I think more people should have the pleasure of knowing this place!!! In all of Montclair this is my most favorite place to go when I feel like sushi. My family likes other things and when sushi is available I'll take sushi!! Since 2003 --- always fresh, always delicious and always pleasant. They try just as hard if you are the only one and early as if it's crowded. Thank you for being such a staple of awesome in a constantly changing Bloomfield Avenue!!!! read more

Came in for dinner prior to heading over to the Wellmont. We placed an order for soup, salad an appetizer and a few rolls as we figured it shouldn't be an issue to get all of this in an hour since the restaurant was only half full. We were wrong. It took nearly 15 minutes just to get soup and salad and whenever we tried to flag down one of the inattentive servers they just blew right past us. Once we got the salads we told them to just bring everything else all at once but it still took an interminable amount of time. The presentation on all the food was very good but I felt the flavors were lacking, especially on the rolls which were all listed as spicy, but had very little heat. Prices, for the subpar service and bland food was more than I would care to pay here again. Too many good restaurants in Montclair to be this mediocre. read more

Great atmosphere, Sushi was okay. Service was extremely disappointing and it took over an hour for us to be served dinner. read more

Great lunch specials. Delicious seafood. Friendly service. Cute atmosphere. The avocado salad is delicious. They were plantiful with the avocado. Some other favorites are the dumplings, surf and turf and salmon entree. read more

Stopped in here based on Yelp reviews because the wait at Ani Ramen House (2 doors down) was 45 minutes and we were wayyy too hungry. This was my first time here and I was shocked that they were basically empty on a Sunday evening. Service was laid back, not rushed at all, and they easily accomodated our group of 7. The menu is very interesting and had some unusual items for japanese, like lamb steak and escargot (see pic), but every single plate was simple and beautiful (we couldn't help but take pics of EVERYTHING). We got the escargot and steak tataki appetizers which everyone loved! For entrees we had chicken teriyaki, shrimp teriyaki, tuna, curry chicken, and chicken udon. For dessert we had just about everything on the menu...flourless chocolate cake, red wine poached pear with vanilla ice cream, the ice cream, cheesecake, and red bean and coconut flan...aside from the flan, which my mother in law "just wasnt sold on", everything was lovely. And the cheesecake won the "fav dessert" contest. We all passed our plates and took nibbles off one another's entrees to share just how tasty it was. Prices were totally reasonable and the staff was attentive, but not pushy. We even ended up chatting after dessert and didn't realize it was after closing time but none of the staff seemed to mind. Would definitely return to see more gorgeous plates and try some of the entrees I missed out on this time around. read more

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Ambience: Fancy but very laid back. Waiters are amicable and nice. Food: It is DELICIOUS and it feels so fresh. Their gyoza are tender and crispy. I have had almost all the types of sushi here, and they are amazing. My favorite are the cold rolls and the salmon sashimi. Tender, flavorful, and fatty. For self care day this is usually my stop after a mani/pedi. read more

A friend & I selected this based on the generally good reviews & came for an early dinner Sunday. BYOB Ambiance- OK, modern layout. Service- Friendly but not very knowledgeable about their menu Food- OK. A lot of their sushi maki rolls seems to have cooked fish.....I don't about you, but that isn't really sushi to me. And it was very bland. My local go-to/pick-up spot in Lodi, NJ is way better tasting. Perhaps some other main dishes are better? (Debating whether I will give it another shot or not). $$- Reasonably priced The saving grace why I am giving this place 3 starts instead of 2.....the appetizer (Hawaiian Tuna/Tuna Tartar & the dessert -Cheesecake) were delicious!! YELP- One free dessert with Yelp check-In offer. read more

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This restaurant doesn't even deserve 1 star. Went out for a nice dinner and try a sushi place we have never been to. Sat down at a table waited 10 minutes to be given menus. Finally got menus then wasn't asked what we wanted to drink for another 10 minutes. Waiting patiently we finally ordered drinks. The place wasn't even busy maybe 3 or 4 tables. The service is like nothing I have ever seen. We waited so long to finally get appetizers that tasted beyond awful. Miso soup, veggie spring rolls that tasteld as if they were frozen. I read great yelp reviews that's why we tried this place out because yelp never fails. This was the first time it ever did. On the way out there was a dead fly on the front table.... read more

Aozora - Japanese Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

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So after my horrible night at Cuban Pete's right across the street I came here. A woman was having her birthday party here and invited me and my two friends in. The place is beautiful! I can only imagine the place during a regular day. But it definitely was an upscale japanese restaurant. They had great sushi supplied for her party there. I would suggest going there just for the gorgeousness of the place alone. read more

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Aozora has some of the best sushi I have had in a while. We started the meal off with spicy miso soup, which I thought was delicious and sinus clearing. We ordered about 4 rolls for two people and that was plenty. The sushi was artfully crafted, huge, and tasty. We ordered the Montclair roll among others. Almost be sure to check in on Yelp and get a free dessert!! We got a free bread pudding to share. The interior was sleek and cool, but not pretentious. The servers were friendly and didn't rush us out on a Saturday night. I'd go back! read more

Aozora - Selection of Sushi Rolls - Japanese Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

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Nice Japanese & fusion restaurant. The Esgarot appetizer and the Cucumber Gazpacho soup was very good. Surprisingly the sushi dishes were below average. Reasonably priced, byob and the decor is nice, ecclectic and comfortable. read more

Aozora - Escargot appetizer.. Beautiful presentation and delicious - Japanese Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

Loved this place! Just went yesterday (Sunday evening) and there was no wait. Easy street parking was a bonus. No wait and got a booth by the window. For appetizer got the Mixed Vegetable Tempura which was amazing. Loved everything but the mushrooms which I don't personally eat. Entree was a mix of different rolls: Shrimp Tempura, Red Spider and Twister. All were amazing (didn't personally try the Twister roll but my friend loved it) and definitely fresh. This became my favorite sushi spot now here in Jersey. A must try if you're in the area or worth a drive. Walk around the avenue afterwards to see the cool shops around. read more

Aozora - Japanese Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

My friend and I tried Aozora to celebrate my birthday on July 19. We both loved the sushi and found it fresh and tasty. Service was decent. We look forward to going back! read more

The menu is such a nice blend of Japanese and French food. I enjoy eating her regularly. The staff is friendly and attentive. The chef puts much care into each dish. Not just that everything is cooked to perfection, but also that the plating details are perfect. Top quality all around. The atmosphere is relaxing and modern. You will enjoy eating here. read more

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My husband and I regularly have what we like to call "sushi Sunday" weekly at Aozora. The Sexy Girl roll is hands down my favorite. We've tried at least 10 different rolls and many of the appetizers. Everything is very fresh and the service is great. I've also never had to wait for a table. While the pricing is a bit high, the ingredients are quality. read more

Aozora - Japanese Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

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This restaurant is offering indoor dining which is hard to find these days. We made a reservation which Im glad we did, shortly after we arrived a few people without reservation were turned away. The sushi was delicious, fresh, nicely presented and fair priced. They are BYOB, big plus! The service was great, fast, cordial. All in all, we will definitely be going back, or making Aozora a regular for take out. read more

Tasty! Beautiful presentation, and reasonably priced! Friendly staff as well. Will order again very soon!

The sushi here is delicious but there are two items on the menu that I've had so far that I can't find at any other sushi restaurant. 1) The Orange Tuna appetizer (I can't remember the name) ... It's INCREDIBLE. I don't know what type of sauce they put on it but whoever created it is brilliant. 2) The Poached Pear Dessert ... The pear is poached in a wine glaze. It's so delicious that I've actually tried recreating it at home without much success. read more

Aozora - The absolute best dish I've ever had at a sushi restaurant. Seriously. The BEST. - Japanese Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

Solid and reasonable price point. Laid back and comfortable atmosphere. Service was fine. Nothing outstanding but the udon was quite good.

Wanted sushi last night and wanted it delivered. After reading the reviews of different places here on Yelp - I decided that Aozora was my pick. Placed an order for me and Sanchez and was able to place it online - along with the time to deliver it. Order 2 hand rolls (excellent except nori was gummy but I'm going to chalk it up to how long it sat before I ate it) Also order very white tuna sashimi (mouth watering) BF had spicy tuna tar tar and a cali roll. I'm guessing his were good. He didn't say much last night..... I'll order from them again :) read more

I ended up at Aozora because our restaurant of choice was closed. Much to my surprise, this place exceeded far beyond my expectations and was delicious for a last minute choice. Although it's rated $$$ on yelp, we payed a pretty good price for our sushi choices! Ordered: Dynamite roll, Diabolical roll and Volcano roll + Udon Vegetable Soup Favorite: Udon Vegetable soup and Dynamite roll! Free dessert of your choice when you check in!!! This was a big plus. + Udon soup had so much flavor and I never wanted it to end! That's a lot for me because I'm normally not a fan. However, I did wish there a better broth to noodle ratio. There was very little broth. The ambience is casual, but romantic and perfect for dates! read more

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This was our first time at this restaurant so we only had a few dishes but, everything was well seasoned and very fresh. The service was excellent and the staff was very friendly and gave off a warm vibe like we were regulars. Definitely worth another visit. read more

I came in here for a special role but of course it wasn't in the menu selection so I had to dictate what type of role that I wanted them to make with so I paper says I do have certain items of food that I'm either allergic to or just don't playing like and they did suit my needs it was very quick The girl was very understanding and plate inside was very nice and they were nice enough to charge my phone Their menu is pretty big and the atmosphere is OK I always get a craving for sushi and I usually get the same thing all the time so it's very bad for me to read sushi restaurant so usually go on cleanliness and atmosphere As long as they can prepare the types of sushi that I can eat I'm usually very good and leave positive reviews being that I normally order baked sushi I cannot ever leave any remarks on freshness of the fish used read more

I went here for lunch six months ago or so. I'm disappointed to say it was not as fresh and tasty as I always knew it to be. read more

Aozora - Hanna - Japanese Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

Last Friday, neither my wife nor I were having a good day. We decided that ordering sushi was the best way to turn things around. After perusing Yelp, we ordered from Aozora and chilled some Riesling in anticipation. This was a great find, and we loved our meal. Our dinner included: - Duck Spring Roll: A FANTASTIC start to the meal, with just the right amount of crunch and flavor. One of the better spring rolls I've had in a while. - Sweet Potato Roll: Some sushi places can phone this in, but the sweet potato roll was well-seasoned and had a lot of great flavor. - Rainbow Roll: It's a classic for a reason, and Aozora does it well. - Spicy Scallop Roll: Tasted amazingly fresh and had the right amount of kick. - Red Spider Roll: Soft-shell crab on the inside, spicy tuna on the outside. It's just as amazing as it sounds. Who knew that, one day, my 2 favorite sushi rolls would be together at last. - Montclair Roll: This was kind of a kitchen sink roll, with many different kinds of fish (tuna, salmon, yellowtail), topped with eel sauce. Well done! The delivery was prompt and courteous, and prices are what you'd expect to pay for good sushi in the area. We're still new to Montclair, but this might be our go-to for sushi. read more

Unfortunately I had a very poor experience with the food here. The service was great but the quality of food & sushi were very poor. I had order a lunch special dumpling which was smothered in a sweet peanut sauce and not much flavor accompanied I in the Pork Dumplings. Then I had ordered chicken tempura sushi along side spicy salmon & tuna rolls and I bit into the chicken roll only to find it undercooked and still fleshy. The sushi wasn't the freshest and all in all I was unhappy trying this place minus the kind service. read more

Fantastic sushi. Fresh, delicious, lots of unique choices and flavor combinations. I had a cucumber roll with yellowtail, salmon, and tuna as well as the tuna and salmon poke special. My mouth is watering as I'm thinking about this meal. No wait on a Friday night which was clutch since we had a show to get to across the street in 45 min. It's byob and attentive service. I am looking forward to going back and trying pretty much everything on the menu! read more

Aozora - Sea breeze roll - Japanese Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

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Great sushi, the tuna and avocado appetizer is excellent and beautifully plated. Big fan of the cucumber wrap as well. Creme brulée was good but not amazing. Service was a bit slow, but friendly. Pro tip, don't sit by the window, it's a no parking zone and it's super distracting watching folks pull in, look confused, and then pull out again the whole meal. read more

This place is gorgeous inside and the people are so nice. The food took a good amount of time but it was so worth it. The sushi is so fresh and delicious, the best I've ever had in the area. Try the Black Craft roll and the Spider roll. They are TO DIE FOR. read more

Aozora - Black Craft and Spider Rolls are TO DIE FOR - Japanese Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

Lunch special-3 rolls excellent! Alaska, spicy salmon, and tuna/avocado. They were fresh and delicious! I love when rolls are on the smaller side and not made with too much rice, so this place definitively hit the spot! read more

Aozora - Piping hot miso soup - Japanese Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

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I've been dining at Aozora for over 10 years, and count it among my favorite sushi restaurants! Over the years I have invited friends and family members who are always impressed with the taste, quality and presentation of their dishes. Some of my favorite dishes are the Hawaiian tuna, the tuna amazing roll, the Gavin and the twister! Also great service! read more

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Pretty decent sushi. We needed to grab a late Sunday night dinner after a flight and with most other restaurants on the verge of closing, Aozora was one of the few left with about an hour left in its operation. Service was courteous and efficient. Sushi and sashimi is pretty good, pretty much what you'd expect from an average Japanese restaurant. A solid option in this area. read more

Went for dinner on a Friday night. Made 6pm reservation but ran into traffic on the way. Called them to give them a heads up id be late. They said it would be no problem and that I could just walk in whenever. I ended up being almost 40 minutes late and the restaurant was pretty empty haha. I'm both concerned and delighted. Our waiter was very nice and attentive to our table but he didn't really have strong knowledge about the menu or the sushi items in the platter that i ordered, which i'm not going to lie bothered me a little. I got the chefs deluxe platter and it came with a little bit of everything. I really appreciated the wide variety of sushi that were offered in this one dish. Its meant for one person but I shared this with my friend because were both trying to be skinny(whatever that means)..i hd never tried uni but my friend loves it and she said "this piece isn't that fresh" and apologized that my first uni experience was now tainted. In all honesty I don't think they couldn't have presented me a piece of uni that I loved any way so no points docked there. The platter while big and only $50 was pretty not filling. I also ordered a Sexy Girl roll, which was delicious but not memorable meaning you could get something like it at any other decent sushi place in jersey. I checked in and ordered the bread pudding for free. I'm really not sure what these other reviewers are raving about. My bread pudding was underwhelming. It was just flat in flavor and had a weird spongey texture like it was heated up instead of baked on premise...I guess that's what I get for it being free. My friend ordered the creme brûlée, which came out in a huge dish. Unfortunately it too was disappointing as it was cold and lacked flavor. It did have a nice crunchy top, which I gladly scraped off and devoured. Overall it was an ok dinner. Nothing too memorable and I don't see myself coming back for any particular reason. If you're in the area and need a quiet place to get dinner I'd recommend. read more

This rating is based on food alone. Ordered food to be delivered and was extremely underwhelmed. Got a few rolls, chicken fried rice, duck spring rolls and everything was bland. Spicy tuna was not spicy at all. Not to be a brat but even the ginger tasteless. Sushi didn't taste fresh at all. Won't be ordering again. read more

Beautiful Resturant, gorgeous decor came in to order togo one day and had shrimp and rice it was delicious ... I have to came try some sushi though very soon ... read more

Honestly, this is the best Japanese restaurant in NJ I have come across. The rolls and the entrees were so creatively presented and even more delicious. I would definitely recommend others to try it. Don't miss this one... read more

(3.50 stars) Aozora is one of those places that is tough to decipher, and it has taken me several weeks to write this review. I'm still not sure whether it falls within my pay-grade to attempt to bring cohesion to so many disparate pieces. Aozora calls itself a European fusion and sushi restaurant. "Fusion" in this instance means that the sushi menu (quite extensive) is further supplemented by a dozen French-inspired and seafood entrees. The diver scallops were sauced in a French manner, but served atop a barley pilaf. As delicious as they were, the presentation wasn't so much "fusion" as it was confused. The platters of assorted sushi and sashimi were fresh and nicely presented-- without a trace of European influence. The kitchen has obvious talent, but makes it equally obvious that they lack focus. Their vision of "fusion" seems to consist of co-mingling rather purist interpretations of dissimilar cuisines on the same menu. In this sense, Aozora was a bit of a disappointment, and hardly aligned with the expectation set by their menu pricing. Aozora does, however, excel in its service. Further, the décor was fresh and interesting. I would look forward to returning here, once they decide what it is they want to be "when they grow up." read more

Yeah, i sadly gotta update this review and deduct a couple stars. I went here a couple months ago with the big homie Yas and her mama. It was a weeknight so the place was fairly empty. I got the lamb. I don't normally get lamb because lambs are cute. However, this night it was the only fairly interesting thing on the limited menu. Now, I've had lamb before, but I definitely don't recall it being so tough and rubbery. I could barely cut through this thing - seriously, no exaggeration. I got maybe a couple good bites out of it that didn't test the torque of my jaw to severe excess. It really kinda turned me off for the rest of the meal. I should have returned it, but I fear the vengeance of a chef whose meal is returned, and i don't like making a fuss, and didn't want to seem like an ass in front of my best friend's mother. To be fair, other things were decent that night. Like the sushi roll i had, though not much selection on that to choose from either. Spring rolls were okay. Yas's duck was to her liking and mama's salmon was fairly good. That lamb though, I just couldn't. Literally. I had two desserts. Neither were awe inspiring, but decent. Service was a bit lacking as well. Our waiter was on some David Copperfield disappearance act type ish. I dunno. I hope I come back here again someday to find the greatness I once thought I knew before. read more

Unfortunately my 10 year loyalty to this restaurant has ended. Tonight was the worse service. I had to argue with the delivery person who was lost and could not communicate with me. Sad reality that service has declined. Luckily, there are plenty of restaurants to choose from in my lovely town of Montclair. Kai, Ani Ramen, Montclair House Grill, Samba and Sweet Kitchen offer excellent service. read more

This place is a complete disaster. Being a new resident at Montclair, we've only tried Dai Kishi and haven't been disappointed. Upon seeing Aozora's raving reviews, we decided to try tonight. The place was packed which was great, but then we noticed that we were the only asian patrons in the restaurant. Now, Montclair doesn't boast a big asian population but Dai always has a few of my 'azn' brothers and sisters nearby. This however, was not a good sign. The reason? The food is merely abysmal. Not really worth it, as you know asians are all about the value! Now this is why they deserve 1 star- the waitress was somewhat rude (she expected us to hand her my plate while she was clearing our table) and our food took 45 minutes to arrive. The decor was ok, not quite japanese but looks modern. There's a wall that badly needed a new paint job, and no music. Yawn. Thinking that we were much happier now that our stomachs were full, I was in for a little surprise. While the waitress came to clear our plates, she knocked over my soy sauce dish onto my arm and lap! She quickly mumbled "sorry" and hurried away. Needless to say, I am sayin sayonara to Aozora forever! read more