Samurai Sushi East Rutherford — Restaurant in East Rutherford

PLEASE AVOID THIS PLACE. My husband decided to treat us to sushi, and we decided to eat here. Upon arriving, we noticed the place was packed and we were told there were no tables, just bar seating (and please don’t comment saying that you don’t have a bar, because you do!!) and we decided to leave because we didn’t want to wait 2 hours for a table. Mind you, it was 7:20 pm and my husband, son, and myself hadn’t had a single bite to eat since the morning. We were so hungry so we decided to leave. One of the staff members called out to us outside saying that a table had suddenly opened up and we could sit. So we did go back, and were sat within a few minutes. They took some time to take our drink orders, but we decided to order everything we were planning to eat right at that moment. About 20 minutes passed, and we still hadn’t received our appetizers. When we did, they brought us the wrong thing, and the waitress had to bring the additional missing items. My husband’s ramen came right after, and my son’s 2 rolls were brought as well. Mine were nowhere to be found. I kept seeing everyone around me getting their stuff, even the table behind us who were seated long after us. Unable to wait any longer, my husband and son decided to eat and I was still hopeful that my order would come, and when it finally did (30 minutes late), my family had already eaten their meals. I had no choice but to refuse and the waitress took it away. There was no enjoyment. I was so hungry, and sad that we had taken a few hours from our busy lives to spend quality time together, and we were treated like we were less than everyone else in the place. I simply couldn’t understand why. If the staff was unable to deliver proper service, why did they pretend to do us a favor by offering us a table, and then treating us like we didn’t matter? Everyone else in other tables looked happy and satisfied, and we were forgotten and ignored. I had to excuse myself and my son from the table, as my husband waited to pay for whatever we did manage to get. The staff was not apologetic, and the manager gave my husband a $5 discount on our bill. Trust me, it wasn’t worth it. The only great thing about this experience is that now we know not to return where our money doesn’t matter. I had the pleasure of getting some exquisite sushi right after from Ninja Sushi in Nutley, and they were quick and lovely as always. Samurai Sushi was a great disappointment, but the only way they’ll ever know how it feels is when someone else treats them the way they treated us....

I've been wanting to try Samurai Sushi for a while, since pre-Covid. It fell off my radar and I forgot about it (otherwise, I definitely would have ordered during the height of Covid) until we were trying to order sushi for my hubby's birthday. I was scrolling through UberEats when Samurai Sushi popped up and was deliverable to my area. It was perfect!

We weren't that hungry so we just ordered a few items to share:

Samurai Bites (four pieces of crispy rice, topped with spicy tuna and jalapenos) - I used to order these all the time during happy hour at Gyu Kaku and these were my fave, so I knew were getting these. The crispy rice was still crispy, despite its delivery trip but I wish there was just a little bit more spicy tuna. I would still order these again though

Samurai Roll (Inside - spicy tuna, avocado, tempura flakes. On top - tuna sashimi and chipotle aioli. 8 Pieces per order) - this seemed like one of the more popular rolls, so that's how we landed on this one. The chipotle aioli just seemed like spicy mayo but overall, I liked the roll

Salmon Lover (Inside - spicy salmon, crispy onions. On top - torched salmon sashimi and avocado with mango chili sauce, ikura. 8 Pieces per order) - the torched salmon was was appealed to us and it was really good. I opted out of the mango chili sauce because I don't like anything fruity with my sushi, so I can't speak to how the sauce was. But I enjoyed it. Probably more than the Samurai Roll, even though I typically prefer tuna

2 pieces of O-Toro sushi - this was pricier at $15 for two pieces but we love fatty tuna so we decided to splurge for his birthday. Unfortunately, it wasn't great. The taste was okay but the pieces were thin and it just looked like it had been handled too much when pressing into the the rice. O-toro should be handled with care and really just laid down on top of the rice to avoid ruining the texture. I would definitely not order this again. I might be willing to give the sashimi a try but that may be a stretch

Overall, I really enjoyed the takeout experience and look forward...

I have only been here one time and I only had the omakase and a cocktail, so I cannot speak on anything other than their omakase in good-faith.

If you have been to any upscale omakase experiences (like those you may find in New York or in Japan) you will find that the omakase here is not exactly what you would expect. This place is no Sushi Nakazawa, Ginza Onodera, or anything in that category of omakase offerings. However, I want to preface that this omakase really isn't meant for diners who have developed a taste for those kids of experiences.

Whatever complaints I can make about the omakase and the serving methods of the establishments are completely nullified by the fact that I had a tasty, creative experience containing a wide variety of quality ingredients for just $75.

So while I wouldn't say this is the definitive omakase you go to, to be able to get such a sample platter of some otherwise expensive ingredients, it is a super bang for your buck.

I was able to have multiple cuts of bluefin tuna, king salmon, Hokkaido hotate (scallops), Hokkaido uni (sea urchin), and real wasabi root for just $75. This is a value that is extremely difficult to find. On a date, 2 people would only come out to be $150, which is the price per-person at Sushi Nakazawa 8 years ago.

This is an omakase I could recommend on a semi-regular basis or just for a casual night out where you want great variety. If you consider yourself a sushi enthusiast, perhaps try one of the much more upscale locations on some more special occasions.

PS: This establishment is also actually operated by Japanese people, which is always...