Aozora Japanese Restaurant
“We went there Tuesday 7/1/2014 and did some BYOB and also ordered a few warm Saki's as well.”
“Great place for sushi in Montclair – I loved the decor in here, and the menu had nice specialty rolls that were fresh and delicious.”
“Ordered the duck spring rolls due to the overwhelming thumbs up on yelp.”
Aozora Japanese Restaurant
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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We went here for dinner last night prior to a show at the Wellmont Theater, which was right across the street.
There were no tables available, so we sat at the sushi bar. This worked out just fine because service was very quick at the sushi bar. Considering how crowded the restaurant was we were in and out of there in 30 minutes!
We ordered the dynamite roll, some sushi and the chicken fried rice. The shrimp tempura in the dynamite roll was very well made and the sushi was fresh and tasty. I was not sure about the chicken fried rice, at first, because it seemed dry (I think I was expecting a more Chinese style fried rice), but the more I ate it, I enjoyed it. It was better than the Chinese style, because it was not greasy or oily and chicken was very moist and tender.
By checking in on Yelp, we received a free dessert! We opted for the creme brûlée, which was absolutely delicious and huge – not one of those tiny ramekin sizes. The other dessert choices were various ice creams and bread pudding.
After passing this place for Ani Ramen a few times it came time to finally give it a try. The setting is very nice and the presentation of food matches this as well. To start we had the special pork dumplings with peanut sauce appetizer. There are 6 of. Them, not bad for 2 or 3 people to share. They were pretty good. To pick them up with the chopsticks were a bit tricky though. The thing that stuck out was the presentation – fancy plates and glasses and even the chopsticks which aren't the usual wood kind. decided to try the shrimp teriyaki which came once again with nice presentation, but also a good amount. I was impressed with the amount of shrimp in the entree. The actual food was good, delicious sauce which there could've been more of but was still great. It's especially good to see other choices on the menu since I'm not a sushi Conisseur.
This place was excellent! Glad I decided to give it a try. The service was very friendly and helpful. We had a delicious pork dumpling in peanut sauce which I recommend. I also had a miso soup, seaweed salad, and eel roll which was really good. The ambience was very nice as they had some cool lighting. The booth did have a very straight back which was a bit strange so just watch out for that. The best part was getting a free dessert for checking in on Yelp! We got the special vanilla bean creme brûlée and it was enormous. Very tasty too.
Great meal here. Expansive menu. There's a full sushi menu, teriyaki, a variety of meat/seafood dishes and also French appetizers like escargot. One full page devoted to appetizers – hot and cold. Lots of soup and salad options.
Great miso soup with shiitake mushrooms! I had the baked lobster app and that was good. Decent escargot. Excellent shrimp teriyaki! Yummy sorbet.
Everything, incl. salad and dessert, was beautifully plated with decorative greens and sauces.
Friendly service. Nice atmosphere, very quiet (5pm on Sunday).
I'll admit that had I known that Aozora was sush + "modern European", I would have thrown some serious side-eye at it…idk….call me a simpleton, but in my mind, a warming, seaweed-stocked bowl of miso doesn't exactly belong on the same menu as a hearty lobster bisque – however, after that first piece of silky-smooth salmon hit my lips, all previous judgement regarding the kitchen was but a thing of the past – Aozora, my friends, might be some of the best sush I've had on the East Coast. In Montclair. Not New York. Not Boston. Lord, not even Philadelphia…though I guess that's somewhat expected…but yeahhhhh, it's super yum.
Rolled in on a Sunday night, 3 bottles of vino tucked under our arms for our party of four (BYOB, kids), place was brisk but not overwhelmingly busy – most of the crowd donning the latest in suburban chic – if you're going at peak times, I'd make a res as it appeared most of our fellow diners also had.
Started with the salmon carpaccio (soy/yuzu broth, daikon), the king of kimchee (salmon, tuna, white fish enrobed in some pretty decent kimchee), as well as the seaweed salad – the salmon was a huge win for my tum and the seaweed salad had that springy mouthfeel that is both disconcerting and delightful – that said, the king was a bit of a let down as I found the kimchee overpowering for the fish, which I should have predicted. Also considered the gingery grilled cuttlefish and the hamachi kama, but sadly we knew that rolls were a-coming, so space needed to be reserved.
If you so desire, it's not a challenge to go full fat-ass – be in the 407 Bloomfield Roll (salmon and asparagus dipped in BAILEY'S and GRAND MARNIER??), the Gator Roll (tempura shrimp, roe, cuc, BBQ eel), the Tempura Curry Roll (shrimp, grapes (?!?), cuc, curry sauce) or the Out of Control Roll (spicy tuna, spicy salmon, spicy yellowtail, avo, tempura crunch) – that said, they also have excellent proper rolls, bursting with top-notch fish that make it relatively easy to overlook the aforementioned abominations.
My salmon skin was one of the best I've had – crunchy, salty, intriguing – and if you were to strand me on a dessert island today, I'd want a cooler full of their yellowtail rolls with me. Salmon avo was a gem, the spicy rolls (salmon, tuna) also got high marks. Rice appropriately glutinous, a wonderful co-pilot to the seabits it was supporting.
Oh, if you're going with non-sushi ppl, or even non-fish ppl for that matter, they will have a multitude of options, as they have everything from beef udon to duck spring rolls to escargot to tofu/chicken/salmon teriyaki.
Idk. Maybe it was that I was 1.5 glasses of pinot deep (which for me, is close to black-out territory) or the bedazzled "LOVE" rhinestone hot mess adorning the wall next to our booth, but the meal was actually just straight up boss.
Soups run $3-7, salads $5-13 (pricier with fish), apps $4-15 (edamame to tuna carpaccio), noodles/rice $12-15, combo dins around $20-28, stately rolls running $4-9.5, trainwrecks will set you back $9-16 as well as your dignity, which may or may not come with a price. Other meaty entrees are $18-35 (teriyaki to surf n turf). Overall, def worth a nosh.
I'd like to say that it's really rare for me to find a GOOD sushi place anywhere in NJ. This place probably beats most of the places I've been to in Edgewater/Fort Lee.
Keep in mind that my husband and I got here at 845pm, just a little over an hour before they close. There was no one in the restaurant except a small group of friends and we were the other party that night.
The restaurant is really cute and modern. Large booths along the right side of the restaurant and enough dining tables throughout. The decor was modern and the ambiance was great! The place was clean and well-presented.
Since there was only one other party when we walked in, we were obviously greeted immediately. Waters were filled and green tea was offered. The waiter was extremely friendly and engaged in conversation the minute we sat down. We ordered pretty quickly, not because we were rushed, but because I felt bad we walked in so late.
Food: Ah-maze-balls! I ordered a shrimp shu Mai which is probably one of the best I've tasted, and this is coming from someone born in Hong Kong and having eaten Shu Mai from the motherland. All my worries about the food not being edible due to the late night walk-in went away. There were four pieces of Shu Mai which was enough to hold us over until the entree. For the entree, I ordered the tofu teriyaki and my husband ordered a roll (I forgot the name of it, but it was shrimp tempura and spicy tuna on top). My tofu teriyaki was beyond delicious. The presentation of the food was great and the tofu itself was fried perfectly. Lightly fried and perfectly cooked, the tofu literally melted in your mouth. If you're a tofu lover like I am, I HIGHLY recommend this dish. This dish came with shredded vegetable over a pile of rice. This is definitely a great choice for vegetarians. For dessert, we got the free dessert for checking in at Yelp! (Thanks Yelp!) and we decided on the banana bread pudding (?)with vanilla ice cream. It. Was. fantastic. The banana bread came out warm on the inside and it mashed so well together with the vanilla ice cream!
Service: our guy was the bomb! He was SO nice and accommodating and we NEVER felt rushed at all to leave, even when they were closing down the place. He kept asking if we needed more tea/water and made sure everything was ok. One thing I was really worried about was the service and food quality being that we were there so late, but they definitely proved me wrong when the food came out hot, fresh, and presentable.
Please note that I'm basing the food and service quality on a very slow Tuesday night right before they close, so their services maybe change. I will update my review when I return at a busier time!
I will DEFINITELY come back to this restaurant (with a bottle next time since its BYOB) and try the other options on the menu!
Side note: Ani Ramen is right next door so if you're tired of waiting in line for Ani Ramen, Aozora is the place to go!
This was one of the only places in Montclair that accepted a reservation for a large group on a weekend, so that was a bonus for us.
BYOB
My friend and I shared 4 specialty rolls and they were all delicious. I got Tuna Amazing, the fire dragon roll, sexy girl, and the gavin…. i believe those were the names- they could be a little off.. They were the waiters suggestions and they were all on point.
The place is modern looking. Parking can be an issue if there is an event at the wellmount theater.
We used a free dessert with a yelp check in as the b-day girls dessert. She got the creme brulee and she enjoyed it.
I also tried the avocado salad which was amazing.
Good place! Service was a little slow but if you call them over, they will assist you right away.
We came here on a Thursday night for a late dinner. The food and atmosphere are excellent. The restaurant wasn't busy at all, so we felt the severs could have been a little more attentive, but this wouldn't deter us from returning. My husband and I shared the pumpkin and shrimp soup, tuna poke special, tuna amazing roll, and salmon lovers entrée. We got a free bread pudding by checking in. The sushi was amazing. The tuna poke special was my favorite. It was light, refreshing, generously portioned, and we loved that it was served inside of a fresh orange. What a fun presentation! The bread pudding and the chocolate sauce that it came with were melt in your mouth good. But the white chocolate sauce was spoiled, so we couldn't eat it. The dessert was free, so I can't really complain too much. We'll definitely be back when we're in the area.