I'm not sure why I thought I'd be excelling at all you can eat sushi. I for sure lost money…read moretonight. Whale. At least it was pretty solid. We got shrimp skewers, grilled steak, and spicy salmon salad as apps. All 3 were solid and I really liked the sauce they used for the steak and shrimp. The salmon salad was okay, I wouldn't get again. The mayo or whatever the cream based thing was got sickening towards the end. For fish, we got literally almost everything on the sashimi menu. We wanted to try it all lol. The chunks were actually huge and also I think they gave us more salmon than we asked for. I really liked all the fish but my favs were the white tuna, tuna, and the mackerel surprisingly. For the nigiri, the squid was pretty good and tasted fresh. The eel had a weird watery aftertaste so wasn't my fav. The two roes were good but I prefer the flying fish over the salmon. The green tea Icecream was really good but the vanilla was like mid. We went around 6 pm on a Sunday and there was no line. Also it took them about 10 minutes to bring out everything since submitting our papers to order which was surprisingly fast! Ambiance was great, it felt like an authentic restaurant. Also lots of servers. Overall pretty solid place!

Nijiya is very hit or miss! Some days it's amazing and the fish is great, and some days we walk out…read morewith severe tummy aches and hours of pain. We've decided to stop going because raw fish can be iffy to play with, but when it's good, it's so good! The floors are a bit sticky but the service is great and they bring out everything very quickly.

Why this restaurant? Because it's the only Japanese restaurant near Harvard Yard (not really that…read moreclose) that's open before noon... so the decent food was a pleasant surprise. The Raw Fish Mix (Soy Pepper) : Madai真鯛 (sea bream), Buri鰤 (yellow tail fish), and avocado on the inside, and salmonサーモン, maguro鮪 (tuna), tobikoとびっこ (flying fish roe), eel sauce, and spicy mayonnaise on the outside. If the thickness isn't enough, the variety makes up for it; eating four kinds of fish in one bite was quite satisfying. You can clearly feel the different sashimi刺身 pieces rubbing together in your mouth, and the rich, oily flavors bursting forth. The spicy mayonnaise wasn't actually spicy; more importantly, it was more sour than regular mayonnaise, not cloyingly sweet, and it actually cut through the greasiness when paired with the avocado. The tobiko and eel sauce were less noticeable. It's worth mentioning that the restaurant even provided hand-ground wasabi山葵 with their sushi takeout! So thoughtful!

Very standard, mid tier ramen. It's advertised as low sodium, which probably explains why it wasn't…read morereally to my tastes--corn flavor was also too strong imo. Can't speak to the sushi but I thought the ramen was just okay.

Food (1.5/2): Unfortunately, since this was quite a while…read moreago, I had forgotten what I've ordered. One that I remember is the Wafu Steak. What I can remember is that all the food had great visual appeal. Additionally, the flavors from the main ingredient, sauce, and condiments were artfully balanced. I felt that none of the ingredients in the dishes I ordered were decorative. My only minor disappointment is the small portion (though I get that US portions are typically giant...). Service/wait-time/cleanliness (1.5/2): Great service even if there was only 1-2 waiters. Wait-time is decent. Cleanliness is impeccable. One minor negative is the positioning of some of the table that sees the fan above them--the fan sits just below the light bulb and creates a "strobe-light" effect at night. This was incredibly disturbing for me and I had to face diagonally downwards most of the time to avoid the flickering at the top-corner of my eyes. Price (0.5/1): As much as I love what they've created, I just feel the price for the portion we receive is on the expensive side. Rounded to 4 because I love the place.

This reallt is a must try spot if you are craving good sushi. It is on the smaller side and has…read moreindoor seating with limited counter seating. There generally is a wait but I wouldn't let that deter you as it is worth the wait. The sushi is always freshly prepared, they have some unique side dishes and sushi/maki offerings too. Ordered pick up on a Saturday. I called 10 mins after they opened and they informed me it was an hours wait. I was a bit surprised by wait time but food was ready exactly when they said it woul be. When I got there place was packed with a few groups waiting for tables. Ordered the crunchy maki, tempura maki and softshell crab maki - everything was delicious as expected. Highly recommend!

For a low-key Saturday night at my daughter's apt, we decided to pick up a few sushi rolls and…read moreenjoy dinner at home. The rolls are on the smaller side but they were packed tightly and held together well. The fish has a clean flavor and the avocado was just as fresh. Located in the Alewife Brook Parkway Shopping Center, Genki Ya is clean and well maintained. One thing we really appreciated even for our quick stop was that the restaurant didn't have any lingering food smells. Overall, it's a nice choice in this Cambridge area for fresh sushi to go.

This is their Lunch Sushi special. It is served with salmon and tuna sushi rolls, a variety of…read morenigiri, miso soup and salad with ginger dressing. Great portion and a great lunch value. Great service and it was well packaged for take out.

A hidden gem. Great quality of sushi. A birthday boy or girl can even create (and save for…read morereorder) a personal sushi roll concoction. Sake selection is great, as well.

The love boat ($69) for 2 was EXCELLENT. We both left dinner completely stuffed to the brim, and I…read morewas thrilled with both the value and the quality of the meal. It comes with 2 bowls of miso soup, which were perfect on a cold winter night. The boat also includes a martini glass with seaweed salad, providing a refreshing, upscale palate cleanser when you need a moment's break from the fish. I was very impressed with the thick cuts for the sashimi, and the toppings on the nigiri also gave a tiny twist to the meal - while yuzu and jalapaeño are common pairings with raw fish, for example, the strawberry-on-salmon was a novel combo for me! The rolls also add appeal for any eating partners who enjoy their fish in another form. There isn't a lot of natural light/windows in the main seating area, so the lighting is dim and gives off an intimate ambiance that's perfect for a date night - no complaints about the service!

Amazing sushi, and I've had a lot of sushi. Top quality fish from Japan and I absolutely loved itread more

The service is great and the food is amazing. I have been here a few times and here are a few…read morethings I recommend: 1. Make a reservation. 2. If possible, pick the 18 pieces course. It's generally $30 more and the extra bits are worth it and you don't want to be the person that doesn't get the special bites when the people around you do. 3. If you don't know your sake and want to try, I recommend the sake pairing. It's a great restaurant. Please enjoy.

Kokoro Don Cafe is a Japanese restaurant located in Somerville, MA. It offers both dine in and…read moretakeout services. It is known for its sandos and fruit shokupan. There are also donburi and sushi options as well. There is limited street parking, mostly residential. I recommend ordering online for pickup and head out to a picnic area instead of dining in. The restaurant has stool seating by the window only. The staff greets you immediately upon entering and is super friendly. I ordered a variety of sandos to try. My favorite was the Kokoro Sando, which has an omelet layered with ham, bacon and cheese. My next favorite was the Premium Katsu Sando(Pork) sandwich. Although I added some Japanese mayo to bring everything together. My next favorite would be the framing egg shokupan. I also ordered the chicken katsu sandos and karaage waffle. Those are chicken options. The fruit shokupan is a must try. I came to try that and ended up with six sandwiches. For sushi, I ordered the sushi balls, Kokoro Tamari Treats which came with three pieces sushi ball with a refreshing sweet japanese mayo dressing. I also ordered the Kokoro Bento Sushi Box which had three slices of sashimi, four piece nigiri, and a salmon maki roll and came with seaweed salad and dashi soup. The quality is excellent and this makes for a great lunch set. I recommend the Iced Uji Matcha Latte for drinks if you love matcha lattes. I highly recommend this cafe. I see myself coming back to try the other menu items as I did not get to try the ramen, donburi, and onigiri. So glad to have them so close by. The online ordering is so convenient and you're notified when your order is ready in case you have to sit in the car and wait if there is no street parking. See my pictures!

Kokoro Don Cafe is a small Japanese cafe near Union Square in Somerville that feels like a genuine…read morelabor of love from the moment you walk in. We settled into the bar seating, which gives the space an intimate, counter style atmosphere, and a hand painted mural on the wall added a personal touch that sets it apart from spots that rely on imported aesthetics. The staff was warm and engaged in a way that made the whole experience feel more like a neighborhood place than a new opening still finding its footing. The kaisen don is the dish that earns the most attention and rightfully so. We ordered it and found the fish fresh, the portions generous, and the rice cooked well enough that it held its own rather than just serving as a base. Presentation across the menu is careful and deliberate, and the kaisen don in particular reflected that. The katsu sando is another strong order, with the pork katsu hitting the right balance of crispy exterior and tender meat tucked into soft bread in a way that makes it a satisfying and complete bite. We finished with the fruit sando, light and refreshing with fresh fruit and cream that did not overstay its welcome. The matcha latte is fine but leans on the milkier side, which softens the matcha flavor more than it should. It is not a bad drink, but if you are someone who wants that grassy, slightly bitter edge to come through, it falls a little short of that mark. Pricing runs on the higher end for the format, which was our main hesitation. The quality is there to justify most of it, particularly on the don and sando side of the menu, but it is worth going in with calibrated expectations on cost. For a newer spot still building its name, Kokoro is doing a lot right. We would come back for the kaisen don and the warmth of the room, and we would skip the matcha latte in favor of something else.

Went for dinner with a friend- we were seated right away. Food was amazing- we both had sushi which…read morewas very fresh and delicious! The service was perfect- the server was very attentive without being over bearing. The ambiance was perfect for an evening catching up with a friend. Highly recommend!!

Now known as Areca Asian Bar!! I met a friend for dinner and everything was fantastic. Service was…read morea little on the slow paced side but we appreciated that they weren't trying to rush us out of the restaurant like a lot of places do these days. We ordered the veggie tempura, a fried rice with tofu, a sushi roll (can't remember which one), and the chicken breast skewer. The chicken breast skewer was a little over done but I guess that's better than underdone! Oh and the side salad was yummy-the greens were fresh and the dressing was sweet and tangy. The veggie tempura and the fried rice were my favorite, both things were very tasty and had just the right amount of oil. I will definitely be ordering both another time. They even brought out a chocolate mousse for my bday which was a very nice touch. Ambience was relaxed and not too crowded. Definitely come and check it out for yourself!