Daruma Sushi and Thai

Annehmbares bis gutes Sushi in Orlando.

I have only been to this place a couple of times because it is so close to where I live. This place is hardly ever open for their lunch hour. I guess it depends on the owner’s mood. It’s the same way when it comes to their deliveries. Sometimes they deliver sometimes they don’t. The inconsistency with store operations make me never want to pay them a visit.
Their food is pretty decent but the service is horrible. For 15 dollars an entire I expected better service. After I was seated, a women (who I hope is in charged) sat directly behind me and just yapped away very loudly on her cell phone. When I tried to order one of my favorite dish off the menu, beef negimaki, I was told it was not serve them anymore. Bummer, but I decided to go with the mango tango roll for about ten dollars.
The roll itself took about 50mins to come out. I saw the sushi chef working on some togo orders before he started ours. They phone rang loudly a couple of times throughout the restaurant for more togo orders. When the dish did appear the eel sauce was disgusting. It was too sweet and it was poured all over my rolls and the mango were not ripe. On top of that the shrimp was cold. After eating a few pieces before deciding it wasn’t worth it to finish. looked forward to the dessert menu to help fill me up.
After being handed the dessert menu, I ordered the fried tempura banana with vanilla ice-​cream but once again they did not have any in the house. I tried to leave because I had enough but the waitress (the lady who sat behind me yapping away) wanted to sit me there and convince me to order the mochi ice-​cream. She said the flavors were red beans and green tea. Yuck. No thank you. There was a perfectly good ice-​cream shop down the street that had bananas.
The whole bill came out to be about 20 dollars with tips. The biggest waste of time and money. I left that restaurant feeling cheated and still hungry.

Well, after coming here for a year now I have to say they have become a place I avoid. Besides the rude service from the lady that owns the place, they have never had consistant lunch hours so you’ll end up walking over just to find that they have decided it’s not worth their trouble to open.
I’m waiting patiently for Bayridge to open in my office building so I can have my sushi fix again.

It’s a mixed bag at this place. Depending on my mood and what I’m focusing on, I could easily give anywhere from 2 to 4 stars.
There were three employees visible in the restaurant (I don’t know about the kitchen): the sushi chef and two women who were taking care of the tables.
The older of the two women greeted us at the door and sat us at a table, giving us menus. Then the younger woman came by, said she’d be our server, gave us the drink list, and took our drink orders. But then it was the older woman that came back and took our order. Okay, sure.
I ordered the Pad See Ew and one order of hamachi nigiri. At some point my fiancée notices that the older woman is also cooking in the back.
40 minutes and a couple of drink refills later (filled by the younger girl), and the hamachi nigiri comes out. The two pieces were large and fresh, and tasted very good. I don’t know why it took 40 minutes, but okay.
At about 50 minutes in, the Pad See Ew came up. The younger girl brought it to the table and asked who had ordered the stir fry with chicken. I said neither of us, but I had ordered a Pad See Ew with tofu, and that kinda looks like a Pad See Ew with tofu. After a confused pause, she handed me the dish.
Indeed, it was Pad See Ew with tofu. And it tasted great, too. I do prefer the way they cook their tofu at Sea Thai with the little bit of crunch on the exterior, as opposed to the way they do it here where it’s still soft and spongy, but it was still good, and the noodles came out great.
The older lady was the one to give us our check and box up the remainder of my fiancée’s meal.
So all in all, it was a very good meal with a pretty long wait time. To pass the time, I suggest playing a game with the rest of your table wherein you earn points for correctly guessing which of the wait staff will be the next one to address your table.
The nigiri did make me want to come back to try the sushi, so we’ll see how that goes.

Had sashimi for lunch here and was not impressed. 3 cuts for $ 6 or 2 if you want it rice. Tuna was ok, nothing special. Crab was very fishy.

I can’t even give an in depth review of this place or I will start hysterically cackling. So, bullet points it is.
* Hostess/​waitress used «Awesome» in every sentence, in her best stoner voice
*Hostess/​waitress and waiter running around like chickens, even there were only 5 total tables
*A simple dinner took almost 2 hours and the final sushi roll was delivered to our table AFTER it was canceled AND we asked for the bill
*Not one person was assigned to a specific table, so resulted in each person stopping by and asking if we were helped. ARGHHH…
*Was assured that the curry being ordered would be Thai Hot. NOT!
*Not a calming dining experience, with the staff running around like chickens and the Asian fusion jazz playing in the background.
*Waiter apologized for the long wait, «But that they were really slammed». REALLY? With 4 tables???
*Worst. Sake. Ever. Overheated cheap uck
After stoner voice used «Awesome (in her best stoner voice)» twice in the same sentence, I started to lose it and giggled hysterically. It was time to leave.
Positives:
Food was fresh and tasty
I won’t be going back. Not worth the stress.

Ever since my favorite sushi place closed down, I’ve been looking for a new place to call home.
While Daruma isn’t my old sushi haunt, it has more than enough charm on its own to make it my local place.
Their food is good, and their service is attentive. While I won’t got into too many specifics, I do enjoy their chicken katsu, which they always cook well, frying the chicken without drying it out or letting it get rubbery. Miso soup is good, but not the best I’ve had, but then again, most people won’t be going to these restaurants for miso soup.
No, they come for the sushi.
I’m a simple man when it comes to my tastes. I tend to prefer single fish rolls that are well made. None of those froufrou rolls that the hipsters like. I like it like you get in Japan for the most part. (And having lived there, I can vouch for how they make it there).
Daruma makes their rolls with a decent amount of fish so you don’t get a mouthful of just rice and nori. The rice isn’t too sweet, which is good in a sushi rice. The one negative about their rolls is that they do not put wasabi inside the rolls.
Yes, folks. Wasabi *INSIDE* the roll is how they do it in Japan. It gives the roll that little bit of zing that it needs to really make the ingredients jump.
There was only one place in Orlando that did that, and sadly they closed about a year or so ago. You can find their review in my profile if you’re bored and want to find out about it.
As far as Daruma goes, it’s my favorite Japanese restaurant so far, an its been difficult to find one that does a better job as far as both sushi and Japanese food go.

My husband and I lived most of our adult lives in the Altamonte Springs area, but recently purchased a house across town in East Orlando. Before we moved, whenever we had a sudden craving for sushi, we would go to Hana Sushi. We loved the laid-​back neighborhood atmosphere, and of course the food! We had really been missing Hana Sushi, and hadn’t yet found an equivalent until one Tuesday evening when we decided to give Daruma Sushi a try.
The service, food, and atmosphere are JUST what we were looking for. At the end of the meal, my husband remarked that we had found our «new Hana»! If you’re like me and love veggie rolls, give the sun dried tomato roll a try! Very unique flavor. My husband loves the krab rangoon roll and the shrimp tempura. We both really enjoyed the steamed dumpling appetizer.

Easily the worst sushi I’ve ever eaten, especially in Orlando. Rolls have barely any rice on them and were somewhat falling apart. Did not taste good and didn’t even finish what we ordered. After eating dinner there I felt sick the rest of the night. I noticed the owners being very rude to the other employees. I would not recommend this place at all, there are many better sushi places in Orlando.

My boyfriend and I love taking our puppy out with us when we can, but find it challenging when we plan on stopping for a meal. Fortunately, we’ve found the perfect place that allows us to bring our pup, sit outside and indulge in our favorite cuisine… sushi. Daruma Sushi and Thai serves exactly what the name states and does a good job in doing so. You can choose to sit inside or outside. My only caution is that tables and chairs are not very comfortable and move when you move.
Being very picky about sushi, I was a bit worried about eating sushi at Daruma because it was so small and quaint looking, but it turned out to be a good decision. All the rolls I’ve tried were yummy and the service was excellent… probably because there’s never too many people in there, but I think that’s what makes this place so enjoyable. My boyfriend and I love it when its just the two of us… its more romantic and special. The rainbow, viking, and spider rolls are among my favorites and their seaweed salad is great, but is an acquired taste. As for the Thai food, I haven’t tried any of it yet, but plan on doing so the next time I dine there because it always looks AMAZING and smells delectable.
To make things even better, if you’re a lady, you get off of drinks every Thursday, making it a good place to have a ladies night out. Tuesdays are also a good night because you can get two for one drinks. On the first and last Friday and Saturdays of each month there is a live jazz and blues band playing.
The owner lives above the restaurant and is always around helping her staff, which are delightful, and working on various tasks. She goes around talking to each guest and is a very friendly and interesting person to chat with.
If you’re in the Avalon Park area and enjoy sushi, it’s worth checking out!