Did I miss the golden age of this restaurant according to reviews? Not sure, but we really enjoyed our time here on our visit. I saw so many people posting about this place on Insta and decided to come out and see if it was worth the hype. It was very worth the hype, the food was absolutely delicious! Due to wanting to try everything, as always, I ordered tons and way too much and ended up with several boxes, bags, and meals. I had a couple drinks, I think they were the x-rated passion and the pear sakitini. They were good, very floral. We started with their soup and salad, which were standard and good. We had so much salad, I did box it up for a couple more meals. Then we tried the crispy chicken buns. They were so good. Since I had so much to eat, we each got one, and it took me two days to finish mine. The chicken was crispy, and I like how the bun was fluffy but also a bit crispy on the outside. We also tried their iconic tuna nachos. The chips were really good. I would have loved a wanton chip instead, as other places do it, but the tuna was so buttery. It was almost as good as the tuna in Hawaii and French Polynesia. I liked to roe and avocado, which was also so creamy. We had a couple sushi rolls. We got the spider roll. It was so crispy and very well make, and the California roll with the kani salad and avocado, no cucumber, which perfect since child hates cucumbers and normally picks them out. It was very fresh and delicious. We also tried their wagyu burger and fries. I personally cannot tell the difference between types of beef, but it was an extremely flavorful, well-cooked burger. We split it in three, and it took a few days to finish my portion. The real star from that meal was the tempura French fries, they were so good and crispy, and very unique. Those are really a must order. We also tried the teriyaki chicken and broccoli. We recently had some very mediocre teriyaki chicken, and I was afraid it was going to taste like that looking at the dish, but it was not. It was so well cooked and flavorful and so was the veg, don't judge a meal on it's looks. It was worth ordering again. But the real, real reason why I was here was for their famous flying lobster noodles. That was really worth the drive. Their noodles were smokey and flavorful, and a large portion it took several meals and three people to finish it. I liked the addition of shrimp with the lobster and it was not fishy, so those of us who do not eat fish could still enjoy the noodles. That is something I would order every time. Funny, I did not realize both of their children were on Food Network, but I did watch those shows at the time. I hear the noodles were in honor of the daughter's show, so thanks for allowing us to taste your amazing looking dish. On the other hand, the service was really only fair. I read other reviews and while the servers were good, they did not really seem to want to engage with us verbally or talk to us. They were very lukewarm at best, even though the rest of their service was great. They were attentive, but not friendly. I do want to come back and order it all over again and then some, so I hope to return soon. This was a really fun place. read more

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My husband and I were very excited to try these pushpops. It's such a great idea! However, this great idea needs some tweaks... First, my overall impression of Godaiko is it seems like a nice place. The decor is pretty and the vibe seemed to be very chill. I am curious about how good the regular fare is. The sushi pushpops are only available to-go, and can only be ordered at a kiosk that is set up just inside the door - you almost walk into it. Thankfully my husband and I arrived a bit early, because a line quickly formed behind us that went out the door. The price is decent, considering you are getting a full sushi roll that is very filling. The flavor options are limited to five (5), and only one does not have egg product: three have mayo and Caesar Salad has egg in the dressing. For people who are allergic to eggs - like me - this is really not cool. My husband ordered the Spicy Tuna and the Fire Shrimp (the one I originally wanted). To my despair, my only option was the Philly Philly roll, which I hate. But because we drove 45 minutes to try the sushi pushpops, no way was I not going to get one! I have to admit that the seasoning on the rice gave a good flavor to the Philly Philly roll, so it wasn't complete torture... My husband enjoyed his rolls very much. The soy sauce comes in a narrow tube that doubles as the stick used to push up the sushi. It clips to the side of the carton. One has to be careful when pulling this out of the clip, because for some reason the tube opens at both ends and if you are a little heavy-handed you can end up with sauce on your pants! The Good: Innovative product that sets it apart from its competitors. Taste is good, and the packaging makes this easy to eat on the go. What Needs Improvement: 1). Put an allergy notification/warning about the egg; especially since it is not listed in the ingredients. Thankfully, my intuition told me to ask before I ordered.... 2). Add more flavors; especially egg-free options! A nice shrimp tempura or unagi roll would be good.... Or .. give the option to custom-make the roll so that the mayo can be omitted, giving those who are allergic to egg a chance to enjoy. . Perhaps allow the custom order to be made at the bar so as not to tie up the kiosk. 3). Maybe move the kiosk away from the door so that you're not walking right into it. On a busy day/night, I can see that line being a big annoyance for the customers coming to dine in. 4). Seal one end of the sauce tube. Not sure why both ends need to be opened. 5). Offer more sauce options (we were only given Soy).... 6). Label the tubes! Since the rolls are premade, and not labeled, the risk is high of mixing up the flavors - especially when it's busy. A discreet little label on the bottom of the tube would be fine. All-in-all, getting the sushi pushpops was a fun and novel experience. However, because of the limited flavor options that are heavily mayo'ed, I am rating this experience 3 stars. read more

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3.5/5 This place was not nasty, but they could use some improvements. The service was very very VERY slow. We sat down and for 15 (5 for me waiting before and another 10 once my friends came) until I got upset and told them we haven't been seen. Someone came over finally. It wasn't a long wait for the food, but everything was lukewarm. We ordered the bang bang shrimp because I seen someone with it. I had a good flavor and I loved the fried onions/peppers they had mixed with it on the bottom. The burger was supposed to be cooked medium rare, but it was actually well done. They sell burgers, but do not have mustard or mayo for the burger. Only ketchup. Their fries they coat in tempura which is very different. They had no season on them. Add your own salt and pepper and they taste good. The salad dressing tasted like a hummus ginger or something odd. It wasn't good. The only part of the salad I enjoyed was the carrot in it. The lobster and shrimp stir fry would have been good if it was actually hot. The food cooled down so much that the fried part was actually really mushy and not crispy at all. The nigiri's were huge! The king crab meat was great, but they should check for shells better. The shrimp was huge. I enjoyed that the most out of everything. If they can fix their service and make sure your food comes out hot, they would get 5 stars for sure. I would come back. I heard their lunch menu is very different and it's good too. Also they sever the sushi pops here. It seemed people were lined up to get some. They looked interesting. read more

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Godaiko was tasty! We sat at the bar as it was a busy Friday evening. Service wasn't super fast but they were understandably busy. I loved my edamame with garlic and my entree of the tuna fusion roll. The crispy tempura shell was a fun addition. My husband wasn't super impressed with his ramen. Overall I would definitely return but mostly for the sushi roll. read more

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6 of us got dinner at Godaiko this past Saturday. Fortunately, we were seated immediately even without a reservation since we arrived early. The food came out in waves, so it never felt too overwhelming. BANG BANG SHRIMP - 18 This was probably my favorite of all the ones we ordered today. It came with lots of shrimp (with the perfect tempura batter) that sat on top of a bed of cabbage and onions, drizzled with a sweet and spicy sauce. I thought the sauce was a bit too sweet, but other than that, it was great. Crunchy and the food was hot. It was enough for all of us to enjoy 3-4 shrimps each. GROUND SPICY KOBE BEEF FRIED RICE - 19.95 This was a very flavorful fried rice with a bit of a kick. Personally, I didn't love that the meat was ground and would prefer thinly shredded beef, but one of my friends raved about the fried rice. I still enjoyed it, even though it was a bit too greasy for me. Has a strong "wok" heat in every bite. GODAIKO YAKISOBA - 18 The presentation of the yakisoba was nice, they had chopsticks "hovering" mid-air with mounds of yakisoba wrapped around it. The yakisoba was tasty, but it didn't wow me. I thought it was a bit too salty. The same friend think this is the best yakisoba he can find in the area, and he knows this stuff. GODAIKO BENTO - 34 This came with a lot of food: grilled salmon terriyaki, inside-out California roll, hibachi beef, three thick pieces each of salmon, tuna, and yellowtail sashimi, and a variety of tempura. The salmon was really dry, to the point of overcooked, and someone thought it was chicken. Not great. The beef was eh, also overcooked. I really enjoyed the yellowtail sashimi and ate two of them, and my friends enjoyed the salmon and tuna sashimi. I didn't eat the tempura or California roll, so I can't comment on that. CHARCOAL GRILLED TENDER UNAGI EEL - 28 I was pretty full by this point, so I only ate half of a marinated egg which was fine. The eel looked really good, but also a bit too saucy, so I didn't end up eating any. Another friend thought the grilled eel was the best entree of the night. Guess I missed out. The one great thing about Godaiko is that the portion size is big, the 6 of us paid $25/person after tax and tip, and left with plenty of food to enjoy later on. However, the quality for most things was just OK to me, but the value is there. read more

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Godaiko is still my guilty pleasure for California rolls. While it doesn't list their rolls as BOGO anymore - for just shy of $10 you basically get 2 rolls for the price of 1 because it's 16pc! UberEats again is my go-to method for ease of pick up. It's always been ready and ready very quickly. I still haven't stopped by to dine in here, but I should check it out sometime. It never seems too busy and there's a bar with interesting beers on tap. I again trust that everything is pretty fresh because they own Tsai next door - literally ingredients right next door. read more

I'm now working 3 jobs just to make ends meet. Splurged and spent my last money on Japanese via (a very fast) Uber Eats. I ordered a dish called Spicy Kobe Beef with rice + the Spider Roll. The beef dish is called spicy but they made it so hot, it's completely inedible.. even drowned it in the yum yum/white sauce & still no bueno. (And I LOVE spicy food!!!) The spider roll was burnt in the middle and also completely inedible. I want to love it but now... I'm just hungry and chugging water. UGH!!!! read more

Godaiko Japanese Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

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WOW. I didn't know there was a secret ramen spot right under my nose! The black tonkatsu ramen was surprisingly delicious. The broth was the perfect amount of rich and savory. The sushi roll was also very filling and fresh. There is plenty of seating, and the waiters check in on you frequently. The decor is nice and they had nice music playing too. We came on a Sunday for lunch so it wasn't busy, but I can see this space being full for dinner! read more

Godaiko Japanese Restaurant - Sushi Roll - Japanese Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Amazing quality, kind and attentive staff, and great atmosphere and great bar! There's many reasons why Godaiko is an A2 gem.

Ordered Godaiko for takeout, order was ready on time and correct. Note that their spicy mayo is lumpy and not consistent with a typical spicy mayo. The sushi was ok however the rolls lacked much substance. I did not like the spicy mayo on top of the spicy California, and it was placed on top like two clumps as opposed to drizzled on each piece. Unfortunately would not return. read more

Godaiko Japanese Restaurant - Shrimp tempura and spicy California roll - Japanese Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

Came in for lunch and left with so many leftovers! While they don't have a ton of vegetarian options what they do have is pretty good! Service was quick and easy and staff was friendly and nice. read more

I have been eating at Godeiko for over 15 years. It is a local go to in Ann Arbor for a slightly elevated but still casual environment for delicious sushi and if you're like me- noodles my personally favorite apps are the honey shrimp and the beef maki. If you like cocktails- and you'd like a life changing winter cocktail try purple haze. You order hot sake, and then order Rasberry chambord. You mix it yourself in the hot sake cup to taste. I'm convinced that it's the remedy for having Michigan Winter blues. Parking is simple, it's near a lot of shopping and two minutes off the highway. read more

Really nice atmosphere the workers. They are really nice as well. One of them let me know for takeout sushi that There was a deal which was really kind because I would not have known otherwise. I did go in a second time. We'll be back to Dine in read more

Rushed me the entire time & asked me to leave so someone else could sit down. Food was mid.

I went for lunch recently and had a nice visit. I had the agedashi tofu and the wild roll and they were both excellent. I had fast friendly service and the restaurant was very clean. Can't wait to go back. read more

Drive 30 mins to eat there. Got there at 8:39. Was told they close at 9 PM. Can we order in 10 minutes above us. I said yes. Then was told Never mind we close at nine, but I said you're not gonna serve us while we close at nine. There was still people eating in the restaurant. They were very rude. Recommend going there.. read more

I had the Sea Urchins and Unagi (river eel sushi) nigiri and Tokyo Shoyu Ramen. One of the few positives is that they have a large selection of sushi (many places don't have sea urchins). They are also generous with their amount. Some of the largest sushi I have ever seen. Kinda like a sushi made by my kid, and definitely not a trained chef. Additionally, the sushi aren't fresh. The sea eel is most definitely frozen (almost looks fake). Sea urchins are at least fresh. The Shoyu Raman is diabolical. The soup isn't rich at all, no umami flavor, only soy sauce taste. There's barely any oil from the pork bone. It's unlike any Japanese ramen I had. I wonder if it's insulting to call it Tokyo Shoyu. The noodles themselves are overcooked and soggy. Instead of bamboo, they used small mushrooms, which is okay. The pork chashu tastes premade/frozen. It's the most chewy chashu I had in America. And the flavor is almost none; the chashu would've been tastier if the soup had more pork bone flavor. Lastly, their soft-boiled egg tasted foul, so I half-had one bite. Hopefully, I won't get sick from it. Nice ambiance, but the food is overpriced and more than disappointing. Maybe their American/California sushi rolls, but avoid their traditional Japanese dishes. You can find better ramen in the Korean restaurant in town. read more

Food is great. Service is ok. My beef is that they have menu items that they don't put on the website. If you want these items, you have to call them. And they only deliver items you order online. Therefore, if I place a sushi order for delivery, but I want to include scallop sushi, for example, they won't deliver my order. I have to go and pick it up. I asked WHY and they said because they run out of scallop fast, so they don't put it on the website. I asked them why they don't have their web person program a SOLD OUT message so we can place the order online. They could not provide an answer. I think this is terrible customer service. I want to order online and I want it delivered. I will not order from them again. read more

The salmon tasted pretty good but there was too much rice in the rolls. The Superbowl Ramen portion was HUGE but the broth was too mushroomy. Besides the taste though, this place is a great deal cost-wise. Their sushi rolls are BOGO, so I only paid $10 for 2 salmon roll. The Superbowl Ramen portion is enough for 2 people (unless you're REALLY hungry lol) for $20. The space is also well-designed and clean, and the staff are friendly. I think it's a good place to visit if you're really hungry, not particular about the taste, and wanna get your money's worth for their portions. read more

Godaiko Japanese Restaurant - Salmon roll - Japanese Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Food is ok and ambiance is fine. The service on the other hand is definitely not good. The couple of servers who we regularly interact with when we go there are just unpleasant and really do not seem to want to be there. Food is slow especially when busy. read more

Ordered curry rice. It was soup. It is not normally. Is a specialty from one region of japan and not particularly common nor stated on menu as far as I could tell. Waiter ignored it when I mentioned it. I was clearly unhappy and did not eat most of my food but did not get asked how my food was or if they could do anything. Even for that version was not particularly good. Should be a light tasty broth with lots of veggies but tasted like watered down sweet curry with a few canned square potatoes and pieces of veg with Huge heavy amount of rice in. Definitely disappointed. Miso soup it came with was good at least and they provided green tea when asked. read more

Pan-Asian spot tucked away on the SW end of Ann Arbor, right off 94. My husband and I go here occasionally largely out of convenience because it's really close to us! Never have a problem getting a table - it's usually just the right amount of busy. Plenty of parking on site. I think they might share ownership or have an arrangement for ingredients with next door Asian market Tsai Grocery. Now I'm not usually a huge fan of Pan-Asian restaurants (as I generally think if you're doing it all, you're not necessarily doing it well), but Godaiko has some interesting/creative fusion-y twists on their menu. It really is a choose your own adventure type of place. You could visit multiple times and have a completely different type of meal and experience each time. Last night we were feeling like sushi, and throw in some crispy chicken sliders, why not. (The sushi isn't the best around, but it's good.) Some of my favorite menu items I've tried: - Lettuce Wraps! Generous amount and not too salty (which I find with other places' lettuce wraps); pineapple is a nice addition - Beef Maki; very flavorful - Sushi Tuna Nachos; unique and I like the thin taro chips - Kobe Cheese Burger; the Asian part of this is in the dressing/sauce, a pretty decent burger if that's what you're feeling like - Shrimp Tempura Udon; crispy tempura (served on the side) and a clean tasting broth - Bento Box; one of these can feed 2, it's a lot of food! Decor and ambiance is nice, and kind of fun with Asian art pieces on the walls and ceiling (look up!). Service is good. Full bar (beer, wine, liquor, sake, cocktails) with a daily all-day drink special. Some of their cocktails are interesting as well - one time tried a lychee saketini and enjoyed. Usually I stick with beer, wine, or sake though. Food portions and drink pours are generous! read more

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The food is outstanding and the vibe is warm and fun. Highly recommend. We ordered our food to go and it was ready in 10min and the restaurant was pretty full. read more

If I could give this place zero stars, I would. The service was absolutely terrible. We waited two hours for food, and our order still wasn't complete. People who arrived after us were served first. I ordered noodles, and it took over an hour just for that. The waiter barely checked on us and even brought me a dirty cup with someone else's lip prints on it. I drove four hours to come here and ended up leaving to eat somewhere else. Completely disappointing. Don't waste your time or money. read more

honestly this place was so nasty i'm posting this at 4am bc i can't stop thinking about it. everything tasted like dirty mop water. nothing tasted fresh, just old and reheated. even the bathrooms had mop water stains all over the stalls inside and out -- just careless. i feel bad for AA if this is your best sushi place. i beg you to try someplace else. this place is insulting. read more

The entire dining experience was terrible - the service, the food and the atmosphere. Our servers were very rude and ignored our table even when our food took 2 hours. Our family got food poisoning from the food that made it to the table. The shrimp fried rice never showed up after waiting 2 hours. We asked for the check and received the nastiest looks from the waitstaff. Our kids made us promise to never go there again. read more

Any negative FOOD reviews about this place are just ordering the wrong things! Their Sushi menu and appetizer wings are the bomb. My family has been coming here since the Novi location and now that that one closed (so tragic), we love the Ann Arbor spot. The dynamite crab roll and the ultimate spicy tuna roll keep me up at night they are so good. I live in Chicago now and ask to come back every year for my birthday when I visit my family lol. read more

Our friends found Godaiko while looking for someplace different than our normal neighborhood spot. We found it in a corner of a strip mall and were immediately taken by the ambiance of the setting. Nice Japanese decors with inviting seating. We had a nice four top just across from the sushi bar where the sushi chef was busy preparing all types of rolls and sashimi. We ordered a variety of appetizers and entrees. The bang bang shrimp appetizer was more than enough for 4 people and was delicious! Big beautiful shrimp! The fried rice was also a huge serving. Flying noodles are super yummy! Everything we ordered was delicious and were surprisingly, in a good way, large in size. Would recommend to anyone looking for really delicious Japanese cuisine. read more

Shrimp and pork bun appetizer were very good, spicy beef fried rice was huge and great, sushi was solid. Service was good and the vibe was nice. read more

Spicy tuna roll melded well and gyoza had pretty good flavor. 4$ Sapporo special is unbeatable! read more

Godaiko Japanese Restaurant - Spicy Tuna Roll and the Gyoza were exactly as expected. 4$ Sapporo draft special is unbeatable! - Japanese Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

Great food but terrible and unfriendly service. Several people were waiting in front on June 24 and NOBODY would seat us or wait on us. Such a shame because the food is great - if you can get anyone to take your order. I'd recommend carry out only. read more

Been coming here for years, not sure where these one stars keep coming from as my family and I have been frequenting Godaiko since 2002 without a poor experience. Some people have unrealistic expectations but far and away this is the best place for Sushi in Ann Arbor. Beware of the complainers, Yelp is full of the professionals! read more

Nice place to eat. Service can be slow at times but the cool decoration inside helps pass the time. I love the ramen. It is a large portion of which means you will likely have some leftover. I also like the 2 for 1 special they have for certain rolls each day. Overall not bad. read more

Love this place. It tends to be a bit on the pricey side, but the portions are unusually large for a sushi restaurant. So she was quite good, the tempura in the Bento box lunch was very good. Service was pretty good. The waitress was having to hassle since she was the only one there. But I would not hold that against them. read more

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Godaiko is located in a strip mall off of Ann Arbor-Saline road. It has been solidly serving sushi for at least 25 years. We ordered a Sapporo and looked over the menu. The lunch specials are amazing. Tasted and well priced. We got the sushi lunch roll special and the bento box. The rolls were fantastic! The bento box had a lot of small delights. This is the go-to sushi restaurant in Ann Arbor read more

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I really like doing dinner at Godaiko in Ann Arbor. the wait people are so helpful, explaining everything. The food is so fresh and tasty Nice place! read more

I've been to this restaurant many times. Never had a problem. Yesterday was a very different experience. I placed my order, the waitress seemed to understand what I ordered. (There were 4 of us at the table) She didn't write anything down and that's fine. No big deal. There was nothing special about my order either. The waitress returned to the table with 2 salads for 2 of the orders made at my table for my lunch mates. Then she walked away. I had to get her attention after it was obvious that she wasn't bringing a salad to the table for me. (by the way salad was included in my meal) My lunch mates salads were not included in their meal, it was extra. Anyway, I got the waitresses attention, I inquired about my salad, she confirmed that soup and salad was included in my meal, as she pointed on the menu that was in her hand. Affirmation, right? Ok, make this make sense.. Sooooo I received my salad, soup and then my meal. All set, right??? About 5-10 minutes later the waitress returns to the table with 2 more sushi orders, placing one in front of me. I look at my lunch mates, they look at me. What is this? Initially I had canceled the additional order of sushi after she (the waitress) explained that a second order of sushi would include two sushi rolls, so I canceled this additional order of sushi. She affirmed that she understood what I wanted at that time. So now I have 4 sushi rolls, two of which were canceled and not part of the order provided to the waitress. Ok, so here's the icing on the cake. I did not leave a 'tip' because the entire experience felt 'intentional'. NO TIP WAS EARNED!!!!! No one else had a problem with their orders at my table. I looked at my bank statement today. The waitress self generated a ($$) tip on my bank card. Really? That's what we're doing? I still have the receipt and contacted my credit card co. to remove the additional, unauthorized funds added to the transaction. I could tell you what I think happened here. The only difference between my lunch mates and myself was that I'm a different nationality than they were. Never again. Apparently, I won't be going back there as it appears I AM NOT, OR PEOPLE THAT LOOK LIKE ME ARE NOT WELCOMED!!!!! read more

My mom and I both got the Pork Katsu bowls which were very generous with their portions! It came with a miso soup and salad but we also noticed that the size of the salad got smaller compared to the last time we came. We also got the Tempura Shrimp roll because that was the roll that was buy one get one on Fridays. read more

Godaiko Japanese Restaurant - Tempura Shrimp - Japanese Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

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My work schedule has prevented me from visiting my home away from home. With my Austrian family in town, I was happy to use this opportunity to indulge in my fave haunt. We got all of the usual suspects, as well as the dynamite shrimp and asparagus tempura rolls. This place will always hold a special place in my heart! read more

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Overall, I thought this place was good. We went for a small birthday gathering, and they had the buy one roll, get one free. I thought the sushi was of an okay quality. The service was friendly, and the parking is pretty ample. It's not a place I would seek out, but would go again for the deals... should someone ask me. read more