Cincinnati, OH — Tokyo Japanese Restaurant

Tokyo Japanese Restaurant 11481 Chester Road Cincinnati, OH

513.771.4488 website map

When I travel I like to try the local specialties whenever possible. I have been to Cincinnati before so I knew that the Four Pillars of authentic Cincinnati cuisine are:

1. Skyline Chili
2. LaRosa'a Pizza
3. Graeter's Ice Cream
   
4. Montgomery Inn Ribs

After my pilgrimage to the Four Pillars I was ready for some sushi. My colleagues all suggested that the best local sushi place was Tokyo. So on Wednesday, I decided to go to Tokyo for lunch.

When I got to Tokyo, I was not impressed. The restaurant is in a somewhat dingy building that looks like it may have been a Mexican restaurant in a former life. Further, Tokyo is also a Hibachi (Teppanaki) restaurant. In general I have not had good sushi experiences at Teppanaki places.

There is a Korean flavor to Tokyo. I ordered a sashimi combo and some gyoza. My waitress brought me an appetizer on the house. It was an order of Japanese pickles (one of my favorites) served along with some kimchee. The pickles were great and I even enjoyed the kimchee.

The gyoza was very good. But the sashimi was perfect. The fish was tasty and fresh. I think my combo was yellow tail, tuna, white tuna and salmon. Relatively tame choices but the quality was first rate. I am also a sucker for white tuna and Tokyo's white tuna was awesome. I love the way that really good white tuna melts in your mouth. I like to savor it on my tongue and let the flavor just spread.

Tokyo is not fancy, the presentation is mediocre at best but the fish was excellent.

Tokyo 4 rice bowls