This Old House Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Virginia Beach

I have waited too long to write this review, but I HAVE to let everyone know how great this place is.

First and foremost, I have travelled all over the United States (ie San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle) and Asia and This Old House has sushi that is as good or better than any of the places I have eaten in some of the global sushi hotspots. The owner's creative development of his rolls make for some delicious eating whether you are looking for the more traditional rolls or something a little more Americanized.

Second, the customer service and friendliness of the owner and his staff are something I have never seen anywhere. He knows myself and my family by face, even after a few years out of the area and is always careful to come speak with us and check how we are doing when we come in. This is done in an extremely non-invasive manner. If he even gets a whiff that you would rather not chat him up but eat your sushi, he is great at picking up cues and backing off. Honestly, I have never seen it done better.

A particular incident I need to mention when we came in to eat over 4th of July weekend. The restaurant was CLOSED, but the owner was inside and had not locked the door so my family walked on in. Instead of shooing us out, he sat us down, made us some delicious sushi and we were on our way about an hour later. WHERE ELSE DOES THAT HAPPEN?

Third and definitely noteworthy is the great bang for your buck you get here. He literally gives you double the fish I am used to seeing at some sushi places. The rolls are also HUGE and reasonably priced. As a general rule I order 30-50% less rolls than what I normally would. That is savings in your pocket!

I live in Portsmouth and try to make the drive out to VA Beach as regularly as I can. It is always worth the trip. A hidden gem in an otherwise non-descript strip mall. Do not pass...

I was completely misled by the high Google reviews for this sushi restaurant. It felt like a bait-and-switch experience, given its high star rating. Months later, I still vividly recall the disappointment and horror of our meal.

Having enjoyed sushi in California, Asia, and locally in Virginia Beach and Suffolk, I can confidently say this was the worst sushi I’ve ever had. The rolls were poorly constructed, with unevenly cut fish and toppings precariously perched on the rice log. It was a mess from the start.

When we bit into the rolls, the rice was so over-compressed it had the texture of rubber. The raw fish tasted fishy and far from fresh—a major red flag for sushi. To make matters worse, we made the mistake of ordering uni, which was overwhelmingly fishy and unpleasant. I genuinely struggled to swallow it but felt obligated since we had paid for it.

The only redeeming aspect of the visit was the staff, who were incredibly kind. Unfortunately, the food was so bad that we didn’t have the heart to tell them. We simply wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

I struggled with whether to write this negative review because I understand how hard it is for small business owners to survive. However, I don’t want others who have had good sushi to go through the same disappointing experience I did, being misled by the high reviews.

Adding insult to injury, we spent over $100 on this terrible meal, making it even more unforgettable.

Those who rated this place four or five stars must have never had real, good sushi. This was, without question, the most unforgettable sushi experience of my life—for all the wrong reasons. I wouldn’t recommend this...

Oh, where to start… we went here for my birthday last night, instead of my normal spot in Norfolk, because of two recommendations AND the high rating. I will never trust the food recommendations of those two people ever again. And I’m simply confused about all the five star reviews.

First off, we walked in and there was such a fishy stink that my 7 yo asked why it smelled so bad. Then the owner got snippy with us because I requested a table for 6 and my mom said there was only 5 of us. Not that one seat would change the size of our table. Our waitress was wearing pajama pants, which was not only tacky, but a little gross. My husband ordered plain chicken and rice for our 7 year old. It came to the table swimming in teriyaki sauce. Didn’t send it back because I didn’t trust the integrity of the staff.

As far as the sushi goes; clunky cuts, poor quality of fish, not wrapped as tight as should be, rice was over cooked mush, and I hate to say that the almond tata was just plain gross. The spider roll was especially disappointing. The soft shell crab tasted off AND there were no vegetables in it, which may have potentially made it as least slightly more edible.

The most devastating part, it ended being MORE expensive that my usual spot, kotobuki, and didn’t even come close to...