14 Best Japanese Restaurants near Cocoa Beach

“Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse- Cocoa Beach, FL- 4 Stars "I'm sure one of the frustrations of being a Western enthusiast of Japanese food and culture is you're confronted every day with the absolute certainty that you will die ignorant." - A. Bourdain One of the reasons I dislike coming to Cocoa Beach for reviews is that there are 100 restaurants and the majority are clip joints or tourist milkers. Don't misunderstand me here, I'm not knocking the tourists, I love not having a state income tax, I am, however; knocking those that rip them off as they give other proprietors, the area and the state, in general, a bad name. Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse is a joint in the Teppanyaki style of food prep. If you are unfamiliar, this is the style that was invented in Japan post-WWII by an enterprising entrepreneur by the name of Shigeji Fujioka of the Misono chain of restaurants in Japan. Most of us here in America know this style from the Benihana restaurant chain. Certainly a tourist trap, it boasted a fun touristy décor and a light warmhearted staff. My waitress was Davina and she is on top of things, prompt and 4000 times better than Amber in my previous dining experience in Cocoa Beach. Being served by a professional of Davina's caliber finally brought my blood pressure back down from dealing with the aforementioned Amber. I asked Davina for the Surf and Turf with Scallops and medium-rare bovine. After taking the orders of the rest of the table, Davina disappeared to the back and we soon saw our chef wheeling his cart of culinary destruction to our table. Everyone knows that half of this dining experience is the show the chef puts on and this guy, while his name escapes me at the nonce, put on a hell of a show. He was awesome and the food was downright wonderful. Grilling sliced steak medium-rare is not for the novice and this chap pulled it off in spectacular fashion. The Scallops, while slightly overdone for my taste, were delightfully flavored and left a succulent aftertaste. The salad was fresh, crisp and accompanied by the obligatory ginger-sesame dressing and I found the fried rice, while not my favorite item in the world, to be cooked properly with crisp veggies and properly seasoned. I always enjoy having my food prepared in front of me. This place is technically not in Cocoa Beach proper (this is no-man's land) this must be why the food is so much better. The Big Boy says, "If you are in the mood for some tasty grub, a good show and a fun time, give this place a try! #bigboydiningout #bigboy“

“Awesome food, great service and great atmosphere!“

“Had a "monkey leg roll" (sushi) and steamed shrimp dumplings, both were good, but not excellent. Also tried the "fresh brewed" jasmine tea, but it tasted bad and nothing like jasmine tea. Service was great. Inside looks nice, but the outside is messy and needs work.“

“My son and I ate here for lunch and he loved it. He’s been asking to go here for some time. He loves sushi and I knew he would enjoy it. Our waitress whose name was Faith, I believe, was also super sweet too. Nice little place and atmosphere and great food! We will definitely be back. He wants to try the whole menu.“

“Best hibachi in Brevard County“

“The waiters were attentive and the food was amazingly tasty and fresh. The plates were beautifully designed and the teppanyaki scallops for lunch were my favorite and I always ordered this dish. The waiters always gave me triple the teppanyaki sauce because I loved it so much.“

“The best Thai food and friendly service. I highly recommend the seafood 🦞 curry. Great prices and generous serving size.“

“Amazing authentic thai food. Delicious dessert.“

“The food is always AMAZING! And they give great customer service! They are always so pleasant when I go there. All of these great experiences make me come back for more! Definitely a recommended place to eat!“

“Da Sushi 634 Barnes Blvd., Rockledge, FL 32955 4.5 Stars Yep, I hear ya. Rockledge, FL, is known for many things, but fine dining is not one of them. When Da Sushi came up on my random name generator, I steeled myself for two things: facing down my fear of OTB and strengthening my intestinal fortitude as I was not sure what to expect. My fears were not assuaged as we pulled into the plaza looking for the sign. We couldn't see it, we did however, see the giant dope shop and the wig/weave store inhabiting the strip. All we needed was a Dollar General on the out parcel next to a car wash and we know we are in the boonies of FL. Upon finally spotting the sign for the eatery, I looked at my companion, thinking this was not going to be pleasant. Once we passed the threshold of Da Sushi, we were transported from a dingy strip mall only missing open-air drug sales to a fine dining oasis that is jaw-dropping in its depth and breadth. Seriously, this place was absolutely gorgeous. Kudos to the owner(s) on their decorating aptitude. Jordan is our waiter. Jordan was as reticent as a homunculus in answering my questions on the menu and, quite frankly, was an unpleasant cad. That said, I did put in an order for the Otoro Nigiri (Fatty tuna), Tuna hand-roll and the coup de grace was their $30 roll known as “The Exclusive.” Relaxing while Jordan ran our order in, I took some pics of the place drank in the exquisite decorating, and soaked up the fine dining vibe emitting from the environs. Jordan's return snapped me out of my mindless ruminations and back to the job at hand. I grabbed my chopsticks and proceeded to dig in. First up on the Big Boy's palate was the Otoro. This is one of the top-tier items to be found in any place offering raw fish. It should be fresh, creamy (almost buttery) and practically melt on your tongue. This did all of that and more. This was a superb slice of fish, and it was all I could do to move on; I did eat both pieces, however. I then turned my punctilious palate to my sushi shack barometer, the ever-popular Tuna Hand Roll. For the first time in a long time, this was properly executed and not at all fishy. The last few sushi places were not this fresh. The tuna was a nice shade of red, the rice was perfectly steamed and it was rolled with obvious care and love. Sushi is like Ricky Bobby. If it ain't fresh, it's trash. Sadly, I found myself at the end of my tasty tabi in the Land of the Rising Sun as I faced the last item for today, their Exclusive roll. For $30 bucks, I half expected a “happy ending” but then realized it's this piss-poor economy we are living in and shrugged it off. The roll itself was a happy ending to my taste buds, and it was, like the previous foodstuffs, amazing. Consisting of spicy salmon, spicy tuna, fake snow crab, crawfish salad, cream cheese avocado, and jalapeno all wrapped snugly in soy paper, then fried tempura style, topped with eel sauce, spicy mayo, honey wasabi sauce, masago (smelt eggs), scallions and some crunchy bits. This had it all and then some. What a delectable delight to end my meal. The flavors combined into a wonderful roll. The Big Boy says, “This is a one-stop shopping strip. Buy a wig, get some cheeba and dine on some out-of-this-world salt-water bait!”“

“The best spicy tuna we’ve ever had. Always stop in for dinner or lunch when we are in the area. They also have some of the best Thai food I’ve found in Florida! Always great staff and friendly service. You won’t be disappointed.“

“Great spot we found on Google Maps while looking for a quick bite because we were really hungry. At first, we weren’t sure what to order, but the menu had so many options to choose from. We decided on the duck soup and a fried rice combination, and it was absolutely delicious! The staff was incredibly friendly, and the food came out super fast. We're visiting from outside the U.S. on vacation, so we don't know the area well, but this place was definitely worth the trip. Amazing experience all around!“

“The best spicy tuna we’ve ever had. Always stop in for dinner or lunch when we are in the area. They also have some of the best Thai food I’ve found in Florida! Always great staff and friendly service. You won’t be disappointed.“

“One of the best chinese food buffets i've ever been to. The food was hot great quality and amazing choices. Is bathrooms were clean. And the people were friendly. My husband and I found it by default before we got on our cruise, and we came back 8 days later when we got off the ship before we
headed back to north carolina.“