Tokyo Express Restaurant — Restaurant in Modesto

My friend had really high hopes for this restaurant, and I had a bad feeling about everything. This place had no customers during lunch time which only added to the eerie, quiet, and uncomfortable atmosphere. The service was kind but felt very desperate and forced. When I went to pay for my meal, the man who was supposed to ring me up told me to come behind the counter to pay. This made me very uncomfortable. If my friend hadn't already paid for her meal and sat down, I would've left without a word.

The restaurant was dirty. Nothing looked organized with stock overflowing from boxes left at the front of house. The dead bugs on the windowsill had been there so long they collected a few good layers of dust. After receiving our food, I noticed that everything was served in either a styrofoam, paper, or plastic container. Hot miso soup in styrofoam, my friend's sushi rolls on a plastic tray, and my meal conveniently already in a to-go box. No one is on dish-duty at this restaurant because there are NO dishes.

As for the food, I can safely say that this was the worst meal I have ever had. I ordered the beef teriyaki that came with a side of rice, salad, and miso. The beef had no taste with a rubbery texture. It was drowned in this "teriyaki sauce" that tasted like they concocted it themselves. I've also never known Asian salads to be spicy, so the weird glaze that was drizzled over my lettuce caught me off guard. The shredded onions in the miso soup looked like it was an attempt to make the soup taste fresher, and it didn't work. What is seen in the photo I attached is what was left of the mystery meat I pulled from the back of my throat. Not only would I not recommend this place to anyone, I wrote this review to WARN...

If you want good food, cheap food, fast service, or good ambiance, do not go here! I can only speak to 3 rolls and the mixed fried seafood entree, but there is too much to say about each of these to try this restaurant again.

We got a spider roll, a Dragon Roll, and the best role of the knights a y and M roll which had tuna, spicy tuna and avocado. This one was fine, but the Dragon Roll relied too heavily on fried food and sauce, and the spider roll had Bland unseasoned crab and no other redeeming qualities. The mixed fried seafood was a complete failure. We paid extra for an upgrade that included vegetables, but a vegetable was an entire dice white onion and a few anemic pieces of broccoli. Definitely not worth the 4 extra dollars to add a pile of unappetizing bland onion. On top of that, the breading was so thick that it turned soggy around the shrimp and crab, and the one waster we got was filled with a disgusting seasoned mayonnaise that burst in your mouth and was wholly unappetizing.

Lastly, and with all understanding for the layout and size of the restaurant, the only bathroom for the entire restaurant is a single toilet in the kitchen that also has, awkwardly, a stool sitting opposite the toilet, as if you were expecting company to come join you.

Again, I can't speak to the other items on the menu and I'd like to believe that their udon and ramen offerings are fantastic based on other reviews but my experience with the specific roles we purchased was...

I've been dining at this restaurant for 32 years. No joke. I started coming here as a teen, because it was next door to J st Skate Shop, owned by Jeremy Camp and Duane Vrieling, two local valley entrepreneurs. Well, the skate shop eventually shut down and the guys moved on, but George (owner of this fine dining establishment) has been plugging away and keeping this place going. That's right, it's the same owners serving the same dishes, and they have been doing it a long time. Now, about the food.

In short, this is Chinese food, to me. I won't go anywhere else if I can help it. Rarely, and I mean rarely I go out and try a new place hoping to find a back-up for when Tokyo Express is closed, bcs they don't keep long hours. To be honest, I can't even find a back-up. The food here is so good and fresh, and it's the only place in town where I like their sushi. They have combo plates which are great for a variety, or if you're ordering take out you can get the classic pint containers. Best part m, well besides being delicious, is it's reasonably priced. When it's cheaper to get a combo plate here then get combo from a fast food place, I'll choose Tokyo Express every time. Anyway, don't hesitate to try this place, this is my go to place if anyone visits from out of town and wants Chinese, or if I need to take a friend out to dinner or whatever. Great food, great service, great prices. What else...