Moonlight Sushi Bar and Grill

After Jordan’s high school graduation the family went out to Moonlight for hibachi. We had a reservation for ten. We were seated quickly, the hibachi area was empty on a Friday night at 8:00. I was a little apprehensive. This is a high profile place on Middletown Main Street but it was empty.
The waitress took our drink orders and then our meal orders. The place is quiet but clean. Of the ten of us, only my boys didn’t order hibachi.
First was the miso soup and a salad. I love miso soup. Jordan tried it and liked it. The salad was pretty basic but the veggies were fresh and crisp.
Then our chef came out. He was very friendly and enthusiastic. He prepared our food with all the typical teppanyaki tricks. We caught veggies in our mouth and oohed and aaahed at the onion volcano. Everyone seemed to enjoy the show.
I had red snapper, Toni and Jordan had chicken and steak. All were very good. The meats were all on the salty side after being seasoned by the chef but all were perfectly cooked. The fried rice and grilled veggies were also tasty and properly cooked.
Now that we have eaten, I don’t understand why the place was empty on a Friday night. The food was good, the show entertaining, the staff friendly and efficient and restaurant clean. Has hibachi dining died in Middletown?
Moonlight also serves sushi and other styles of Japanese food. Hunter got a giant bento box he could not finish. Teagan got pork katsu. He enjoyed it and said he would get it again.
Overall we had a great experience celebrating Jordan’s graduation. We’ll be back to experience other items on Moonlight’s menu.

This is my goto sushi place in Middletown. They have an extensive menu, I like the special rolls offered and the kitchen specials are great to. Try the shogun chicken, it’s amazing. They deliver as well and have always been on time for me. No complaints, reasonable prices for excellent quality food. Thanks!

So I’ve been a regular here from the start, like before it was moonlight and when it was Osaka. It still continues to never disappoint. I love sitting at the sushi bar and getting to watch the chefs make our food and sometimes get an extra treat from them. The wait staff is also extremely accommodating. I recommend asking for Adam or Lamu. They’re the best! The food is always fresh and delicious, I’ll order sushi and be confident that it’s fresh every day of the week. You can’t beat the sauces they serve there either. I love the spicy mayo, the eel, the teriyaki, and the ginger dressing. They always make it just right. There’s always something off about at least one of those at all the other sushi places. Definitely check this out. They also offer takeout or delivery via 860 to Go if you would rather stay home.

This place has amazing sushi and the staff is extremely knowledgeable about the menu… It was my first visit and I will be back again with my friends next time

Excellent food and service. I definitely recommend going here if in Middletown. Moonlight has great happy hour specials and lunch specials as well and the regular menu is very fairly priced. I also love the wait staff.

My husband and I have been here for sushi a few times with Groupons. The sushi has always been great and the prices are more reasonable than Mikado. I had been very disappointed this last time with the lack of service. We came on a weekend night… However most of the tables around us had recently left. Our server took over 10 minutes to bring us our drinks, we waited about 40 minutes for our 4 sushi rolls, and she never came back to check on us once she brought over our food. We even had to be flag her down just to get a re-​fill on drinks… When all she was doing was bussing the empty tables in our area — there was NO wait for more guests. This one experience isn’t a deal breaker just yet for me, as I had not experienced poor service like this the previous times. I’ll chalk it up to our server having a bad night or being new.

I can’t but like the place and their service, of course. I got here some additional information that here is full of excellent facilities. As for example the gym was wonderful. I was also pleased with their well combined food Their service was cheap. I will be back.

There’s a lot of good places to get good sushi. Frankly, I think it’s intrinsic to the culinary art. Just keep the fish fresh and you’ve got a great Japanese meal.
So what sets this one apart? I just love the menu. I can’t think of anywhere else in the area that compartmentalizes their specialty rolls into raw and cooked. Usually I find myself fine-​tooth combing the menu, separating the rolls with raw fish (i.e. real sushi) from what is little more cooked Japanese food rolled up in some rice. Not that that’s a bad thing… if you like it, more power to you.
As of right now, they are running a Groupon, which drew us to Moonlight in the first place. But we’re certainly glad we got ours. Nice new place, worth a shot!

Groupon + Promo Code = Date Night at Moonlight Sushi Bar and Grill!
Sushi was very good, but I was not blown away. My husband and I went on a quiet Sunday evening, so we were served right away. I liked the hip ambience of Mikado better. I would only go back with a Groupon.

It’s your typical hibachi/​sushi place but it was pretty quiet on the Saturday night my family went. There was also only one hibachi chef so we had to wait a while for him to finish the other tables before he came over and cooked for our side as well as the other side, so we had half his attention, while he was cooking. The food itself was not bad but the only thing I really loved was the fried rice. That fried rice is delicious! I would probably go back just for that. I liked the red snapper hibachi we had the best when compered to the shrimp and steak, which were dry.

Delicious fresh sushi and sashimi. The owners and staff understand customer service. Don’t be afraid to ask for recommendations… or a fork. Go to downtown Middletown for this hidden treasure. Lots of free parking in back lot. They have just build an outdoor eating area for alfresco dining at its best.

Came with a Groupon, left with a satisfied belly!
We got dinner on a Wednesday night, and I have to say I don’t understand all the hate for this place! Seems like maybe they have turned things around since a lot of these negative reviews were written. The service was great — the hostess was downstairs but on her way up as we arrived, so we were greeted promptly. Our server was quick and very pleasant.
We ordered a scorpion bowl, which came filled to the brim. The appetizers we had (gyoza and shumai) were delicious. To finish everything off, we ordered three sushi rolls, a spicy salmon, shrimp tempura, and a special roll called the Perry roll, which was particularly outstanding.
Glad to know there’s another great sushi place downtown. I have a feeling I’ll be coming to Moonlight often.

Nope, when your Japanese restaurant doesn’t offer you chopsticks, you know it’s gonna be a bad time.
Hibachi show was wayyyyyy over the top. Half of the food ended up on the ground instead of on my plate.
Not worth the $$$!

My family of 5 came to Moonlight on Sunday at 12:30 for lunch and it was awesome!
Sushi was excellent. Servers were nice and helpful. Prices were reasonable for a nice Japanese meal.
When we need to pinch pennies we’ll come on a Mon-​Sat instead to get the lunch special pricing… and hold off on the $ 3.50 Bubble teas for everyone!

Went check this place out today, loved it. It’s a very nice environment. Upstairs is habachi, and downstairs is tables and bars.
Other than sushi, they also serve Thai food, and of course the amazing bubble tea. Other than and appetizers, we ordered 2 roll, shrimp tempura and the eel, it’s delicious.
I would definitly recommend this place and come back, the bar area seems like a nice place to hangout with friends.

My new favorite sushi place. Different delicious dishes to try. All about presentation. Sushi so fresh and tasty and yummy sake always a hit.

I’m super disappointed that they changed their happy hour specials. The buy-​one-​get-​one free drinks were the only reason I frequented this place. They changed their happy hour specials to a limited menu, offering only discounted beer and wine. No more BOGO scorpion bowls. :(
They did add FOOD to their happy hour specials, which I guess I can’t complain about. The happy hour food menu included your basic, run of the mill sushi rolls. Ordered a spicy salmon, California, shrimp tempura, and philly roll this afternoon, averaging a price of about $ 5 per roll. I’d rate them a solid «good». Nothing to write home about. The fried calamari appetizer was sketchy. I wouldn’t recommend it.
Another negative is that they only run happy hour Monday thru Friday, from 2:30PM to 4:30PM. How does anyone with a job make a 2:30PM happy hour?! Lucky for me, I got out early today!
I did have a specialty roll here before, the Monster Roll, and it was pretty boom-​bangin.

Be prepared for a weird dinner if you make the trek,
All night our waitress was breathing down our neck.
Sushi was good but Teriyaki was nasty,
We wanted to eat and get out of there fasty.
Came with a Groupon to try out this restaurant under new management. We ordered drinks. When the waitress brought them over she asked us if we were ready to order. We said we needed a few more minutes to peruse the menu. Instead of saying OK and walking away like any other waitress would, she awkwardly stood next to us and pointed out her favorite items on the menu for about 5 minutes. She then stood there in silence for another minute or two. It was ridiculously uncomfortable, but looking back on it I can kind of chuckle to myself.
We got beef skewers for an appetizer and they were nothing special. Girlfriend ordered the Teriyaki Shrimp. Not enjoyable. We had to peel the tails off of the 6 measly shrimp we got. The vegetables were undercooked and excessive. The flavor of the sauce was off. Never again.
The reason for the 3 stars, however, was the sushi. I got the Godzilla Roll and it was 8 pieces of heaven. Spicy, crunchy, fresh, and very appealing to the eye. Price was average.
There are also some great Happy Hour specials every day of the week except Saturday (see my photos for specifics). HH includes $ 2 beers, but unfortunately they only have bottled macrobrews and Asian beers.
Will be back for sushi and cheap beers… and that’s it.

I’m so glad Middletown has another Japanese restaurant, and I’m hoping that they will prove to be a solid choice and a go-​to for when I’m in the area. My family recently gathered here for my birthday, thanks to the positive Unilocal reviews and the spirit of trying out the new place in town. Its been years since I’ve done hibachi, but it seemed like a fun thing to do with a group including my young niece and nephew.
Aside from some slightly shaky service (we frequently had to flag someone down) and a questionable bar menu (two members of my party sent back their «Cosmos» stating they had a cherry flavor and tasted «nothing like a Cosmo» ((I concur that they were bright red and had maraschino cherries)), it was an excellent time. We loved the show put on by the hibachi chef and had fun with him, and loved the food even more. Seriously, even a day or two later, I found my mind drifting off to the flavorful fried rice and perfectly prepared shrimp, salmon and veggies. Everyone in my party went with the hibachi meals and were super happy with it.
Spoiler alert– if its your birthday, they will put an Asian hat on your head as the dessert comes out, and put a picture of you in the foyer. I noticed the collection of photos as I came in and completely forgot about it until the hat made an appearance later on. I was a blend of mortified and amused, and my first reaction to seeing my photo was, wow, look at that culturally insensitive jackass. But hey, they put it on me, so whatever, I guess.
Anyway, this was a good visit that left me wanting to come back. There is a sushi bar and alcohol bar downstairs that I want to check out, and there are a few tatami tables behind privacy curtains that are oh-​so-​fun. Plus, a sign advertised happy hour specials– my favorite. Moonlight, I think you and I could be friends!

Moonlight recently opened on Main Street in Middletown, where Osaka used to be. Despite the fact that the super cheesy flashing red, blue, green and purple lights around the front and back windows make this place look like a cheap karaōke bar or an adult video store, I ventured in for some quick sushi take out.
We got off to a bad start due to the layout of the restaurant. It has the same awkward and unnecessarily large 2 story layout that Osaka had. I first parked in front on Main Street, but then saw printed on the door that the sushi bar was downstairs. So I moved my car around back, but the guys at the sushi bar sent me upstairs. So, if you need takeout, just park in front. Then there was no one at the counter and the waitress from the hibachi table came running over, but it was clear that she needed to get back to her table, and I really needed some time with the menu. I was not feeling adventurous, as it was late and I was hungry. I ordered my old standbys, edamame, a spicy tuna roll and a shrimp tempura roll. $ 17 and 10 minutes later, I was on my way home.
The food was relatively uninspiring. My spicy tuna roll was neither spicy nor am I sure it was even tuna. It was completely flavorless. The spicy sauce was missing. Not on top and not inside the roll. I’m the only sushi customer in the place, I only ordered two rolls and they mess up one? Not a good batting average here. So I was overcharged 50 cents for what ultimately was just a tuna roll. On the bright side, it wasn’t fishy, but it just was bland and not worth finishing. The shrimp tempura roll looked like a hot mess in the takeout container. When I ate it, it had pieces of shell and tail underneath the tempura. It was not so appetizing as I was fishing pieces of chewed up shell out of my mouth. The edamame was the best part, but come on, how hard is it to steam and salt some edamame? They don’t get any bonus points there.
I wonder if, like other sushi places in the area, the takeout is inferior to the food that is served when dining in the restaurant. I will go back to try the hibachi at some point and give the sushi another go. But I’m a little sad that this is not the superstar sushi spot for Middletown that I so hoped it would be.