Hotoke

I had quite the disappointing experience. My boyfriend and I went here for a nice dinner celebration. We were seated immediately as it wasn’t a busy night. The décor is lovely with the Buddha statue and lighting. The menu had some interesting items on it but we went with a few sushi rolls and he ordered a miso soup. Our waiter took our order and then came back because he forgot what we ordered. Okay, no worries. It happens. I got my drink, the Macao Mule, fairly quickly and it was a good drink. My boyfriend waited probably another 10 – 15 for his, the Dragon Slayer, which was also good. Now, if it was busy I could understand but we were one of four 2 person tables, there was one small group upstairs, and two people at the bar. For this they had two waiters plus someone who seemed to be a manager helping as well. Our sushi arrived and the order was incorrect. We had ordered salmon avocado, California, spicy California, and a shrimp tempura. We ended up with two shrimp tempura and a missing spicy California. Again, things happen so I told the waiter and he went to correct the order. The other roll never came. The miso soup never showed up either but they addressed that and said it was taken off the bill. Meanwhile, the waitress started checking on our table and we didn’t see our original waiter for a good 25 minutes. He resurfaced to bring our check that we had to request from the waitress after sitting for a half hour just waiting around. The sushi was good but I could get sushi just as good at one of my local places where they’re actually attentive and don’t mess up my order. I’m typically understanding but in a mostly empty restaurant and with a simple order it was frustrating. I also think it’s terrible that we were left sitting there for a half hour while two people handled the party of about 8 upstairs and ignored the first floor tables entirely. Go to your favorite sushi place instead!

I would give this place a solid 3.5. Use to come all the time when in college. They have a different owner now I think. It’s the same kind of place.
The place turns into a lounge at night. They have good DJs all the time. Just somehow it’s hard for them to be packed all night. But I love it. Bartenders are nice and you can get a drink for a good price. $ 5 jack Daniel drinks on Thursday and its Latin night.
Came for all you can eat sushi and I wasn’t impressed with the Latin rolls. They almost all of them have the fried white cheese in it. My table got a few different ones but to me they all tasted the exact same.
Wouldn’t come back for the Latin rolls. I had a classic roll and it was decent. Too much rice on all the sushi they make. Womp.

Salsa Thursday, All you can eat Sushi, and Happy Hour, this is the place to be. The service was good, the waiter was very attentive. They offered an interesting menu that night which included «Latin Rolls». For example; Bachata Roll, Merenge Roll, Salsa Roll, etc. They were different and delicious. I highly recommend it. Their drinks are always on point.

Why would you change the ingredients on the menu and not change the name?
I go to places for their consistency. If I order a Godzilla roll then I expect certain ingredients in it. Like it has always been for years.
But I get something completely different and it wasn’t even good.
It’s ok to remove items and/​or replace them. Just change the names and/​or remove them.

Went last night with a few friends. I was really excited about the menu, everything sounded amazing. I was there with 5 other people and not a single one of us enjoyed our meal. We had to send back our oysters (they were awful), ceviche was so bland, Chilean Sea Bass smelled and tasted terrible, pad tai very bland and flavorless, lamb was over cooked and lacked any flavor. Only thing we actually liked was the vegetable tempura (can’t screw that up) and drinks were good. Will not go back.

They have a nice environment inside. A Buddha with light on makes the resteraunt mysterious. Sushi rolls are fine, but not exceeding other resteraunts around. The girl serves us was nice, brought me a cup of water with lemon immediately when seeing me choken by wasabi. We went there at happy hour time, so the price is acceptable, otherwise I guess it might be much pricy

I will not be coming here again. When we got here we won free bottle service so that was really nice. But sitting down was a challenge. There were people constantly in the way of our table that we felt like we could never get up. Also the DJ was horrible. He does not know how to mix music. We went there for latin night on Thursday and once we started dancing to one song he changed it to the next one. I’m talking like not even 10 seconds. It was all over the place and I did not enjoy it. It was impossible to find our waitress on top of it. We ended up leaving and not staying for the whole thing.

I can’t speak to the daytime service, but I will comment on the nightlife. We had a V.I.P package, but the table originally reserved for us was taken once we got there. This didn’t matter to my friends and I, as we would have fun regardless. We were seated at a table at the edge of the dining area.
We received bottle service, which was absolutely amazing! Our cocktail waitress was so attentive, and patient with us while we took photos of the bottles with light sticks. Of course we had to take photos for memories. She also made sure that our juice pitchers were filled and that we had everything we needed.
We ordered popcorn chicken as an appetizer before the kitchen closed and it was delicious. The batter was so light and crispy. I wish they had provided a side of sauce, as the sauce they coated it in was amazing. Two of the girls I was with thought it was just okay, but I loved it.
The music was okay the first half of the night, but the second DJ was amazing. I am partial to 90’s — 2000 throwbacks, so it was great. So if you come on a Friday night, this was generally the music portion.
We are college students, so the crowd seemed a bit older. They were all very lively though, and clearly having a great time. The dance floor got a little crowded, but definitely not as crowded (or hot) as the local college town bars.
I plan on coming here again soon as I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the service. I gave it 4 stars as this was only one night, but I will see how it turns out the next time that I visit.

This review started as a 4 but I’ll go through why we ended at a 2. First we called the night before to call and make sure we were able to use a certificate we had and make reservations. The man my husband spoke to on the phone was extremely rude and was not helpful except for a… it clearly states the rules on the certificate. Nonetheless we went because my mom wanted to try this place for her birthday. Our waiter was extremely nice! He was very accommodating and made excellent suggestions. After dinner my husband wanted to surprise my mom with a cake so we went in search of someone to speak too. He spoke to the manager who’s name is Dan if I recall… he is someone that should not be in the service industry. He was rude to my husband, ignoring him for a few moments, then telling my husband that he needs to find the waiter and tell him because that wasn’t his job. He also went on to say that the restaurant couldn’t accomodate the candle for my mom… what? On our way out… he cut in front of us, didn’t hold the door open and stood outside to smoke a cigarette. So beyond rude and nearly ruined the whole experience. One of the few pluses… the food was good and drinks were strong. Unfortunately this isn’t a place I’ll be returning until management is changed. If the manager doesn’t care about the customers, then why give them my business. Its crazy because the place is pretty nice and pricey (we spent $ 200) to be treated like dirt.

Where to start?
We had a 9pm reservation for Latin Sushi Thursday. We were seated and waiting at least 15 minutes before we were given menus or water. Finally a server come by and we give her our drink order. Drinks were expensive and weak.
We give our appetizer order and they were out of Pork Buns. I have a peeve about looking at a menu and making a choice to find out they don’t have the item. A good server which none exist at Hotoke would have communicated this information to us when we were given the menu.
The wait for the Sushi was over 30 minutes and the same for a sushi reorder the kitchen was so backed up. To show you I am not a complete prick the food was very good.
The waiter was either high or just goofy he spilled water all over table then he spilled soy sauce. He was so bizarre and not very efficient.
During all of this there was loud music being played as there were transforming the restaurant into a club and we were getting stares who I think was the manager like we were in the way. If my family was not with me we may have had a discussion about his arrogance. We finally want to order dessert and we are told the kitchen is closed. How about the server coming over and saying «can I get you something else the kitchen is about to close»
In conclusion it is obvious that the club takes precedence over the restaurant. Perhaps if we went earlier for dinner we would have been treated better but Hotoke will not have that chance.

Came here a few weeks ago with a friend. We came for their happy hour which was until 7. Half priced cocktails and lots of great items on HH menu. The sushi was excellent. Nice atmosphere in bar and bartenders (Kat) very friendly.

Came here today for dinner because I had a buy one get one free entrée. But in fact at the moment the restaurant has that deal even without the coupon.
The deal is worth it. But without the deal I don’t think I would come here. The sushi was okay but nothing special. For $ 18 I got three very bland rolls.
Also the drinks are expensive and not very strong at all. I got some green tea cocktail which tasted just like green tea without alcohol. This was $ 10.
Although we came During happy hour, we didn’t get the happy hour deal at the table. You do get half off cocktails at the bar only. But you only get the buy one get one free option at a table. So you will need to choose one.
So again this place has decent food but without the coupon it is very expensive. But it is quite pretty and the service was good. Food came out very quick. Also my friend ordered the duck with fried rice and loved it.

Server was horrible. She didn’t write anything and git the whole order wrong. Manager was nice enough to deduct it.
Seriously the slowest service ever just to get sushi. Waiters didn’t even come to our table for about half hour and the place wasn’t even crowded. Never ever going again.

I Had been here with a big group of 20 which includes 13 adult n 7 kids. Had taken reservations. Great ambiance. Well hosted server. All the food was delicious. We took bottle of wine, veggies tempora, cabbage n pad Thai. Selected each desert from the Menu, everything was the best of its taste .
Note: Kids are allowed until 10 in the night. Not a kid friendly place, not complaining though.

Great dinner tonight. Excited to try the «Thursday only» Latin sushi rolls. One with fried calamari, one with ropa, both delicious. Something different. Service was a little slow, but our server was apologetic and couldn’t be faulted for a busy kitchen. Best meal I’ve had here. As always, very loud between the music and the crowd, but you know that going in. It’s a happening place!
Will be back soon.

Awesome inside. Reminds me of a mini Tao, but needs way more people. Food was good. Nothing amazing but your basic sushi, rice and noodles. I did not like the wine selections. I’m not paying $ 8 for a glass of something I can get for $ 8 a bottle (gnarly head that’s your best?!). If you get the local coupon in the mail might be worth it for take out.

The worse service I’ve ever seen! Waited for 30 min after ordering drinks and food, got cold miso soup in 40 min and explanation that the waitress has no control over the sushi bar or the bar itself… and if we don’t like how slow the service is we should… I guess never come back there again… they can only serve drinks at the bar… where you r your own boss to control what u ordered, otherwise you screwed!!! Never coming back here again;((

I used to live in New Brunswick and would come here quite often. Let me make this short and sweet. The décor and ambiance makes you feel like youre in Tao in NYC, for those that havent been its a high end asian fusion spot that is very popular. They even have a similar huge Buddah statue.
The service is excellent. Our waiter (s) were always attentive and on point. This last time we went the waiter told us the restaurant was under new management/​ownership.
Unfortunately the food was just extremely subpar for the prices of the rolls. The appetizers are also just decent. If you are looking for good sushi, there are many other options with more casual ambiance that will blow this sushi away and will be ¼ the price. I just do not see the appeal here and probably will not be going back for a while.

Oh boy, I hate when I order and I then check other trusted Unilocaler’s reviews that are almost all average to bad. Shame on me.
I find after several years of Unilocaling I’m more app to grant a high or low rating based on my motivation, in this case I was motivated in a negative manner. So, let me tell ya why.
No crushed red peppers a staple at any place that considers themselves a sushi bar, very few Asian diners, should’ve been a red flag. Mai Tai looking and tasting like a screwdriver, I sent it back. Miso soup tasted burnt with mushy tofu and painfully watery lacking flavor. Surprisingly, a nice take on seaweed salad, they add cabbage and red onions for a nice fresh zing along with the coconut rice the only redeeming items worth the insane high prices. Sake which is at whooping $ 20 per large carafe, not to be confused with premium even at that ridiculous price. To be fair the raw fish was quite fresh, but sliced super thin, way too thin and of course the small slice theme continues. Limited options for a guy that loves the bizarre especially Uni, nope not available tonight. $ 8 for basic rolls that are once again slight at only 4 tiny pieces.
The atmosphere is more loungy club then a food establishment. High ceiling with long floor to roof curtains, actually kinda 90’s retro «Sex in the city» club feel and if I were going clubbing with a ton of loot in my wallet looks like it would be cool. Definitely not the place to bring kids.
The prices will glare at you hitting your wallet where it hurts, big time. I mean there’s absolutely no reason to charge mid to high $ 20’s for these tapas portions. Servers with a serious lack of culinary knowledge, come on train your crop.
A lack of identity is where they go seriously wrong. Couple this with average sushi mixed with ludicrously budget breaking expensive prices brings one to only one conclusion. PASS! (I’m surprised they don’t charge for air.)

Fun atmosphere and some tasty food (lettuce wraps; dumplings, pad thai) at reasonable prices, although the sushi is more expensive than many places.
I had one bad experience here – there were 4 of us on a not at all crowded Thursday night; we spent well over $ 100 – but were told we could not use our $ 50 Groupon because it was only for groups of two! I explained that each couple spent over $ 50 and they should be happy we brought another couple there. No luck. I pointed out that the Groupon said only 1 per table, thereby acknowledging that they contemplated its being used where there were 4 or more people. Still no luck. Very strange.