New Tokyo Restaurant — Restaurant in Marina

Yikes. I usually only write reviews that are for good places, but for once, I was compelled to write this one for the opposite reason. I should've been skeptical when I noticed this was the only sushi place in the area, which may be why it received all these wonderful reviews.

I've had bad sushi experiences before, but this was next level. The exterior of the restaurant should have indicated that this was not going to be a quality experience. And the interior was even worse. Chinese restaurant? This would've still been pretty bad for that standard, but for a Japanese place, unacceptable. Incredibly dingy and unwelcoming.

Then came the food. The order was taken by what I assume to be the owner or co-owner. Perfectly pleasant lady, and after she took the order, she went behind the sushi counter to make it herself. Still ok by my book. Mom and pop restaurants are many times the best. We ordered a chirashi and a cold soba noodle.

Chirashi is a bowl of seasoned sushi rice with various ingredients scattered on top, typically various slices of sashimi and perhaps some other things like vegetables or egg. No seaweed, typically. Well, I watched as she place a fairly large mound of sushi rice in a sushi boat, placed squares of seaweed directly on the mound of rice, placed the fish all around it, topped it with a piece of cooked eel...and then proceeded to pour vast amounts of unagi sauce (a dark, thick sweet sauce) over the WHOLE thing, eel and all. You can see the pools of it in the boat in the photo. I was curious at first, then mortified. Of course when I finally ate it, all I had was mouthfuls of sauce that had perfectly covered up and destroyed the taste of the raw fish. When I did manage to take bites of the fish without the sauce, the fish was decent. The sushi rice, not so much, but I realized I had just been introduced to a new dish: chirashi teriyaki. Never again.

The soba noodles were decent, but the dipping broth was so salty, we had to dilute it with water. Not exactly traditional either.

Service was fine, I can't knock that. But unless you are hankering for a memorable sushi experience (and not in a good...

Oh my goodness New Tokyo is a huge letdown to Japanese cuisine. The restaurant is somewhat dirty and run down and the atmosphere and ambiance is not very inviting or welcoming. This restaurant needs a thorough cleanup and renovation. I must also make note that this restaurant is not owned or operated by Japanese. The owners are Chinese or Vietnamese. The business is a family affair and run by a husband and wife. The woman also prepares the Sushi in plain view of customers. The male owner who also serves as the waiter works in the kitchen as well. The Teriyaki was very overcooked and the Teriyaki sauce didn’t help. The Sushi was really bad and the rice was not Sushi rice. The Sashimi (raw fish ) was really bad and the fish was obviously not fresh. It was sent back because it was not edible. The Tempura was made with a different type of batter and it was not like any Japanese style I have ever experienced. Family members who were visiting from Japan laughed at the crude attempt of the so called Japanese food that was served. Definitely not a restaurant that I...

Delicious, fresh food and a warm, homey atmosphere! My family was looking for some noodles and soup to warm us up, and New Tokyo did not disappoint in the slightest. We ordered: • pork cutlet - it was big but cut nice and thin for ease of dipping into sauce • ramen with BBQ pork - a solid bowl of soup noodles that was just the right size • butter and corn ramen - personally as a corn fan, this hits the spot!! • katsudon - the sauce was so good, and the chicken was very tender. • tempura udon (Not pictured) - one of the best tempura I've had in a while. It wasn't too oily, and it was still light and fresh. Definitely a work of art ♡ • sashimi platter - each cut of seafood was fresh and delicious For those lovers of hole-in-the-wall mom-and-pop shops, New Tokyo is the epitome of that out here in the heart of Marina.

P.S. wish I tried...