This place is a disaster from an operations standpoint. Food was excellent, but service was slow. Tables were dirty and not cleaned. Ordering screen was sticky and barely functional. The staff just looks worn out, walking with that waddle-walk to get from point A to B. Dirty unbussed tables, that's just a no-no. Nearly thirty minutes after ordering, I finally got my food. The sushi was good, so that's the only saving grace. But with nearly 20 sushi offerings in a 3 mile radius that offers better food, better service, a better experience, all at a better price point, I would never come back here again. By the way, nearly an hour now, and still the tables are not bussed. Total fail. read more

R.I.P. Bento. This was one of my long-time favorite spots ever since opening in 2002. Between Red & Blue, I've literally had 100+ Bento meals. Back in the day it was awesome food/atmosphere/value with lines out the door. There's been a steady downhill progression for a long time (ever since you dropped the hot & sour soup a decade back). I ate at Blue Bento tonight and I'm sad to say it's now dead. It was empty at 6:30pm on a Friday. It was dirty, sad, broken, and basically a post-apocalyptic version of its former self. Everything about the entire experience was unpleasant and disappointing. Staff could not care less about the food nor the customer. See pics for a representative picture of what this place has sadly become. Never going back again. Used to be great food and great value- now neither. Dear Owner/s: you really had a beautiful thing but you fatally wounded it- please do the humane thing and just go ahead and put it out of its misery. read more

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When I was a college student, this used to be one of my favorite restaurants in Gainesville. Now a few years later, it is still good. I ordered the miso soup, springs rolls, crab wontons, mangolian tofu noodle with a taro boba tea. Everything was delicious. The crab wontons and springs rolls were crispy. The noodle bowl was flavorful and the taro boba tea was delicious. The serving size was very generous. The service was okay and the establishment could have been cleaner. They were a few tables dirty. Despite this, I would still return. read more

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I always order food to pick up so don't know about the ambiance. Service is on time for pick ups. My main problem with the Bentos on Archer Road in Gainesville is their failure to actually put in the vegetables that are supposed to be in the food I order. I'm a vegetarian and always choose item with vegetables that I am looking forward to eating. This restaurant consistently is chinzy with the vegetables and usually only includes some, but not all, of the listed ones. read more

The restaurant is friendly, service was great, and the food was delicious. I order from here frequently.

Came here as I was walking by because I saw they had a yuzu bubble tea. Service was quick, and there was nice outdoor eating. I wouldn't get this particular drink again, it was very sweet, almost artificial tasting. But I'd come back to try the food since there are multiple locations in Gainesville. read more

Bento Asian Kitchen + Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

I did it - I ordered via Bentos Cafe's mobile App and carried it out with no wait time. (The App told me it would be ready in 30mins, but I arrived within 15mins, and it was coming out of the kitchen.) I've been to Bento Asian Kitchen + Sushi on Newberry Road many times. Appetizing fast pan-Asian food with a good variety for vegetarians, sushi-lovers, or meat-lovers alike. I like that this location has plenty of outdoor seating. But on these raining cold days, I wanted to stay in, too lazy to cook, and I wanted easy to order. I enjoyed a classic, a Rice Bowl with chicken at the comforts of my home, and the price and portions were plentiful. Don't forget to ask for sauce! Based on experience, you must ask for them to get some. read more

Bento Asian Kitchen + Sushi - Brown Rice Bowl with Chicken | Bento Asian Kitchen + Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

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Early dinner after Gator game, was trying to decide on something quick and fairly healthy. Decided in build a poke bowl since there would be options for some raw veggies. Got teriyaki, salmon, avocado, onions , diced mangos, mushrooms and kimchi over a bed of rice. Overall the meal was good, just the mango and salmon was a little old definitely hindered the experience. Will drop back again next time in town! read more

Bento Asian Kitchen + Sushi - Build a poke bowl - Sushi Bars Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

I used to be the biggest Bento fan (OGs will remember spicy cream chicken, #TBT) but it seems like it has gone downhill recently. This store is honestly THE WORST for takeout orders (I'm talking Uber Eats, online orders for pickup, all of those). I recently had two orders in a row where I ordered online and went in store to pick it up and had to wait 20+ minutes past my wait time. One of those times the young lady immediately told me that it was because they gave my pick-up order to an Uber Eats driver by mistake, but they didn't put in a remake of my order until I arrived at my pick-up time...?! Anyway, I digress. I ate in the restaurant last night and the staff was friendly. I was a bit shocked at how expensive it has gotten ($45 for two chicken noodle bowls and two boba slushes??). We were not at all impressed with the honey boba, which we were super excited to try, but the strawberry slush with strawberry popping boba was good. The Pao Pao chicken is the only reason I still come here, honestly. It's good. My fiance had the teriyaki chicken and it was just okay - it was gristly and he had a few pieces with little shards of bone that he had to spit out. Our noodles (udon, lo mein) were okay. The little green beans are so good. They run some good specials (BOGO Boba and $3 off teriyaki rice bowls on Tuesdays, sometimes other specials via email) where the food is worth it, otherwise, it's just 'meh' at full price. I reached out to Bento on Instagram and Facebook to find out if these specials were still live (as to not clog the phone lines for people placing orders) and never got a response, but they do have a sign in the restaurant on Newberry road showing that they are. Overall - we were disappointed. Update: Was asked by a business employee to reach out via email, emailed on 8/12, and still haven't heard back. read more

Bento Asian Kitchen + Sushi - Pao Pao chicken noodle bowl with Strawberry Slush boba - Sushi Bars Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

Bento is not a bad place to eat however, my lady and I ordered the Chicken tempura sushi rolls. Made her and I both sick. I don't know if they leave the cream cheese out or what's bad. However, on two different occasions the chicken tempura sushi rolls had us on the toilet. I wouldn't get them. The service was great very pleasant and pleased. The ambiance of the place is chilled you can vibe to a few songs in the place. read more

This used to be my favorite place for lunch. 12:00 I was all alone in there today. They had no teriyaki chicken, the soda machine is broken, no Apple Pay... what happened?? I ordered stir fry and couldn't eat it. Well, so much for Bento. read more

Cashier girl had an attitude since we came in and expected just friendly service and maybe recommendations since we aren't familiar with menu. Apart from sad service which I see from other reviews as well , sushi was chewy and not the good kind.. hard to swallow. read more

Bento Asian Kitchen + Sushi - a bento lunch - Sushi Bars Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

angie and adrianne are amazing, food is always good, and the atmosphere is very calming

Me and my boyfriend come here a lot and the service here is always amazing and they always make the best food, I definitely recommend.

The service at Bento was fantastic and pad Thai was excellent. I would highly recommend.

We stopped in for a few appetizers to hold us over while we waited for a table at a nearby restaurant. Quick takeout place with at least 10 tables inside and quite a few tables on the patio area. A few of the tables needed to be cleaned off but overall the place was clean. We ordered spring rolls, egg rolls, fried dumplings and two beers. We had to eat inside because alcohol is not allowed on the patio. Food was brought to our table rather quickly. I did notice many people around us ordering noodle bowls and they looked good. Next time we are in town I will try it out. read more

Bento is my go to for good, reasonably priced sushi. The service is okay, nothing special but it isn't bad either. I always get the sushi combo box, which features your choice of two 4-piece sushi rolls from a list and an 8-piece California roll. I get the special Mexican as my two 4-piece rolls and usually pair it with the spicy Mayo. It's always delicious every single time!! The shrimp on top of the special mex is my favorite! I love to sit outside in a sunny day and soak in the rays while enjoying my sushi. I'll forever be a customer of Bento!! read more

Bento Asian Kitchen + Sushi - Sushi combo box with special mex and California roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

I'm a little obsessed. But why not? They're convenient and there's outdoor seating and if I'm feeling cash strapped there are entire meals I can get for $6-$8 (kids' chicken katsu box or the mini poke bowl--including the really flavorful and tender Asian Cajun Steak option!) Another fave of mine is the bamboo roll, which is pretty satisfying bc it has fried elements. I just love coming here for a raw fish fix or to curl up with a book and zone. Don't really know what else to say but check out the pictures. read more

Bento Asian Kitchen + Sushi - Mini poke bowl over noodles - Sushi Bars Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

We ordered 3 bento boxes. The portions were very small. It was a take out and did not go back to complain. The regular size was less than 1/2 the regular amount. We will never go back. read more

Very good! But overpriced for fast casual sushi. The sushi combo is my go-to with the Mt.Fuji and the Special Mex. Have never had a bad experience with the service or quality of food. read more

I have been craving their Almond Joy Boba Milk Tea endlessly for months since the last time I came here. I surely got my fix this time -- a LARGE serving of it! My craving will be satisfied for the next few months.... =) Yes, I can get others to imitate it, but there's nothing like the original. A holy trinity of flavors (coconut, chocolate, and almond) mixed evenly into a milk tea treat mixed with tapioca pearls. By the way, they don't have ramen here. I asked. =( read more

Ugh. Bento will forever hold my heart. The cream puffs are to die for and the service is always enjoyable. This is similar to a Panera where you order up at a counter and your food is brought to you shortly after. The lunch rush can be busy but trust me, the line goes by quickly! I've also been known to order sushi to-go and bring it to the theater next door or grab some Coldstone as dessert after. The location is great and so is the food! read more

Bento, bento, bento. That's all any college kid talks about so I decided to stop by and check out the hype. I came here on national sushi day and expected the place to be crowded since they were giving out your choice of a free Mexican roll, Tempura roll, or a chicken roll. (Need to be subscribed to email list) I ordered the Mexican roll, Rainbow roll and two milk slushies. The roll was good but nothing out of the ordinary. Same with the rainbow roll. Very average. The "Dream" which is a mixture of a coconut and taro was very diluted and tasted like an original milk tea. The basic taro slushy on the other hand was delicious. I would definitely come back for it. If you like taro you'll like this slushy. The taste of taro is very strong. Customer service is excellent. I was considering giving this place a 4/5 just because of that aspect but the food was too average to justify. 3.5/5 P.s. I have noticed Bento has a lot of deals throughout the year. If you want to stay in the loop I advise you to subscribe to their newsletter or follow them on Facebook. read more

Bento Asian Kitchen + Sushi - Free Mexican roll on National Sushi Day - Sushi Bars Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

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They always take so long to prepare the food. I ordered to go and it took them one hour and 10 minutes to get it ready and the it wasn't even busy read more

Near UF. Affordable priced so many students come and take out poke bowls or sushi. They also have cooked hot dishes for you to choose and grab to go. Sometimes may have a long line maybe due to Short in staffing. Great poke dishes ( tuna , salmon and mixed) read more

Disclaimer: LOVE the Bento Cafe on Archer Rd- been going to that location since 2009 and they definitely taste better. Came to this one on Newberry for the first time a couple weeks ago. Ordered my usual Red Curry white rice bowl. 1. Took way too long. Over the phone, the lady said it would be 15-20 mins but it ended up being about 25-27 mins till I got my order. 2. They have other locations but the chefs seem to be different at each one... cause the Red Curry I got here was completely off compared to the other places. More veggies than meat and the curry wasnt spicy at all, didn't taste much like anything in my opinion. 3. Its a lot smaller of a restaurant, inside a huge plaza, and far down from the highway exit. read more

Bento is one of my favorite restaurants in Gainesville. On my most recent trip, I ordered the Spicy Cream chicken (which I think is their most popular sauce) with lo mein and it was so good. My friend had the the tofu with orange sauce and udon which she thought was a tad bit too sweet since tofu and udon both just taste like whatever sauce you put them with, but she still really liked her meal. We both had enough leftovers for a second meal. At bento, you can pick to have a rice bowl (white or brown) with your choice of chicken, tofu, steak, and shrimp and any of their sauces. You can also have a noodle bowl with either lo mein, udon, or ramen or a bento box. I always choose the noodle bowl and I'm always satisfied. You can also order sushi from here and I've heard it's really good but I have never tried it. I probably will soon though! read more

Bento Asian Kitchen + Sushi - Spicy Cream Chicken and lo mein - Sushi Bars Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

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This is the original Bento Cafe location. It is significantly smaller than the one on Archer Road. It is quick service Asian food. They have rice bowls, noodle bowls, poke bowls, bento boxes, and sushi rolls. You can choose from chicken, beef, pork, and tofu as a protein. The kitchen entrees are a good size, but the sushi rolls are not filling in my opinion. Price is typically $10+. read more

Bento Asian Kitchen + Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

Never fails to make me smile! I've been coming here for over ten years and the food is always so fresh! I love the Red Dragon without cream cheese, salmon sashimi, and udon noodles. Hubby loves the Spicy Cream with shrimp and mini udon. My vegan kid loves the fried avocado roll, the veggie delight without cream cheese, and a side of plain udon. Top it off with a Lychee Boba and my tummy is happy! read more

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Avoid this Bento (Newberry Rd) location if you can. This is the second time I've had a bad experience. My first bad experience involved the manager. We had almost a 45 min wait for our food and the sushi was cold by the time we got it. Ate maybe 3 pieces of sushi & decided we wanted a refund instead because we had already waited & now have to find another place to eat. The manager stated she could only give a gift card for a return visit. I stated we paid cash, and that is what she must give back. Based on this experience I wouldn't be returning for another visit and I wanted my cash back. After going back & forth with me, she went to the register, stormed back to us and slammed the cash on our table saying "Just so you know we're not supposed to give cash out of the drawer!" I hadn't been back there in maybe 2 years, until now (which wasn't my choice). My coworkers & I ordered Bento via Bite Delivery last Tuesday. We have always used $2 delivery but apparently it's now merged with Bite. The Archer Bento location was always available on $2delivery, but for some strange reason only Newberry was available on Bite. Since my coworkers were ordering, and it was my only option for food so I went ahead and ordered. I got a Spicy Cream rice bowl & a Mt. Fuji Sushi Bento box. I was pissed after eating my sushi because the sushi rice was not cooked all the way. It tasted horrible and was falling apart when I picked up with chopsticks. Luckily I ordered the rice bowl, because it was cooked fine and I didn't have to starve for the night. I reached out on their contact form & still have not heard back from Bento. I'm extremely unsatisfied with the service & food I received. Spent $20 on food & had to throw half of it away. read more

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I ordered the rainbow roll and tasted pretty average. I was surprised because multiple people raved about how great Bento is. The sushi roll was also made very sloppy. Every piece had a different thickness, height, and fish to rice ratio. I also ordered the blended taro milk tea. It was refreshing but incredibly sweet so I was able to share it with someone. Although the restaurant did not meet my expectations I will go back and try something different. read more

Bento Asian Kitchen + Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

So disappointed..asked for food to be a little spicer..it was so hot it was inedible..no one will answer What a joke! Couldn't even eat because it taste awful..I like hot food but this was almost intentionally terrible..won't be going back.Last time it was subpar and this time it's a waste of money.Tried to call them three times and I get no answer.I guess a review is necessary since I can't give them the opportunity to fix the issue.Normally,I would give a business the chance to make it right but how can I? read more

Ok first of all, I have to put a disclaimer in here: I have been coming to Bentos for 9+ years. I've spent undoubtedly hundreds if not thousands of dollars here throughout the years. In college I ate here at least once a week, usually twice. What I saw today made me want to NEVER come back. My sister and I sit down at the table and I turn around and there is a LIVE cockroach on the wall behind me. A big one. I grab a girl bussing tables and tell her, and she was really sweet but terrified of roaches too so wanted to grab a guy busser to take care of it. Ok, fast forward 20 minutes later....no exaggeration. the thing is STILL moving on the wall and as this is the only table left in the restaurant we are still standing there waiting for it to be taken care of. My sister gets fed up and KILLS IT HERSELF. Because that's totally acceptable as a paying customer to be forced into no other option but killing a living cockroach themselves.... The servers avoided us like we had the plague. No one EVER came to clean it up. It was still there when we left. For all they knew it was still alive. How comforting..... On the way out was the cherry on top of the whole experience. There was a second cockroach near the exit. Don't worry, I'm attaching pictures so you can know that I'm not making this disgusting ish up. read more

Bento Asian Kitchen + Sushi - (1/2) cockroaches that we had to kill ourselves inside because no one would do anything about it for 20 minutes. I timed it. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

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What happen to this place??!! It used to be such a fun spot to get a quick bite and great boba. Now it's just sad and dirty.

Zero stars. My chicken was literally raw. Hoping I don't get food poisoning. Quality has plummeted. read more

Bento Asian Kitchen + Sushi - RAW CHICKEN - Sushi Bars Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

Bentos strives to be a trendy place to eat, and at one point might have been, but over the years the restaurant has begun to show its age. The dining room just doesn't seem clean like it used to be. The tables and eating utensils (not the chop sticks) usually seem dirty. The nice lighting inside the restaurant isn't going to hide a poorly cleaned dinning room. At this point I try to avoid dining in here. I do still get food to-go though. Their menu is pan Asian with plenty to choose from. The food on average is average. It's something to eat to get full, not something to eat to thoroughly enjoy. I recommend their beef bulgogi and chicken katsu. I prefer to get their noodle bowls upgraded to udon noodles over their bento boxes. I avoid their miso soup and salads (tough and drowned in ginger dressing). If you need a quick bite to eat before going to see a movie next door, this is an ideal location to visit. As long as Gainesville has freshmen, they'll have an audience. But as someone whose eaten here quite a bit over a long period of time, they aren't fooling me into thinking this is a cool place to eat with top notch food. read more

Bento Asian Kitchen + Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

I LOVE IT! this is the best place to eat, no doubt. The food is amazing, service is great, overall an amazing experience. I ordered the Poke Bowl with shrimp, cream cheese, avocado, nori and Sesame seeds. My new favorite place to eat. read more

Bento Asian Kitchen + Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

Made a quick stop for dinner on the way back from Disney on a Monday night at 6pm. You take a menu at the entrance and order at the counter before sitting down at either an indoor or outdoor table. FOOD: - Mongolian Beef Bento Box: the Mongolian Beef was very salty. It's as if it was sitting out in a buffet line. I would say the same for the Lo Mein. As if it was sitting for a while. - Sushi combo box: For my sushi combo box, I choose the Florida roll, Spicy UF roll, & California roll. I thought they were all just okay. - We also ordered two bubble teas: Mango green tea with mango jelly & Milk tea with boba. These were okay. Not as great as the bubble tea stores that you find in Atlanta. Overall, I do not see myself returning to this location's Bento Cafe. Everything was mediocre. I know there are several sister Bento Cafe's in Florida that I would like to visit. read more

Love Bento cafe here in newberry road. I usually here for late lunch because not busy. Good food as always. Clean and friendly. I got a bento box takeout this afternoon. Pow pow chicken is always good read more

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Last night I had my first trip to Bento Cafe. I know I have been here for over a year and this was just my first time... What? But I went in and thought I would give a new place a try. I am sad that this was just my first time as everything was great. I went in on a Monday night and visited the Newberry Rd location. For being a Monday night I was surprised on how busy this place was. I decided to order a Bento Box and then also got a Sushi box as well. I have to say for a Bento Box it is not a ton of food for the money, but I was okay with it because it tasted amazing. The Bento box comes with a protein your choice of chicken, steak and a few others, rice, ginger salad, lo mein, and green beans. When you choose your protein you choose how you want it prepared. I got it as Orange chicken and it tasted wonderful. The chicken was by far my favorite thing. They use big chunks of white meat chicken and the sauce was awesome. I also tried the sushi and this was really good sushi. The sushi chefs were working really fast since they had a ton of orders. The sushi was fresh and had great tastes. I tried the California Roll, Rainbow Roll and Spicy Tuna Roll. All three had a lot of fresh flavor and tasted great. Only concern I would have was the customer service of the girl who was working last night. She had a key around her arm so I would assume she was the manager. She called out the name to get the food. All she did was put the food down and did not say thank you, or have a great day. I asked for some extra soy sauce, she reached in grabbed a handful and tossed it in the bag kinda rudely. But overall I enjoyed my first time and will for sure be going back to try more menu items!! read more