East Japanese Restaurant

Hubby and I decided last minute that we wanted some sushi in the evening. He suggested this restaurant, said this was his go to place for sushi and drinks with his colleagues and or students. So ok, let’s go! We didn’t have a reservation but were seated immediately. Everyone was pleasant and loved the relaxed intimate setting. My miso soup was the best ever, full of flavor until the last drop. Then the wait began, and we waited and waited for over 45min for our sushi. It was very irritating, and I’m usually very calm. Must have been a very busy sushi night for the one chef. Our dinner was great, very tasty and I must have been super hungry.

I thought this was the best Japanese that I have had in knoxville. I’m not into Sushi so I judge restaurants more based on their cooked Japanese dishes, miso soup, etc. and they have an extensive selection! I love that they have bento boxes which are one of my favorites and I don’t see those often around here. I thought everything was very well done and my friend who did have sushi was very happy with hers as well. They weren’t busy when we were there for dinner and the service was great but we may have just lucked out with a great server.

The most amazing/​authentic Japanese food in Knoxville! I’ve lived in Japan & come from Japanese heritage so I am very picky about my Japanese food and the quality of this food is definitely on point. Great place if you are looking for authentic japanese dishes and sushi :)

I grew up in Japan. I moved away in 1986. Since 1986 I have been searching for food that reminds me of what it felt like to live and eat in one of the places I call home. I was skeptical walking up to the place, but once in its doors, I felt transported back to a much missed comfortable feeling. It was instantly settling to see Japanese people there eating, which is always a good sign. The owner greeted us, a Japanese man from near Kyoto, who was very nice and welcoming. The restaurant oozes authenticity at every turn, and it looks like no expense was spared to make Japanese residence feel like home. The decorations. The smells. The expansive menu of Japanese delights.
I had a tough time deciding, but the one dish that jumped out at me was the Tempura Udon. I remember riding the Bullet Train from Tokyo to Hokaido in the winter, and stopping at a kiosk along the way. Tempura Udon always takes me to a vivid memory of my time in Japan, so I get it whenever I can. East Japanese Restaurant isn’t fooling around, and did Tempura Udon the way I loved and missed. I’m absolutely in love with this place! I talked one of my lunchmates into trying the Tonkatsu, and he was a happy guy. I tried a bite, and it, to no surprise, was as authentic as I remembered in my childhood.
While authentic and a genuine time machine to my youth, being in Farragut means I can only visit so often, but hope to be a regular, and get out that way again!
Pro-​tip: They don’t do sushi during lunch, as not enough of you have loved this place enough to make it worth their while, but based on what I’ve seen so far, I’d venture to guess that you won’t be disappointed with their dinner sushi offerings as well.

my usual disclaimer — I’m not a hard core sushi person and want it cooked. I’m not the best reviewer for that
we ordered 4 or 5 different cooked sushi rolls none of which were really great — ok maybe but not great.
Service wasn’t the best but there seemed to be some tension with the waitresses. I overheard them arguing about something.
Overall my wife and I weren’t real impressed

Bizarrely terrible service.

Coming from someone who lived in Japan for three years, this is the real deal. The server is Japanese, the food is incredible, and the ambiance is really authentic. Well done.

I ordered the tempura soba, the soup has too much MSG in it. I was like dying of thirst after eating it, even after drinking 3 glasses of water. Tempura is pathetically small. Service was okay.

Food really good for a small town japanese place. Sushiman is actually japanese so better than most places
All food are descent.
Get the shaved head waiter. Nicer and works fast
The lady with short curly hair is weird. Very unfriendly, slow and bitchy. Shes on drugs or something.

East is a good Japanese place in an unsuspecting location — a Farragut shopping strip. I find their non-​sushi items to be better than their sushi, but overall a good experience if you are looking for Japanese food in Knoxville

I had the tonkatsu ramen, which is being raved bout on Unilocal.But in reality, the soup only came with 2 pieces of sad looking meat and that’s it! No egg, no bamboo, no bean sprout. It tasted so bad that I only had two bites and couldn’t eat anymore! If I could give it zero star, I totally would!

I was nervous when I walked in… only one other person here and one sushi chef at 6:30p on a Thursday. The food was a good and serve was friendly.
Interior is spacious, not fancy but clean.
No complaints.

NO SUSHI AT LUNCH.
NO SUSHI AT LUNCH.
NO SUSHI AT LUNCH.
Also they only had one menu when 4 of us walked in for lunch… even though there were only 2 tables taken. On the plus side, the food was rather speedy and they brought plenty of water for the table. The curry udon and fried squid (ika geso) was delicious, which was never an issue with this place.

Cutest décor and placement setups, very simple and sleek. Their ice is also super cool, you’ll know what I’m talking about if you go.
Yummy tonkotsu ramen and udon. I always went for dinner so they had a sushi chef there but I heard there isn’t one there during lunch? They don’t have super special rolls, just the basics.
Food takes awhile to come out even if there’s only 3 other tables… and servers are all kinda awkward. Overall, good food and presentation, good atmosphere.

We stopped in for lunch today. We had gesoage (fried octopus legs), yakisoba, and tonkotsu ramen. All of it was excellent!
Remember, they don’t serve sushi for lunch, but their other food is excellent!
Very chill and clean atmosphere.
Very happy customers!

I drove 15 minutes to have Sushi for lunch. After 10 minutes finally a server came and said they don’t serve sushi for lunch!

Unquestionably the best Japanese in all Knoxville. Used to live in Southern California, where it’s easy to find top notch sushi and authentic Japanese, which is hard to find and here.

I come here at least once a week when I’m in Knoxville on business. Their volcano roll, orange roll and gyozas are phenomenal.

By far the best Japanese restaurant available in the Knox County area.
Lived in Knoxville for five years and checked out many Japanese places but none compare.
A very typical Izakaya (tapas) style restaurant with a good selection of sushi/​sashimi/​rolls.
Yoshi-​san (the sushi chef) there is legit when it comes to the sushi he makes.
It’s a little out of the way if you are in central knoxville, but if you want good Japanese food in Knoxville, make the drive west to East, its worth it.
Good to take family, coworkers, friends, customers, and a date.
Private rooms are available too if you want to meet with a group of customers/​coworkers.

Wow 4.5 stars? This must be the best Japanese restaurant in Knoxville. Well, since this is the only Japanese place I’ve been to so far in Knoxville, I guess I have no choice but to agree.
The place looked Japanese. They had a sushi bar you can sit at with a real-​deal Japanese sushi chef. The décor looked like a typical Japanese restaurant décor.
Their menu looked pretty good. It had a ton of authentic Japanese menu items from lunch boxes, sushis, curries, noodles, and so on. They even had natto curry – which I was tempted to get. In the noodle section, they even had tonkotsu ramen. I haven’t had tonkotsu ramen in a while, so I decided to get it.
The tonkotsu was mediocre. The noodles were overcooked, limp, and straight from the bag. The broth was okay. It tasted too salty and had an instant-​ramen like taste. Perhaps it was instant ramen. It came with a hardboiled egg, chasu, and a fish cake.
They didn’t have much sushi selection. I could tell by looking at the sushi bar. I was looking for uni and chu-​toro, but I couldn’t find any. They had something called «honeymoon» nigiri which was chopped scallops with mayo. It was simliar to my guilty pleasure nigiri – ebi mayo.
Their sushi was not bad. I liked it. It was fresh and tasty. Sure, it doesn’t beat some of the best places I’ve eaten in Atlanta, but it does beat a lot of the mediocre places in Atlanta. They cut the fish well and made the nigiris well. The only complain I had was I bit into a dried piece of rice. I felt like I almost broke my tooth.
I would advise you to avoid their ramen. Just get their sushi, and I think you’ll be all good. I give it 2.75 stars.