Jo-To Japanese Steak House

Made reservations and arrived a few minutes early. We had to go to the bar to check in and the bartender was quite rude, saying she'd get to us when she could and refused to take our name. It was a disorganized mess. Others ahead of us had been waiting for even longer. What's the point of making a reservation if it won't be honored? We left and went elsewhere.

Such a great experience. Good conversation as you sit with other people. The food is outstanding. I took a date and we ordered from the hibachi grill menu. I had the steak and scallops and my date had the steak and shrimp around 30$ a piece. Sound steep? Not at all considering you get soup, salad shrimp appetizer, vegetable stir fry, your meal and fried rice. The best part it's made right in front of you. Get the Mai-Tai if you go I highly recommend it. Definitely will recommend.

Parking: Parking is available just tight.

Friendly staff , Large Portions matches with the prices. One note is that they have more options on the online menu compared to the one in person. Good experience over all

Atmosphere was so so. A friend and myself have been trying to find a hibachi restaurant. I found this one online and it looked pretty good. I’m used to a chef coming to the table and having a personality! They usually put on a little show, talk to you, something! The chef came over and said hello and that was it. Proceeded to cooking the food piled everything on top of one another on our plates and left. The food was very bland and only ate maybe a third and left the rest. Scallops not good at all. Very disappointed

This place if very good. The staff is so nice and the try their best to entertain even for the small children. The food is really good but a bit pricey. I honestly have nothing bad to say about this place, but it does get really busy so if you plan on eating here make a reservation.

A friend visiting from out of town knows the Sarasota area and suggested dinner at this Japanese restaurant. The place is super authentic with Japanese decor, staff and cooks. We ordered Shrimp Tempura and Gyoza dumplings, the former tasting much better than the latter. We ordered spicy salmon and salmon Tempura sushi rolls and they were very good. Service was on the money. Definitely recommend if you love sushi!

This place is not bad. The staff is quite friendly. The building is definitely showing age. For 3 kids and 3 adults with 5 drinks and one water our bill came to $166.67. Gratuity was already on the bill. The food was pretty good. The quantity however was amazing. Will actually end up being two meals.

Good place to eat. Near the Sarasota airport. I would definitely eat there again. Very good Japanese Steakhouse.

The food today was okay…just. Bland. But the worst part is the portions were so small. I ordered steak and shrimp. My daughter ordered filet only. She received THREE TIMES MORE food than I did. I wondered what I would have received if I ordered the three item meal for $13 more. Would I get 1/3 portions of three items? Also I don’t eat eggs so I told them this and just ordered white rice. Bland. Why don’t they offer fried rice WITHOUT THE EGGS? I didn’t even think about asking because the fried rice comes to the table smothered with eggs. Portions small. Food bland. And I left hungry.

Overall, very happy with service, food, price. Small cons: loud restaurant, waitres got order wrong, but was corrected..Some understaffing.

This is a great classic restaurant. I’ve been coming here for 30 yrs and have never had a bad meal. The chefs at the tables are great, and they really care about there customers. I will continue going here for ever.

When I arrived to the establishment the parking lot was filling up quickly. I arrived at 8pm I didn’t know but your party has to be seated by 8:30pm because of the closing time at 9p and I was there on a Saturday evening…..other days may vary. I had a party of ten, but thankfully they gave us until 8:35p lol because everyone was not all there. The establishment is very nice and clean. The service was excellent and the food was delicious. The food is cooked right in front of you, so everything is cooked to order. The chef that was our cook was funny and nice. My family was drinking the Mai tai’s and they said they were amazing as well. I’m definitely going back to this establishment again and again soon. I would recommend this amazing place to anyone and everyone to enjoy.

Pros first the hostess greeted and seated us fast and was really nice. Second the server she was just delightful and took our order in a timely manner. Third a person came out and cleaned the grill and then the chef came out and cleaned it a second time. Fourth the chef was phenomenal he did a great little performance and threw in a couple of jokes for good measure.Cons to much food if you get a teppanyaki meal be aware that you will be taking food home. I've never felt so full.

We had a fabulous dinner at JoTo this past weekend. The hostess called a few hours before our reservation to make us aware they were short handed a chef due to a family emergency, and that service could run slower than normal. We were fine with that, and with it being a Saturday evening, knew we would end up waiting wherever we were going to eat. But- it was so thoughtful of the restaurant to call and let us know in case we didn't want to wait. We didn't have any problems with the speed of service, we would've never known they were short handed that night. We ordered a Caterpillar roll (fresh and delicious!), filet mignon and scallops. All were cooked perfectly. The steak was tender. The chef was personable. We will definitely be back! Don't let the unassuming exterior deter you from eating here!

Place is amazing!! Best quality tappenyaki food I've had anywhere in America.. and quite possibly the least costly. Big portions. Fun, friendly staff.