Tokyo Japanese Steak House

Only had hot pot and sushi here.
The Hot pot is great, I always get the Tom Yum broth.
The sushi is also very good here! I tried most of it and really liked it.
My favorite would be the Volcano maki and Crunchy roll.
Their alcoholic drinks are delicious as well.
Minus one star because the server is not consistently attentive.

I WON’T EVER GO HERE AGAIN
It’s the first time I ever walked out of a resturant.
They have extremely bad service
After being seated we had to wait 10min for our waiter to finally come over. We ordered two hibachi dinners. After waiting another 10 mins our soup that was included in the dinner came out. BTW the soup is not very good. They said our salad would come out soon. After 10 more min no salad No dinner. We started to pester the waitress. She finally gave us our salad. And then another 15 min goes by. Still no
dinner. We have been waiting about 40min. We asked the waitress when would we be served.
The answer was ridiculous. She said because we were at a grill for 10 and we were a party of 2 we had to wait for more ppl to come. I understand they would like to fire up the grill with more ppl but we’ve been waiting 40 mins. I they tell us to wait so more
OK I get it. Your convenience and time is more important than ours.
Of course we left. Never ever returning again.
We went to Kowloon which is just a 5 min drive away.
Our food was served 10min after being seated with the friendliest server ever. Now that’s what I call service.

Sushi was decent but…
Having lived in Japan for 5 years, I guess my expectations were a bit high.
Flat beer, and the food was mediocre at best. I had the Gyoza, and Yakisoba. Both tasted like they were made from the cheapest oldest veggies that could be found. The Yakisoba was just bland. The sushi, however was decent with healthy portions of fish.
The décor was decent but after looking a bit longer. You can see that there is a film of grease everywhere. The mirrors behind the bar were hazy, making we wonder how hygienic the kitchen was if the front part is dirty.
In short, not ever returning.

Meh. I’ve had better is right. The only concept I like about this place is that I can order sushi with shabu. I will say, the prices are pretty comparable to other places in the Chinatown or Allston/​Brighton area. The wait times are usually not that long either and food is actually decent.
The major complaint I will make is that of the staff. They are horrendous. They lack major customer service skills. They are not very attentive at all. I was pretty dissatisfied with the overall experience. In a normal shabu experience, when a waiter observes that the broth has simmered away, they will come refill the broth. Nope, not here, just keep walking by please. Also, I can’t recall how many times I raised my hand just for a glass of water. Maybe this is their secretive way of trying to kick us out. Disappointed is an understatement.

All depends on the cook. There are some good, ok, & new. My wife gets Sushi fashion roll and likes t. I would give it 5 if the cooks were consistent.

Went here on a whim when we wanted a sushi lunch. Very nicely decorated restaurant. I wish there had been a few more maki combo plates, but our food was delicious and seemed very fresh. We sat at a booth but got to enjoy the hibachi chef while we waited on our food. He was very entertaining.

I come here solely for the hot pot, but it’s pretty clear that hibachi is popular. The hot pot is solid. The service is excellent. From the hostess to the servers to the bartender (who may also be an owner), they are friendly and attentive. They are a bit pricey but that’s not surprising given that they are in the mall (high rent). They also don’t have the all-​you-​can-​eat option that most HP places offer but that’s okay since the portions are good sized. I strongly recommend checking it out.

Heard so much about this place and was very excited to try it, the whole group was excited… So went went for one of my friends bday dinners on Monday May 11^th…
We came in as a party of 6… The waiting was about 30 minutes for the area that we requested– where we could do hot pot and other food…
During our wait, we sat at the bar and had a round of drinks… The bartender (also shift manager) was pleasant and very nice… So about 20 minutes later we were seated…
We honestly waited at our seats 30 minutes before we were greeted and the group of 7 that sat next to us, came in about 20 minutes after us and their orders were taken before us… To add to the frustration– a member of our party alerted the host that no one has come over yet. Our server finally came over, took 2 orders and leaves… Apparently her other tables food was coming out !!! Still not certain to what happened there…
So I had enough and searched for the manager… Told her what the situation was, mentioned we are here to celebrate a bday and have been waiting for an inexcusable amount of time, etc…
Manager came over, spoke to the group and helped the other waiting staff provide service that was more acceptable …
The food was delicious … Absolutely no complaints about that… Too bad the service sucked…
Hopefully better next time!

Just had a horrible experience. My wife and I went for an early dinner. We usually sit at a booth and not at the grill-​tables due to my disability. We ordered and after an unusually long wait, our food arrived. Our steak was cold. Not warm, cold. We told the waitress who said it would be hot if we sat at the grill. We have dined this way previously and never experienced any problem. The waitress never offered another meal. She did take one meal off the bill.
After several trips there, we will not return. There was not another customer in the restaurant so there was no excuse. The manager never came over either.
Back to Misono’s for us!

Way overrated!
I came here for a birthday celebration. We were seated in the tables in the back of the restaurant where it’s almost a private setting which I liked. This is my first time eating at a hot pot and I am not impressed at all.
I found their prices to be unbelievably expensive for what you’re actually getting. I hated pretty much everything I ate but I will say that they make some great sushi. I had some of the caterpillar, spider and Idaho rolls and they were all delicious but still a little pricey.
Their hot pot was so overrated. I kept hearing about how great it was but I was left feeling so unsatisfied. We had two types of broth. the tomyum and meat bullion broth. The tomyum was ok, the meat bullion was simply bad. Spent over 220 dollars on the meal which seemed like such a waste. Didn’t eat much and left feeling hungry.
I will say that their service was great though.

Shabu is always enjoyable. The meat was okay though. I’d come back since the distance is very convenient!

Great place to go to for a good meal and entertainment! I ordered the chicken and steak and my partner ordered the shrimp and chicken. Our hibachi chef was amazing! Really funny and cooked our meal perfectly! The only thing was that he mixed one of our dishes up and gave some food to the wrong person so it was a bit awkward. Another thing was that our waitress gave everyone a book for their bill except for mine and handed me just the paper which I thought was a little weird. Other than that it was great.

Very solid hibachi spot in Saugus.
Nice décor/​ambiance, and the staff is very nice. Except one time our waitress got visibly mad at us because we wanted to pay our check with multiple cards. She made the end of our experience very inconvenient, and we ended up staying an extra 30 minutes to sort it out.
The hibachi is good. I usually get the chicken and shrimp combo. However they charge extra for fried rice — the hibachi includes white rice. I think this is pretty ridiculous — any other hibachi place I’ve been to also fries your rice on the grill with everything else.
I’ve tried a few appetizers — the wings are good. I’ve also tried the gyoza — my boyfriend and I love gyoza and get that at most sushi restaurants we go to. This gyoza was probably the worst I’ve ever had. I’ll never get it here again.
The drinks here are low priced and delicious! In the «exotic drinks» section of their menu, they have very cheap drinks that all taste good. I always get the «head hunter» every time I come here — it tastes kind of like a piña colada and packs a punch ;)
The hostess/​bartender that made our drinks the last time we were here was very nice — wish I knew her name so I could give her some kudos!

It’s nicer inside then the other location. The staff is friendlier but could still use a lesson on niceness. The food was good and the chef was pretty awesome. He was interactive and very nice to my 2 year old. However they took away my son’s plate because we were going to share and they wouldn’t let us. The rice needed cook longer. The vegetables were just right.

Its not bad for something near our area. Convience and near by without the hassle of driving into Boston. Service is friendly. Food is good not great. Wish they had sauté beef tongue. Sushi is mediocre.

Have been doing Shabu research for months here on Unilocal… I was intrigued about it & off I went reading EVERY Review of every Shabu place in Boston & surrouding areas… So we went here as this was close to home and the prices were not as steep as many others.
We went Friday afternoon for lunch & the place was EMPTY — however, I imagine this place doesnt pack up as its in the mall. Place is super nice & clean, pleasant staff…
Sat at a Shabu Booth right opposite the Grill so I was able to see the tricks and fire but not eat at the Hibachi table…
The waitress came out & we explained how we were «Newbies» she was over informative (although I had done soo much reasearch I felt like an Old Pro) she gave us some suggestions, told us about the Temperatures and then we ordered…
First we got Edamame (My new obsession) and it was great — PERFECTLY salted.
A Crazy Maki Roll — which was also good.
For the Shabu:
We ordered Meat Combo 1 (which was more than enough for 2)
Mushroom Variety Side
Corn Side (I like Corn)
She gave us a Free New Fungus they were offering
Variety Meat Balls (wish they were marked so we knew which was which)
Vermicelli (Bad Idea)
Jumbo Shrimp
We had the Beef Stock that comes free and then TomYum Thai Season (it was SOOO perfectly Spicy if you like spice)
The vermicelli was the only down side — It instantly clumped and was unable to eat easily (next time Id try Rice)
When she brought over all the sauces/​Garlic/​Peppers she even explained how to mix & make sauces, she was very helpful & we will DEF come back — with all the Ala Carte choices we assumed the bill would be crazy high but suprisingly not…
Everything was just right… Just wish I knew what Meat Balls were which as we only liked the one that tastes somewhat like Meat/​Sausage.

Hibachi inside the mall!
I’ve been meaning to eat here for quite a while. After doing some shopping at the Square One Mall on a Monday night, I decided to have a sit down dinner at Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse. I requested to be seated for hibachi and I was the first guest at the hibachi grill.
I waited for about 10 minutes (I placed my dinner order quickly) before seven more diners arrived and were seated at my hibachi (teppanyaki) table-​now we could get down to business! Another 10 minutes, the other diners placed their orders and 5 minutes after that, we were served salads (iceberg lettuce, cucumber, carrot and tangy ginger dressing) and Japanese onion soup (chicken broth, onions, mushrooms), which were both good. The hibachi chef arrived soon after with the cart of ingredients for the meals, dished out the dipping sauces, and heated up the grill. The chef was very animated and funny, banging the spatulas on the grill, juggling eggs, flaming onion tower, and doing other tricks. The hibachi fried rice was prepared first, then meats & seafood items were grilled next, and finally the grilled vegetables. He even squirted sake into the mouths of a few adult diners, but I declined. The chef was cooking at our table for about 25 minutes from start to finish, a nice job well done!
As for the food, I enjoyed the Bonsai Scallops ($ 18.95), which were soft and tender topped with teriyaki sauce & sesame seeds. The fresh mixed vegetables consisted of broccoli, carrots, onions, mushrooms, & zucchini (no sprouts). The fried rice (add $ 1.95) consisted of soft rice, peas, carrots, and egg. The 3 grilled shrimp (appetizer) were tender and firm.
Overall, the meal I had was very good, fresh, and flavorful. I really enjoy hibachi especially on a normal weeknight (not Fri) when the place is not crowded and noisy. The service was adequate here. I was given a refill (by request) for the hot tea ($ 1) during dinner and the check was presented in timely fashion as I finished my meal.

What a fun experience! You can choose either grill-​side or a booth and we got lucky and sat at Hunter’s hibachi — it’s like dinner theater, people. Delicious, hilarious dinner theater. Hunter banters and shows off his impressive skills while preparing a custom dish before your eyes. He wears a cowboy belt wrapped around his waist and wields his knife like a delicate weapon. You can also recognize him by his purple toque.
Excellent drinks, with plenty of nonalcoholic choices for the visiting kid. It’s a Japanese steak house, but they did have a veggie or tofu Teppanyaki, too — awesome! My shrimp and chicken were tender and flavorful, with 2 house sauces (Worcestershire and what tasted like wasabi) and plenty of veggies and rice (white or fried). You get a house salad with a delicious house dressing, and miso, but we also tried the veggie tempura and it was probably the best I have had — so crispy!
Our seat mates said they come a lot and always request Hunter because he is so fun, and I have to say that I would def do that again. With no previous experience, I thought the pricing was very reasonable for the excellent service and amount of food.

I had hot pot here couple times, it was decent.
The broths included basic, thai tomyum, kimchi, and meat quality, all were just alright, but the meat portion was less than any other place.
nice ambiance, and nice staff.
Will come back to try out the hibachi.

Okay, so this review may be a little late, but I still remember the extremely disappointing lunch that I got here a while ago. It was a few months after they first opened, but as a dedicated Unilocaler, I have to say something about this place.
My mom got a coupon in the mail, so we decided to check this place out. We were there for the lunch deals, and it was extremely disappointing. I believe the bill was about $ 30 with tip, and I felt so ripped off.
My mom got the salmon bento lunch box, and I got the steak. Usually in a bento box, you get some really fun and tasty goodies to come along with it. However, these bento boxes were pathetic. I recall getting one kind of sad tasting dumpling and a few slices of an orange, no salad of any kind. The bento box was not pretty looking at all, no color to it. There didn’t seem to be any care to the aesthetic value or taste of their food. I have worked at a Japanese/​Korean restaurant and seen how nice and filled with value a lunch bento box can be. That was not the case here at Tokyo.
I eat out fairly often and can make true comparisons between places. I think there must be high rent for the mall space which is why the food value is not here. Also, I agree with some of the other Unilocalers about extremely slow service here. I had the same experience and the restaurant was pretty dead during the lunch hour. I have not gone back since and don’t plan on it.