Bento Cafe

They have a terrible service for such good food, it doesn’t make any sense to have such good food for this horrible service. I went an hour to pick up my daughter’s order considering she’s been sick for three days and only wanted bentos since she is in love with the place and goes at least 2 times a week almost and hadn’t gone in a while. When I get beck home after an hour, they missed the rice she order and turns out they didn’t hand it to us. I call them and ask them how it is that they’re so careful to be sure they bill me for everything but are not careful to make sure they hand the customer everything they payed for, most of all after driving for an hour just to get the food. The manager Carie told me they were sorry and that I could pay for a taxi and an extra order to get my rice and i find it truly unbelievable since the mistake was theirs. They ended up just telling me they’d make a credit for the rice for next time I went in.

I love going to this place never had a lot of issues but let me tell you why I gave it one star. I placed a to go order for their limited edition pork ramen soup and come to find out when I get there that I in fact couldn’t get it to go after I’ve already paid for it. Now that’s fine, it’s whatever. But here’s the kicker. When I got home and I’m digging into my salad I bite into something hard and rubbery and when I take it out, upon further examination, it’s a wad of fucking gum. Old ass gum. It looked as if someone picked it out from the trash and placed it into my salad. I’m livid, who wouldn’t be? So I called and spoke to the manager and I’m upset because I feel like it wasn’t taken seriously as it should have been. I’m really saddened about my experience but unfortunately this will be my last visit.

I normally like to go to Bento Café but today was one of those days where the employees were totally disorganized! Normally there are 2 cashiers at the order desk, one left and took a long time getting back. I asked the other guy where was the cashier because the line was getting long. He didn’t answer. Then he forgot to give me my cup. Annoyed!

This place makes me nostalgic for my UF undergrad life… But you’re not here to read about that.
The sushi is good but not great, the Cantonese pork chop bento box is generously-​sized, and the staff is friendly and welcoming. They recently did away with table service but this is still a great place for a fast lunch or dinner.
Bonus: most of the food is really reasonably-​priced!

Generally a good place to grab a quick bite of yummy sushi. Every so often you get some ‘tude from the staff and it puts a damper on your experience. I placed a to-​go order order the phone and when I showed up the girl said it had been sitting there for at least 10 minutes. Raw fish sitting out and not being refrigerated is not my idea of a healthy option. Luckily they said they will quickly remake it. Unfortunately as I was trying to explain to the girl, who said she didn’t actually know how long it was sitting out for and that she «took a guess», that she probably should check the facts before upsetting a customer. She walked away mid conversation. The manager quickly handled the situation and the chef made my food over again very quickly. I would rather be safe than sorry and love This place! But this is also why I generally choose to grab to-​go than to sit and eat!

Service is still oooohhh soooo slooooowww. But I found a way around it, just order pick up!
New Bento favorites — Curry Katsu and Spicy Cream. A++
For bubble tea — On tuesdays, it’s BOGO (buy one, get one)! And don’t forget to get their boba card which entitles you to one free bubble tea after you buy a certain number of bubble teas.

I have been here several times and all my friends love Bento. I really enjoy it too, everything tastes fresh, and it is a quick and good-​priced place to eat. I’m not too crazy about their teriyaki bowls, but my friends love it. I’ve had the pad Thai a few times and it’s decent as well. There are tons of healthy options here which are great too.

Update ¹²⁄₂₂: The district manager contacted me and resolved the issue. Though I wouldn’t return to this location, Bento usually delivers stellar service at any of its other locations. Looking forward to a better experience.
Original review: Though the wait was very minimal and we got sat quickly, the rest is short of a nightmare.
The reason we came to this restaurant was because of Unilocal offer and the hot sake! However, upon sitting down and asking for hot sake, we were told they were out. So we asked to have Kirin light, which turns out they didn’t have. We settled for the Kirin Ichiban. We ordered a Philly roll and asked that smoked salmon be changed to regular salmon. She took the order and then came back and said there was going to be an up-​charge. Though any other time I would’ve been okay with it, I felt appalled that after being inconvenienced twice it should at least be disregarded. I called for the manager, which came in a hostile disposition. She had her hands folded and looked like she was gonna cry from the irate look on her face. I explained the confusion and she mentioned that it was company policy and that the least she could do is discount the beer… (Side note the discount for the beer would’ve been the same as the up-charge…I digress). But right after she mentioned, «you threaten the server», appalled I responded, «I did what?», she responded, «you told the staff that you were going to review us on Unilocal». I clarified, «that is not a threat, that is what I usually do when I go to a restaurant»… Make a long story short at the end she said, «We target a certain type of customers and you may not be one of them». With that said we requested to leave and she said don’t worry about the beer, that were barely drank!
Overall, the manager could’ve handled the situation so much better. Her calling a review a threat was beyond ridiculous, people review, that’s not a threat but a fact. Her initial interaction and her final remarks were both unprofessional and quite derogatory. The offer to discount the beer would’ve been suffice however her emotions lead the conversation which prompted this lovely review. I hope for future patrons, you are able to coach to your teams ability to identify a threat and how to better handle customers who are not pleased with the service.
Manager: Andrein

I have been to this location several times and have always left happy. I really enjoy the crab wontons and have ordered several different sushi rolls. The sushi rolls are very fresh and tasty, not the absolute best I have ever had, but still very good. I have tried the bento boxes, sushi combo, and a noodle bowl or two. The value is excellent.
This is one of the few sushi places I have gone to that I feel is truly family-​friendly. I have an 11 month old who likes to yell out of happiness, smile and stare at people in neighboring booths, and drop a snack or five on the ground. Every time we have come here, there have been several families dining with young children and it is pretty nice to be able to relax and not worry about bothering other patrons.
Get a boba tea to go and check in on Unilocal for a free app!

If you are looking for quick and casual Asian cuisine, Bento is your place. Yes, Pei Wei is just up the street but Bento’s menu has a better assortment of Asian food and dishes feels more authentic. If only they had the fanciful Coca Cola machines…
Menu highlights include Bento boxes, noddle bowls and rice bowls. They also have an extensive sushi menu. I’m not a fan of seafood so I’ll just say they have tons of options.
If you haven’t tried Boba Teas, go for it! You only live once. My favorite is Taro.

I’ve dined at Bento Café a number of times, and realized I’ve never written a review! Here goes:
First, this place is a solid 3.5 stars. I really enjoy the food here. Their sushi has always been fresh and delicious. I really like the Bali High Mango, Gucci, and Volcano rolls. Of their stir fry /​grill menu, you house flavor, a protein, and whether you want it a a Bento box, rice bowl, or noodle bowl. For the price, their portions are generous and filling. My favorites are the beef bulgogi, rr Mongolian beef, and the spicy cream chicken.
I love bubble tea smoothies, sometimes with biba, sometimes with jelly. I’m sad to say their Boba is not always fresh. I’ve tried it multiple times, sometimes the texture is perfect, but just as many times the Boba is hard and cold. The jelly is always a safe bet here… although they did stop serving the strawberry jelly. Now they only have mango jelly (which they were out of tonight), passion fruit (I need to try), and lychee (yummm). They have also added on the fruit flavored bobas, the type you get at the frozen yogurt placea. There are 2 flavors. I don’t recall what flavor they are.
When looking for a quick, fresh, delicious meal in the Restaurant Row area, Bento Café is a great option.

Best Sushi in town! Mount Fuji and special Mexican are my favorite! I love the staff they are all so nice! Special thanks to Jade, Jessica, Carrie, John, Kevin, Ray! For making me feel like family :) the only thing I’d change about this place is their water as it taste like lake water!

The key word to remember when walking into Bento is «variety». They have an extensive menu with a sampling of noodle dishes, rice dishes, salads and of course sushi. Location wise, it is tucked in the same shopping center as Bar Louie right on Sandlake, which is a pretty good local for the area. We went with the basics of what you expect from a sushi bar and ordered sushi. They have a plethora of rolls and even a few specials that allow you a sampling of atleast 3 or 4 rolls, which is what I went with and glad I did. There were a lot of interesting house rolls, so I grabbed a few of those and went on about my day. Overall, the sushi quality was good, it was not spectacular and was far from disappointing. I would stop by and grab some rolls at Bento again when in the area, no question.
Also, my friend apparently is a Boba tea enthusiast and almost lost her mind when she realized they served it here… so, if that is your thing… there you go!

Always a busy restaurant at lunchtime since you get the flow of office workers from the nearby office buildings. Get here around 11:30 or you’ll be waiting. Can’t go wrong with the Hot & Sour soup or the Spicy Cream with Tofu on top of mini-​udon noodles. They have lots of selections and endless combos you can make and it’s all catered to your taste. Service is quick and food is consistent. Once you’re done eating in, just leave everything on the table and you’re good to go.

This place is very posh. And when we came during lunch time, it was absolutely packed. All the tables were taken, and there was a long line to order.
I had a Milk tea bubble tea, sliced beef noodle soup, and we shared meat steamed dumplings (3).
The bubble tea was pretty good! The tea was a little sweet, but I just added water. The bubbles had good taste.
The noodle soup was such a big portion! The noodles were delicious and just the whole thing in general was delish haha
The dumplings were ok
My family got the bento boxes w salad lo mein
They were Americanized, and not as good as my noodle soup!

Definitely a place I would recommend and would return to. They have a wide variety of options representing Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese and Chinese cuisines. It was really tough to decide — I probably took 10 minutes looking at the menu because there are so many things I wanted to try. You can get a rice bowl or noodle bowl or soup bowl or bento box… My waitress was getting restless so I just went with one of their signature items — spicy cream rice bowl with chicken. It wasn’t really spicy fortunately but the sauce was very sweet. Too sweet, in fact and the main reason I went with 4 stars. It was good but I probably wouldn’t order it again. No problem though as I’m sure I can find many other items on the menu to please my taste buds.
Their drink menu is also extensive. Many flavors of milk teas, green teas and others that you can choose from and add jellies, pearls or boba to. They also serve a variety of beers and sake. Desserts include mochi and green tea ice cream.
The restaurant has a cool, modern motif and the chefs frying, chopping, doing what they do, add to the ambience and energy of Bento.
They have many locations throughout Florida and soon TAMPA!!!

American Sushi at its Best!
Great new location with lots of parking.
A lot of «millenials» enjoying dinner here!
Restaurant Vibe is Chill!
I had an excellent Sushi combo of: California Roll, Fuji Roll, Dragon Roll, Algae: Everything Delish!
Check: Reasonable!
I love it!!!

I don’t know how this place doesn’t have 5 stars. It’s the best sushi restaurant. The rolls have so much flavor and are a good size.
This time I got sushi rolls to go.
Crunch roll-​seaweed on the outside with tempura, tuna, cream cheese, krab and cucumber inside, eel sauce
Special Mexican– shrimp, krab, avocado and cream cheese, spicy mayo sauce

My boyfriend and all of friends would rate this restaurant as a solid 5 stars. I on the other hand would rate this restaurant as a solid 4 stars.
The food is always consistent. For the most part, I always stick to the same dish — udon stir fry noodle bowl with chicken. Over the weekend, I tried ordering this dish with pork but for some reason they couldn’t make it that way. I’ve tried other things such as: wakame salad, krab cheese wontons, california roll, and mongolian beef. My boyfriend on the other hand typically orders the crunch roll and curry katsu with pork. Overall, the food is pretty good and the portions are nice.
They offer happy hour Monday — Friday from 4pm — 7pm. For the happy hour — if you buy 2 rolls you get one free. If you check into Unilocal while dining, you get a free appetizer (anything from the starters & sides). Overall, the prices are reasonably priced.
I’m not really sure why this restaurant doesn’t have better reviews. I’m a fan (hence the 4 stars) but it’s not as good as it gets.

Bento Café is always a stop my friends and I take when in Gainesville, Jacksonville, and Orlando. Another restaurant Tampa could use!
Bento was a variety of options of Asian cuisine to choose from– Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, etc. After you choose your «style», you get to choose the main protein of the dish (chicken, beef, pork, or shrimp) as well as whether it comes in a rice bowl, noodle bowl, or bento box. The price varies of these three options but usually one meal is never more than $ 10 which is a steal!
Their sushi is also pretty okay. Out of all the rolls I’ve ordered I have yet to be amazed at the sushi but that’s not to say it’s bad or anything. I just have yet to try any signature rolls.
Overall, I am always satisfied with the food and recommend the spicy cream shrimp, chicken katsu, and bulgogi!
The service is also always excellent.