Hontei Japanese Restaurant
“This restaurant is currently BYOB but owner mentioned that they will soon serve liquor.”
“Reading the earlier reviews, it sounds like they had some growing pains.”
“Our favorite so far is soft shell crab, ginger ice cream to name some and still exploring.”
Hontei Japanese Restaurant
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
4 reviews
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Follow the arrows into the garage – there's plenty of parking and while not necessary, there's complimentary valet parking. We walked towards the entrance and a kind Asian man greeted us as he opened the second window door. I didn't really get a good look at the downstoor seating but the chef's table didn't look like a place I'd probably sit – which means no omakase for me here (which starts at $70 – currently, not listed on the menu).
We were taken up a fight of stairs to the second floor. There's a huge couch area right at the top of the stairs and according to the owner, it will soon be a place for "drinking" as they obtain their liquor license. This doesn't mean that BYOB will later be prohibited – just gives you the option not to have to bring your own liquor in. The place was surprisingly large and well decorated. But I did notice one thing – most patrons were Korean. Gah. Bad sign if I want authentic Japanese sushi. Here's where my disappointment actually settled in – the sushi + sashimi platter was presented beautifully, but with hints of Korean – e.g., correct me if I'm wrong, but it appears that Korean AND Japanese pickles were both present. The uni came on top of a lemon – not really how I eat my uni… I'd say the acidic lemon would take away from the awesome briny taste of uni. Needless to say, I only ate the top parts of the uni. We didn't finish the platter… the sushi and sashimi were fresh but I still will have to go to Yamagata for the best sushi/sashimi in our county (and probably the rest of NJ). No fatty tuna on my platter here. Yamagata's sushi is the best – chef Sammy is above all these places when it comes to soosh. So go there if you're solely looking for the best sushi. The omakase at Yamagata starts at $55 – here, it's $70. Not sure what that entails but know your market and set your prices accordingly, unless you're going to explain why the price difference.
I'm giving it 4 stars because I see potential and the decor was impressive – the non-sushi chef came out, explaining how he'd be serving fusion Mediterranean/Asian dishes. In fact, we got to try a taste of it when the owner himself brought out a sample hot dish – pork belly which had been stewed in for 5 hours. I didn't get to try it since I don't eat pork, but I got word that it was delicious. It looked straight up Korean to me, but I guess that's what fusion is in this case – the flavoring.
The service was par. There were always someone we can wave down instantly – I ended up drinking about 8 cups of awesome house green tea.
This is definitely going onto my restaurant rotation list – I'll watch the improvements and update this review as warranted.
Walked into have some sushi and was sat on the bar. When we asked for the price of sashimi omakase, sushi chef asked 'sashimi'? then he ignored the question. Eventually he answered $70 per person. When I asked how many pcs, he wasnt sure then he said 'its different here, just try'. Not the price nor answer we were looking for. From a person that's been to SVERAL omekase places, seemed a bit overpriced for NJ.
Perhaps, it's 'cuz the place was so new, there were several people hovering over us while eating. Very uncomfortable to say the least. Asking same question over & over without knowing if another server had already checked in or who seemed like owner or family staring at you straight on, almost like you are being watched for every move.
When the food came out, it was pretty mediocre. Spider rolls literally fell apart as we picked it up with chopsticks and sashimi slices were not even at all. Thickness of the fish were all over ranging from thinly sliced to thick. It was a disappointment to say th e least since I was truly looking forward to finding another awesome Japanese place in NJ.
Yelp has really helped with nights of indecision when it comes to picking a place for dinner and this was the place I chose on a Saturday night.
Upon arriving, I thought it was absolutely ridiculous they even had a complimentary valet parking. The parking lot wasn't big so having someone park my car was just dumb- and this is because upon leaving, my car was parked in the first spot, an easy 5 ft walk.
Anyway, the restaurant was nice. Two levels (second level with a bar/large parties) and bottom level was a smaller dining area. There seems to be a lot of wasted space on the lower level since it seemed to have only held maybe 30-40 people max.
Service- ok for the most part. We were greeted and seated immediately and bought out hot green tea. Our food came out quick and presentation was great. The waiter, however, lacked at asking us how our meals were, if we needed anything else, or came by to ask if we wanted dessert, which we ended up ordering about 15 minutes after our plates were taken away. It wasn't busy at all. From the time I sat down, only 2 other parties arrived with a few on their way out already. I'm assuming there was a party on the second floor because the lack of service on the main level sucked as soon as more people arrived. Although the staff thanked us for coming, the wait time to place our dessert and for our check was a little bit long considering the slow pace of the restaurant.
Food- surprisingly very good! Upon placing our Order, we each got miso soup (nothing special) and their house salad. We ordered the grilled squid appetizer ($12) which was a bit much for little slithers of squid on a hot plate. I ordered the Seattle roll ($12) which consisted of avocado, lightly breaded shrimp tempura, and crap meat on top. My husband ordered the deep fried cod which came with this awesome mashed potato, broccoli and a side of rice. The tartar sauce on his cod was delicious and the cod was especially crispy. My sushi was really good. I rarely order tempura type sushis but was glad this one wasn't as deep fried as some that I have tried. Now, from the minute my husband mentioned homemade sesame ice cream was on the menu, I HAD to get it. If you've never had black sesame ice cream, you definitely need to try it….just not here. Thinking homemade and black sesame, I knew I had to order it! It was not satisfying AT ALL. It was $6 for one big scoop of watered down sesame flavored ice cream with a large sugar cracker stuck on top. There was absolutely not sesame flavoring at all! I'm surprised they were able to get the color right ! It was a huge disappointment and NOT worth $6!!
I personally wouldn't come back here. The menu was confusing because they literally give you 3 pieces of paper, front and back, to look at. No, it was not made into a book like ALL restaurants I've been to. Literally 3 pieces of paper. The food is absolutely overpriced for what it's worth. My appetizer AND my sushi costs the same amount(???), didn't make sense to me. The service was lacking even though they weren't busy…they should've probably had some waiting on the party upstairs and a few on their main dining area. The valet parking was dumb because you can see your car and it's just extra couple of bucks wasted since now you feel obligated to give them SOME money as they did park your car for you. By the time he got my ticket, got my car keys, I was already standing next to my car.
I don't recommend this place, not even to try out. I've had better sushi for less!
Came here for a friend's birthday dinner. Narrow but good selection of sake. Can't go wrong with Dassai. Food is solid and service is attentive. The manager also sang/rapped a birthday tune for the occasion. Good times.