Taste of Japan — Restaurant in Hampden Township

Sadly, for the price, the value just wasn’t there. The buffet only had about ten small pans of hot food before it switched over to around 10 to 12 small pans of sushi. The first line was hibachi, but no one explained that to us, so we ended up waiting behind people placing their hibachi orders before we even got to the hot food. They also said hibachi was free flow, but you only get one bowl to choose your meats and veggies, which feels a bit limiting.

For what they offered, I would honestly only pay about $15 per person. It definitely didn’t feel worth the $25. There also wasn’t a line for sides like white rice, fried rice, etc, so you had to ask a server if you wanted anything. A lot of the food was American. That isn’t a bad thing, but we were hoping for more Asian options.

The dessert section was the best part. The coconut sago, cappuccino cake, and a few other treats were genuinely delicious.

Overall, the desserts were amazing, but the rest of the buffet didn’t...

For an hour wait, this was not worth it at all. The hibachi took around 20 minutes to be served and honestly, it tasted bland with a dash of butter. The buffet was literally all fried apps that needed to be replaced consistently and nothing stood out (I couldn’t even try some general tso). The sushi options were ok, but again, I couldn’t try all of them because they needed to be replenished. The dessert options besides the ice cream was very disappointing. I couldn’t tell if they were trying to be frugal, but why cut half a strawberry?? Or two orange slices on one plate? It doesn’t make sense.

I also tried to asked for a togo box for my second hibachi order since it took SO long to be served and they told me they won’t do it for the second order EVEN though I ASKED before it came and they said it was ok.

There are better buffet options around the area that includes hibachi. I’m sure if they added better buffet options and quality desserts this could be moved...

So honestly its the service that has me writing the review. I have been there three times now. Twice for lunch and once for dinner. And the service is sooo good. I watched one of the employees bring a customer a sauce to try. They recognized me last time I was there. They were kind and patient to an elderly man.

The food is a little higher quality than regular buffet food. I personally am more of a sushi/sushimi person than a roll person but the rolls are pretty basic. But I love the sushimi. The shrimp tempura was soo good. The hibachi was great. The takoyaki is awesome. The more I go the more I find things I like. They have tubes of gogurt which I get every time lol. They have a great selection of desserts.

I would love to see more soup options. And maybe changing up the rolls some. But this is def a new spot of mine. 18.00 for lunch 26 for dinner....