We had just done some chores in Willimantic and were looking for a place to have some lunch and thought we'd check this really unassuming place. We ordered a salad with ginger and sesame dressing, Tom Yum soup which was delicious and authentic, veg tempura, some eggplant which came with rice. We were pleasantly surprised with the quality of the food and the service as well, which was good. Although a very modest although seemingly haphazard interior layout, the choice and quality of their food was just great. We need more of these types of food places in our area serving up a variety of food choices. read more

Oriental Cafe - Veg Tempura - Japanese Near Me - Willimantic, Connecticut

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Rice: 3/10- the rice has a grainy/powder consistency and is a bit bland Chicken: 3/10 - the skin appears crispy, but upon biting into it, the skin and meat were gummy. Noodles: 6/10- The beef was very chewy. However, the flavor was decent. Gyoza: 7/10- It would be nice if they were fried on both sides. Would definitely order again General Tsos: 1/10- chewy, gummy, slimy. Eggroll: 10/10- kind of hard to mess up. Portions: 10/10- thelis order could easily feed 4 Service: 0/10- I couldn't make requests on DoorDash, so I called in and asked for no vegetables in the rice and the lo mein. They confirmed the request and still added them to the order. Annoying there was A LOT of vegetables. They seemed a bit taken aback that I called about the food I'm paying for. I will not order from them again read more

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A modest-appearing establishment and somewhat disorganized interior, we weren't expecting much except a typical Chinese-American menu, but -- we were pleasantly surprised! Its offerings encompassed sushi and Thai dishes in addition to Chinese-American but they were executed well and tasted good. No cloying MSG or overly flavored with soy sauce. I had a Thai ginger chicken dish (pad khing) which was flavorful and ginger-forward (which I liked) garnished with whole sprigs of fresh cilantro. My daughter had a chirashi and she said the fish (tuna, sea bass, yellowtail, and salmon) was good and fresh. My wife had a Thai sweet basil vegetable dish (pad ba gai pow) which was nicely spicy and tasty. Service was friendly and attentive. A good place for a meal. read more

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Absolutely love this place. Unique and delicious sushi, and an incredible Japanese, Cantonese and Thai menu. My fav dishes are the amazing Thai entrees like the sweet basil and spicy mango stir fry. Was going every Friday night for awhile. drinks are cheap and strong and service is great too! read more

Not very good. Overall very bland, even dishes labeled as spicy. broccoli was so wooden I couldnt bite through it, fried rice was way overcooked read more

The food was delicious!! We had Beef Negimaki, Crab Rangoon, Spicy Santa Roll Phidelphia Roll, and Sesame Chicken/ Fried Rice. Our server was FANTASTIC he was very attentive to our drinks being full. He timed our Apps/Entrees perfectly! We started off being the only ones eating in, quaint and quiet but quickly the place filled up! read more

Oriental Cafe - 9. Beef Negimaki 3. Spicy Santa Roll 23. Philadelphia Roll 4. Crab Rangoon - Japanese Near Me - Willimantic, Connecticut

Great food and service the owner always takes care of you and makes you feel welcome.

I used to go here all the time in college. I remember the food being perfect every time. Happened to be in the area, of course I had to go again! Wow - food is still incredible. Just like I remember it!! Best sushi in the area HANDS DOWN. Fish is incredibly fresh and the rolls are always super stuffed. Youre getting what you pay for! I got the Pink Lady, my absolute favorite roll. The picture I took does NOT do it justice. The roll is huge!! If you like fresh fish over the spicy mayo mixes / fried tempuras, this roll is for you. Order it and thank me later! My husband got General Tsos, he says its the best he's ever had! I would recommend Oriental Cafe to anyone if youre in Willi. read more

Oriental Cafe - 31. Pink Lady Roll - Japanese Near Me - Willimantic, Connecticut

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The yellowfin tuna is amazing. The rest of the fish is relatively fresh and tasty. My biggest complaint is with the rice. Rice is the heart of sushi and this was unflavored white rice out of a rice cooker. read more

The sushi is great here the signature rolls JYZ and the Spicy Tuna rolls are my favorite.

The lady that owns this place is an angel, the food is really great quality, weather hot dish or sushi. I recommend the crab ran-goo, any of the specialty rolls, and the chicken katsu is fire. The service is nothing but great, I promise Jenny will take care of you read more

We were looking for a nice spot in Willimantic to fill up before going to the brewery so we chose Oriental Cafe for their diverse menu and vegan options. The service was Super Fast! And they were very attentive and very friendly! We felt very comfortable there and gave a sort of family restaurant vibe. You could for either way with this place: you could dress down and go with friends or dress up and have a nice dinner. As I said the service was expeditious so we got our appetizers within a few minutes. We enjoyed some delicious salad, miso soup, and a nice fresh crabmeat salad! Although they were fast they allowed an appropriate amount of time before bringing our sushi entrees! The sushi tasted nice and fresh! Of course we had to get a bottle of hot sake to go along with the meal! You can also choose to sit at the bar or the sushi bar. What a lovely spot! read more

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Only been here once would like to try it again had the seafood hot and sour soup it was awesome than I had green curry and am totally not crazy about that one bit The service is good they also have a full bar with a couple tvs I went at night and the lighting is super dim I could barely see my food LOL Enjoy read more

Oriental Cafe - Green curry - Japanese Near Me - Willimantic, Connecticut

Freshest raw sashimi, generous portions, super lovely servers. So psyched they're making beautiful, fresh food. It's been really consistent which is hard to find with seafood inland. I keep going back for the salmon sashimi & sweet shrimp. The scallop is sliced thick, sweet and clean. The food quality, from the kitchen and the raw bar is really made with care. read more

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If you are looking for sushi this is the best in the area. Super fresh and full of flavor. I had heard that they get some of their fish from the Willimantic Fish Market and I would believe that. It's high quality and reasonably priced! I've tried just about every roll they make and I love them all. My favorites are the Crazy Tuna, the JYZ, and the Amazing maki. I don't order much besides sushi from here. I do love a good seaweed salad as a side. My husband likes to get the Thai curries that they make and those are also delicious. Can't say enough great things about this place! read more

Always awesome! Fresh fish, good drinks. I've had just about every kind of roll on the menu and never been disappointed. Everything from the kitchen has been great too. Try the coconut soup! read more

Oriental Cafe - Sushi/sashimi sampler. Delicious - Japanese Near Me - Willimantic, Connecticut

There are two Oriental Cafe's in the easter region of CT. I prefer the one in Willimantic. I come here pretty frequently. It is located on main street in Willimantic, not the best section, but a busy one. Inside is beautiful. They have dimmed lighting with neon purple colors that light up the restaurant. They have booths, tables, and a bar at the sushi making table or where the drinks are made. There is also an outdoor patio that is relatively decent. It is set up nice with a lot of tables to sit at.. but your view is of main st willimantic. The place is very clean. Perfect spot to go out with friends or family. The service varies time to time, for instance, one day I will go and my food will come out ASAP and other times I wondered if our waitress had left the building.... From 3:00 to 6:00 pm, they offer a happy hour on their special sushi rolls. They are half off! Great deal - I usually take advantage of this!! I suggest you do too! Their food is tremendous- I ALWAYS get a garden salad with the ginger dressing, california rolls, spicy crab, spicy tuna, and spicy salmon. All their hand rolls are made fresh and they are so yummy! Their special rolls are great as well. If you don't like sushi- they have a lot different options such as noodles, pork fried rice, general tso, chicken fingers etc. All very good. They have a full bar- GREAT scorpion bowls and dirty martinis ;) They have a decent selection of beer and wine. Overall, I highly recommend Oriental Cafe! Great spot filled with great food! read more

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K the food pretty eating rice rn it's bussin. But there one issue this place in and really gets on my nerves. Why didn't I get any fortune cookies. GIVE ME FORTUNE COOKIES NEXT TIME. Foods good tho. read more

The food here is nothing to write home about. It's okay, but closer to Chinese American food. We got a seafood udon that was REALLY bland, but the Singapore noodles were alright. None of us ordered sushi and maybe that's where they're strong, but we ordered for a household and nobody really liked it. read more

Best broth (wonton soup) ever! Super fresh, super delicious. I have had a meal or two here that doesn't agree with me but for the most part their food and service are excellent. read more

We took a chance to stop here and loved it. The sushi was delicious and kitchen food was great too, We all loved our meals. read more

Oriental Cafe - Japanese Near Me - Willimantic, Connecticut

First time here today. Sushi was reasonably priced and tasted fresh. Normal selection of special rolls. We tried three and all were good. Also tried one of the Thai curry dishes which was also normal faire. It tasted as though it was coconut cream instead of coconut milk. Tasted good, just a bit more coconut flavor than expected. Service by the staff was good and friendly. We like this place better than the mall hibachi place. read more

The service was good but I didn't like that they randomly brought a dish over, then another, then another, etc. It would've been nice for them to bring all of the appetizers out together, all of the entrees at once, etc. Also, why does the spring roll order come with ONE roll? The sushi was good but I've had better. read more

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Great happy hour special on half price specialty rolls. Friendly, prompt service and great fresh sushi. Cute clean atmosphere. read more

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I'm tempted to knock it down to three stars. I've obviously checked in many times, and Oriental Cafe has been our go-to place for good sushi and Asian dishes. I've seen a few poor reviews, and was kind of surprised. On our most recent trip, I was kind of actually shocked. The service was downright poor. There were just two of us on a Friday night. The restaurant was packed, as full as I've ever seen it, but there were a couple of tables open which they just couldn't seem to clear off for us. We were close to leaving before even being seated, despite several assurances by the host that he'd seat us shortly. Things didn't get much better from there. It seems as if the full house simply overwhelmed the crew. It took forever to get our drink order taken, and this seemed to be a common concern with guests seated nearby as well. We ordered some soup and some rolls; we specifically asked to make them spicy, as Oriental Cafe tends to make things a bit tame. Our request didn't seem to matter, as neither the J.Y.Z. Roll or Godzilla Roll were spicy at all. Good luck even trying to get some chili oil or even sriracha. Maybe it's just time for a break. The service and the food were about as tired and worn as the crumbling, peeling sign out front. I'll still be back. I'm hoping this was just a bad night, but our experience seemed to mirror what several others have said. I'm leaving the fours stars, for now. Consider it an average of all the other times we've had excellent food here. I'd suggest going for the early deals, or on less-crowded nights. On this most recent visit, they simply were not delivering their A-game. read more

Excellent sushi, nice service, and great systems for takeout during Covid. I highly recommend this restaurant!

I love this place, been eating during happy hour pretty regularly for about two years now. Their specialty rolls are half price during happy hour, although recently they've each become about a dollar more expensive. Brand new redone menus are very pleasing to the eye, but they do have some funny typos. Food is always delicious and they present everything in special/cute ways. Drinks are always pleasantly strong and super yummy. You must give this place a try! read more

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This place just sucks. The tea tastes like how dishwater smells like, the soup has a weird funky flavor and the entrees also either have some weird aftertaste or they are so spicy it's inedible. My daughter had a roll and it was mediocre at best. For $50 for a family of 4 you can do way better in this town. What a waste of my time and money. read more

I heard my coworkers saying this was the best sushi in town, and since there's basically no sushi in town I gave it a try. The fish was literally bad or on the verge anyway. I didn't get sick but it tasted and smelled very fishy so gross. Good sushi should barely have a smell. I will never eat here again read more

Good sushi and food. They have created a lounge-type atmosphere that is fun at night. Often have great deals. Great service last time - manger checked on us, waiter attentive. Good for a sit-down meal. read more

I've been here twice now for dinner. The dishes have been good, with fresh vegetables and nice sauces. The egg drop soup was more bland than most. They have a sushi happy hour special with half priced rolls until 6pm. read more

Great food, decent prices, poor service; I highly recommend the thai green curry and panang red curry. To clarify, the servers are nice and put in a decent effort, but they just don't understand how to serve at nicer Asian restaurant; for a table of 4, we only received 2 menus, no spoons with our curries (and when we asked they brought giant, serving spoons), plates weren't properly wiped, etc. - Just need some training. However, there are never complaints about the taste of the food - delicious! read more

Excellent food and service! The staff is very friendly and attentive. Full bar with new HD televisions if that's your thing. Sushi and sashimi is always fresh. Highly recommend! read more

For a college student, 25 dollars seems like a lot. I think this is a little pricey, but if you enjoy the food then it is worth it. I recommend the salmon maki, the miso, and the dumplings. read more

It pains me to do this, but I have to knock a couple stars off after my last visit. The service was definitely an issue for one. There were two waitresses on duty, and both of them kept asking me, if I was ready to order while I was still checking out the menu. They were pretty aggressive about refilling my tea as well, which might be a good thing to some, but I was getting to the point where I really wanted to eat in peace. The next problem was the food. I ordered the duck salad, which had a bone fragment in it. I really should have taken a picture of that, but I was more concerned with addressing the problem at the time. The duck was chopped into pieces and added to the salad, so that's really an issue. I could see someone breaking a tooth or potentially choking. I was told that was how it was meant to be prepared and it could just be fished out if I didn't like it Um. no. The food quality overall seems to have taken a hit. That duck salad was drowned in dressing, and the two sushi rolls I got were also heavily sauced. I couldn't tell them apart for money the way they tasted. At least they were half price. I don't know what's going on with these guys but something definitely slipped here. I hope they turn it around and that this experience was an outlier. read more

This was my first visit. Real pleasant welcome. I was getting takeaway food and I ordered the most basic menu.... General Tso, Pad Thai and Fried Dumplings. All were really well prepared and tasty. The chicken was very light and crispy. Cost a bit more than some other places but I am ok with that. I am looking forward to trying them again. read more

This place is amazing! The prices of the food for the amount and quality you get is incredible! I had the shrimp teriyaki, crab Rangoon, and a spring roll and it was incredible! Definitely want to come back! read more

I enjoyed the food. The presentation could have been better, lighting was halogen and too harsh but not necessarily overly bright. The service was very good and our server was pleasant and helpful. One simply questions sums up our experience here and it is; "Would we return to the Oriental Café?" and the answer is "Yes!". read more

Oriental Cafe - Green Curry - Japanese Near Me - Willimantic, Connecticut

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This is one of the best Asian restaurant; I really would recommend this to anyone who likes Asian food. They have some Thai, Chinese, and Japanese cuisine. Today we only ordered the oriental duck and it's GREAT! I would come back just for this dish. It's amazingly delicious and tasty. The owner is also very kind and he would always be happy to talk with you (even if it's not the food and service). He'd be happy to talk to you even if it's about the weather . The service is also very good even tho there are times when it's slow but I understand because I always come here during the times when they're busy. But overall, it's a really great restaurant, I would really recommend this to anyone! read more

Oriental Cafe - Japanese Near Me - Willimantic, Connecticut

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If you are going to make a stop here, come for the happy hour. 3-6pm. Half price special rolls and super cheap adult beverages. The spicy girl and JYZ are my favorite. However, outside of happy hour this is not a place I would frequent. Sushi is just ok, wines are not great, tried a Thai dish once and never will again. Service is hit or miss too. Sometimes the sever is attentive and other times you'll be abandoned for your whole meal. It's just all around ok. BUT if you want Japanese for happy hour then by all means try this place out. read more