I'm sure she gets a lot of complaints. read more

Excellent experience all around. We were seated promptly, ordered drinks right away, and given menus. A few minuted later the owner came over and informed us about the complimentary salad bar and asked if it was our first time here. Very friendly staff and very attentive. The food was excellent and we even got a "sample" roll called the Volcano. The owner checked in with us before, during and after the meal, and was very sincere in his approach. I'm a firm believer in not putting anything on the plate that isn't edible, but the "blue smoking flower glass" was quite intriguing. ;-) We started with the calamari (very crispy batter, but tasty nonetheless) and then dove in to a Crazy Monkey Roll and the Yuki Roll. Both rolls were delicious. I have sushi in every new town I go to and I would definitely go back again. Definitely in my top 5. Well done Mitsuba! read more

Excellent Japanese cuisine at reasonable prices! I ordered lunch rolls and they were good. But it would have been better if the server didn't ask me whether I was Chinese when I entered. They seemed to have separate menus written in Chinese. read more

The sushi is better on Long Island. But for upstate new york this place is great. Fish seemed really fresh and the service was good. read more

Mitsuba - Tuna roll - Japanese Near Me - Ithaca, New York

Acceptable sushi but nothing outstanding. I've been to different Mitsuba franchise locations and this was the least impressive by a long shot. read more

I have never dined in here, so this review is for their take-out experience. In terms of the food, their sushi is very average. The rolls they offer are pretty mainstream. The freshness of the fish they use seems OK. I ordered their eggplant in sauce one time, and it was very salty and swimming in the sauce, so the eggplant was fairly soggy in texture. Their actual service for carry-out is poor. The time I ordered the hot eggplant side along with sushi, they put the eggplant container under the sushi container and so the sushi was warm when I picked it up and was pretty off-putting. There was another time I asked for extra ginger with my sushi and upon picking up the order, there was hardly three shreds of ginger-very disappointing. For quick sushi that is very basic and average and cheap, this is your place. But for anything more than that, I would not recommend Mitsuba. read more

I ordered take out and It was decent sushi, however I wasn't overly impressed. It was a Sunday night though so I'll probably try it out again at least one more time before making my final judgement. I'd recommend not ordering when it gets closer to closibg, especially on an off night. read more

Very delicious food, super nice service! We were served with free fried chicken(on trial)

This is without a doubt the worst experience my family and I have ever had the displeasure to sit through. We came for my sister's law school graduation celebration dinner. It is safe to assume everyone came in with high spirits. The dinner started off with a very rude waiting staff. They seated us at a very sticky table. It remained sticky despite their best efforts to wipe it down. But wait, there's more! Halfway through the meal, one of the waitresses spilled hot oil on my uncle. Not only was she unapologetic, but she immediately disappeared because she knew she had made a mistake. Not another five minutes passed when another waiter spilled a drink on my father's jacket and proceeded to pull a disappearing act of his own. We ended up not having any service for the rest of the entire meal because there were only two waiters working. The manager was apologetic for her workers, but the damage had already been done. We were able to overlook the subpar food because this is Ithaca and not NYC or some other culinary giant. We were open to overlook the spills because accidents do happen. We cannot however, forgive unapologetic, rude waiters who do not own up to their mistakes. Suffice to say, this restaurant ruined not only our meal, but a perfectly happy memory for my family. read more

I went there with my husband at Valentine's Day. We tried the Eel Avocado roll, Chirashi, and Teriyaki Beef. They also serve the salad bar and free volcano roll for every table. We love the food, except the teriyaki sauce. The sauce is too sweet. However, the dinner was conductedin a cordial atmosphere. And I also got a red rose for free. I am happy to visit here to celebrate my valentine's day. read more

I went with my son because we had a discount coupon. We sat at the sushi bar. The sushi chef gifted us with a delicious lobster-mango salad. Oue sushi plates were adorned with outrageous, magical decorations: little glass cups that held an edible flower, silk orchids, a palm leaf, a glowing LED, and bubbling dry ice mist!! In sum, the service was warm and welcoming, the sushi was delicious and the drama of the presentation was fantastic. I will go back for sure. read more

The best sushi in Ithaca! We got the crazy Friday roll and it was amazing! Top notch customer service. They really make you feel welcome and valued. read more

Sushi was good. The unagidon was good. Lays udon was so so. Hard to understand waitress. Probably will not go again

Bad service ever. Waited 40 minutes before the first course was served. Customers came in later got served earlier than us. The waiters didn't apologize at all when we expressed our dissatisfaction. Will never come back again. read more

I ordered the Eel Maki roll, which was lovely. Also the sushi that comes free with dinner is delicious. I ordered the salmon teriyaki. The flavors were really nice, but I was surprised at the total lack of vegetables. There is a salad bar which comes with dinner. my husband had the Nigiri and Maki entrée, he says that was good. Our dining companions always get the hibachi, and they love it. Ambience is nice. Service was sparse, we rarely saw our server, water glasses were never refilled and they let us sit for over half an hour waiting for check. Otherwise a nice experience read more