Tokyo Lobby Restaurant

This place is a prime candidate for Restaurant Impossible. Robert Irvine they seriously need your help!
I didn’t like anything about this place. If food was at least shooting par, I wouldn’t have minded the décor. This was the very first time I had to send teriyaki salmon back.
The sole waitress was working very hard and I felt for her as the other two gentlemen (one behind the sushi bar and the other «manager» type) were just standing around doing nothing. The star goes to her.

Not fancy but great prices and great sushi. I’m so full and happy!
It’s too bad that some people have given low ratings unrelated to the food and service. Yes, prices have home up but so has the cost of gas.

Sooo disappointed today. =(twice my best friend came out to orange from pasadena to visit my favorite sushi place ever, tokyo lobby… the first time they had just changed their hours to not being open on sundays anymore, and today it was during business hours and they were closed. The door was open though, so we peaked our heads in and asked why they were closed. they said they opened for an hour, didn’t have any customers, so they closed early. but WE were customers and they didn’t sell us any sushi. =(i’m really bummed about how we were treated and how difficult it is to be able to eat there.

Yea. I went again, expecting to get that big bowl of sashimi salad, and find out they raised the price. Ordered some rolls and my friend ended up ordering the sashimi salad, much to both our disappointments. Sorry, this place stinks

Slightly disgruntled that their price per roll went up a bit. used to be $ 4.50 per roll! Two weeks ago, I got 5 rolls (with some tip) for $ 40. Average to other restaurants, but definitely more expensive for this place.
Service is OK, other food is OK. Definitely other better Japanese restaurants around.
I come here mostly with (or for) coworkers, craving quick sushi. If I had time to go somewhere else, I would definitely go somewhere else. Nothing WRONG with the sushi (except that I heard the sushi guy tell someone that that particular fish had been there for 10 days! 10 days!), but it’s just not as delicious and as fresh as I would want for «regular» sushi prices.

I grew up with the Tokyo Lobby in San Gabriel Vally (SGV) so when I saw this location I was excited. Boy was I disappointed. This was nothing like the other location in SGV. Ambiance is casual and clean. Service is friendly and attentive. Food was just okay and prices were reasonable. Would come back to satisfy a craving for Japanese and is convenient from work.

Service gets a .5 star.
Sushi gets 1 full star.
Prices get 1 star.
I’ll round up to 3 stars overall.
I don’t know man. I have to admit, I’m hitting this place with a little bit of bias, but I can’t help it.
The general food was OK. I’ve had better at the other two locations in SGV [San Gabriel Valley]. The sushi was better though. I’ll give them that. There was a larger selection of rolls and sashimi, especially with their sashimi rice bowl. I was a little upset though that when I ordered a teriyaki + tempura lunch special, that I only got 1 shrimp, as opposed to the 2 I get at the other locations.
The service was just ‘OK’. My boyfriend’s water cup was empty for days [exaggerated of course]. We basically had to stop the waitress to get a refill of water. They charged for tea, too. That was unexpected.
Overall, an ‘eh’ experience sorry to say. I’m open to coming back to this place another time, but I think I may stick to the sushi menu.

The service was fast, the atmosphere was lovely, and the food was delicious… all for a fantastic price. I came here with my supervisor and two colleagues to celebrate moving into a new position, and we were not disappointed. The special rolls are all only 4.50! How do they get away with that?
I had my staples — philly roll, dragon roll, and spicy tuna roll. They did not disappoint.
The rolls could’ve been a little tighter and the waitress could’ve been more welcoming, but overall, I’ll definitely be coming back here. Have been telling coworkers about this place.

Came here after hearing about how good this place was from a couple coworkers. It was such a great deal! You literally can get any sushi roll for $ 4.50! Wow. What a great deal…
Even though it is under new management, they have made this place great! Definitely recommend.

I would have gave it 5 stars, but we encountered some small problems…
So I been here before when I was little, with my parents, but this was the first time it so long and I was with my friends. The food was great! No complaint there, and the service was good too. But we had ordering problems and the check was wrong… I almost got charged more than what it should have been. And when we ordered the fried oysters, we ordered a plate of 12, instead they gave us a plate of 6. But that was easily fixed. :]
Overall, it was great! Go for lunch or a dinner date.

You know what? Don’t let some of these simps ruin you with their cranky and sardonic reviews. Again, it’s a case of «The Curse Of The Orange Countians Who Think Sushi Has to be Complicated.» Just like on Scooby Doo (was there really an episode like that or was I still asleep that saturday morning?). Instead, let’s go get in the Mystery Machine and take a little jaunt through Tokyo Lobby.
First: High marks on creativity from the chef. He actually MAKES AND CREATES HIS OWN SAUCES. Better than a lot of snobby sushi places I know.
Second: The fish was fresh as could be. No opaque-​looking fish here. It’s fresh and colorful and smell-​less (a good sign), and the color is always right.
Third: A few simply amazing rolls.
You know, that’s what good sushi is all about. If you’re a noob, don’t fret. Order the «SP Tempura roll» and sit back. The chef makes this sauce that is spicy and tangy. He juxtaposes it with a sauce that’s dark and sweet, yet salty. The two mingle with the crispy tempura and spicy tuna to create an amazing roll.
Don’t be afraid, try any roll you want. There are some excellent choices here. The sauces– as always– make it. The eel was sumptuous, the cucumber roll delicate and tasty. The crunch rolls are crunchy and delicate. All fresh, all creative, all excellent.
The hot food is good. The best deal is on the lunch special that comes with several extras like miso soup, tempura and other stuff. I like the teriyaki chicken and I have not found it to be dry at all. It’s not hyper complex, but does it need to be? The tempura has always been fresh and crisp here, with a delicate coating that never overpowers whatever is in it.
In all, there’s no way this place is bad. I’ve come here, maybe, 20 times and I have yet to have a bad meal. In fact, they have all been very good. This is a good, solid, dependable sushi place. It may not be some award-​winning, ultra-​bizarre place serving albino whale fin, but it will not disappoint. Great service too. At least in my experience.
I’m not negating the bad reviews. I think the issue with this place is consistency. You may hit it on a bad day and disagree with me completely. So that may be a management issue. But I really have not found the bad things I’ve been reading. In all honesty, I just have not.
Oh, the coke mix (I think it’s a generic syrup brand– not real Coca-​Cola) kind of sucks. Owners: please crank up the CO2 and buy some actual Coke syrup please. Otherwise, a winner in my book.

** Under New Ownership as of 4÷15÷2011 **
Don’t be fooled by the same name; this isn’t the same Tokyo lobby that we’ve all come to love. The food is not as good and the quality is lacking. I won’t be back!

Lunch time isn’t bad, there’s probably one server but somehow she can manage all her tables and not piss anyone off. They also have a friendly staff. I love their crispy tuna roll and super eel roll.

Not memorable at all. Very mediocre food. And sometimes even bad. Chicken teriyaki was completely dry with no flavor. It was cooked chicken with teriyaki sauce thrown on top. Gross! Shrimp tempura udon was okay, you just have to fish the shrimp out of their before they get soggy. Some rolls are decent but I don’t want to pay sushi prices for mediocre boarding bad food.
Methinks definitely not!

Not as good as it used to be. We used to eat here once a month, but the food quaility isn’t what it used to be. They are trying to focus a bit more on sushi, but it doesn’t appear to be working out well as there is never a crowd.
The specials are good… chicken teriyaki and tempura. The beef is usually gristly, so we tend to avoid it. For a bit of fun try the «boats» with a huge assortment of things on them.
Service is quick and friendly… but the place just isn’t what it used to be. I used to consider it a 5 star!

I came here for a very early dinner as I hadn’t eaten all day… and I left full and happy and straight into a food coma. My friend has been coming here for a while now and always orders the same thing: double tonkatsu combo. But since he hadn’t eaten all day either, he made it a triple! Haha!
The other friend ordered a tempura with fried oysters and baked seafood combo – fried, and a mayo fat trap. Geebus. I behaved and ordered the chirashi set, and it was amazing. At only $ 14, it’s very cost effective and the quality and selection of the fish is pretty stellar. I stole some bites from everyone else and it was pretty good. The tonkatsu was very good, as my friend said… but I wish I could say the same for the oysters. Blech. Mostly the fried crust, very little oyster.
I enjoyed the atmosphere and the dark wood décor of the restaurant, but my experience was marred by the bad oyster dish and a screaming child at the next table. But if I just close my eyes and think of the chirashi, I know I’ll be coming back again.

My First Five Stars Experience.
Over this past winter break, I read the book The Zen of Fish, by Trevor Corson. It’s a great book describing the rich history of sushi in America. In this book, it praises the Japanese practice of Omakase, which generally means the customer asks the chef to make whatever he thinks the customer would like. I have been waiting to try it but I have put it off because I was worried that the sushi restaurant would not serve omakase and I would look like an idiot for asking.
Tonight, I walked into Tokyo Lobby and sat at the sushi bar for the first time. I looked over the menu and ate some edamame. I gathered my courage and said «I would like omakase» to the sushi chef. He in return gave me a puzzled look and asked me to repeat myself. I cleared my throat and said «o-​MA-​ka-​se.» The chef still was unsure. Luckily the other chef realized what I was asking for and he said you want anything, right? I responded yes. He then went back to work and I sat for 10 minutes unsure of what was to come or even if I had ordered correctly.
Then the chef put a small white bowl of salad composed of ahi poke, thinly sliced fresh cucumber and red onions topped with seaweed and shreds of nori. It was a refreshing start to the meal.
2^nd Course. A plate of red snapper sashimi perfectly sliced in a radial pattern covered with slices of red onion, ponzu sauce, and a dot of sriracha.
3^rd course. Four pieces of Nigiri. On the far right was a white fish with sweet ponzu sauce. The second one was a piece of hamachi topped with a cream sauce. Next to that piece was a seared piece of salmon where the sushi chef edged grooves on the top to make a place to hold the topping. The last piece was an oval ball of rice with 2 pieces of tuna wrapped around it and topped with imitation Krab blend. All the pieces were really fresh and unique.
4^th course. A tuna roll with tuna and spicy tempura shreds that looked like daikon on top. I wasn’t really sure what they exactly were but they were delicious.
5^th course. «Spicy Jalapino Bomb» the signs on the counter spell it «jalapino» but I assume they mean jalapeño. It was a deep fried jalapeño with eel sauce, cream cheese, and imitation Krab. Funny enough. I mentioned the spicy jalapeño roll sarcastically by saying «doesn’t that look tasty» Sure enough he heard me and served it to us. That’s the great thing about omakase because it makes you try new food.
Final Course. Miso Soup and Green Tea Ice Cream
All in all it was amazing meal. It show cased the talent of the chef in a innovative way. We ate food that no one else in the restaurant ate and ingredients and combinations I have never tried before.
Cost $ 67 for two people.

So we went for a late dinner on a Saturday night. There were a few large parties. So Saturday Night and they got 2 waitresses running the floor. And from what I can see 2 sushi chefs workin the counter. hmmmm… It took some time for us to put in our order. Our waitress was very FOB and I asked for an Arnold Palmer to which she replied, «I dunno what that is» so I told her. She brought the drink back and tells me, «let me know if it tastes funny». hahahahaha. ok, she tried… close but not… She used Ice Tea and Sprite. LOL. She was very sweet tho. The rolls were ok. I had the Sukiyaki and it was quite tasty (the soup) except too much cabbage. The meat was dry too. Weird since its in a soup.
I will keep going when I want some cheap fast Jap food.

The sushi was fresh, the cost was low, and the service was awesome.
I was a bit put-​off by the selections on the menu [every «specialty» roll seemed to be on top of a california roll, to me that’s usually the first clue that I won’t like the place.
I was shocked and amazed that when I asked if I could have the «baked lobster roll» on spicy tuna roll instead of California, the waitress had a pleased smile and said «of course :)». Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want here, she was super nice to me.
The edamame kept coming and when a couple walked in to eat, they asked to sit in a dark corner, we spoke up to let the server know that we’d actually prefer if she’d dim the lights. Without a word or a twinge of irritation, she did just that.
Our order? [I went with a guest: p]
1 Baked Lobster on Spicy Tuna Roll
1 Spicy Tuna Roll
1 Sashimi Dinner
2 Small Sake
1 Soda
1 Seaweed Salad
— — — — — — — — —
Cost: $ 50.
Freshness: ⁵⁄₅
Atmosphere: ⁵⁄₅ [at first it was as bright as a Dr. s office, but she adjusted it for us]
Service: ⁵⁄₅
I’ll definitely be going back.

This review is for the sukiyaki alone and because I’m really afraid this place is going to tank and I won’t be able to gorge myself on noodles, veggies, and beef whenever I’m in Orange. You really must try this culinary spectacle.
Food: Ok, yes, the sushi sucks and the teriyaki sauce has too much cornstarch. One item remains absolutely delectable. Behold, the sukiyaki (
). This soup contains more ingredients than most can handle. Wheat noodles, mushrooms, two kinds of fish cake, tofu, insane amounts of beef, carrots, bean sprouts, green onions, onions, pea pods, napa cabbage, and glass noodles are simmered in a sweet beef broth until piping hot. The heat helps the vegetables and other ingredients cook and absorb the flavor of the broth. Think of it as shabu shabu that actually tastes good.
Service: The service is prompt. Now that the crowds seem to have died down what with the ailing economy, you’ll be treated like royalty.
Atmosphere: The inside is decorated with enormous paper lanterns, giant branches of cherry blossom, and Japanese roof tiles.
Synopsis: That was pretty much all I wanted to say. Go forth and try the sukiyaki!!!