The service is what made my experience here bad. The waiter(assumably owner as well) was very dismissive and rude. My first instinct as a I came in was to sit at table with 4 seats, since there was only one family in the restaurant besides me. It was an empty dining room. He told me to sit a 2 seater, which is completely fine, but he said it very disrespectfully. “No, not there, here” aggressively patting the table.. He plopped the menu down on the table from a high angle. Truthfully, I didn’t want to order anything after this so I just ordered a spicy tuna hand roll, since I was already sat. It was alright. Overall, the service is bad and I will not be returning.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 2
Robert Mangano
The lady that was at the cash registered is the nastiest woman I have ever seen in my life to take an order .I Tried to put an order in and she had an attitude with me. Telling me I had a long time to wait. I will never ever go back to little tokyo in norwalk again
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
Yesenia Pelaez
I’m not one to write bad reviews, especially on small businesses but what I experienced today 12/3/2024 was extremely unprofessional. I placed a take-out order over the phone, requesting a “side order of Shumai” and a “side order of egg fried rice”, somehow the elderly man that took my call misunderstood what I said and made 6 orders of Shumai… He blamed me and said I told him “six” over the phone. Never did I say this. You would think someone who’s handling the phone would understand English or confirm orders if they didn’t understand. He threw a temper tantrum and threw an order of Shumai and utensils in front of me. I had an extremely distasteful experience and will never recommend this place to any of my friends of relatives due to this occurrence.
Michael Cohn
Having lived in Japan for nearly 6 years I can say that Little Tokyo is a very authentic experience. They can do a lot of off menu food with notice. The seafood comes up from the NY Seaport daily. Highly recommended. I have been eating here for maybe 15 years now.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Marc Poirier
This is a small gem of a restaurant that has some great sushi that is reasonably priced and I eat here all the time. Highly recommend trying it out
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bento Box, Assorted Sashimi Deluxe, Miso Soup, Tempura, House Special Roll Special
Remanee Jones
My boyfriend and I were first time customers coming here for a pickup. As soon as we entered the door, a male worker walked quickly to us and shouted, "Hey hey we're closed," in front of the few people who were still dining there. How embarrassing. I said to him, "Did you let us know this?" He nonchalantly said, "Yeah" and quickly walked away. My boyfriend checked his messages to see they canceled a few minutes before we arrived. They didn't even bother to call to make sure we got the message. We soon assumed that it was probably a late order, around 8:40 pm and the kitchen was probably closing at 9:00 pm. But the restaurant didn't officially close until 10:00 pm. Regardless, the way we treated was really unnecessary. Especially, being newcomers. Little Tokyo, from one business owner to another, I suggest you do better if you want to STAY in business...
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
Likith Reddy
Amazing food and staff
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sushi
William Mallozzi
I'm speaking on behalf of sushi. Their sushi is excellent. Also not pricey. Small place inside service was good.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 3
Hunter N (beachairfiz)
Awful chicken Teriyaki at any price. Overcooked and dry, and sauce was like water.And "assorted" Japanese pickles are just pickled daikon. So low effort it hurts.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Mark Slotoroff
Food is good, price is fair. Order is almost always incorrect.
Always delicious food! Eel, eel and more eel. Sushi, Shashimi, Unagi Don dinner, Rolls, Tempura, Dumplings, Edamame, house salad, miso soup, my Steak & Lobster Tail came steaming to the table! Diet Coke in a can. Service is very efficient and helpful. Thank
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sushi, Mackerel
BRIAN HORSBURGH
Went for a late lunch and we were the only diners. The service was excellent and staff very friendly. Coupled with good food at a reasonable price it was a winning combination and we will be back!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
E L
Great budget sushi!!! Love it here
Mlle C. LaJeune
I feel compelled to speak up in response to those who complain that the service at Little Tokyo is substandard.People who don’t understand differences in speech and grammatical patterns between Mandarin/ Cantonese/Japanese/Asian cultures think that an abrupt speech pattern is rudeness. For instance, what appears to be abrupt, direct speech is actually a function of grammar structure in certain dialects like Cantonese. Go down to Chinatown in Manhattan or Flushing, Queens, and you’ll hear many examples of colloquial Cantonese that sounds abrupt because the speech consists of nouns and verbs and few connecting consonants. They also seem to be yelling and every interaction, even ordering from a menu, involves much negotiating and argument!Apart from those linguistic differences, there is also a bigger issue with respect to expectations of “service” in a restaurant. Often service that is prompt, and efficient is downgraded because it appears that the waitperson fails to ingratiate himself in order to flatter the egos of the customers. That is degrading. I have often found that those same people are also disappointed with service in Europe when dining out in restaurants. Servers in Europe are paid a living wage. They do not depend on the customers’ whim to earn a wage from tips. They’re actually paid a living wage to do their job and they do it well. The waitstaff are efficient, hard working, and cordial, but not in the least obsequious.It is an American peculiarity that restaurants on this side of the “pond” expect restaurant customers to subsidize the employees’ wages. Europeans only tip if they want to do so to acknowledge extraordinary service. They are not expected to do so. Thus, one is not expected to tip.In this country, tips are not only expected- even for bad service, but are mandatory in order to subsidize the wages of employees so that employers can comply with the requirements of the laws of minimum wage. I find this peculiar American demand for obsequiousness from a server as a gauge of good service is directly linked to the employers’ failure to pay them a decent living wage. The onus is on the customer to subsidize the waitstaff wages. This allows the patron to make unreasonable demands and have unrealistic expectations of what is deemed good “service” justifying a tip.Also why should customers who are already paying higher prices due to inflation be expected to subsidize the wages of waitstaff? Isn’t it already covered by overhead and profit built into the pricing? No wonder many are balking at higher menu prices and expectations of higher tips.Having got that out of the way, let me speak to the food and the service of Little Tokyo. The fish is fresh, varied, and relatively inexpensive in view of the quality. For example, any restaurant who always has Uni available every day is amazing. Most restaurants are always “out” of uni even though it’s listed on the menu. Why don’t they stock it? It is very expensive to do so. Uni has to be fresh, and does not freeze well at all. Hence restaurants cannot stock extended quantities of uni if the clientele are not in the habit of ordering them every week.At Little Tokyo, there is always uni available every day. That is a benchmark of the freshness of their fish and a litmus test. Their loyal clientele order vast quantities every week so that there is always a fast turnover of their fish.As for the service ? Henry, who speaks Cantonese fluently, has been the manager there for 20 + years. He is always welcoming and remembers all his regulars. There are no complaints ever regarding his attentive service except from those whose expectations go beyond friendly efficiency and prompt, dependable service.All I can say is that those who complain about Little Tokyo are clearly NOT regulars. They do not appreciate the fresh quality of the fish, and they expect a level of service that is beyond what is expected of the dignity which is rightfully accorded to servers.
We decided to try this place in spite of the recent reviews about the rude owner because other reviewers commented on the excellent food. I was expecting a Seinfeld episode to unfold, we were prepared to be treated rudely.I did not find the person who waited on us rude, but rather to have an abrupt way of speaking. I can see how others could interpret this differently.The food was great and we found the atmosphere pleasant.The prices were much lower than the other sushi restaurants in Norwalk with the same quality of fish.
The service is what made my experience here bad. The waiter(assumably owner as well) was very dismissive and rude. My first instinct as a I came in was to sit at table with 4 seats, since there was only one family in the restaurant besides me. It was an empty dining room. He told me to sit a 2 seater, which is completely fine, but he said it very disrespectfully. “No, not there, here” aggressively patting the table.. He plopped the menu down on the table from a high angle. Truthfully, I didn’t want to order anything after this so I just ordered a spicy tuna hand roll, since I was already sat. It was alright. Overall, the service is bad and I will not be returning.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 2
The lady that was at the cash registered is the nastiest woman I have ever seen in my life to take an order .I Tried to put an order in and she had an attitude with me. Telling me I had a long time to wait. I will never ever go back to little tokyo in norwalk again
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
I’m not one to write bad reviews, especially on small businesses but what I experienced today 12/3/2024 was extremely unprofessional. I placed a take-out order over the phone, requesting a “side order of Shumai” and a “side order of egg fried rice”, somehow the elderly man that took my call misunderstood what I said and made 6 orders of Shumai… He blamed me and said I told him “six” over the phone. Never did I say this. You would think someone who’s handling the phone would understand English or confirm orders if they didn’t understand. He threw a temper tantrum and threw an order of Shumai and utensils in front of me. I had an extremely distasteful experience and will never recommend this place to any of my friends of relatives due to this occurrence.
Having lived in Japan for nearly 6 years I can say that Little Tokyo is a very authentic experience. They can do a lot of off menu food with notice. The seafood comes up from the NY Seaport daily. Highly recommended. I have been eating here for maybe 15 years now.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This is a small gem of a restaurant that has some great sushi that is reasonably priced and I eat here all the time. Highly recommend trying it out
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bento Box, Assorted Sashimi Deluxe, Miso Soup, Tempura, House Special Roll Special
My boyfriend and I were first time customers coming here for a pickup. As soon as we entered the door, a male worker walked quickly to us and shouted, "Hey hey we're closed," in front of the few people who were still dining there. How embarrassing. I said to him, "Did you let us know this?" He nonchalantly said, "Yeah" and quickly walked away. My boyfriend checked his messages to see they canceled a few minutes before we arrived. They didn't even bother to call to make sure we got the message. We soon assumed that it was probably a late order, around 8:40 pm and the kitchen was probably closing at 9:00 pm. But the restaurant didn't officially close until 10:00 pm. Regardless, the way we treated was really unnecessary. Especially, being newcomers. Little Tokyo, from one business owner to another, I suggest you do better if you want to STAY in business...
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
Amazing food and staff
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sushi
I'm speaking on behalf of sushi. Their sushi is excellent. Also not pricey. Small place inside service was good.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 3
Awful chicken Teriyaki at any price. Overcooked and dry, and sauce was like water.And "assorted" Japanese pickles are just pickled daikon. So low effort it hurts.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Food is good, price is fair. Order is almost always incorrect.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Sushi
Restaurantji Recommends
Always delicious food! Eel, eel and more eel. Sushi, Shashimi, Unagi Don dinner, Rolls, Tempura, Dumplings, Edamame, house salad, miso soup, my Steak & Lobster Tail came steaming to the table! Diet Coke in a can. Service is very efficient and helpful. Thank
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sushi, Mackerel
Went for a late lunch and we were the only diners. The service was excellent and staff very friendly. Coupled with good food at a reasonable price it was a winning combination and we will be back!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great budget sushi!!! Love it here
I feel compelled to speak up in response to those who complain that the service at Little Tokyo is substandard.People who don’t understand differences in speech and grammatical patterns between Mandarin/ Cantonese/Japanese/Asian cultures think that an abrupt speech pattern is rudeness. For instance, what appears to be abrupt, direct speech is actually a function of grammar structure in certain dialects like Cantonese. Go down to Chinatown in Manhattan or Flushing, Queens, and you’ll hear many examples of colloquial Cantonese that sounds abrupt because the speech consists of nouns and verbs and few connecting consonants. They also seem to be yelling and every interaction, even ordering from a menu, involves much negotiating and argument!Apart from those linguistic differences, there is also a bigger issue with respect to expectations of “service” in a restaurant. Often service that is prompt, and efficient is downgraded because it appears that the waitperson fails to ingratiate himself in order to flatter the egos of the customers. That is degrading. I have often found that those same people are also disappointed with service in Europe when dining out in restaurants. Servers in Europe are paid a living wage. They do not depend on the customers’ whim to earn a wage from tips. They’re actually paid a living wage to do their job and they do it well. The waitstaff are efficient, hard working, and cordial, but not in the least obsequious.It is an American peculiarity that restaurants on this side of the “pond” expect restaurant customers to subsidize the employees’ wages. Europeans only tip if they want to do so to acknowledge extraordinary service. They are not expected to do so. Thus, one is not expected to tip.In this country, tips are not only expected- even for bad service, but are mandatory in order to subsidize the wages of employees so that employers can comply with the requirements of the laws of minimum wage. I find this peculiar American demand for obsequiousness from a server as a gauge of good service is directly linked to the employers’ failure to pay them a decent living wage. The onus is on the customer to subsidize the waitstaff wages. This allows the patron to make unreasonable demands and have unrealistic expectations of what is deemed good “service” justifying a tip.Also why should customers who are already paying higher prices due to inflation be expected to subsidize the wages of waitstaff? Isn’t it already covered by overhead and profit built into the pricing? No wonder many are balking at higher menu prices and expectations of higher tips.Having got that out of the way, let me speak to the food and the service of Little Tokyo. The fish is fresh, varied, and relatively inexpensive in view of the quality. For example, any restaurant who always has Uni available every day is amazing. Most restaurants are always “out” of uni even though it’s listed on the menu. Why don’t they stock it? It is very expensive to do so. Uni has to be fresh, and does not freeze well at all. Hence restaurants cannot stock extended quantities of uni if the clientele are not in the habit of ordering them every week.At Little Tokyo, there is always uni available every day. That is a benchmark of the freshness of their fish and a litmus test. Their loyal clientele order vast quantities every week so that there is always a fast turnover of their fish.As for the service ? Henry, who speaks Cantonese fluently, has been the manager there for 20 + years. He is always welcoming and remembers all his regulars. There are no complaints ever regarding his attentive service except from those whose expectations go beyond friendly efficiency and prompt, dependable service.All I can say is that those who complain about Little Tokyo are clearly NOT regulars. They do not appreciate the fresh quality of the fish, and they expect a level of service that is beyond what is expected of the dignity which is rightfully accorded to servers.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bento, Assorted Sashimi Deluxe, Sushi
We decided to try this place in spite of the recent reviews about the rude owner because other reviewers commented on the excellent food. I was expecting a Seinfeld episode to unfold, we were prepared to be treated rudely.I did not find the person who waited on us rude, but rather to have an abrupt way of speaking. I can see how others could interpret this differently.The food was great and we found the atmosphere pleasant.The prices were much lower than the other sushi restaurants in Norwalk with the same quality of fish.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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