Aburi Tora Sushi — Restaurant in Tokyo

We visited the Aburi Tora 二子玉川 restaurant yesterday (Monday, Nov 18, 2024) for dinner at around 5:10 pm, and left at around 7:00 pm. The food was great, that’s why we visited again after our initial visit last year (2023).

However, I made an observation that I want to bring to Tora management’s attention!!

Japan has always been reputable around the world for providing excellent customer service, good manners, and being respectful to every customer. But at this Tora restaurant, I observed how the male manager (the white man or is he mixed?) of the restaurant appears to be “acting” respectful. I made this conclusion based on 3 observations, listed below:

1. He did not greet us when we came into the restaurant, and he did not show any intention or interest in wanting to interact with us. When we went into the restaurant, he said “welcome”, but immediately turned his back towards us again to ask other staff member to serve us.

2. Right after we were given our bill cheque to pay, he said “thank you”, but at the same time, turned his back towards us AGAIN right when he said thank you. I couldn’t believe the bad manner I saw, and it happened twice on the same day, in the same restaurant. I have never been treated this way in Japan.

3. After we paid for our meal, the whole team at Tora said “thank you” again. While the waitress who took our payment said thank you and acknowledged us by looking at us, this same male manager said “thank you” as well, but did not bother to look at us or acknowledge us.

The way he behaved in the 3 instances stated above, left us with the impression of “very insincere” customer service. His manners and way of being just felt very “fake and superficial”.

During our whole time there, he did not bother to make any eye contact with us. From observing him while we dined in, it appeared he was more interested in chatting with other restaurant staff and doing his own thing. He left us with an impression that he doesn’t seem interested in serving customers.

This is the first time in Japan that I receive this kind of customer service. I find it very shocking. I was hesitant to write this message, but this bad experience haunted me for the whole day today.

I sincerely hope Tora will do something about this so it won’t affect our dining experience again the next time we choose to go visit Aburi Tora...

Aug 14, 2025

Every single bite is to die for, to the point I could see heaven the moment I bit into their famous signature seared sushi -- or the 40-min wait made me extra hungry. Every single other dish was also extremely fresh and delicious, so try their raw sushi and oysters as well.

Heard from my friend who's been here multiple times that desserts are not good so we skipped on that.

At this quality, the bill coming out to 4,000-5,000 yen per head was way too reasonable. Even on a Thursday night we had a long queue -- good thing that the waiting area was spacious and also very tastefully decorated. Each table has a fancy iPad for ordering, which was really not necessary but really elevated the entire sleek and high-end conveyor belt sushi...

Before lining up for hours or going to a very expensive omakase sushi restaurant, I would recommend to go to this place first

They serve the elusive Edo style sushi which uses a different type of vinegar if compared to a majority of sushi available all around the world. Seasonal ingredients are highlighted and served in limited quantities, so best to pick them when available

It actually changed my opinion about eating lean tuna sushi. My favorites for the long time is toro or otoro, and that changed when I tried their aged tuna loin sushi. It is a game changer, so do try it if you can

It is a high class, high quality, great value conveyor belt sushi place. I have been here multiple times and everything is a banger....