Daruma of Tokyo

If I could give ½ a star, I would. My boyfriend and I were hurried to a table and then ignored for about a half an hour despite being two of the four people in the place. The waitress rudely demanded that we order more food since there was a $ 15 per person limit for seating. There was no signage stating this.
Anyway, the rolls were less than average with VERY starchy rice, and not that much within the roll. At least the tuna tasted fresh.

I left a bad review for Daruma a couple of years ago and I’m revising it because they have upped their game back to almost where they were 15 – 20 years ago. The fish is solid and good, the rice is really good, mist not all the same. We generally pick up to bring home so I can’t comment on the recent service. I think that the sushi is a cut above other local places because the fish tends to be better.

Over priced. Rude. Bad food. They wouldn’t sit my party when we were missing one person who was in a car accident. Eat at any other sushi place then here. Will never come back.

Food very good. Just hope you don’t need the bathroom. Down so many steps it’s almost in CHINA!!!

There was a giant bug in my salad. They are beyond rude and disgusting. I will never be eating here again. When I called to tell them there was a disgusting huge bug in my salad, they replied by saying «hahaha we don’t care for one second. We’ve been open for thirty years and people will still come to us». Truly awful.

I don’t understand how anyone gives this restaurant great ratings. It is at best mediocre and extremely overpriced. There are so many other Japanese places tons better, and reasonably priced.
I had the Chirasi. The fish was not melt in your mouth quality and included the fake crab. Yech! The rice was good, as was the Miso soup. My husband didn’t mind his Sushi platter, but thought also that other sushi restaurants are way better. My son had the chicken Sukiaki, which for some reason included way too much tofu, a fact not mentioned on the menu (not everyone wants tofu or likes it).
The service was fine, the place is pretty. The only benefit is that this restaurant is near the movie theatre where we were heading to.

This restaurant is slightly on the expensive side so I was expecting something special. I didn’t know they catered for the NY Mets until I walked in. The waitresses wear Mets-​themed uniforms and there are autographed photos of some great players lining the back wall (when you walk to the bathroom). Personally a fan of a baseball team that actually wins world series so maybe I wouldn’t have come if I new the Mets affiliation… OK politics aside.
The sushi and rolls are beautifully decorated and the sashimi tastes fresh. However, the service is pretty poor. My water was never refilled until I had to flag down the waitress. Getting a waitress’ attention was also pretty difficult. My glass was empty for more than half the duration of my dining experience. They also didn’t offer any hot tea which usually comes standard in most Japanese restaurants. Finally, when asking for dessert, the waitress couldn’t understand our request due to the language barrier.
A good place to go for no frills sushi, but overall just average.

Absolutely love this place! Seriously, I crave Daruma so often I may have a problem… When in doubt, I always get the eel special roll or masa 2 roll and usually get either gyoza or shumai (their shumai is really greatly proportioned compared to a lot of other Japanese restaurants.) Daruma also has the best spicy mayo and house salad dressing (ginger dressing).
And Amy is the best! She is so funny and everybody that comes to Daruma more than once is super friendly with her.
Sushi is fresh and sooo good, definitely hit this place up!

If you don’t like Daruma, then I don’t like you.
I grew up eating here and although I went through my progression of trying a ton of other sushi places over the course of my life, from the cheap places who fill their spicy tuna with crunchy fillers, to the all you can eats, and to the best sushi places which leave me broke and hungry, I find myself returning to Daruma every time I go back to Great Neck.
My favorites
The ewa bowl is amazing. It is essentially a fresh large ball of chopped toro on top of shredded carrot and some other vege covered in some crunchy and garlic sauce. Sometimes I substitute the shredded Vegetables at the bottom for sushi rice.
The small fish salad is pretty much the best deal in the restaurant. It is an enormous portion of fresh fish cut up into cubes (salmon, tuna, yellowtail, snapper and crab) on top of some lettuce covered in crunchy and garlic sauce. I substitute the salad for rice sometimes. I personally don’t love yellowtail and snapper, so I scrap those two fishes and have them put some Ikura (salmon roe) on top, because why not.
If you come in the winter and are freezing, another hidden gem is the beef sukiyaki. It is a large soup with glass noodles, beef, an assortment of vegetable, but the selling point is the broth. It is a deep rich brown broth which warms the body. It also might make you fart, but that is a risk worth taking.
The masa 3 is spicy scallop. I swear I went here for 15 years and had no idea what the masa 3 was until I had a spicy scallop roll at sushi seki and then couldn’t stop ordering them everywhere I went. Their masa 3 hand roll is very good and I highly recommend it.
I don’t eat as much special rolls as I used to because I’ve become a big fan of hand rolls and pieces, but their special rolls are big and filling. The lobster special is still one of my favorites with this garlic lobster they put on top of the roll.
I always order a large cold bottle of sake when I sit down. It is $ 30.00, but it is the size of a bottle of wine and well worth it.
Lastly, Amy is the best!

The boyfriend and I decided to celebrate a casual Valentine’s Day dinner this year. Daruma was recommended by one of his friends, and I was very happy with our experience. Even for a holiday on a weekend, we were seated right away with no reservation at a table with a full view of the sushi bar at 7pm. We ordered a large hot sake (which warmed us right up from being outside in the snow) and some plum wine (of which I’ve easily had better). Pro tip: Definitely get the special baked lobster roll, it’s the perfect texture with the right amount of butter. My only regret was not asking for another one, haha. The sashimi platter was delicious, too. Although the slices are not as thick as I’m used to, they’re fresh and the portion was good for the price. Our check total came out to at least $ 20 less than what we were expecting to spend. Will return!

Honestly the food and service are fine… Not great, just fine. The miso soup is very good but very salty. The cucumber roll was good (not easy to mess up though) but the specialty rolls are a hit or miss really.

I come to this place every time I am in the area. The sashimi is never fatty and the rolls are always great. The service is very fast and although there is a rather large «tasteless» picture of a nude woman (which my kids pointed out) on the way to the washrooms, the food is very «tasteful».
Suggestions: baked lobster roll, kani roll, hamachi sashimi, sea weed salad, shrimp tempura

Meeehhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Seeing that Daruma is a staple of Great Neck, I’ve given it multiple chances since high school. Went here one final time last night and it was so blah. I got the eel special, miso soup, and shrimp gyoza, and others got the chicken teriyaki, california roll, cucumber roll, and chicken teriyaki appetizer. They bring out complimentary edamame which is cool, and service is quick, but nothing else blew me away. I eat a lot of eel, and this has been the worst quality eel of my life, you’d think this was a kosher place or something.
ALSO, we saw a baby cockroach on our table. No Bueno.

I have recently been on a quest to tackle Japanese/​Asian-​Fusion restaurants in the Great Neck area. My latest stop was here, at Daruma of Tokyo. I made the visit once before and left unhappy with the food. However, after gazing into the windows and seeing a full house, I decided it may be time to return. Prices, as to be expected, were high. Not absurd, but a little on the high side of more fancy Japanese restaurants (be prepared to pay an extra fee if you want a soup and salad with your $ 26 meal).
The first dish to come out was a yellowtail «tartare», but it unfortunately lacked any contrasting textures, and the flavors were disappointing (reminded me of the «scrape» you find in grocery store sushi). The dish had two options on the menu: one with jalapeños and one without. I opted for the one without, but what I received had jalapeños in it. The waitress’ response was that I was «wrong» (her exact word) and she proceeded to argue with me. Luckily for us all, a table member graciously opted to take it for me.
The yakiudon was also flavorless, and the chicken in it gelatinous. Overall, the value is not there, both in terms of food quality and service. I won’t be returning.

Daruma’s specialty rolls are really awesome, but a bit expensive. Hot appetizers like spicy chicken are also good. Ambiance is really nice. Service is a bit slow. Good for groups. Sushi is very authentic.

The cuisine is fresh and authentic. I get sushi and sashimi from here whenever I can.

I’m shocked to see the 3 star rating they have!!!
As a great neck native living here all my life, when I think sushi I think daruma. There’s simply no other place in great neck (even Long Island) that has the quality, service and taste that daruma delivers. I eat here every week!
Yoshi the owner is the most welcoming individual, and the waitstaff is always attentive and willing to help any need.
You must try the tani roll and kosher masa 2!

It was a chilly day and I had definitely waited too long in between breakfast and lunch, so I was in desperate need of sustenance. I wandered through Great Neck trying to determine what my empty tummy wanted and suddenly, in the distance, were the lovely Japanese print shades in the windows of Daruma. Sushi! That’s what I want!
Given that it was already past 2pm, the place was empty, but they still let me order a lunch special. You could pick a roll from a reasonable number of options, plus it came with miso soup and a salad. The soup was delicious — warm, savory, and not too salty. The salad was a little too chopped to bits for my taste, but the dressing was good. And the roll was fantastic.
What I really appreciated was that the waitstaff managed to hit just the right note of attending to my needs without hovering around me as the only customer in the place. I don’t know how often they see a woman eating lunch alone, but they didn’t have that look of pity I often find. So thanks, two ladies of Daruma, I felt cared for but not an old sad sack!

As tacky as it is tasteless and as tasteless as its tacky, this place is no bargain. I went with my sister to try the food and we were left thoroughly disappointed. As you sit down, you think you may be up for a enjoyable dining experience by way of the warm towelette you receive, but the buck stops here and nightmare begins. The starter salad included greens that were not fresh; they reminded me of the large plastic packaged salads you might be able to pick up at costco – but older. The gastronomic geriatric tour didn’t stop there either since we were allowed to sample the patently old tasting chicken and more not so fresh greens in our bland yaki udon meals; the only thing that may have been fresh here was the noodles, but that may have not been by choice of the establishment. For old and tasteless, I would have saved my 26 dollars.
Disclosure: I never wrote a Unilocal review before and the awful experience here led me to sign up for an account and write a reflection from my experience earlier today.

By far the best sushi I’ve eaten. Unlike most places, the salmon and tuna rolls actually have chunks of salmon and tuna…(I despise the mashed kind). Pieces are big, prices are fair.
So fresh. So good.