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    The Dojo

    4.8 (27 reviews)
    Closed 12:00 pm - 7:00 PM
    Updated 3 months ago

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    Deanna K.

    Amazing sushi place up in Traverse City! It's located inside an old elementary school and in an old classroom! The service was great and the owner was awesome. When I told him I had a gluten allergy he said he would have a new cutting board and utensils for me. There is already gluten free soy sauce on the table ready to go! Not only was it super safe to eat at but delicious as well. It's half the price you will get in town. It is totally worth the little drive for a great experience!

    Maria P.

    A small local sushi place off the beaten path. Located within a remodeled building that was previously an elementary school. Traditional in that it seats 8 at the counter and offers two four tops. So seats 16 total. Intimate yet open, lots of space to get around. Menu is posted up high, easy to see and read. Both traditional and fun creative options. Vegetarian options too, like the picked daikon radish roll or avocado roll. Even a vegetable roll that includes eggplant. Specials too. Saw one with beet marinated salmon, very cool. Love that edamame is offered, one of my fav appetizers. Sushi chefs were super friendly and helpful, big bonus. Water, hot tea or soda to drink. Very clean, doesn't feel like a room in an old elementary school at all. Bathrooms down the hall were clean and bright too. Went two days in a row, loved it so much!

    Just a restaurant shot.

    LEGIT. I got the tuna poke, amazing. Good price. Definitely going back this week. And you don't have to deal with TC traffic.

    Mango and Kanikama hosomaki
    Olya S.

    Given the low number of reviews and the location in the middle of farmland 20 mins from Traverse City, we were skeptical of whether The Dojo exists. But we were craving sushi on our Traverse City vacation and decided to make the journey. We were so happy we did. :) The Dojo is located in the middle of an abandoned elementary school (you literally walk through the school hallways past lockers to get to it). The place has 8 bar stools and three workers, who greet you and provide amazing service. We were the only people there when we came at 11:30am on a Wednesday, but we were welcomed, and it was cool to see the workers making all the food fresh. The sushi itself was absolutely delicious - we tried the miso soup, two hosomaki (mango and kanikama), and two uramaki (Philadelphia and spicy salmon). My husband has a very high expectation for sushi after living in Japan last year, and we were both impressed at how incredibly fresh the fish was. Even the miso soup might be the best miso soup I've ever tasted - so often, sushi restaurants serve you miso soup that tastes like it came out of a packet. This soup was incredibly fresh. Even the mango in the hosomaki tasted like it was just picked today. Overall, the remote location, long drive to get here, and strange elementary school setting only contributed to the unique, amazing experience we had here. Highly recommended - it's worth the journey, and I promise you, this place does exist and is open!

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    2 years ago

    Awesome fresh sushi! and the head sushi chef is very nice and the service was fantastic. Loved the miso soup and spicy tuna roll!

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    3 years ago

    Great sushi! Best miso soup I've ever had. I will definitely be back to The Dojo again.

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    2 years ago

    I've eaten here pretty often! They always remember myself and my partner and the sushi is honestly the best in TC!

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    3 years ago

    Are they ever open. The close at dinner went there at lunch and it was closed during posted hours. Menu looks good

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    Ask the Community - The Dojo

    Asian Buffet

    Asian Buffet

    3.4
    (71 reviews)
    6.5 mi
    $$

    I always try to explain my review having more stars than perhaps it would in reality, if that makes…read moresense. This is a Chinese buffet. It is an all you can eat buffet. For people who have not had actual primo, well prepared Asian cuisine, I've never seen anyone not enjoy and tell me that they absolutely loved every single dish. This is what it is. It's only $14 for lunch, and if you went to one of the commercial burger places, you would expect that amount on just a regular basket with fries, drink and a burger. Here people get to eat as much as they want. Having explained this, I hope that you understand why I give the stars that I do for this place. It's because they were clean and there was nothing wrong with any of the dishes that I saw or tried . I particularly only like a few. I might like more if the food was hotter temperature wise. I have been to Asian buffets, particularly in Cheboygan and their food was a lot hotter, even though it's in the hot water baths or however, they're heating it. I prefer to have my food served hotter for many reasons. It is more tasty, it kills bacteria and any food problems like that. I'm sure that if they have these heated too high, it also breaks down the vegetables quickly. But I feel that this is a necessary requirement with the buffet food especially. I do love the hibachi style being available. You can add whatever you want, and the hibachi chef will fry it and add whatever sauces you'd like so that's my favorite. That's the main reason I go here, but the reason my sister always insist on returning Here is because "she likes to pig out". I see that many people do. That's what these buffets are. I think in the past like in the 70s they actually used to even put smorgasbord on the sign now everyone knew what that meant. I find that the servers are nice and it's always a very friendly ambience here so that along with the cleanliness and the fact that people look extremely happy that they "got to pig out" I give this place a four.. and really why would I come and eat again and again at a place that I didn't feel was a safe safe or sufficient lunch? I would not.

    My wife flew into the airport there in Traverse City, so we decided to go to the Asian Buffet for…read moredinner. It was the first time for us going there and the food wasn't bad... but some of the food on the buffet was cold. I got stuff for the Mongolian grill they have there to have the cook stir-fry it for me... he cooked/stir-fried what I gave him on the plate, but it wasn't cooked all the way through. Also, I LOVE hot mustard, and I like to mix it into my food, but all they had was packets of hot mustard that were jellied and tasted horrible. They need to make fresh hot mustard, NOT packets!!! I lived in Florida for 20 years, so I know good crawdads and what they should taste like, I also know how to cook them with good seasonings... but the crawdads/crabs they had on the buffet were horrible tasting and over cooked!!! My biggest complaint would be no fresh "Hot Mustard"... and the cook on the Mongolian grill needs to learn how to stir-fry.

    Photos
    Asian Buffet
    Sushi and wakime (seaweed salad)
    Sushi and wakime (seaweed salad)
    Mussels, honey shrimp, etc.

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    Mussels, honey shrimp, etc.
    Barrio

    Barrio

    3.4
    (135 reviews)
    5.2 mi
    $$

    Barrio is a must-visit spot while in Traverse City. Although it originally hails from Cleveland…read more(which we've also visited), the flavors and service have carried over beautifully to Michigan. The vegan options here are fantastic. I love that I can choose the Thai chili tofu as my protein, and it's actually good tofu -- firm, crispy, and flavorful instead of the usual mushy version you find elsewhere. The customization is another huge plus. You can load your tacos with far more than the standard lettuce and tomato, choosing from a variety of slaws, salsas, sauces, and toppings. My personal favorite combination is the Dirty Sauce (definitely spicy, so be warned!) with lettuce, poblanos, onions, and the corn mix. The tacos are generously sized, so 2-3 will leave you completely satisfied, and the pricing is very reasonable for the quality and portion sizes. This is also a perfect place for larger groups or families. We have friends who love bringing their kids because everyone can fill out their own order form and customize exactly what they want. I have to recommend the salsa roja and chips as an app. It's easily one of my favorite salsas. It has the perfect consistency with just the right balance of spice and sweetness. We love coming here and highly recommend giving it a try. You won't be disappointed!

    We visited Barrio in Traverse City, late night bites. The place was hopping with parties, but we…read morewere seated right away. The service was speedy & friendly, very refreshing! The margaritas were tasty, as well as our appetizers, the Tres Amigos. We built our own tacos from a list, very cool. Everything was fresh, delicious, and the portions were large. We will definitely be back!

    Photos
    Ambiance.
    Ambiance.
    Bowl of goodies!!!
    Bowl of goodies!!!
    Outside Vibe - 07/25/22

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    Outside Vibe - 07/25/22
    Season's Buffet

    Season's Buffet

    2.1
    (15 reviews)
    15.4 mi
    $$

    The food is the worst part. There was a mix of Asian and Mexican. Make your own tacos and nachos is…read morea good idea. There was an option for crab legs ($20 extra) and you could tell some cooks to make a bowl of pasta. What made this bad was quality and quantity. If there had been more options or better quality, it would've been nice. Cakes were hard on the outside, pie was just canned pie filling with a premade crust cracker, Mexican foods were dry and rank below store bought premade. Service was good- for the single waitress working at dinner time. She was stressed and struggling. Ambiance was fine. It was clean and looked like it was a better quality place than it was. Overall, it's probably a fine place to eat if you're drunk and having fun, but don't go out of your way to eat here.

    Season's Buffet is one of 3 food options in the Turtle Creek casino. The cost of the buffet is…read more$19.99 on Thursdays and Saturdays. You can add crab legs for $19.99/lb. Saturday's buffet menu is advertised as American BBQ. Friday's menu features crab legs and prime rib and costs $49.99. We went on a Thursday, and the menu was advertised as "international cuisine from Asia, Italy, and South America ". The actual food selection was general tso's chicken, orange chicken, egg rolls, crab Rangoon, Korean tofu and vegetables, chicken tikka Marsala, beef tamales, build your own tacos and nachos, a salad bar, a made to order pasta station, and desserts. The food ranged from mediocre to terrible, with the best choices being the pasta station, the salad bar, and the banana pudding. Our server did a good job of taking away dishes and keeping drinks filled. I honestly couldn't recommend the Thursday buffet. Maybe Friday and Saturday nights are better?

    The Dojo - sushi - Updated July 2026

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