Kimono

Traveling and sick of burgers we took the exit excited for sushi just to find they’re not open all day just around meal times If they’re going to have a huge billboard on the highway they should be ready for big business.

Went for lunch!
Dark dining area, walking in the lady behind the bar completely ignored us after I said hi… and just stood there and waited… she never looked up. Finally a host sat us. We had the teriyaki chicken, spicy salmon and their sunshine roll… The hibachi was good, spicy salmon I would say below average and the sunshine roll was pretty good :) bathrooms were very gross… but, overall I would give food/​service/​cleanliness a ³⁄₅. Had better but not the worst!:)

Food is mediocre at best. Major issue is the staff…
We booked their private room ONE MONTH AGO for a business meeting with 8 people… Show up tonight and they have our reservation, name and party size. However, they wanted to put us at a grill. We explained for what we were doing this evening, that absolutely wouldn’t be possible. We needed the private room we booked a month ago.
Well, we were told the room was booked at 5pm for a party of 15 so we could no longer have the private room. Here’s the thing, the room is «free» but gratuity is 20%. It’s not rocket science to realize a party of 15 will bring in more than our party of 8. So, they just decided to move us to the grill…
Honestly, we were ready to let this go. We could find another place to meet. Short notice but not the end of the world. So, my associate said, «I think we will just find another place to meet.» The main hostess got a horrible attitude at that point. She said, I kid you not, «Well, there’s nothing I can do about it so just go. Just go.» Are you kidding me!!! We were regulars here. We’ve made them plenty of money and this is how we are treated because they screwed us over with our reservations? I explained to her that this was NOT our fault so there is absolutely no reason for her to be rude to us! That she was the one that decided our business wasn’t worthy of a private room reservation we made a month ago and that we were taking our business elsewhere.
If it were me and I were passing through Princeton. I would take my money elsewhere. Support a restaurant that wants your business, no matter your party size.

The sushi here is the best in the area :-) the people here are nice, and I love the noodles. I’d definitely come again.

Food here is delicious and service is impeccable! Our server Red was absolutely wonderful. He has such an infectious energy. Every one at the grill was very pleased. If you have sushi… get the Princeton Roll, it is my favorite.

I came here after a long day off working around the rails in the pouring rain. Was greeted with a nice smile and inviting atmosphere. The restaurant is your typical Japanese style restaurant with the exception that you do not have to take off your shoes. I was directed to sit directly in front of the sushi bar where I could observe the sushi chef making sushi rolls and sashimi.
I ordered two of the eel cucumber rolls and one spicy tuna roll. I also requested a side of eel sauce to accompany. The wait time was about 10 minutes and my rolls were delivered. The presentation was nice. The rolls were a tad on the small side for my liking, but the taste was wonderful. Excellent sushi.- the traveling railroader

By far best sushi around in three county span… If you order nothing else get the black dragon roll so much flavor. We also get the spider roll just for crunch! Wait staff is always friendly and right on top of your drinks. I haven’t eaten the hibachi food but everyone is always happy setting around the grill and the portions look huge.

I must say their new 50% off deals completely threw me. I thought only a few things were half off but ALL their apps, drinks and Maki sushi were half off!!! Left full and some sake for $ 12.
You don’t expect decent sushi off the highway in WV but you will leave happy and with some money in your pocket.

Worst sushi ever!!! No thank you!!!
Fortunately the fish was fresh, so there wasn’t a safety concern but the rice was dry and hard and the crispies used in some of the rolls were stale and indigestible.
The spicy tuna was more like garlic and onion tuna, and not spicy. They also used the stale crispies in this roll.
The sad thing is that their sushi would be great if they wouldn’t cut corners by using old ingredients.

We tried five different types of sushi and it was fine considering the location. I’ve been very spoiled with the wide variety of sushi restaurants in the Washington DC area. This will due until I visit the big city again.

Unfortunately they have lost their liquor license. Now that’s not a deal breaker in an of itself but the were also out if tuna this evening. No sake and no tuna??? That’s a shame.
* quick note: The area has no restaurants that are not chains!

The food is as amazing as it always been. Kimono loses a couple of stars because they have a few individuals that want to do things differently. This update shall serve as public service announcement to them: we liked things the old way, quit changing things up! First, we went on a Friday evening and it was packed. Put our name down for a table, hoping to be seated quicker, and the new host/​manager disregardd our request and sat us at the hibachi anyway. Ok so we decided we’ll enjoy the experience. Second, the sushi chef has changed the composition of the beloved kani salad! Instead of a perfect mix of shredded crab, cucumber, crumbled tempura, spicy mayo, eel sauce and tobiko the chef decided that all we need is the crab, cucumber and spicy mayo. We were ready for this because some friends had told us that it was different, so we told the waitress how we wanted it. When the kani salad was ready i saw the waitress tell the sushi chef that he made it wrong. He got quite disheveled. When it was served the waitress told us that the chef was not happy and expressed that he was new and made it differently then other chefs did. I say too bad, he needs to do it how the customers expect it or else they may lose customers. Lastly, the kani salad was half its normal size, uh. This is unacceptable. For all you Kimono lovers out there, please join in the movement to uphold the original kani salad that we all have come to love and do not accept anything less.
The hibachi was outstanding, btw.

Dark restaurant. Seemed busy which is always a good sign. Nice lunch specials. Like that! I opted for the 3 Maki lunch special which came with miso soup ($ 11.99). Very reasonable pricing, however, I was far from impressed with it all. My miso soup seemed too watered down and little effort put into it. No spinach and hardly any tofu. This is always concerning because miso soup is my little test on how the sushi is going to be. This test has never failed me. Sure enough… the sushi rolls were just okay… just a slight bit better than the «end of the day supermarket sushi!» I had the sweet potato roll, salmon roll and crunch roll. Actually the crunch roll was the best of the 3. Salmon roll is usually my favorite but not this time as it was tiny and a scrawny amount in the roll… over powered by the seaweed. My coworker started with the seaweed salad and that looked good and fresh. ($ 4.95). Anyway, this is far from the best sushi but it satisfied my craving.

I’ve had a lot of hibachi as far away as Honolulu, but Kimono in Princeton ranks #2 on my list, only behind a hole-​in-​the-​wall treasure in St. Augustine. What makes Kimono different is the sheer amount of quality food that you get. You get so. much. awesome. food. Be prepared for a long wait if you stroll in at 7pm on Friday or Saturday. A bonus is the cheaper lunch specials during the week. A great time to go is an extended lunch hour!
All dinner entrees come with soup, salad w/​ginger dressing, fried rice (comes standard, no upcharge!), a 2 shrimp appetizer, sauteed vegetables (onions, zucchini, mushrooms, etc), and the protein/​s you order. I usually get the chicken or shrimp to fool myself into thinking I’m healthy. If I’m celebrating, I get the filet cooked medium. By the time the hibachi chef is finished, your plate is running over with steaming hot meat, rice, and veggies. It demands your chop sticks’ or fork’s attention. Unless you’ve fasted all day for this event, go ahead and get a doggy bag.
Kimono’s house dipping sauce, YumYum sauce (Sexy sauce in other circles) is my muse. As most regulars do, I fill both compartments of my sauce dish with YumYum. I have no need for another condiment when I can douse everything on my plate in sweet, savory, creamy ecstasy. Many first-​time patrons are shy with their YumYum consumption; eating it is an Olympic sport to me. No shame.
I’d go to Kimono for sushi as well, though it strikes a chord depending on the chosen roll. Last time, I was less than enthusiastic with my brother’s choices. However, their Tequila Sunrise was a pleasant surprise. I’d give other mixed drinks a try, too. Sake isn’t my first choice.
Edit: Yamato in Bluefield, VA is no longer open. No conflict anymore!

By far the best place to eat in Princeton! The food is a little expensive but for the portion size it’s worth it. The chicken, steak, shrimp, with extra rice is the way to go. I can’t forget the yum yum sauce. It’s definitely the best tasting sauce of all time. Plus it’s a great place to go if your with a group, or even if you have kids. The cooks normally interact with everyone, which makes things pretty exciting. A++ service all the way!

Absolutely THE best sushi in the entire region! I’m from NYC, have traveled to and eaten sushi in Japan, as well as across the USA, so I do not say this lightly! We’ve eaten at Kimono since they opened, and– amazingly– they have FAR better sushi than 99% of the restaurants I’ve eaten in in NYC, Fairfax, VA, etc. Always excellent and sometimes even sublime! Great melt-​in-​your-​mouth velvety squid for example, as opposed to the rubber bits one usually gets elswhere. Excellent yellow tail, white tuna, scallops, etc., as well as «all the usual suspects» such as tuna & salmon. This is my «happy place», and where we go to celebrate anything I can think to celebrate with a «sushi-​saki fest»!

Food was so so, but for what you get the price was unacceptable, we won’t be going back

Whatever visions of sushi in West Virginia that usually ruin your appetite should be replaced by a delicious surprise. I will banish my usual biases and be more daring as we attempt to pass through the state before hunger strikes.
Kimono expectedly has the entertaining hibachi tables which we bypassed for the sushi menu. Everything was fresh and tasty. The test for me is usually the squid which in this case was perfect.
We will certainly stop here again as I drive through this way a couple of times per year.

The one in Wytheville (same company according to their card) just sucked! Ordered 4 appetizers and the quality of frozen entres at Sam’s club is better. Crab rangoons, two types of dumplings one pork and the other undetermined, and oily spring rolls. When you are in Wytheville go to Macdonalds, eat the opossum by the side of the road but don’t eat appetizers at this place. This is the rare onestar for me.

I grew up in and around Princeton and Athens, West Virginia from the early 60’s though the mid 70’s and there was not a lot in this small town to brag about. When my wife and I visit, we typically drive all the way to Wytheville, VA just to find something decent. I recently ate at a local Princeton chain restaurant where the meatloaf was so bad, on the drive back home that day I threw-​up in three states! So when I give a restaurant in Princeton FIVE STARS, realize I do NOT do it lightly, especially with Japanese cuisine, which I am the snobbiest about.
This past weekend, I took my family out to Kimono (hibachi grill, sushi bar) along with my grandma who had never ate at a Japanese restaurant. I thought she might like the show (OH AND SHE DID!).
The chef’s knew what they were doing, the food was wonderful and the sushi was delightful. Delightful! I can’t believe I am saying that about a sushi bar at the ass-​end of the West Virginia coal fields!!!
Do yourself a favor, avoid the Bob Evans viral lab and eat at Kimono — it is in the strip mall with the Wal Mart, near the Visitor Center, right off the interstate.