Japanese culture has always entranced me…to the point where I’m on a constant journey to find the best most magical spots in Hampton roads…and this my friends takes the cake…the atmosphere and the food are out of this world I will most certainly be coming back and will be spreading the word that this restaurant is the best of the best. My own personal experience was nothing short of magical and I may sound a bit too enthusiastic but I’m not lying when I say that this shop and it’s staff are top notch.! Keep up the great work and I will always be coming back !
Worst experience ever. The owner was disrespectful. I am vegan and the food I ordered was fried with the regular food and I was not informed. I am allergic to shrimp and I had felt sick immediately. The owner also was making me pay and tried to put me down. I also did not get some of my food and was charged for it. And to end it off amazingly, they gave me the wrong food initially, and that food had meat I could not eat that was for someone else at the table . I was lucky I noticed because the staff would not have. The owner has no class. The owner has been in business for “23 years” as she told me but clearly she’s still an amateur at being civil.
Vegan, sushi, atmosphere were so nice! Mango salsa rolls were incredible love it. will come again
I've been to Kotobuki 3 times (so far) and I absolutely love it! The food is amazing, and they have so many vegan and vegetarian options that most should be satisfied. I am vegan and went with my two standard diet dining companions and we all were so stuffed and happy when we left. My only issue going here is that I have a hard time deciding what to eat because it's all amazing.
This is one of the better sushi / Japanese cuisine restaurants I've been to in the area. The menu is very diverse, with a large vegetarian selection. The waitress was very nice and as prompt as could be, given she was the only server on the floor. My party of three had a great time and we never had an issue with wait time or meal temperatures. I did notice some folks losing their patience due to the long time for food to come out, but it seems patrons don't realize or remember that not all restaurants have a full staff any more. There was one server and one cook for the restaurant, which means wait times may be a little longer than expected. If you go in with the realization that you may have more time to talk than to eat, you'll be fine. Don't stare at your phone all night with your company across from you. Have a normal conversation and appreciate the folks who are serving and cooking for you. Compliments to the staff!
Great food, atmosphere and customer service. Their sushi was well-proportioned and tasted amazing. My wife is always looking for good Agedashi Tofu and she loves it here (and I do too, even though I'm not a huge fan of tofu texture). Support this awesome place!
Less than 18 hours ago, I ordered/purchased a to go order of hurricane sushi roll (comes with tuna salmon cucumber, masage avocado no rice) from Kotobuki Japanese Restaurant & Bar (in the Ghent neighborhood of Norfolk Virginia). The Hurricane roll came with ginger and the food was very delicious. The employees I interacted with were polite/ very friendly and I received my to go order of the hurricane sushi roll in a timely manner
I've been a vegetarian for almost 10 years and it was refreshing to see all the options available for not only vegetarians but also vegans. Most restaurants will throw a few veg friendly items on the menu as an after thought but this establishment went out of their way and created a phenomenal selection on par with the rest of their menu. The vegan menu was awesome and very creative, everything texturally was on point ( firm with just enough of a chew). Definitely a place worth trying out and supporting.
I have been to Kotobuki several times in the past and their food has always been delicious and I’ve never had a bad experience. Tonight, my boyfriend, sister and I presented there and informed the staff that we had a party of six, as a few friends were going to come join us. I noticed several empty tables throughout the restaurant and one large table that can fit six people that was full. I was informed that they could not accommodate a party of six, and was told to have a good night. I have worked in the restaurant industry for over 15 years, and have spent over three of those years hosting in an high-volume, small capacity restaurant. Never, in my entire restaurant career, have I told a table that we could not accommodate them and offer no other solution for a wait time, or anything. I understand having difficulty seating a larger party of 8+ people, but this was not the case with my party. This is honestly baffling to me, and I will never return here again.
I have unfortunately never been able to try the food because for the last two Saturdays in a row, there's always been a reason to why they can't serve us right when we enter.Last week it was because within a half hour of opening they said they couldn't seat us because someone working there was sick and they just seated two large tables. Although the parties weren't going to be there all night, and we said we could wait, she said they weren't taking anyone for the rest of the night.This weekend apparently, again within seconds of walking in, we were informed they wouldn't be able to seat anyone for at least 2 hours (let's admit it it's probably just going to be the entire night again) because their sous chef was supposedly out of the country and they had a lot of to go orders.Now I understand circumstances might not be favorable and I get that maybe places are understaffed (which is generally a choice of the employer in order to save money on payroll anyway), but the fact that I explained that we were turned away last time because of an entirely different reason, she said "yeah that was me", then said "thanks for understanding" in the most condescending tone. You don't have to be rude when I was just explaining the pattern of behavior.So if anyone is considering going here on a weekend or probably any other day I'm assuming at this point, don't. Don't waste the drive or walk there because they'll probably turn you away anyway, for one reason or another.Also my friend said he read a similar review from THREE weeks ago, even though we've only tried going to the place for two weeks in a row now. Seems to be a pattern. He also commented that that didn't need so many tables since they never get used anyway. LMAO