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Osawa Japanese Bistro

4.1 (174 reviews)
Open • 10:30 am - 10:15 pm

Order Osawa Japanese Bistro Takeout or Delivery

Osawa Japanese Bistro Photos

OSAWA JAPANESE BISTRO ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Loud
Good for kids
Dogs allowed

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Recommended Reviews - Osawa Japanese Bistro

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Sushi
Maddy F.

Our favorite place for take out! We definitely have our order down of our favorites-- from sushi, to honey chicken, and our favorite appetizers. Don't skip on the gyoza or spring rolls! They're so good. Service is always kind and quick. Food was delicious!

Helen Z.

We stopped by and were surprised by the quality of the food and serving sizes here. They have an extensive Asian fusion menu, and the sushi here was actually good quality! I got the color dragon and a salmon avocado roll and everything was fresh, rice was neatly packed. My husband enjoyed the sweet and sour soup (I have never liked this at any restaurant lol) and the kung pao chicken was really good. It was different from the usual and more of a fried dry texture on the outside, but juicy on the inside and very nicely seasoned. We have since ordered a couple of times and the chicken with broccoli is also very good. This has definitely quickly become a new favorite of ours.

My grandkid's dessert!  Mmm!
JL S.

My family (with young kids) favorite. Great food, service and atmosphere. Always good!

the menu for the restaurant
Samuel A.

Excellent reasonable price sushi on Main Street of Ayer. Great presentation of boat sushi platter. Recommend: - shrimp tempura roll $9.50 - eel avocado roll $7.50 - Spider roll $10 has nicely crispy soft shell crab - Osaka roll $15 Good: - Dragon roll $15 has nice avocado outside, could be bigger - salmon roll $6.50 is small, but comes with nice fresh fish - Sashi 14 pieces regular $24 comes fresh and nicely served on ice Pineapple rice looks gloriously served in a pineapple - next on the list to try!

Massaman Curry
Maria G.

Osawa is one my favorite restaurants by far! I love their Fried Rice- we get it with beef, which is excellent! The friend rice is so tender, and full of beef, and vegetables. The Massaman curry is beyond delicious!! I love that it is unique, it doesn't only have chicken in it, but it has slices of potatoes, avocados and cashews in it, with just enough spice. So good! Also...Service is above and beyond. I ordered online, and immediately received a call letting me know that they couldn't do what I asked for (zero spice, haha), which I appreciated!

Tuna Poke (mixed with sauce)
Jessica T.

If I were rating the sushi alone, it would get 5 stars. The sushi is one of the best i've had, and i've been to a lot of sushi places. The raw tuna in the poke bowl melts in your mouth. The quality is excellent. When it came to their crab rangoons, pork belly, general gaos, etc. it was... good. As good as any decent chinese place. Would I drive an hour for their raw fish? Yes. Would I drive an hour for their other dishes? No.

Tuna, mackerel, octopus, salmon roe; as well as a spicy tuna roll and a golden island roll.
Paul M.

Once again an outstanding meal at the sushi bar. I love the salad appetizer that they present to you before the sashimi and rolls arrive.

The birthday girl

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11 months ago

This was some of the worst sushi I've had. It was late on a week night and maybe that's the reason the food wasn't good. I won't be back.

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Siam Pepper - Thai Spicy Noodles w/ Beef

Siam Pepper

4.2(141 reviews)
1.3 mi
•$$

For about 5 years I have worked nearby this restaurant and for 5 years I have eaten here…read more.. countless times. Located in a small office park(?) right off of Ayer Rd, Harvard, this place can be a little tricky to park if you're coming here during lunch time. While there are a lot of parking spots around, they get occupied pretty quickly. Inside, the decoration is very cozy with nice little touches here and there that gives the place a glimpse of their homeland. There is a good amount of seating around and they have a couple of long tables that can accommodate a group of 6-8, but the place can very quickly fill up due to leaving the dining area centrally spacious. All of the workers here are very friendly and they always ask me how I'm doing since I've been a regular for such a long time. I've never once had an unpleasant interaction with anyone here. But enough of that. The food is why you're reading this review and I can assure you that everything this place serves absolutely slaps. I have eaten most of the menu and I enjoy nearly everything. However for this review I will talk about my 2 most frequently ordered items Chicken Satay ; 4pcs, served with peanut sauce and sometimes a sweet and sour sauce with pickled veggies. the chicken is very tender and juicy. it tastes like its been marinated or cooked in a curry sauce and it tastes great. 10/10 appetizer Thai Spicy Noodles ; I have eaten this dish dozens of times and it has never been disappointing. It's no exaggeration that this is my favorite noodle dish in the world, and I honestly cannot describe the flavor at all. It's just SO rich and savory and utterly full of flavor. My only small complaint is that I think they go too overboard with the onions. I genuinely feel like I'm eating a whole onion every time I get this. But, slightly bad breath is totally worth it. I'll try to remember to take more pictures the next time I visit. This place is a must-try for anyone in the area.

Showed up on a Sunday, opened at 4pm. All but one thing was great -- fix the clear exception below…read moreand definitely 5 stars. Ordered tofu Soft Rolls and Beef Green Curry for dine in and a Thai tea to-go. Soft rolls were pretty standard -- 4/5 Thai tea was good -- 4.5/5 Beef green curry was spectacular EXCEPT the Thai egg plant tasted like it was previously frozen and that no good -- 4/5 Bill was close to $36. Restaurant was definitely a small space, "hole in the wall" category, definitely worth a visit for well made foods. Service was great for only having two people working.

Photos
Siam Pepper
Siam Pepper - Chicken Satay

Chicken Satay

Siam Pepper - Appetizer

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Appetizer

Peking Garden - detail shot of the Coconut Shrimp - the batter nearest to the shrimp wasn't cooked all the way and made the dish super unpleasant

Peking Garden

3.8(55 reviews)
7.9 mi
•$

Best Chinese food I've ever had. Crab Rangoons are…read morePerfection. Chicken Teriyaki extremely tender and flavorful.

The other day I tried a longstanding Chinese food staple in Leominster. I did not enjoy it at all…read more I decided to try this place but I'm keeping my expectations extremely low to avoid being upset. This place is located smack dab in the very busy intersection of Main Street and Prospect street which is right next to Main Street + Nashua Street + Hamilton Street intersection. It gets really busy and I don't enjoy driving here. If you make it to the lot, it's large and spacious and you should have zero problems finding a spot. The interior is minimal, similar to other Chinese food joints that are mostly meant for takeout. If you do opt to eat in, there are 3 sets of booth tables available along with several seats set to the side if you really want to push the capacity and have someone sit at the open face of the table. I made a large order here and had my fingers crossed that at least half of it would taste ok. Pu Pu Platter(2) ; this is a lot of food. But it's also $31. Worth it? Egg rolls, chicken fingers, chicken wings, beef teriyaki skewers, fried shrimp, and boneless spareribs. I found all of the food unremarkable. I don't mean that as a dig or a complaint - it literally tastes so similar to many places, especially like China Wonder in Fitchburg. Peking Garden definitely has the win on Crab Rangoons, but China Wonder wins on Beef Teriyaki. Some people told me the boneless spare ribs were amazing, but I didn't have that reaction. Overall, an adequate choice. Coconut Shrimp ; I am a fiend for coconut shrimp and it's funny that every place does it very differently. This one has coconut shavings on top and a very thin sauce almost like they just poured in coconut milk and called it a day. The taste is.. tolerable, but man the batter on the shrimp was NOT it. Thickly coated and the inner batter contacting the shrimp was not cooked all the way. Unpleasant texture from the batter and bizarre taste from the sauce; I scraped off all of the batter after a few pieces and just forced myself to finish the dish. Not recommended. Crispy Orange Chicken ; this was the only standout of my order. the batter on the chicken actually managed to be a little crispy which is rare for this dish genre. the taste was on point - sauce was not nauseatingly sweet or overpowering, and nothing was annoyingly soggy. this dish is definitely worth trying if you're craving for a typical General Gao's/Tso/orange chicken dish. Man, I am 0 for 3 with Leominster Chinese food. I think I will keep my money in Fitchburg since China Wonder and Gold Bowl have never done me dirty like this.

Photos
Peking Garden - Interior

Interior

Peking Garden - Crispy Orange Chicken - a nice batter to meat ratio

Crispy Orange Chicken - a nice batter to meat ratio

Peking Garden - Exterior

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Exterior

Magnolia - "Sizzling" Seafood

Magnolia

4.0(61 reviews)
11.1 mi
•$$

We've been looking for a Scorpion bowl / scallion pancake house since China Rainbow in Watertown…read moreSquare closed, and I think the search is over. I may miss Tammy and the Mai Tais that could peel paint, but Magnolias delivers across the board. Scallion pancakes were perfectly crispy, and the dipping soy was rich with garlic and ginger. I ordered the Yu Xiang shrimp and asked them to make it spicy... it was perfect, with crisp vegetables in a flavorful sauce and a generous potion of shrimp, no shell. My girlfriend got the pineapple fried rice and while it didn't come in a pineapple, it was a solid meal... and nobody eats the pineapple bowl anyway. But what about the scorpion bowl? It came to the table cold, and while it wasn't as wide a bowl as a lot of places, it was deep, and it did not play. Let's just say you get your moneys worth... not just the rocket fuel, but fresh juices expertly blended with not too much ice. We still had ice in the bottom when we finished, but the shape of the bowl kept the smaller portion of ice colder longer so the ice didn't melt and water it down. Service was prompt and friendly, decor was tasteful and understated, settings were neat and clean. Bartender was hip and friendly. Spectacular. 10/10. We'll be back.

Service was ok as they kept hurrying up although it wasn't crowded on a rainy night…read more The drink was too strong for my liking. Spicy edamame, Scallion pancakes and Singapore noodles were great but mapo tofu was too thick with undercooked peas which isn't the usual.

Photos
Magnolia - Inside

Inside

Magnolia
Magnolia - String Beans

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String Beans

Spicepepper Garden - Caterpillar toll

Spicepepper Garden

3.5(168 reviews)
10.9 mi
•$$

Two of us stopped in for a late lunch/early dinner around 4:30. An odd hour, so it was no surprise…read morethat the place was empty. We had the appetizer assortment, shrimp pad thai and ma-la lamb. The appetizers were pretty routine: 2 each of shumai, peking dumplings, crab rangoon and one beef satay. The tempura shrimp mentioned on the menu was not served, but everything was tasty if not memorable. I expected more for our $15. My girl ordered the pad thai. It was okay, but needed more tamarind and was missing peanuts. Our server happily provided a bowl of peanuts. For authentic pad thai, I'll go to a Thai restaurant. A word about the people: our server was friendly and responsive, and we were greeted cheerfully. Our order took a reasonable amount of time to arrive. It wouldn't be fair to review the ambiance of an empty restaurant, so I'll just say the place was clean and the booth comfortable. I ordered the ma-la lamb specifically to get a plate of very spicy Sichuan style meat and it came dripping with hot oil and covered in chopped hot chilis. It was amazingly good. Not only was it at my limit for heat, I could taste all the flavor of the lamb as well as the other spices as my sinuses liquefied and my tear ducts leaked. I loved this dish. It was just as good reheated the next day. I think our experience here only scratched the surface of the menu. I'll definitely return for more spicy Sichuan food but will probably pass non-Sichuan appetizers and dishes.

This place has great service. The owners/staff are very friendly. It is a busy place given that…read morethere are not too many Asian restaurants in the area. Food is good, but I would not say exceptional. It's a good place to get Chinese and Japanese food. They cater to a wide range of people. They have lightly-seasoned dishes if you're not very adventurous with dishes that have a lot of spices. They also offer spicy food, but they could be spicier, in my opinion. They have more special dishes, but we didn't get to try it since there were only two of us and we didn't have that big of an appetite.

Photos
Spicepepper Garden
Spicepepper Garden - Beef bbq

Beef bbq

Spicepepper Garden - Fish filet in hot pot.  Amazing.

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Fish filet in hot pot. Amazing.

Osawa Japanese Bistro - sushi - Updated October 2026

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