Tsubaki Japanese Cuisine — Restaurant in East Windsor Township

With regret…

I’ve dined at Tsubaki several times since its opening—it’s been exciting; the appetizer and entrée presentations had flair. Many of us were delighted to have a Japanese restaurant in our neighborhood as opposed to travelling across town to Mahzu or the Sushi King.

The appetizers were served on lovely glass plating with wonderful grated radish and beet garnishes; entrees offered good portions and service was attentive.

Within months of opening menu changes began: the appetizers had less flair and portions cut back by piece count and/or price rises. Even dinnerware changed. Believing those to be temporary changes, I’ve revisited the place in the past year with hope in my heart. The latest dining experience occurred during the Memorial Day holiday weekend; the place was quiet during the mid-afternoon hours.

Upon entering it was noticed the Specials of the Day board was not displayed. Upon query, the waitress had no knowledge if any specials were offered at all, stating she was new.

NOTE: staff, experienced or not, should always be ready with information, even if the answer is, “Sorry, we have no specials today.”

When booth seating was requested, the waitress asked, “Just for one?” in an odd tone of voice. Interestingly enough, tables were unoccupied, I was the first diner to arrive plus no one else awaited seating.

After perusing the menu, I asked after/for Toro and Uni sushi. They were not available. If these are only seasonal offerings, they should have such notations in the menu card and/or listed as seasonal specials on the board. I settled for Tamago , Tobiko and Mackerel sushi of which two pieces of each would be presented.

They arrived in a severely chipped dish and only two of the three selections were served. When I pointed out the damaged dish should be disposed of she merely smiled, nodded and walked away. Summoning her back I asked about the missing Mackerel sushi. She brusque, “Yeah, yeah, it’s coming.” she walked away.

NOTE: no service is to be delivered incomplete. It’s unprofessional and quite lacking in professionalism when delivered incomplete without an explanation.

A good quarter hour later, and after the main entrée was served, the mackerel sushi arrived – on another chipped dish – served plainly with a dab of wasabi and ginger.

NOTE: get rid of chipped/cracked dishes to avoid diner accidents and/or ire. On this one seating, all three appetizer servings arrived on chipped dishes; one so badly as to have knife edge sharpness, risking cut fingers/hands.

When given the sake bottle and asked for a heated serving, the waitress reacted almost in a clueless manner. “You want this heated?” she asked holding up the wine bottle. I started to explain how, and she cut in and brushed off with an “I know, I know what to do.” and walked off. Rather than retaining the bottle in the back should a second round be requested, she immediately brought it back, with the heated sake followed shortly thereafter.

Sushi appetizers: rice pats were not uniform in shape nor presentation; sushi ought to have a dab of wasabi between the rice roll and the topping. No garnishments complimented the servings as was done so in the past.

The miso soup’s broth was nice.

SALMON BENTO: the teriyaki filet was thin; its edges crisped to a brown rim edge all around and thickly covered with a creamy-textured sauce, which was on the sweet side.

The California roll was fresh.

The shrimp tempura’s batter coating was nicely light; though the slim long shrimp was virtually lost in it.

Both the steamed and tempura broccoli were left untouched, the former entrée side a still bit raw, the latter a bit soggy from the cooking oil.

The shumai shrimp redeemed the bento box entrée; it was delightful – tasty in their delicately flavored juices.

The gyozas were crisp and tasty.

The bean and green tea ice cream scoops were served in a pretty small bowl.

Tea was never topped off to refresh the brew.

With sadness I left the restaurant, realizing I’ll...

It's a nice place. The sushi is better than average, but not 5 stars for me.

Nice atmosphere to eat inside. I liked their booths.

It's BYOB, and there is store next door which is convenient. The server was great to bring right glass with ice for Prosecco and another one for Hot Sake.

Excellent Miso soup.

My favorite fish are salmon and white tuna. I also like lobster and crab. I prefer Special more complex rolls

I liked these rolls (4 stars): Amazing Tuna Roll King Salmon Roll I would have preferred less sauce on both (cleaner flavors)

I didn't like this: Venus Roll (1 star) It was weird flavor and strong acidic/sweat scent - can't describe (apple vinegar maybe)

My husband likes cleaner flavors - he ordered California, Philadelphia and Boston rolls, as well as some Sashimi. His favorite was Boston. Smoked Salmon inside Philadelphia roll was too smokey for our taste.

Fried ice-cream was Ok. The batter around the ice-cream...

We have tried numerous times for takeout sushi at this restaurant, after enjoying their fresh sushi eaten at the restaurant in the past prio to covid. Each time we go (there is no indoor dining allowed, only takeout) we are told the wait for food is over 1 hr for takeout (not even having the food delivered). We order fresh sushi rolls- nothing even to cook but rice? I have no idea why it would take so long to roll a fresh sushi roll. They seem to be mismanaged. If your volume has increased due to recently built new condos in the area, hire more chefs. You aren't waiting on tables, so there is no hostess or waiters to pay. It has been three attempts over various months, and we walk away discouraged each time. Hire more people rather than turning away customers. It can't just be us!! We won't be returning...