Yep, Thousands of Satisfied Customers Are Wrong
Written: Dec 20 '01 (Updated Feb 04 '03)
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Pros: Speedy service.
Cons: Crappy food. 'Nuf said.
The Bottom Line: Todai is just an all-you-can-eat buffet - a not-so-good one at that.
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| megugrrrl's Full Review: Todai |
- Todai is a Japanese seafood buffet. -
That sentence alone should be sufficient in encapsulating the entire eating experience at this place; the long wait, gobs of people, bratty kids running around, greasy sub-par food…
it’s a buffet for crying out loud.
It’s really just all smoke and mirrors with its hyped 𣻘 foot long buffet tables”, 35+ types of sushi, lobster, prawns, and crab legs. When the food goes from your plate into your mouth – it doesn’t matter how long the buffet table is or how many types of sushi there are – the food is simply bad. On my last visit, I realized that Todai is a lot like Las Vegas at 3 a.m. – you realize the glitzy and flashy veneer just covers up the real odds of winning, and you realize you’re developing a hangover. Disappointment city.
Despite all its shortcomings, they flock to Todai. I’ve been suckered a few times myself and have been to three locations (San Diego, Pleasanton, and Waikiki) and they are all the same. The allure seems to be simple, all-you-can-eat. And that’s-all-you-get.
The Food
Amazing Fact #1 - Contrary to popular belief, the food is not good. It’s just a step above mall food. (I should point out that a lot of Todais are in malls. Coincidence? I think not.)
Amazing Fact #2 - The food is not Japanese. Get over it. It's a weird mix of Chinese, Japanese, and American. Todai presents itself as Japanese; it's not. It's not that it isn't authentic - it just isn't Japanese. Sure, sushi is Japanese, but Sweet and Sour Chicken is not. I could go over every menu item but just trust me when I tell you it's not a Japanese restaurant.
For some, the allure of all-you-can-eat shrimp or chilled snow crab legs might be worth it, but not me. Honestly, their crab legs aren’t fresh and they’re tough and rubbery. Want details on the food?
Sushi - Two words: Supermarket Sushi. The sushi isn’t put together well – crooked nori, loose rice, stuff falling off – assembly is an important aspect of sushi enjoyment even it doesn’t really affect the taste, which at Todai edible but not the best. The whole idea of all-you-can-eat sushi is strange in the first place – the whole concept behind sushi is that each piece is made by a master, to be coveted and savored.
So, how can you fumble on a California roll? Well, ask Todai. It just wasn’t rolled right and there was krab (ah, good ol’ crab with a k) and brown bits of avocado all over the buffet table. Still, the sushi is one of the better parts (despite the average quality of fish) and Todai has a pretty decent variety, like fishy hamachi (yellow tail), saba, tamago (egg), tuna, futomaki, unagi, and mirugai (clam). Novel sushi offerings include things like tuna salad and kimchi. (There's a reason why you probably haven't had either.) I’ll admit though, that this is a good way to sample a wide variety of sushi, but of course, there is no real sushi chef around.
Salad - I am always impressed with the variety of salads – asparagus salad, potato, artichoke/cucumber, seaweed, carrots and raisins, spinach, Krab, Caesar, plain ol’ lettuce, and perhaps a dozen more. (Note: Japan is not well known for its salads and yet this is where Todai excels.) I'm even more impressed that of all those varieties, the best one is the plain lettuce with a vinegrette.
Hot Food - Too bad variety doesn’t make up for quality. Todai has a lot of items that look promising. Stuffed prawns, mixed seafood on a shell, spicy calamari – they look and sound good, but unfortunately don’t taste good. Everything fried or cream-based is really, really greasy and everything that has ‘seafood mix’ in the descriptor tastes the same. The mixed tempura batter is heavy and chewy.
Over half the things in the buffet (crab omlettes, steak in some sauce, sweet and sour chicken) are too greasy and bland, and the other half is greasy and salt-flavored. And, without being melodramatic, Todai’s buffet includes the worst fried rice I’ve ever had. Yakitori (chicken on a skewer) and some of the dumplings (gyoza and shumai) are the safest things there. I must reiterate that this is a buffet. A greasy buffet.
Other Novelties - There’s an udon and soba guy who boils you your own hot bowl of noodles by taking it out of its plastic packaging for you and placing the square mass of noodles into boiling water. The udon is just like the kind you get at Safeway for 69 cents but at Todai you get seaweed garnish, green onion, and kamaboko (that pink fish cake) and the stock is pretty good. Oh boy.
Desserts - Even their fresh fruit was a let down – unripe, sour, and with the rinds still on fruit salad participants. Their crepe (all the rage in Japan) stand seemed promising, but not remarkable, despite the fact that someone makes it for you.
The little cakes and cookies look adorable and taste pretty good but their names (mango delight, blueberry cheesecake, chocolate and banana cake) make them sound more exotic than they really are. Their flavors are subtle, which is bad in a dessert – you want the full experience, not the light sugar version. Nevertheless, the dessert section holds my absolute most favorite thing at Todai – their little butter cookies rolled in powdered sugar – I found myself eating these little balls of evil like peanuts; probably because I was still hungry during dessert time.
Upside
The best thing about Todai is their speedy service – like hawks swooshing down for their prey, the bussers scoop up your dirty plates once you make a move for seconds and your beverages are always full. Whenever someone walks in the door you can hear badly butchered cries of ‘irashaimase!’ – letting everyone know someone needs to be seated.
Too bad their food isn't any good.
Damages
Expect to spend around $14 weekdays, higher for dinner and weekends
Recommended:
No
Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: No
Best Suited For: Large Group
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Epinions.com ID:
megugrrrl
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Location: Oakland
Reviews written: 147
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