Daruma Japanese Restaurant
“Good service, reasonable prices, BYOB – most importantly, the food is fresh and delicious.”
“FYI, if you sit at the tatami seating, be sure not to wear socks with holes or very restrictive clothing!”
“In my opinion, this place is better than Akai Lounge which is right down the street.”
Daruma 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
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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This is a review on delivery only.
It took close to 1.5 hours. We called twice and got not apology or explanation.
The food was decent and maybe would've tastes better if it didn't take so long. The sushi rolls came with a little too much rice and not enough wasabi. With four rolls only one container had some wasabi. The ginger was however fresh and delicious. The crunchy white tuna was delicious but the white dragon was incredibly fishy. The uni was really good! Probably will never order delivery again but would be willing to try eating at the restaurant.
Daruma is easily one of the best sushi restaurants in Bergen. The atmosphere is elegant and relaxing and they won big points with me for their sunken, in-floor, traditional seating option. The waitstaff come across as friendly, efficient, and professional. I've run into a lackluster hostess or two during previous visits, but the waiter/waitress is most important anyways (well, aside from the chefs, of course).
Prices are on par w/ what's expected for sushi in the area. Daruma's ingredients are fresh…sushi should never taste fishy and it never does at Daruma. Their cuts are generous and I'm most impressed by the speciality rolls.
Increasingly I'm seeing sushi places come up w/ rolls where all emphasis is on outrageous ingredients and perceived creativity. The end result, sadly, is often something that doesn't taste good. I don't want my raw fish combined with various fruits, essence of Fritos, and lightly drizzled maple syrup reduction. Save that for a couple of five year olds raiding their parent's pantry without supervision.
I'm interested in smart combination of the right ingredients to achieve a flavor combination that goes above and beyond my expectation. Here are the rolls I had last night and they were absolutely spot on:
Yama
crunchy, masago, avocado, basil, jalepeno, topped yellowtail, red onion & yuzu jalepeno sauce
Dreams Come True
crunchy spicy white tuna avocado roll topped w. tuna, salmon, thin sliced lemon, cilantro, tobiko & yuzu miso dressing
Check out Daruma for an all around good experience.
This was my first time going to a Japanese restaurant with BYOB. A few of us went, for dinner, on a cold rainy day and the interior of the restaurant was warm and relaxing. My boyfriend and I ordered the rainbow roll, crunchy spicy salmon, tuna, and the california – all very delicious.
I've read a few comments below me saying that the sushi rolls are a lot smaller compared to other sushi restaurants, but I honestly don't see the difference. It's a very cute date spot and I would definitely recommend it to others
Our adventurous excursion to find decent sushi in New Jersey brought us to Daruma on a rainy Friday evening.
The restaurant itself it nicely laid out. There are regular tables for dining as well as tables with floor seating [the floor beneath the table is an open space] where you also take off your shoes – interesting for those that haven't experienced this.
We were hungry after a long day and went on a rampage when ordering.
We ordered the following:
1. Citrus Ponzu Sashimi Salad
2. Red Snapper Sushi
3. Salmon Sushi
4. Toro Sushi
4. Dream[s] Come True Roll
5. Spicy Tuna Roll
6. Philadelphia Roll
Let me just say that the pieces of sushi here are soooo small [do the extra o's express how small it was?]. They are about 3/4 of the size of an average sushi piece. Everything ordered was decent tasting aside from the size or portion give. The Dream[s] Come True Roll was actually really good – It was tangy and packed good flavor, it's just a shame that it was a miniature sized roll. The citrus ponzu sashimi salad was pretty good as well. All the other rolls and sushi pieces are decent.
I can see why people of New Jersey would love this place but I honestly felt like I didn't get what I paid for. I think I paid ~$80 for the two of us and left completely hungry. Certain parts of our meal tasted good but overall left us very unsatisfied.
Oh New Jersey!
You and sushi weren't meant to be.
Daruma roll, spicy tuna avocado boat, soft shell crab tempura, age tofu, lobster filo wrap
Very friendly service
I came here for my birthday, it was really good food sushi. The look and feel of the restaurant is genuine Japanese. I had to take off my shoes at the tables on the side. A bit pricey but this place was worth it. I loved the lighting and mood. Great for intimate gatherings and close friends.
One of those last minute decisions on what to eat. Decided to stop in for some sushi – ordered the Rising Star, Lobster Rolls and California Rolls, sad to say, it was nothing special.
The Rising Star consisted of Salmon and Tuna, which was bluh; the lobster rolls tasted like imitation lobster meat -hard, and tasteless, which probably explains why they added mango to it.
The safest rolls on the plate were the California.
Not much more to elaborate on food wise. They do offer free parking in their private lot, and the service was average. Considering we were the only two people inside, on a Tuesday at 1:45pm (within the lunch time frame) – I should have took a hint.
We went here on a quiet Sunday as this was one of the few sit-down places open when we were in the area.
We had both cooked food (duck noodle soup) and sushi. They were above average, but not great. Portion's a-ok. The ambiance was nice.
Major problems were with service (really, really slow service) and the inflated food price. The last two problems annoyed me enough that I would not go back, even though the food was ok.