Hachiroku Shokudo & Sake Bar is a real find. Good Japanese food is hard enough to track down, and…read morefinding it in New Haven feels like a huge victory. Prices run a bit high, but the quality of the ingredients more than make up for it. The Jako Salad (4.5/5) is a favorite of mine. It perfectly mixes peppery arugula and crisp radish with a poached egg, fried baby anchovy, bonito flakes, and nori. The baby anchovy gives a sweet/salty crunch that tastes like my childhood. Every bite swings between fresh and umami in a really creative way. The harasu don (5/5) is pure richness in a rice bowl. Grilled salmon belly and salmon roe together are incredibly rich, almost to the edge of too much, but the warm rice underneath keeps it grounded and turns it into a perfect comfort dish. The giant octopus sashimi (4/5) is a great counterbalance, cleanly sliced with a firm, fresh bite that lightens things up. The fresh tofu with uni (5/5) might be my favorite plate. The tofu is ultra delicate, and the rich uni on top adds a briny depth. With the simple seasonings on the side, it's a savory panna cotta. If they ever did a dessert version with ginger syrup, I would be here daily. Sashimi here is excellent (5/5). You get a balanced mix of fatty cuts like otoro and leaner ones like akami, along with hamachi, katsuo, and octopus. The variety lets you move between clean and rich bites at your own pace. A side note. Every so often a piece of yamamomo shows up on the plate (small red berries), a little mountain peach that is sweet enough to outshine most desserts. It may just be a palette cleanser, but it is a personal 10/5 for me. So good! Both indoor and outdoor seating feel comfortable, and service was on point: kind, attentive, and well timed. Overall, this is a standout Japanese option that I would highly recommend if you're ever in New Haven.

Hachiroku was a highly anticipated place after being nominated for Restaurant of the Year in New…read moreHaven County for Connecticut Restaurant Association's annual Crazies awards so I had it on my list of must go to restaurants. I have also never been to a sake bar. Have to say....I was underwhelmed. We came in last Friday and apparently it was slow because Yale was off (according to our waiter). If a restaurant is good they should not be slow on a Friday night. We sat by the door on a cold night and there were two other couples practically on top of us. Rest of the seating are high tops against a wall by the bar or up the stairs on another level. We would have liked to sit upstairs but they were closing off that area. Menu was complex as the restaurant is authentic Japanese. Lots of beef options. Lots of Wagyu. I was hoping to be blown away by this restaurant trying something different. I was struggling trying to find something to order that sounded appetizing. I knew going in that this place was authentic Japanese but I don't know, nothing sounded great to me. I love mushrooms so I got the Mixed Kinoko Mushroom appetizer which was $15. To add scallops was another $8. Mushrooms were tasty. Scallops were not. $23 for a small dish. I also got the pork short ribs. Not a ton of meat on them, however, nice flavor. I was still hungry after this so I ordered a dessert which was the best part of the meal. They get some of their desserts from Hen & Heifer which is a well established place in Guilford. I got the Ube Panna cotta. Boyfriend got the Black cod Yu-an Yaki and upgraded to add the salad, pickles and rice for $3 more. The pickles were maybe two bites. Salad tasty but again, very small. He said the cod was just ok too. Very small portions and pricey for what you get. $30 for a mini sake flight. Not impressed with how it was served either. Small tasting glasses just placed on the table with no description. The server explained which was which, but I didn't remember. Not sure if he didn't care or this is how it's normally served, but if you go to a wine bar/brewery, they provide descriptions with flights usually written underneath the glass, or at least serve it in something. Not just tiny glasses placed on a table where you have no idea what you're having. Especially for $30! I was not impressed with this place whatsoever. As this is part of a newer restaurant group with a few different locations nearby in New Haven, we then went to their cocktail Lounge on crown street (116 Cocktail Bar) thinking it might be better, however we were equally disappointed. It was dead in there and the bartenders were miserable. They couldn't wait to get out of there. I have heard that their hand roll bar is very good (Handroll on State St). We have been to their Grocery Store called The Loop and it's cute. They have a brunch at the Grocery/Kitchen location that looks really good. They also have a wine lounge at The Loop that I'd like to try.

Looking for some of the best ramen in CT? Look no further cause Menya Gumi has got you covered. So…read moremany different options and variety for those who want noodles and those who prefer finger foods. I loved the katsu sando it was perfect in flavor and texture the crispy pork and the toasted bread was perfect! Thank you so much I'm jealous of the Yalies who get to have it as often as they want!

I tried the soup dumplings, ramen, and katsu sandwich with Menya Gumi on a busy Friday night. Food…read moreaside, the restaurant was crazy busy and very chaotic. There were only three servers and many people were not receiving their orders, water refills, and checks as needed. The servers were all stressed and the environment wasn't welcoming. I hope this establishment can provide more workers on shift to create a better experience for all involved. The food was all pretty solid. I eat a lot of Asian food and found this to be pretty on par with a lot of Asian restaurants in the U.S.- a bit too salty, lacking vegetables, and still pretty palatable. I don't have any qualms with the food, but doubt I'll be back due to the environment.

4.5 / 5.0 - I'd been to the Loop for Japanese groceries and sweets, but this was my first time…read moretrying brunch, which they have on weekends, along with their lunch menu. They have a cafeteria style seating and you order and pick up your food at the counter. It's quite spacious with large picnic tables and bar seating, but it was almost full when we went past noon yesterday. It did take some time to order and get our food, so if you're in a rush, it'd be better to pick up pre-made lunches or sushi from the grocery store instead. I tried the Open Tamago Sando, which was so delicious I will definitely have to order again. The noodles didn't have much broth or toppings, so maybe not the best option if you're looking for something that's not mostly carbs. They had outdoor seating, which will be nice once it's warmer.

Always delicious, fresh and convenient! After a long Monday…read moreat work I decided to skip adulting and took the easy route and headed to The Loop. I got the salmon avocado roll which was fresh and filling. There was plenty of salmon and avocado in every piece! The salmon bento is always my go to! The salmon is marinated in yuzu. It's always so delicious but my favorite part is the soft boiled egg! Unlike any other bento you'll find in the area. Sure quick and convenient it they also offer a nice seating area which is very versatile to sit and eat or pull out a laptop to get some things done! PS don't skip the onigiri!

Seems the owners spent more time on decor than on training staff…read more We ordered several items and none were any good. I also asked the server if they had sashimi and he said "Not Yet" Huh? Food: Then I tried the rolls and pretty sure I know why. All the rolls are covered in SO much sauce that it's impossible to actually taste the fish. Tuna or Salmon, who knows? The rainbow roll, which I have never had any sauce on in 30+ years of ordering, was covered here. The sad truth is that is typically an indication of using low quality or not so fresh fish. The fish should be able to stand on its own! The yakitori? The beef was not chewable, the pork belly was decent and the scallops were good. Outside of the beef, this may be the only decent edible option. Service: One server, even though it's a small place, it's not enough. Also factor in that he seemed to be somewhat clueless of how the process works. We almost left, as it was 5 minutes before we could get his attention to take our order. The rest of the meal time was not much better. Overall: Seems this place has been open long enough to fix these issues. I guess the owners do not care enough to do so.

Anime fans, this place is for you! Especially, if you love Naruto - that's where the name Akatsuki…read morecomes from - Akatsuki in Hamden is calling your name. A small, cozy restaurant that is decorated to full anime vibes: anime art covering the walls from floor to ceiling for favorites like One Piece, Dragon Ball, and many more (how many can you name), dividers, lanterns, cherry blossoms - it's a total vibe! The menu is small, but has a variety from entrees, sushi, noodles, and shareable appetizers. There were specials as well that we took advantage of and ended up with a lot of food. My husband and I shared the Yukitori Platter, something that I haven't seen before on a menu. It's a Japanese street food that has skewered meat. Our platter had chicken, shrimp, beef, pork, and zucchini and each were very good. My husband got the Gyu Don (which is a beef bowl) and for $5 more, he got the set that included three side dishes and a miso soup. I ordered the Shrimp Tempura Udon and made it a Combo for $5 more which included a classic Brown Sugar Bubble Tea and a Pork Bun. I loved my Udon, was flavorful and not too salty. The bubble tea was perfect, even the tapioca pearls weren't too hard or gummy. The service was good, but it was a slow start since there was only one staff member hosting and serving the dining room. It was a little busy with a couple of other tables. The staff were very kind and respectful. The food came out fast after we ordered. Akatsuki is really a hidden gem and it's a must try. My husband and I look forward to returning soon.

Came her for a work dinner on a Tuesday. There were 9 of us, and I was able to make the reservation…read morethe day of with no issues. Several of us arrived early (and we had added a person between the reservation to the dinner time) but the restaurant was able to accommodate us with no issues and we were seated immediately! Plenty of street parking too around that time nearby. The restaurant was not crowded at that time, and overall quiet enough to encourage normal volume conversation. The waitress who served us was extremely great, very accommodating, giving us recs, and doing a great job keeping all our information organized. We ordered drinks, some appetizers, and several rounds of food. The starters came out a bit slow, but soon when all our entrees were out it was a ton of food! We also asked the waitress if she could just choose rolls for us with a given budget, and she did a great job! Everything tasted great. Overall great service and good food! I particularly loved the chicken katsu (huge portion!) and the sashimi. Highly recommend!

Did takeout for a quick lunch. Grabbed crispy rice with tuna and a Kani salad. Very disappointed at…read morethe size of the portions with dinner prices. Food was tasty and fresh but will NOT go back due to the cost. Literally $27 for two TINY items plus tip. Server was nice and efficient. Place was pretty dead on a Thursday at lunchtime.

I have been DREAMING of getting a revolving sushi location close to me in CT. A few years ago I had…read moreto drive out to Boston to find one, but now it seems there's one right in New Haven. Chidori Revolving Sushi is a New Haven go-to for me. The premise is fun: you sit somewhere in the restaurant, that location has access to a conveyer belt system that is full of sushi at all times. You can grab any plate, usually containing 2 pieces of sushi, and once you're done, you're charged by putting the plate in a slot by your seat. The plates are colored based on price ($2.58 for blue plates, usually basic rolls like a philadelphia roll or spicy tuna roll, $3.79 for red plates, the most common type, which contain the specialty rolls, and then $5.79 for black plates, which are usually slices of fish over a piece of rice and much more fish-heavy). This format lets you try out a bunch of rolls, rather than committing to just 1 or 2. This is great if you're like me and get full a bit fast but love trying as many things as possible! There is also a tablet where you can order appetizers, full rolls, drinks, and more! I tried a number of rolls, with my favorite by far being the New Haven roll, which was fried and full of jalapeños and spicy tuna. I also loved the Steelers roll, with mango and salmon, and the angry roll, which was like a philadelphia roll with smoked salmon and kani on top! I had some of the mushroom soup, which was super dissimilar to the typical clear soup with mushroom broth and was instead very very strong on the mushroom. A super thick and oily broth, it was so rich and umami it was almost hard to finish, but super delicious!! I also had the pepper tuna appetizer, which was thicker and chewier than I'm used to, but the gimmick of this place is about the conveyer belt so I didn't expect complete perfection! Finally, I had the taiyaki dessert--a SHOWSTOPPER. Delicious and perfectly fried, the red bean is scrumptious inside and the ice cream is a great touch. After 10 plates are put into their little device, you get a small gacha toy which is a cute touch! I got a little Kuromi which was fun. Overall, I love this place. I recommend it a ton. My favorite appetizer the sexy jalapeño--a spicy tuna filled and fried jalapeño! Definitely swing by and give a bunch of different sushi pieces a try. The best time to hit it is when it's busy--I went at 8pm on a saturday and it seems they had just stopped putting more sushi out, since they close at 9. This meant the sushi slowly dwindled and I didn't get to try anything different from what I saw the first go-around. But it's still worth it!

Last year I traveled to Japan and had fun with this concept so I was excited to try this place…read more It's also a fun experience in NH but way overpriced for what you get. $2.79 is the lowest priced plate and that is always 2 slices of a roll. The plates range from $2.79-$6.79 each and it adds up quickly. For what we paid total we could have had a fine dining experience in New Haven. Fun to try.

We had a family get together for a birthday celebration with 12 people for hibachi…read more I always order hibachi chicken and fillet combo with rice however, this is the only place that soup and salad aren't offered TOGETHER. It's one or the other, not both like other spots I've been too. We ordered a bunch of green tea shots and a scorpion bowl. Everything was very good. The food was cooked accordingly and our cook was very entertaining. He made sure to include the kids in the sake "shots". All of our servers were prompt with getting things needed. $40 for dinner and a show can't be beat! Reservations were easy to make and staff were accommodating

The portion of tiramisu is ridiculous for almost 10 dollars. Couldn't believe how small it was…read moreafter spending over 100$ on the takeout. The food is yummy but the portions are small for how expensive it is

Mother's Day at Sushi Kingdom Japanese Restaurant was busy, chaotic, and honestly still a really…read moregood time This place was PACKED. You could tell moms were being celebrated everywhere, families were out enjoying themselves, and despite the crowd, the atmosphere still felt fun and lively instead of stressful. They offer an all-you-can-eat menu with a huge variety of sushi, seafood options, and buffet station, which definitely felt worth the price considering how much food is available. Without a reservation, the wait looked pretty long, so I'd definitely recommend calling ahead on holidays or weekends. Even with how crowded it was, the service stayed good throughout the night. The ordering system uses tablets at the table, and because of how busy it was, a few of my orders didn't go through the first time. I mentioned it to our server and he immediately addressed the issue, made sure I reordered everything, and continued checking in to make sure our food was arriving correctly. I also appreciated how accommodating the staff was. I asked for a chicken sushi roll and they made one for me I did have to reorder the seafood boil before receiving it, but the servers stayed attentive, communicated with us, and handled concerns professionally the entire time. What stood out most was that despite the chaos, everyone still seemed to be enjoying themselves. The staff was clearly working hard, but they stayed friendly and attentive throughout the Mother's Day rush. Overall, the food was good, the vibe stayed positive, and it still ended up being an enjoyable holiday dinner with friends and family. Definitely a spot I'd come back to; just with a reservation next time

Loved this place. It's huge and inviting and bright. They have an option to add on a seafood boil…read moreto the AYCE option but I just got the AYCE sushi. They also had a dessert buffet in the bar area of their place that was self serve. Everything else was ordered via an iPad and they'd bring your order to your table. Their sushi was great quality. My favorite thing I tried on their menu was their lotus leaf seafood sticky rice. SOOO GOOD. Like I'm still thinking about it. I need to have it again. Evelyn my server was sooo cool and so funny I don't think I've ever liked a waitress more in my life, like I liked her. I wanna see her too next time I go. One thing I will say that was disappointing was their green tea cocktail. I mean I had six of those things and NOTHING. So I'm sure you can pick up what I'm putting down there .. and they were 9 bucks each. Total waste of calories and money. Other than that, fire place, no doubt that they'll see my face there again. I loved it. Thanks Sushi Kingdom !

One of my favorite Ramen/Asian restaurants around. I just found out that this place is a chain…read morewhich surprises me. They gave me more of a locally owned store. Great servers. Amazing food. This place is definitely great for 90's kids with their selection of music. Everything I eat here is always so good. So flavorful. The mushroom dumplings are HIGHLY recommended. Pro tip: get a side of their chili oil on the side with your food. Service 10/10 Food 9.7/10

3.5/5 stars! The…read moreambiance was cool, it was a funky little restaurant. The service was okay, it took a while for our server to ask us what we wanted or to get us our waters, but we didn't mind. The food was pretty yummy! The red oil dumplings were delish but dense (they definitely do not skimp out on the meat in there) and the sauce was delish! The miso ramen was a tad salty but it could be gotten through. The Mala stir fry was yum but it needed a kick. Overall, we did enjoy ourselves and will likely be back!

Vegetable lo mein is flavorful and delicious but needs more veggies- few strips of cabbage, 2…read moreshreds of carrot, 1 tiny piece of broccoli crown. Roll was small: wrap was dry, rice was dry, eel was good, cucumber was very soggy. No more rolls for me.

A long over due review, but this place definitely earns a great one from me!…read more Every time my partner and I don't know what to get but we want something filling and cheap, we come here. The bento box portions have so much food for only less than $11! They also have a sushi combo which includes 3 rolls for $14. My favorite thing to get is their katsu bento combo sub the rice for noodles as well as their spicy tuna roll. Their teriyaki chicken is also good if you're looking to get your chinese take out food cravings done. As a student, this place is definitely a good bang for your buck for pretty good food!