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| - $16.99 gets you all you can eat on the dinner menu, with a few caveats. Let's put this into perspective: nowadays, what can you REALLY get for $16.99? You can't get 2 rolls at a regular sushi joint; you can't get 2 small plates at a tapas restaurant; you can get 1 pizza but not an appetizer -- let's be real; $16.99 doesn't get you much, rarely the opportunity to gorge yourself to the brink of calling a state of digestive emergency. Mr. Tokyo gets 4.5 stars -- rounding up to 5 for: (1) good service; (2) good food; and (3) superb value.
THE CAVEATS:
1) If you want sashimi, there's a $.50/piece upcharge -- reasonable since you're getting twice the sushi with half the ability to fill up because you're not consuming any carbs or fillers
2) No waste policy. If you have 4+ pieces leftover (that's half a roll), then you will be charged for the roll but you can take it home with you
Location and ambience. It's located in a strip mall and the restaurant is relatively small, which explains the wait time. The decor tries to be modern with backlighting but otherwise nothing remarkable and is your typical Japanese or sushi restaurant.
Good service. We came around 3 pm on a Saturday afternoon and were seated right away (the restaurant was 25% full). Our server was extremely attentive and prompt, gave us the rundown on the restaurant rules, and seamlessly served or cleared away everything we needed and didn't need, respectively.
Good food. All things considered, the food here is solid, especially given that you're meant to eat in bulk -- the Costco of sushi dining, so to speak. You're not going to get Toro or any other premium grade sushi because that's not what you're paying for; if that's what you're seeking, be prepared to shell out 3 or 4 times more for your meal (if this is your expectation, then I'm calling you out for being one of those whiners who expects champagne on a beer budget). There are quite a few AYCE sushi joints in S Cal with this exact premise; Mr. Tokyo is right on par with the 4.5-star S Cal counterparts.
TIP: you can ask for substitutions or modifications to your order so you get exactly what you want. For example, I only wanted the sweet potato in the vegetable tempura and that's exactly what they brought me.
I've had:
+++ miso soup. The broth is a perfect blend of the miso stuff and tofu; I've been to places where it's super watered down before
+++ squid salad. The squid salad is superb (ask for lemon to squeeze over it for a little tangy kick; this is how it's usually served at other sushi restaurants) and usually is $9 just for the salad
+++ yellowtail. We've had yellowtail all over Charlotte: BLT Steakhouse, Baku, Cowfish, and Hibiscus and the yellowtail here is better than Cowfish and Hibiscus (you're limited to one order per customer)
+++ shrimp tempura. Crispy and the ponzu sauce is great (sweet with just a little tangy lemon kick); my BF liked it with the spicy mayo.
+++ sweet potato tempura. A teeny bit on the greasy side but it's tempura, after all. Clearly wasn't way too greasy because I asked for two orders.
+++ ika (squid) sushi. The freshness, consistency and sweetness of the squid is great; I had 4 orders (you order them 1 piece at a time). I added masago to my second order.
+++ philly roll. I like the cream cheese and usually order this sans avocado. Next time, I'll stick with the Panther roll because it tastes better and has the cream cheese in it
+++ Panther roll. Delicious. It has shrimp tempura, cream cheese, crab, jalapeño and sriracha. It was splendid.
Room for improvement. They will only make you a full roll so you really have to commit to 7-10 pieces; I'd prefer to have the flexibility to try more items and order half rolls but I get it, it's more work for them.
Value. First and foremost, for eating at an establishment that serves bulk raw fish, it passes the digestive test (after your meal, are you counting the minutes until you get home and taking an inventory of the number of people in your car vs the number of bathrooms you have?; would this be a safe first date venue? -- the epitome of diner's remorse). Second, the overall dining experience was commensurate to the price; in fact, given there are few places where you can stuff your face and still get pretty good quality food, it feels like a steal (the table adjacent to us served two people 4 sushi rolls each; they were in it to win it!).
When it comes to consuming raw fish, especially considering that you know that you're not being served premium grade sushi, you have to be cognizant that you're taking a calculated digestive risk; there's a delicate balance between quality vs. quantity. However, the risk here is small, the food is solid, and the value is tremendous. Kudos to Mr. Tokyo for finding that equilibrium and delivering on a great dining experience that is worth every penny.
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