Totoro

What a great sushi find in the heart of Ann Arbor! For many years, Maki had been our go-​to place for sushi in this college town but after reading a few Unilocal reviews about Totoro, my wife and I decided to check it out.
Walking in off the busy State Street for the first time, we found Totoro’s two-​level dining area to be nicely appointed, quiet and comfortable while some progressive music played in the background.
My started with an oversized Avocado Salad and then dove into the highly-​touted Popcorn Lobster Roll made with a special California Roll with deep-​fried lobster on top and smothered with Totoro’s special eel sauce. While it wasn’t the best specialty roll she’d ever had, it did bring some spicy heat, was quite tasty and was generous in size.
I jumped for the Orange Chicken Bento. At less than ten bucks, my Japanese box contained a nice portion of orange chicken thigh cutlet, a special California roll, a cold noodle salad and 3 pieces of shrimp & vegetable tempura. It was a super great combo with plenty of variety of both textures and tastes.
Overall, Totoro earns its way as a better-​than-​average sushi restaurant in a town that is crazy for its sushi. We’ll definitely be back.

Perfectly mediocre.
1 extra star because of the great location and the happy smiles.

I love sushi and they have verity of options and types.
The only this is that their portion of seaweed salad is very small. The other dish is the salmon skin sushi was not crispy like other places.
Other than that it was very good restaurant and I’ll be going back again.

A great place to get sushi in Ann Arbor. Friendly and fast service. The sushi is fresh but I don’t really know much because I really just love avocado rolls basically. But they give you an Andes chocolate when you pay for your meal so thats a HUGE plus!!!

I’ve been here twice and enjoyed it each time. However I would agree with other Unilocalers about the chefs being impersonal. It was sort of on the busy side but we sat at the bar and I guess I was expecting them to at least look up and acknowledge us at some point since we were the only ones sitting at the bar.
I really liked the flavor of the sushi but unfortunately I did get sick afterwards which doesn’t normally happen and I eat raw fish often. I would go again anyways because we were going to go to Sadako and the line was so long we couldn’t even get in the door. I prefer less crowds but maybe there was a reason for that.
We thought the prices were very reasonable for what you get. We have been to Yotsuba and everytime the bill is through the roof. I think you should try totoro for yourself and form your own opinions of the place. Don’t let any reviewers disuade you from trying them out!

The vegetarian bento box is a great deal at under $ 10. The food is well prepared.
However the last time I was there I was seated close to the sushi chef, and he had some nasal issues, which caused him to make grotesque sounds every few minutes that completely detracted from the experience. I don’t know if he was sick, but if he was he should have stayed home that day. And he certainly shouldn’t be so audibly managing his mucous.

The food was okay. Interesting decoration with totoro. The older asian lady can be friendly but not to everyone. You could see a big welcoming smile on her face to some customers and when she turned around to some others it was suddenly changed to nothing.

Visited for Parents’ weekend and my son wanted to try their sushi. It was fantastic! The service was friendly in spite of being super busy and the seafood tempura appetizer was wonderful!

I’ve only tried the sushi here, so I cannot comment about any entrees. They seem to seat the students in the back and the «real people» in the front of the restaurant, which is ironic since I am one of those «real people» but I look like a student, so I guess I’ll take it.
The standard rolls are fresh and reasonably priced. I also like that they give complimentary salad and miso soup with all orders.
For a quick, no-​frills sushi experience, I’m a fan of this place.

1. we waited for 40 mins for out sashimi and sushi … the service was terrible… we didn’t get water till 15min later…
2. the food is really just so so … have no idea why it’s highly ranked…
I guess we are not going back there

Great sushi! Fast service. One of my favorite places in Ann Arbor. Their salsa roll with the jalapeño on top is the best!

Good and quick sushi. I had the salmon and avocado, and the tuna and avocado rolls. The vegetable gyoza was well done an the initial miso and salad for free was a nice touch.

Sushi is great here. I haven’t had sushi since in Ann Arbor till now and must say it’s pretty good. Friendly service and reasonable prices.

Very respectable place to eat. I was visiting from California, so my expectations were low. I was pleasantly surprised. Décor is nice, but some of the seats are worn and need replacing. Everything is very clean with the the fresh fish displayed in the traditional way at the sushi bar.
I was greeted nicely and the service was warm and friendly. The hostess told me they had fresh sea urchin, which I appreciated, always good to know what’s fresh.
It was rainy and cold out so I started with the meatball soup, which had seaweed and two meat gyoza. It was tasty but a bit salty for me. They bring you miso and a small salad anyway to start which is nice. I love Unagi (eel) so I had two pieces and the special roll with eel and tempura shrimp. It was presented beautifully and was very tasty. Tempura was nicely done. Total was $ 25 for a lot of food. I left happy and would come back to try the udon.

I am quite disappointed in my fellow reviewers. It seems they have no pallet. This restaurant may be very unassuming, but their sushi is off the charts. I’m not talking California roll that appeals to the masses, I’m talking the real thing. Toro that melts in your mouth and beats anything else around, as well as sea urchin that brings to mind a cool breeze wafting off the ocean, and salmon roe so fresh that you would have to make love to a salmon to find better. Don’t listen to the tasteless pretentious reviewers poopooing their food (funny how nowadays everybody thinks they’re a food critic, especially the ones who couldn’t tell potatoes Dauphinois from hush puppies). Go check it out for yourself, and go for the good stuff. You can’t judge a gourmet restaurant based on how they do pancakes. This place beats out most places I have been to in Japan, and I have traveled there extensively. Don’t go, however, expecting it to be a plush elegant experience. The place is a sushi bar, nice, clean, and pleasant enough, but not fancy. That’s not the point though. Bön appetite,
Bernard

I come here pretty regularly and always swear by the same roll– popcorn lobster. The california roll topped with deep-​fried lobstery goodness is delicious, filling, beautifully presented, and everything you could ask for in a roll. I came with a few friends and they decided to order the popcorn lobster, but I decided to try something new and get the baked scallop roll instead. Unfortunately, it was a misstep on my part. While it was still tasty, the presentation was underwhelming. Since the roll was baked, it was served in a makeshift aluminum foil plate that was placed on top of a real plate. There were a couple tablespoons of creamy scallop on top of the sushi, but it was nothing compared to the exploding mountain of popcorn lobster that my friends were eating.
The restaurant itself is a pleasant place to dine. Adorning the bright walls are images of Totoro to keep the environment cheery and upbeat. Additonally, one of my personal favorite things about this restaurant are the Andes mints they give out when you receive the check. You always end the meal on a sweet note!

My family and I occasionally go to this restaurant and I’m always satisfied with the food and service… Although I have to wait 30−40min to get my food, its worth it. I usually get the BENTO SPECIAL. I eat A LOT but this bento is too much for even me. But yea the price is kind of a lot… Haha but it tastes good;)
Recommend the bento special…
The Sushi?. Not sure… I don’t like it because I know better places with more on the plate withthe same price. But we have different opinions lol.

In for lunch with my daughters to satisfy the ‘sushi’ craving we were all having.
Totoro hit the spot perfectly.
Seated at the sushi bar, we opted for the ‘Roll Roll Roll’ plate. It’s an assortment of 5 sets of rolls, 24 pieces (Tuna, Salmon, Spicy California, Special Cali, Eel & Cucumber, Spicy Shrimp/​Tempura) with something for everyone.
Ahead of anything, we were all served a small salad and some delicious Miso soup.
The ‘Roll Roll Roll” was presented beautiful. Even more beautiful was my treat: the Ikura (salmon roe) and Uni (sea urchin) which are my favorites.
The girls had the Teriyaki Chicken Bento ($ 8.45) and the Ten Don ($ 7.95 Tempura shrimp & Vegs over rice).
I sampled a little of both. They are presented very well and tasted perfect. Perfect.
My Ikura and Uni were superb. The salmon roe especially is sort of my litmus test for the freshness of everything else. As it was excellent, I found everything else quite on target for deliciousness.
Wow.what a great lunch and quite a fill ((we ordered too much)) after the day out at the theater.
Meets and exceeds. 5 stars.

I can’t figure how people could possibly give Totoro a 1-​star or a 5-​star rating. It boggles the mind. 2, 3 or 4 I can fathom, but the extremes are right out.
Simply put, there’s nothing extreme about it. The food is fairly plain. The sushi is reasonably priced but nothing insane. The entrees (like Teriyaki) are extremely bland.
The service is quick and friendly; pickup is easy.
Totoro is middle of the road in almost every way. There are far better Japanese choices in terms of pure taste, but this place is just more convenient, sometimes.
The dining area is sort of a split-​level and in the winter/​summer you’ll want to get into the restaurant a bit farther to avoid drafts from the front. The whole area is built almost like a narrow runway, with tables running from entrance straight to the back.

Awesome sushi in a laid back corner restaurant, right off state street.
The baked lobster roll is amazing. It’s a california rolled topped with piles of baked lobster in a semi sweet sauce.
The heart attack roll is a cool twist on a jalapeño popper. A deep fried jalapeño filled with spicy tuna and cream cheese.