Tampopo Kitchen — Restaurant in New York

The good news: the sushi and quality of fish is truly the best in the neighborhood.

The bad news: The bar for quality sushiya in the neighborhood couldn't be lower.

I really do like Tampopo. I order from them regularly. Their crunchy spicy tuna roll slaps harder than most generic sushi joints in the city can make. But don't expect that your food will be ready for pick-up on time, like, ever. If it says 30 minutes, add at least double on to that, otherwise you'll be waiting around awkwardly with the host twiddling your thumbs. And don't expect for them to apologetic in the slightest once it's actually ready.

If you order hot food along side sushi when you pick-up, it will undoubtedly be cold by the time you eat it because it seems like they made it at least a half hour before they made the sushi/nigiri. It's clear they have a workflow/speed problem.

They'll regularly turn off their web orders when they're busy during dinner rush because they can't handle the load they come under.

Delivery orders seem to get precedent over people who dine in or are picking up. One can only assume that the bulk of their business is from DoorDash.

The quality of fish and their dishes has decreased a bit since they first opened, but their prices have fallen to match, so it's hard to complain too much. I can only assume it's to cater to those in the neighborhood that don't know the difference because the older demographic in this area tend care more about quantity rather than quality.

Don't expect any kind of traditional Japanese experience with the sushi chefs if you sit at the counter and want to watch them work--that just doesn't exist here. Like most other restaurants in the neighborhood, you'll receive almost zero warmth in regards to how you're treated as a patron, which is the opposite of most downtown Japanese sushiya who pride themselves on service.

At least they've gotten better about including soy sauce with their to-go orders. Before, it used to constantly be left out, which was pretty criminal. But they are capable of improvement! One can only hope they continue upward.

I want to love this place more, but they've still got...

I had high hopes that this would be a delicious new addition to the area. And it was better than I expected!! The insane quality Wagyu beef role is just stupidly tasty. The donburi is a special treat because the quality of fish and rice is excellent! The noodles are so good, and the broth is the best kind of umami experience, like gold and rainbows and mushrooms. I also had the real California roll, which I love because the real crab is just incomparable to the cheap rolls you get at normal places. If you don’t care for exceptional rice and delicate fish, house made noodles, excellent broth and soy sauce that are not industrial grade jugs of serviceable stuff, this place may take a repeat to get used to the new perspective. It’s like listening to a song you thought was weird, but you gotta give it another go to appreciate what is being performed here. I’ll be going back for more regularly. Give it a try. This is a high level restaurant hiding in a...

I really wanted to support this place, but honestly, it is not worth dealing with how bad their service is. Had trouble each time I ordered from them; this last time I ordered, it was a single dish, their system said it would be ready at a specific time (about 25 minutes from when I ordered) I went 5 minutes after the suggested time to pick it up, they said it was not ready and I should wait. Waited for a while, turns out they didn't even start preparing my one dish order. I ask to cancel and get a refund (only then do they start telling me that they are 'about to prepare' my order). The guy then says he voided the transaction, refuses to give me a confirmation, tells me to 'come back tomorrow' for a confirmation that they did actually void the transaction. So, fingers crossed that I am not charged for an item that they never prepared. Anyhow, again, not worth dealing with their b.s.. Will not be ordering...