9 Best Japanese Restaurants in Ithaca

“Such a little gem in Ithaca Commons!!! Our son brought us here on the graduation weekend as this was his most favorite and most visited restaurant during his 4 years at Cornell. And boy was it worth it! Everything we got was super flavorful. Our server Shell was attentive, courteous and made our time there special. Do not miss this place if you are in the area !!!!“

“Absolutely Outstanding! Will definitely come again when in the area.“

“Went here for my daughters 12th birthday with some extended family so there was 7 of us and the hibachi experience was just amazingly fun here at Sumo! I highly recommend! Thank you staff and cooks!“

“Very delicious sushi! 🍣 Would definitely come here again!“

“This is truly a hidden gem! They offer lunch specials from 11:30 AM to 3:00 PM, with a choice of 3 dishes + soup or 2 dishes + soup. The food is always incredibly fresh, and there is a great variety of dishes with both meat and vegetable options.

What I love most is that there are no restrictions on which dishes you can choose — you can freely mix and match anything you like. That flexibility is such a nice touch!

I ate here throughout an entire semester, and now that I’ve graduated and moved away, this is one of the places I miss the most. I genuinely want to recommend it to my friends because it deserves more attention. If you’re looking for delicious, fresh, and affordable comfort food, you should definitely give this place a try!“

“Wonderful Food- Just Ask That They Be More Realistic About Prep Time.Their sushi is prepared well and the best deal in town. But you may want to double the time they give you for pick up orders. It's possible that they don't want to tell you the realistic time because it will sound too long. We ordered the Sushi for Two (which is easily enough for four-- and we have big appetites!) It was beautifully prepared-- but they told me 25 minutes and it was closer to an hour. Double the time, and then you will be very happy with this place!“

“Very friendly and quick service with delicious food“

“i would actually recomand eating there. 5 stars“

“Parking lot and restaurant are clean. Employees are nice. Some of the entrees were left out on the buffet for awhile and were not good to eat. Other entrees were great. The more popular entrees that are eaten often are more likely to be fresh. Soups are good. Sushi entrees are all good. Desserts are all good. They have American foods in the buffet, like french fries. They had a salad buffet. There's a lot of seating space and it was not a noisy place to eat.“