Yatai Restaurant — Restaurant in Champaign

Atmosphere: blown up images of Naruto and One Piece cover the walls with a Naruto statue in the middle of the restaraunt.

Service: not terrible, but my tacos didn't come out until my husband was almost finished with his ramen, which was annoying. Plus it was one of those places where tip options started at 15% and only got higher, despite having to bus your own table without even giving you a tray to do so.

Food: pork katsu came out first and it was perfectly fine. Next was the "rich" ramen. The noodles were ok, while the meat and broth were very bland.

Then the unforgivable sushi tacos. It's an interesting idea. The taco shell is seaweed fried in tempura batter. I liked that idea. I ordered an unagi lover and a crazy taco. The tacos were built in layers. Rice at the bottom, then krab, and then the other ingredients on top. The krab was already almost spilling out over the top of the taco, and then the fish was perched precariously on top. This left the tacos far too large. Sauce ended up all over my mouth and hands.

The proportions were all wrong. There was so much rice and krab that most bites consisted of a mouthful of one or the other and little else. It was impossible to taste all of the ingredients at once. There should have been half as much rice and krab with them mixed together to ensure more flavors in each bite.

Lastly, there was the eel itself. I always order eel sushi, I know what it should taste like. These were cooked to a rubber-like consistency that I had to saw through with my teeth. The fish on the crazy roll tasted good at least., although I expected more spice since it was marked with a chili pepper...

I’ve tried to like this. I’ve been twice now. First when they opened and just recently. It’s still disappointing. The Japanese cuisine is not authentic at all. They use really cheap ingredients and it’s noticeable. I was craving katsu curry… the katsu itself is alright I guess. However the curry was pretty bad. Japanese curry is like a thick gravy stew with chunks of carrot and potato. What I got was really thin dressing in a cup that tasted a little like curry but it was so watery and thin it disappeared immediately as it got sucked up into the pork cutlet. It’s sort of palatable since I was hungry but I would not call it katsu curry.

Also they use the wrong rice. Japanese is a slightly sticky fat short grain rice. This place uses Jasmine rice. I kind of knew this place wasn’t trying to be authentic when I first came when it opened since they were also playing what I think was Chinese pop music (not even trying to play jpop lol) even though Naruto characters are painted all over the walls.

Every time I walk in the vibes are kind of tired. The employees look tired. No one acknowledges you unless you speak up. The place feels like they were so excited and ambitious with conceiving this restaurant but the execution falls short and they ran out of steam. This menu is pretty big and I keep thinking they need to pick something to focus on and do it better. Jack of all trades master of none kinda way.

Luckily we have places near campus that can do Japanese food better. I can’t even say it’s Japanese cuisine. It’s maybe a Chinese takeout place that’s wearing a contemporary Japanese...

The most adorable anime-themed restaurant in the Champaign-Urbana area! I had a great time eating here today. I love all of the decor, and I appreciate how clean the restaurant is. I also really like how large the menu is -- from ramen to sushi tacos and burritos to poke and other unique entrees, this menu has something for everyone!

To start, we had spicy edamame. It was hot, spicy, and very savory! It wasn't too salty, and we really enjoyed the flavor.

For my lunch, I got a sushi burrito with tuna, crab, and shrimp tempura, and it was so good! It was really flavorful and tasted better than normal sushi I've had. I love the wasabi sauce inside it.

My partner had tonkatsu ramen (he asked to make it spicy), and to us, it is probably the best ramen in the area. It came with a ton of meat that was very tender! The noodles were also a great consistency, and it wasn't too expensive.

My favorite part was the boba! We got a taro smoothie with bubble tea pearls and custard. It was so good! To me, it's probably some of the best boba on campus, especially given how big the portion is (it was overflowing when we got it!).

Overall, I really love this restaurant! I think we will be regular customers from now on. I am excited to taste more of the menu including the...