Shanghai Tokyo Cafe

4 stars for this place may seem silly, but even with all of the Japanese restaurants around, finding good sushi is not easy! I got a salmon avocado roll that tasted fresh with the rice cooked perfectly for $ 6.

Before the impending doom of the snowstorm I went in today and the woman at the front counter (Reon) was despicable– rude to any customer that tried to make conversation– if it wasn’t related to the menu she actually made you feel stupid for asking her anything (repeating your question with an incredulous look on her face, shaking her head). Literally every customer that walked in the door, she would look up and scowl, shaking her head like we were an inconvenience to her. Now I understand she probably wants to get home… But there’s no reason to treat your customers so horribly. Ever. I’m actually not sure I’ll be back. The food was good as always, but I’m not usually in the mood to be accosted by the people I’m handing money to. Enter at your own risk.

It’s like the McDonalds of Thai and Japanese food. The lights are SO bright which makes the entire experience feel cheap. I’ve been here twice… First and Last.

Checked in for a late Sunday lunch. We are thrilled. Right quality for the right price, exceptionally clean and friendly. Loved the sushi manager. Hope they elect to start delivery. We had the lunch chicken teriyaki, a spicy salmon roll, tuna avacodo roll, and avocado roll for the 9 year old. All very good and fresh.

Ok, so for a chain it’s pretty good. I ordered Chirashi (sashimi with salad) and then Salmon Lovers something (basically Salmon nigiri and sushi) and much to my surprise it was quite good. I haven’t yet ordered anything else but I plan to in the next few days. I went in with very low expectations and was pleasantly surprised.

Ordered takeout on a Friday night. Picked up 15 minutes later from very friendly staff. Gyoza, mei fun, sweet potato sushi, and veggie sushi. Flavors were all great! Vegetables tasted fresh and the mei fun was not too greasy. Delicious. And under $ 25 to fill up two. Looking forward to trying more things on the menu.

I’d give it 3 ½, if that was an option.
There’s good and not-​so-​good.
Starting with the good:
*Asian Express roll (spicy salmon) and the salmon nigiri was fresh and very tasty, as was the seaweed salad — which also came in a sizable portion.
The not-​so-​good:
*Unagi/​eel nigiri had hard/​overcooked bits. Weird.
*Sushi chefs were rude — I was the only one at the counter, and they couldn’t be bothered to look up. They chatted to a man who came in after me. Had they even looked my way, I might have been able to ask THEM if they could make a spicy tuna handroll when the woman ringing up orders at the other counter (for all non-​sushi items) told me, without checking: No.
*Ambiance — like Burger King for Asian takeout. Cold, impossibly bright. Add some character/​warmth, lower the light — and people would be more inclined to wander in or even stay and eat.

What I love about this place is that it has very quick service and it is fairly priced. The sushi and Chinese food is pretty good but of course nothing spectacular. I’m a fan of the milk tea with bubbles, but not the honeydew one (it was too creamy and artificial tasting). If you’re having Asian food cravings and want something quick and fast, I recommend this place.

Shanghai Tokyo solves a common problem in my household: what to eat when you’re overworked, don’t want to make dinner and don’t want to feel like crap the next day?
The menu of standard Chinese, Thai and Japanese offerings (Pad Thai, Kung Pao chicken, sushi) initially made me wary. After all, aren’t you supposed to avoid restaurants that try to do it all? But good Unilocal reviews for this restaurant’s sister location in College Park persuaded me to at least try it out. I’m so glad I did. Shanghai Tokyo delivers solid, fresh-​tasting, delicious takeout staples that can please picky eaters, vegetarians, friends assembled for a Friday night movie night or loved ones who need some comfort food after a stressful workday.

This is just a cheap casual place to get Asian takeout. You got your assortment of «Chinese» standbys like Orange chicken, but also Japanese bento boxes and Thai currys. The Kung pao chicken was so-​so, as most places don’t hold a candle to my go to. The sesame chicken was delicious in its delicious junk food kind of way. The bento boxes are the most balanced as you get salad, rice, shumai dumplings and a teriyaki dish and a California roll. Of course it costs more. I’m giving this place an extra star because the manager let me substitute the teriyaki for a tonkatsu (pork cutlet) which was great. My mom is Japanese and was craving a tonkatsu, and I’m glad I got her fix without me shelling out at a high end place. The staff are just friendly in general. You could do a lot worse when it comes Yo take out.

Coming here made my day. New Asian place by my house woohoo! I’d been craving yummy, fresh Asian food since moving from the Bay Area. Things I love about this place:
1. Extensive menu with Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Korean food and bubble tea.
2. Clean, casual and inviting ambiance.
3. They made my food fast.
4. Nice staff. Danny, one of the managers, was super nice and checked in to see how I liked my food.
5. Food was SUPER YUM and FRESH. I got chicken and broccoli (under signature dishes).
6. They have BROWN RICE yay! not enough places have this.
7. Affordable.
8. For those who care, food was beautifully presented. :)
Thanks Shanghai Tokyo Café! See you again very soon I’m sure.

In all honesty, with this location, there’s even more reason to not ever go by Panda Express. Along with Zombie Coffee and Donuts and Pete’s Pizza, Shanghai Tokyo Café is an example of a quality restaurant in an increasingly growing diverse community and manages to be of quality not just in food, but cleanliness as well. Presentation wise, the café is very welcoming, of appropriate size, and menus are available and on-​screen displays give everything you need to know about orders. It almost feels like something you’d expect to find in Gallery Place.
First meal I got was salmon and based on that first impression, I’ve been back four times following that. The side dishes are inexpensive, but of good quality and compliment the more fancy sushi dishes. And as someone who doesn’t eat sushi that often, it’s good to have this as an option instead of having to explore Chinatown or somewhere down 14^th St. I hope this place is around for awhile because it’s an off to an impressive start. I very much recommend it.

Walking past Shanghai Tokyo Café and last minute decided to drop in for dinner with my husband. At first I wasn’t even that hungry so I was a little hesitant to get anything. but man oh man was I so glad we did! I order the General Tso’s and my husband ordered the Kung Pao chicken.
While we were sitting there waiting for our food I was getting hungrier by the second looking at everyone else’s meals come out! It took a minute — but I never mind waiting (within reason) because I know the meal will come out fresh. They were extremely busy that night and I could tell the owner was making rounds so that they were on top of their customers.
The food really was AMAZING! I’ll be honest, I’m really not a huge Chinese food kind of girl but this hit the spot! I would highly recommend going there. I wish I had enough room to test out their sushi too because their sushi dishes looked good too!

Used to go to their sibling location in college park so was thrilled they opened up in columbia heights!
What you need to know: very clean, tasty food. Tons of options but their sushi is the best bet.
Spoke to the shift supervisor one night and he was really genuine and asked how I thought they could improve. So humble. Love that they added UMD sports posters; their attempt at connecting with the neighborhood.
Will be back on a weekly basis.

I struggled a second about giving 4 or 5 stars because this place is not like a 5 star restaurant with ambiance and hoity toity chefs and such. But that’s not what this place is supposed to be and it’s great.
— friendly service? Check
— quick service? Check
— delicious food? Check
— reasonable prices and lunch specials? Check
— clean comfortable lunch café? Check
They have a two roll $ 9.99 and a three roll $ 12.99 lunch deal. I got three. They were delicious and my sushi craving is satiated… for the moment.
I hope this place is very successful here because I will be back.

Great experience! This place offers a variety of classic asian foods in a setting that is fast casual. The food came out efficiently. The sushi was very fresh and affordable! The rice to tuna ratio was also great! I love that they have bubble tea here as it is the only place I know close to me without traveling outside DC. I ordered the passion fruit smoothie with boba which was very yummy. Great for a hot day! The lo mein was delicious as well and did not taste as heavy as typical carry out places. I would definitely recommend this place and come back again!

I used to live above a Shanghai Tokyo Café in College Park, MD, back when I was still at University of Maryland. It was home to one of my favorite sushi dishes — Sashimi Salad. An assortment of raw fish on top of a bed of greens for merely $ 10 – 11? Yes, please! It was my go-​to meal or snack. I was very sad when I graduated UMD and had to leave Shanghai Tokyo behind.
Much to my surprise, Shanghai Tokyo followed me to my new place of residence, Columbia Heights! I was super excited to have this open up just a block away, especially with CoHi’s current lack of sushi options. I ordered my favorite Sashimi Salad and an order of salmon sushi, just in case the salad was smaller than I was used to. The salad did not disappoint, however, and I was very full by the time I finished it. And it was exactly how I remembered it; tossed in a miso sauce with a zing resemblant of wasabi, with pieces of mango and avocado mingling in with the fish on top of a bed of mixed greens.
The fish was very fresh, so no complaints there. The salmon sushi was fresh as well; basically your standard sushi fare. Not large or small. I think the average sushi roll comes with six pieces there, although my roommate got the avocado cucumber roll and there were eight pieces. She also got the tofu fried rice (mild complaint, she ordered vegetable fried rice and got tofu, and she was annoyed she had to pick out all the tofu but otherwise it was fine) and a mango milk tea with bubbles, which she liked.
The one thing I wish Shanghai Tokyo would improve is their Chinese food. I picked up some Szechuan Chicken for my boyfriend, which he complained was really soupy. The extra gravy for the chicken would have been fine if it hadn’t been so greasy. He wasn’t very surprised, however, because he’d had the same dish in College Park and it was the same story. This is why I usually just stick to their sushi.
Also, the service was really fast. We ordered take out and had our food in approximately five minutes. We didn’t order ahead, we just ordered when we got there and waited at the sushi bar for our food. I saw that other reviews talked about their slow service, and I’d probably just attribute that to the kinks new restaurants always have to work out. They seem to have it figured out now!
Overall, I’m pretty happy that there is a Shanghai Tokyo has come to Columbia Heights!

FINALLY… something new opened on the Tivoli Plaza of Columbia Heights… we had no idea about this place until we turned our heads and saw oh something is being spruced up for a soft opening there… luckily they already had a menu created and displayed on the window for a preview.
The menu is very general pan asian ranging from Chinese to Japanese sushi to Thai… at first I thought it was going to be a sit down service restaurant but then I realized it is counter service.
When it did open and went in to get take out, I felt like I just jumped back a decade to my college days as if I was taking a study break and getting dinner before heading back to procrastinating my English paper due tomorrow… it had that kind of vibe and looking around it seems I was somewhat right since there were several young peeps scrolling through their iPhones while holding their white receipt waiting for their takeout too.
The restaurant itself is clean and generic… not much to really tout about but otherwise nothing to complain about either. One of the owners I believe was nice enough while we were seated waiting brought us some glasses of water while we waited.
If you do eat there, you can get a number and they bring you your food.
As far as food itself, it’s pretty standard Asian fare… I got the bento box and two of their specialty sushi rolls and I was overall satisfied.
I’m sure this place will do well and I have a feeling lunch time is a highlight for them especially for all the folks who work around the neighborhood.
Will I go again… sure…it’s one of those places like a pizza place where you go for pretty good food when you just don’t feel like cooking your delivered Blue Apron meals and are craving something Asian but don’t want the regular msg filled Chinese take out.
I learned Shanghai Tokyo has several other restaurants particularly one in College Park, MD which makes the whole college vibe in it make sense now.
Now that I got my sushi fix… guess it’s time to get back to that imaginary English paper I feel like I have to write… or in its place, this Unilocal*review! ha…

Finally an sushi joint and serving Chinese food as well. It opened last Sunday (only soft opening). It is a café — very casual. You go up to the counter to order, either eat in or take out. If you eat in they will give you s number card and bring the food to you.
The Singapore. Noodle is authentic, spicy at the right level. The sushi is ok, nothing stand out but definitely better than what you get in Giant!
For me the location is what earn it the 4 stars. Close to Columbia Heights metro station. No doubt this will be my extended kitchen.

Shanghai Tokyo Café already has a location in College Park, MD and they just opened up on Park Rd in the same location that used to house OXXO cleaners.
Their soft opening was 7÷26÷15.
Prices are good –many items cost less than $ 10. I just got the plain old shrimp lo mein and it was tasty. Seems like they sell $ 3 beer (wow). I’m interested to go back for some of their sushi lunch specials too, like $ 10 for two rolls and $ 13 for three rolls plus miso soup and salad.