The food was mediocre. But the service was awful very rude and impatient will not be back

This place needs to let the sullen hostess/server go and get some emotional and spiritual support. I can't be the only customer to have noted this. We chose this place for the setting. May 30th was a perfect spring night and we were in high spirits, hungry for sushi, anticipating a nice meal on the porch of this beautiful old building in the heart of downtown Northampton. To be greeted at the hostess station with indifference/bordering on hostility was a major buzz-kill to say the least. Unfortunately, this vibe lingered on through the meal. Apart from the we'd-rather-you-not-be-here service, the atmosphere was pleasant and the food was pretty good. Special roles were particularly tasty. We managed to enjoy our experience overall but had to restrain ourselves from asking the staff if they were being abused or underpaid or what. I felt badly leaving a relatively small tip but felt like that was one way to get the point across that friendliness matters. I guess this review is another! read more

We visited Osaka on a Tuesday evening and sat on the outdoor patio. Two of my friends ordered sushi and thoroughly enjoyed it. I ordered pad Thai and it was extremely disappointing. There was absolutely no flavor. Another friend ordered teriyaki chicken and it had no flavor also. Normally, we have excellent meals at Osaka, but not last night. We will try again! read more

It's our go-to for the last twenty years. The fish is always fresh and delicious. As take-out customers, we appreciate the quick turnaround.

Wish I could leave zero stars. Lobster tempura roll with legitimately browning lobster. When asked, the waiter admitted it was not fresh meat and took it off the bill. For the amount of people eating there, it's shocking that seafood could go bad as it was very busy. Very disgusted. Hope I don't get sick Not to mention the bathroom was 100% a health code violation...probably where they keep lobster lol read more

Osaka - Lobster tempura roll with old lobster - Japanese Near Me - Northampton, Massachusetts

The food at this place is fantastic but this only pertains to the non-hibachi part of the restaurant as I've never tried their hibachi (not a huge fan of hibachi). As far as everything else goes, it's all pretty delicious going from their sushi to their salmon donburis to even their miso soup. The service is your typical asian waiter/waitress that doesn't really pay much attention to you besides taking your order and serving you your food. FOOD: 9/10 SERVICE: 6/10 RECOMMENDATION: You have to get their godzilla roll. Best roll for your buck in the entire menu read more

Osaka - Godzilla roll - Japanese Near Me - Northampton, Massachusetts

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This is a review for the quality of the food: I ordered a Sushi Dinner Takeout with a side of a Yellowtail Hand Roll. The quality of the food & the location is spectacular. Glad I chose this place as my first sushi experience in Northhampton MA on a road trip. 5 out of 5 stars quality for Osaka! read more

Osaka - Sushi Dinner + Yellow Tail Hand Roll - Japanese Near Me - Northampton, Massachusetts

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My family and I enjoy getting hibachi, and we have been pleased with our experience here in the past; however, I made reservations with a female the day before New Years Eve for 4:30 to ensure we would be done with dinner for the 6:15 fireworks. When we arrived, they had no record of our reservation?!?!? Our party of 6 has never had this happen to us before! How disappointing! The host tried to find a spot for us, but they were booked. They offered us regular dinning seating. Why would we give them our business when they made a mistake and didn't offer anything to compensate and further, the primary reason we were there wasn't available to us. I wish I had thought to show them my "recent call" record as proof because the experience made me realize that customers can claim, "I made reservations" when in truth, they didn't. Either way, it wouldn't have made a difference because they were booked, but I have included a screenshot for those cynical yelp reviewers! Part of my family wondered if I had given my last name for the reservation because our last name rhymed with the only name they had a record of for a party of 6, and my family thought the lady misheard me; however, I remembered saying my first name, my father who overheard the conversation agreed that is what I said, and eventually the other party of 6 showed up. I have no idea what went wrong with our reservation, but consequently, I do wonder if it was partly due to a language barrier, which only having fluent English speakers answer the phone would remedy this. In the end, we had to walk all over Northampton to find dining, and we were just served our dinner when we heard the fireworks. So much for a well planned day! read more

Osaka - Call record - Japanese Near Me - Northampton, Massachusetts

We stopped by this place for a bite to eat on our way through MA. It was one of the only places open around 3pm on a Sunday, which I was grateful for, but in hindsight I wish we would've stopped at a McDonalds instead. The food was horrible and the restaurant was tired. We had sushi, sesame chicken, and pad Thai; three basic Asian dishes that you really can't mess up, but they somehow did. My pad Thai was edible, but not "pad Thai" by any means. It had an odd creamy texture, very little vegetables, spongy chicken... and was garnished with a maraschino cherry; I was so confused. Also the bathrooms were gross. UPDATE: The food here messed up my stomach... I might have food poisoning. read more

This review is for the sushi only-- I haven't tried the other food here. Really pleasant outdoor dining experience here last month, and the sushi is still just as good as I remember. I used to come here for their thoughtful and creative specialty rolls. This last time, I got a specialty roll (forget the name now) that had thin pear slices on top; I thought it was tuna at first visually. It's a small amusement, but it's a delight that makes this place stand out. read more

Osaka - Those are pear slices! - Japanese Near Me - Northampton, Massachusetts

Osaka's sushi was lower quality than expected. Great seating though outside as well as the best ice cream store right across. Atmosphere: great outdoor deck area with ample seating! Food: the nori seaweed around the sushi was quite chewy which either means they did not toast it before rolling and/or it was sitting around for a while. Both the salmon and the hamachi was not as fresh as I would've hoped, tasting fishier than normal. Tempura soft shell crab had a very thick later of batter. Service: fast and good service with no complaints there Save room for the ice cream store across the street afterwards! read more

Osaka - Japanese Near Me - Northampton, Massachusetts

I love Japanese food, especially salon teriyaki. But this was the first time in years I couldn't even finish my plate. The salmon had no flavor, the rice felt off, and the sauce was.. okay. I also had a California roll that tasted weird too. The staff was OK, not rude but not welcoming either. Just overall gross food. read more

We took a walking tour of the town with weather in the mid 40s so ramen was our meal of choice! It's so good! I had the regular pork belly ramen. The broth was so flavorful I actually drank all of it. The pork was soft and also flavorful. My picture shows 2 eggs but it actually only comes with one egg. My friend gave me hers. My friend ordered the spicy pork belly ramen. She said the broth wasn't very spicy. Not sure as I didn't try it. The server was friendly and attentive. The very be was very modern. The restaurant projected anime onto a wall so you could be entertained. The bathroom had a really interesting sink with stones. I've never seen anything like it. I highly recommend if you're looking for ramen! read more

Osaka - Japanese Near Me - Northampton, Massachusetts

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Still the freshest sushi in Northampton. Solid portions and reasonably priced. The service can be a little hit or miss. Decent hibachi is a plus when one of you wants sushi but the other doesn't. read more

Decent food but nothing impressive. Neither the waitress nor the chef seem to have a lot of passion in their food. The seasoning is not too well. Service was cold and rushed. Would not come a second time, and would definitely choose Iya instead. read more

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Hamachi sushi was ok, rice cooked well, but nothing to write home about. They served age tofu with a maraschino cherry- nuff said. I got 2 rolls and the hamachi and nothing stood out other than the rice ( it was cooked/seasoned well). I feel I'm being generous with 3 stars, but all in all, it's a good location, and their sake is cheap. Service was on par with the rest of the experience. read more

The worst experience! We real Japanese can be make sense what is real Japanese cuisine. This is owned by Chinese maybe because we can hear Chinese music much different from Japanese one Moreover some foods are so funny cause they are not real Japanese one. Shrimp tempura is fake because they are coated by flour and Pablo. That is called Fried shrimp. Tempts udon is that tempra is in Udon pot as usual, but they serve them separately All of them are far from real good taste from Japan! read more

We arrived 10 minutes early for our reservation. One person checked in with us and we never spoke to anyone else. The place was packed and more and more people kept piling into the small/cramped entrance with absolutely no organization as to who had a reservation and what order people arrived in. After waiting 45 minutes in pure chaos we left, walked down the street and had a lovely dinner at another local establishment. read more

My nephew's favorite Japanese restaurant in the area when he was attending Eaglebrook School, so we decided to give it a try. Yes, it's pretty good. There was no wait on the Saturday night that we went and the restaurant was nearly full. We were greeted with a smile when we entered and the service was quick and friendly. My water glass was filled about 5 times. We shared the sushi combination dinner ($18.95) and a Osaka roll ($12.95) and my friend had a spicy tuna hand roll. All the sushi was fresh and tasty. The fish cuts are Japanese style (petite) as opposed to the American style (large). It's interesting that the sushi chefs do not put any wasabi in the sushi. They let you put it on top of the sushi for yourself. This is the first time I've seen this practice. The only thing I didn't like too much was the Miso soup. I thought it was too salty. The restaurant is on a side street in the Northampton area and after walking up a flight of stairs, you come to the entrance. It's nicely decorated and has a sushi bar, dining area, hibachi area, and an outside dining area. We chose to sit in the inside dining room. I'll definitely return to Osaka! Please see my pictures. Xie Xie!! read more

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Well, at this particular establishment they serve the sushi warm and the saki cold. It's counterintuitive to say the least. This status quo is also offered at market price. The ultimate scavenger hunt for western Ma is to put the best saki, server, and iced down product in the same room. East long meadow was close at Lee Brother's all except for the byo saki. Who has it? East Hampton? Byo, but good. read more

My fave sushi place in western mass. I love the hibachi fried (shrimp) rice! I also love the half/ half roll. Includes mango and jalapeño! I can't wait to have it again this weekend. I just hope they are open! read more

This place is overpriced and food is mediocre. For $14 a roll, I expected way better quality. The sushi rice was not fresh. It was stuck together like it was old. The good thing is that there open til 11pm which is why I came here. I'd explore other options if more places were open. read more

Osaka - Monster Roll $14 Philly Roll - Japanese Near Me - Northampton, Massachusetts

Came in with a large group after graduation for hibachi. I went with a couple of rolls which, due to the consistently poor timing at places like this, came out before everyone got their food. To make it worse I wasn't even finished with my first one when the waitress tried to shoehorn the second one onto the table. I sampled the wife's hibachi shrimp and our friends chicken and found them both to be overcooked and far to salty. There are better places in town to dine. read more

You don't need a novel to learn about Osaka. Let's keep it short and sweet like their wait times. Amazing food. A family, friend, and kid friendly favorite. The service is next level, your water glass will never be empty. The sushi options are endless and executed perfectly. I have eaten at Osaka over 30+ times and I have not one bad word to share... and that's saying something cause I love to complain. I have birthdays here, anniversaries here, friend get-togethers here, family visits here... if I could eat Osaka once a week, every week I would. Go and enjoy! read more

What I'm looking for in a sushi restaurant: really good, really fresh fish; sushi chefs who have good technique (i.e., pieces of nigiri sushi should fit into your mouth without you having to unhinge your jaw - sushi rice prepared properly and served warm - if I'm sitting at the sushi bar, which I am, the seaweed should still be crispy when I am handed my sushi); good service (i.e., take my order, refill my water, take my next sushi order, we don't need to become best friends); clean place; nice atmosphere where I can hang out and read for a few hours. I'm going to spend $100 per visit, so I feel like it's fine if I also happen to spend a few hours at your place. I only wound up at Osaka because my preferred sushi place in Northampton was closed and I looked on Yelp and took a chance. Oh well. My bad. The service was VERY good. My waiter was nice, friendly, attentive, etc. I ordered two DELICIOUS appetizers: The Oshitashi Spinach (steamed with a really, really good peanut sauce); and the Sui Mono soup (clear broth with shiitake mushrooms - VERY tasty). Sushi Disclaimer: I do not order cooked sushi or fried sushi or sushi with sauces or "tempura flake;" I do not ever order those giant rolls or "special" rolls. I order very simple sushi. Sushi I ate at Osaka: 2 pieces each of Tobiko, Uni, Ikura, Sake, Toro, Spicy Scallop (that was my mistake - I didn't read the description that it included tempura flake); Sushi rolls - Sake, Peanut/Avocado, Shitake Mushroom, Osaka Vegetable Roll (similar to Futo Maki). Sushi was pretty good. Pretty fresh. Not good or really good. Not really fresh. Uni in particular was LESS than fresh, but not like deadly. Sushi technique was also good. Nigiri pieces and cut roll pieces were well sized to fit in one bite. Seaweed was nice and fresh, crunchy when it was served. Now for the bad: I was there later in the afternoon and the host/front guy sat down at the end of the sushi bar for his lunch (we were the only two people at the sushi bar) and DEAR GOD IN HEAVEN this man was chewing/smacking his lips louder than any human I have ever heard. I live on a farm. I own two 600lb pigs, the way this guy was CHEWING at the sushi bar sounded just like my two pigs. I kid you not. He broke up the lip smacking and jawing with SLURPING like he was going for the Olympic Gold and, AND was OF COURSE talking throughout that entire performance. I mean talking WHILST slurping and chewing and smacking. It was nearly unbearable. It was so bad I wanted to leave. It was INSANELY inappropriate, unprofessional and just plain rude and disgusting. He topped off this performance with sitting at the sushi bar staring into space as if he were contemplating his own demise (which was pretty weird/NOT welcoming in a, you now, restaurant atmosphere) and then had this amazing, violent, loud sneezing attack. Like repeated, explosive sneezing. Just...WHAT?? Meanwhile, in the midst of this fantastic performance someone in the dining room adjacent was coughing and then sounded like they were hawking up a loogie (sp??). I mean so loud I could clearly hear it at the sushi bar. Now obviously I do not know if this was a fellow patron or an employee. But either way, WHAT KIND OF PLACE HAS PEOPLE DOING THAT??? And then I went into the bathroom. Which should be condemned. No. Really. I think it might have been relocated directly from a woman's prison somewhere....without even getting a fresh coat of paint. AVOID this place. If you are in Northampton and you want sushi go to Moshi Moshi. read more

So I don't know what restaurant all these delicious looking photos y'all are posting came from, but they are NOT from the Osaka I experienced yesterday. I started off my Osaka experience by using their bathroom before ordering and honestly I was scared just to eat here after seeing that. Dirty. Dingy. Dusty, good lord, I didnt know a bathroom could be that dusty. And all of this lit by the gentle ambiance of a dim light attempting to penetrate 1,000 visible dead bug carcasses through the light fixture. I set this mentally aside and tried not to think about what the kitchen must have looked like, I have enjoyed many a good meal in establishments with...questionable bathrooms. I walked into the hibachi area to sit and couldn't help but notice the staff, everywhere, sitting all around at tables eating and resting stretched out with their eyes closed, like 9 of them all spread out around the room....not bad, just, weird? Two of them were hanging out sitting on milk crates on the ground literally right behind us the whole meal and it made me feel very awkward. And the meal....ahh the meal. First, a scorpion bowl that somehow managed to notably taste like freezer burn? We saw that this place happens to not do a small soup and salad with the hibachi meal like oh, I don't know, just every. other. hibachi. meal. I've. ever. had? So we order two soups and two salads for another $5ish each. Also no noodles with the hibachi so another $4.50 each for that. The salad was okay, but the soup was the closest to nuclear hot I have ever been served and was so salty I could only eat about half. We ordered our hibachi meals, one filet mignon and shrimp, one lobster and shrimp (which they did not have; only lobster, shrimp, and scallop, and when I asked for no scallop because of an allergy it was like asking for nothing she had ever heard of before). I'm actually laughing while writing this review just thinking about the look of utter bewilderment on our servers face when I tried to ask for no scallops. Ahh, such fun. The meal was decent, the hibachi chef was good and saved me from probable food poisoning when he saw that the lobster was visibly rotten, and sent it back and had the waitress bring him another to cook. Thanks for that, man. Good lookin out. If the kitchen has no concept of quality control at least the hibachi chefs do. The shrimp and lobster were still tough and certainly did not taste fresh. The mid-meal entertainment was when a male employee walked past us into the kitchen (we were seated directly next to it in an otherwise empty hibachi room for some reason) and this man cleared phlegm from his through so horribly I swear to you I turned around to check and see if he had vomited because that's what it sounded like. What an insanely disappointing meal to have to climb that freaking mountain of stairs to get to. You're gonna make me climb Everest and pay $100 for THAT?! Never again, I tell you. Nevaaaaaaahhhh! read more

So disappointed. We came here for my triplets' 18th birthday last night and were ready for the typical hibachi experience - interactive and fun. I let the restaurant know that this was a birthday when I made the reservation, as well, and we had a party of 5 which made up most of the table; another party of 3 sat with us. Our hibachi chef came up to the table, cooked our food in silence, never handed out the sauces (if you've had hibachi, you know the sauces are crucial), and left. Just before packing up he tried to finally interact and do the sake bottle squirt but at that point we were just sitting there wondering what the heck just happened. We had to ask a server for the sauce bowls and only then did the chef finally (after everything was cooked and it was over) come fill them. The other party with us was also shocked and disappointed - they had brought a family member for her first hibachi experience and couldn't believe how bad this was. It was especially highlighted by the fact that every other table around us was enjoying the expected hibachi experience - while we ate in awkward silence as he just cooked. Another table also had a birthday and got the full birthday treatment while my kids watched. So strange. The drinks were also watered down and not good. Food was decent, not great, but worsened by the fact that we could have ordered takeout and had a better experience. I am usually an excessive tipper - 25% or more as I worked in the service industry for many years. This was such a bad experience that we did not leave a tip - and I never, ever do that. Just all around bad, and we won't be back. If a family of five is spending several hundred dollars to do hibachi, you need to make sure you're providing the experience that is part of hibachi. It's not just about food on plates! read more

I've been here probably a dozen times over the years, mostly enjoying their Hibachi. The atmosphere in this place is always fun and enjoyable with the hibachi chefs providing a funny and entertaining atmosphere. The hibachi meals are fantastic, giving you a soup salad, and large plate of hibachi rice and veggies with whatever proteins you prefer. I thoroughly enjoy the steak and chicken combo, and also the scallops. Everything is always cooked perfectly and is always delicious! The service is always great here, with your plates being cleared quickly and your water being refilled promptly. The staff is always very friendly and accommodating. The hibachi chef enjoy squirting some sake into the patrons mouths too which can be hilarious to witness. Parking is a breeze as well due to the parking garage being right across the street, and it's usually free the first hour. Highly recommend coming here for the experience and good food, you won't leave disappointed! The prices are in my opinion pretty in line with the quality of food and amount you receive so I have no issues there. read more

It is time to update my review, I will change nothing! Zen went belly up and Moshi Moshi It's ok. we found an amazing Sushi place that blows every other Sushi place out of the water! Kisara Sushi in Eatshampton, just a short drive from Noho!!! read more

We did Hibachi. Wait staff seemed annoyed. The cook did a few of the required steps to entertain us. The food was barely edible. Shrimp, lobster (Florida lobster), meats and noodles all extremely over salted. Two adults and three kids: $166 bf tip. The atmosphere:piles of take out boxes and bags; industrial take out atmosphere. Avoid this place for hibachi or eat in. read more

Great place for Japanese food. Really live their alarm Carte menu: any sushi, yaki udon to name a few. Hibachi experience was average but still good enough. Good ambience :) read more

Osaka - Kobe beef! Love this dish here apart from Yaki Udon and all choices of sushi in this place ! - Japanese Near Me - Northampton, Massachusetts

Servers don't speak too great English but the food is good. Hibachi is fun (and loud) but gets old after a few times. You can order any Hibachi meal for lunch or dinner and you don't have to be sitting at a grill. My favorites The Mochi Salmon hibachi Spicy noodles All sushi rolls read more

Osaka - Japanese Near Me - Northampton, Massachusetts

Rough start. Waitress kind of rude, very impatient...sorry to inconvenience you. Food and chef were very good.

My favorite roll in the entire valley is here: Golden Roll. It's spicy tuna, tempura crunch, and avocado, topped with peach slices. I will go well out of my way for this roll. Miles. Out of all the places I can eat sushi in town, I come back to Osaka again and again, year after year. One of the fun things I've had the pleasure of doing at Osaka is to sit out on the porch overlooking Old South Street and cook my own chicken and fish on a hot stone at my table. Delicious, fun, and more than a little romantic. My favorite non-sushi dish at Osaka is the avocado chicken: slices of chicken wrapped around avocado slices. Not a typo! How do they do that? Their lunch specials are sizable, their saki is cold (and there's a variety of choices), and their desserts are enticing enough to occasionally skip a customary post-sushi Herrell's run for. (Look, Osaka's desserts are good, but Herrell's is right across the street and I'm only human.) Their hibachi is good, and includes salmon, which you don't see every day. The chefs bring their high energy to the hibachi grill, so if you don't care for that, it's best to order your hibachi food from a regular table! Their hibachi dipping sauces are very, very good. Osaka is surprising because there's a whole other hibachi room in the back that I never knew existed for years. There are little tatami rooms for beef hot pot, and I always forget that! Service is honestly hit or miss. There are some visits where everything goes off without a hitch, and some visits where the plates are dirty and there are big lapses of waiting for water or food. It seems to go in cycles, though, and it *IS* a positive experience at *least* 75% of the time. This is my go-to (since Tofu closed) for a more special occasion like a birthday or gallery opening. It's sometimes hard to go here with a group, because they'll seat us awkwardly in a hard-to-access corner. However, this isn't every time, by any stretch of the imagination. The food is always excellent. It's just the service or cleanliness of plates that I've had a (very) few issues with. But keep in mind that I've eaten here so many, many, many times that it's still only enough to bring down the star average by one. read more

I eat at a lot of sushi places, but Osaka is a cut above. Their basic rolls are fresh, delicious, not heavy on the rice, and generally well-done, but their "fusion" rolls are uniquely amazing. We had their "half-and-half" roll (half mango, half avocado on top) and were blown away. But the "foxy lady" roll had us eating in silence, and honestly speechless for a few minutes after. We live nowhere near Northampton, but have to make the drive from Philly to Keene, NH about once a year, and one lunch at Osaka has convinced us that all future trips must be routed through Northampton. Even if it weren't on our way, we'd be willing to take at least a two-hour detour to get there. It's that good. read more

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At Osaka, you're paying for the ambiance and the fact that it's Northampton... Decent but overpriced sushi, a fair variety of cooked dishes and some fun hibachi chefs... Their lunch boxes are probably their best deal in my experience... the 'sushi boat for two' feeds four sane people... Eat on their deck during the day... fun people watching of Herrell's and the NBC patio... lovely view and breeze... read more

Osaka - Japanese Near Me - Northampton, Massachusetts

Great lunch prices. They have a very nice outdoor patio area too. Service was great and the food was really good. We enjoyed our meal.

Last night we went to Osaka to celebrate my wife's birthday and after our meal here we were a bit dissapointed with the decline in our experience. Below were the frustrating results of our evening. 1. We made reservations for 8pm and didn't get seated until after 8:30pm. 2. Our waitress was rude and short from the beginning of our night. In the end she rushed us out very quickly. 3. We ordered sushi and when it came our chef had begun cooking. The sushi was sloppy and it fell apart. 4. Our hibachi chef was definitely not happy to be there and provided a lackluster show. He actually forgot to throw the food in our mouth and did it at the end of the meal. He didn't even cook the zucchini but flung it at us cold and raw. In the end, we have enjoyed the majority of our experiences here but the last two have been rough. I still give it three stars because it is the best hibachi restaurant in the area, but they need to get back to the basics. read more

It is my favorite place to eat of all time! I love it! I eat it ever year for my birthday dinner!

I'm really giving Osaka 3 and a half stars for their hibachi. A couple of pluses and minuses: - waiting an incredibly long time for the hibachi chef to show up (maybe 45 minutes?) - the incredible loudness + the chef was entertaining and sort of saw that we weren't the most playful crowd so didn't try to force us too much + there was seriously a ton of food. Mushroom soup and salad then fried rice, mixed veggies, and our entree. Plus two shrimp. And it was all pretty great. -/+ pricey but I think it was pretty average for hibachi The food is great but the atmosphere is a bit too loud (although, it WAS a Friday night) and it didn't blow me away or surprise me. read more