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    Kuni's

    4.2 (289 reviews)
    ModerateSushi Bars, Japanese
    Closed 5:00 pm - 10:00 PM
    Updated a few days ago

    Kuni's Photos

    Business Info

    KUNI'S ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Trendy
    Classy
    Moderate noise
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - Kuni's

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    Reviews With Photos

    Grilled Octopus
    Nabeel N.

    Found this little gem during a quick weekend visit to Buffalo. Set in a really quaint neighborhood. Service was fantastic and the lots of great authentic options on the menu. The grilled octopus is a 'must try' Couldn't believe we found Yellowtail Collar in Buffalo of all places, and it was cooked to perfection. The rolls and nigiri were all great too. Will definitely visit again!

    Ika Natto with qual egg.
    Bonnie T.

    First time back since Kuni san left. I have seen different reviews so not sure what to expect. The weather was not great and it was late, they were not busy, no wait, we got in right away, sitting at the sushi bar. We ordered some of the usual items. Ika Natto still is delicious, so is the seafood tempura (but somehow this dish looked smaller?) we also ordered the sashimi combo and the salmon collar to share. All food tasted great. Service was also very good, very attentive. For saki, we tried the strawberry cloudy saki, it was nice and sweet, like the rice wine my grandmother made. It was a comfort dinner, in a nice quite place. I definitely will come back.

    a person holding a bottle of sake
    Jen M.

    We went for our anniversary dinner with a couple of friends 2 summers ago. It was a Thursday night in July and my husband had to go there in person (around 7pm) to put our name down for a table. Luckily, our friends live down the street so we just had some wine and chit chatted until they called around 7:40ish. I'd only been to Kuni's once and it was more than 12 years ago so I don't remember much other than how expensive it was (at least I thought it was for someone in their mid 20s). I still think it's expensive now even though I was in my late 30s this time, but we were able to order whatever we wanted and tried a ton of stuff, including various sushi and apps as well as some entrees. The most memorable dish was the wasabi pork shumai - we must have reordered it 4 times. But pretty much everything was delicious. The biggest problem we had was with the service. The waitress we had had some major attitude. She was super snooty and made us feel like we weren't good enough to be there. Our friends bent over backwards to be super nice to her but she was still b*tchy. We've been to actual fancy restaurants all around the world including Michelin 3 stars and have never been made to feel that way. So, 2 whole stars off for that. I hear the place is now under new ownership. Not sure if we would go back any time soon. Perhaps we would if that mean girl waitress is no longer there.

    Small Sushi Combo

    Honestly i never write reviews but this place having almost 5 stars is so misleading. I'm a big sushi gal, this was the small sushi combo... $40 & I waited over 45 min. All of the fish were extremely subpar. I would rather get sushi from wegmans & spend 1/4 of the price than order from here again. The spicy tuna roll was okay, just absolutely not what i was expecting

    Anna W.

    My recent visit to Kuni's restaurant was quite inspirational. I'd like to organize 'making sushi fun night' more often. Yes! Let's make Japanese food and then let's go to Japan to enjoy a real thing. Kuni Sato is our local celebrity chef. I was surprised to see him, because the rumor was that he sold his business and moved back to Japan. My food was good. The miso soup came shortly after ordering it. Its temperature was perfect. I could dig in immediately and it was pleasantly delicious. Shrimp shumai were also delightful. I didn't taste it, but my companions had smiley faces. The Small Sushi Combo (Chef's Choice Combination) came nicely presented. It looked like a lot of food and it was. Bite after bite I enjoyed everything. However, nothing surprised me unfortunately. The mackerel was delicious, but salmon could have been much better. The tuna roll felt like a filler. I thought the wasabi was too spicy and soy sauce too salty... hahaha... Anyway, I would totally come back and eat more of their food. No doubt. The place is nice, cozy and our server was unexpectedly good. They don't take reservations and our waiting time was forty five minutes for three people. I noticed, they send everyone to the bar on the opposite side of the street to get a drink while waiting. The restaurant is located in a cute area. I wished they would suggest going for a walk or point of interest rather than the bar. Maybe garden walk ideas? Just saying...;)

    Sushi was amazing as always, hostess always gives great recommendations and service is great too. Really recommend trying their starters as they are fresh, infact everything is fresh here great dinner on a work day! Place is always busy so have some time set aside to wait for table. Intimate setting, perfect for 2 people.

    Some of their awards
    Linda M.

    I must admit. It's been years since I've been to Kuni's. I visited several times when working downtown, early on at their original Elmwood location. Actually my very first visit was with a colleague who was here from Japan. He conversed with the chef, who I later realized was the owner, and did all the ordering. It was my first exposure to really good sushi. So here we are years later. We were in the area and decided to grab take out. The spicy tuna was outstanding. No skimping on the very fresh and tasty tuna and not overpowered by the rice. I enjoyed my 'go to' eel also but not as much as the tuna. We also ordered veggie tempura which might have lost some of its crunch during transport. The sushi was definitely the star of the dinner. Not sure what took me so long but I'll be back again. 2022-22

    Spicy cod roe and whole grilled baby octopus
    Lynette S.

    I've been going to Kuni's since he first came to buffalo and had a little spot in the basement of the Guaranty building downtown. It was a real treat to sushi on my lunch break since I worked downtown. Fast forward 30 years and Kuni is still going strong. I can't even find the words to describe the magical deliciousness of the food I was so lucky to taste tonight. Sure, there were a couple underwhelming dishes but overall the meal was spectacular. I tried a few of the specials but the regular menu items were the most satisfying. The seaweed salad has to be from heaven it was so delicious. The service was super, sat at the bar and enjoyed every minute of my stay.

    a plate of sushi on a table
    Michelle N.

    The restaurant is on the small side, so it gets packed quickly. I recommend going earlier to get a table before the dinner rush. One of the most authentic sushi restaurants there is in Buffalo area. Their other food items are just as good. I highly recommend trying this place out!

    Mustard with raw fish
    Alex L.

    Haven't been to Kuni's in a while, but recently had a chance to enjoy some sushi and sashimi at the bar. The quality of the fish and rolls here are hard to beat. The focus is on the cut of the fish and the freshness of it and all the dishes really accentuate it. I had the ginger/mackerel combo, the spicy tuna and the Nuta which were fresh shrimp, mackerel, octopus and scallions finished with a vinegared miso. I had that along with some hot tea and miso soup and the entire meal was phenomonal. Service at the bar was great and the ambiance of the place is trendy, fun, clean and intimate. Highly recommend coming here for sushi!

    Vegetable tempura
    Sireesha A.

    After months of ordering take outs, I finally ended up in a Buffalo restaurant for dine-in. The outdoor seating was well spaced and sanitized. All the wait staff were wearing masks and I felt safe eating there. The place itself has been on my list for a while because of its eclectic sushi offerings (even for vegetarians). I shared vegetable tempura as an appetizer with my friend and got shiitake mushroom roll, avocado roll and Inari for my entree (believe me, there were more vegetarian options to choose from which was very inviting). The tempura was fried to perfect crispiness and had a variety of vegetables like mushrooms, peppers and some Japanese vegetable that we didn't know the name of but tasted good. At first, I wasn't sure if I ordered enough for my entree but looking at the 6 piece of each roll, I was more than satisfied about the portions. They had subtle yet a fresh taste which was paired perfectly with the soy sauce and wasabi. The inari is a sweet tofu pocket and almost felt like a nice dessert after the rolls. My friend was quite happy with her Japanese slaw too and we both left quite satisfied and glad that we could finally make this reunion happen in a sweet place!

    Large Sushi Combo
    Jennifer R.

    Kunis is top notch in buffalo sushi - but these days you can get comparable quality fish pieces at several places in buffalo, and maybe for less money.... But Kuni's is ALWAYS guaranteed to be great, and have a menu full of specials that you can get nowhere else.

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    4 years ago

    It's good. They won't let me leave a review under 100 characters so I'm adding some filler.

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    7 years ago

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    4 years ago

    the squid rings were so chewy they were not edible. The sushi was edible at least. our waitress was nice, but this review is about the food.

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    Page 2 of 8

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    Kumo - Japanese crabmeat ravioli

    Kumo

    4.4(28 reviews)
    4.4 mi

    Kumo Sushi has some of the freshest fish I've had in Western New York. Everything we ordered was…read moreincredibly fresh, and the sushi was absolutely delicious. The presentation was beautiful too every plate looked like a work of art. Sorry, no pictures this time... I was way too excited to start eating! One thing to know before you go: if you want ginger or wasabi, you'll need to ask for it since it doesn't automatically come with your sushi. The staff was friendly, the restaurant was very clean, and overall it was a great experience. I'll definitely be back!

    This is where my son decided he wanted to go for his 29th birthday dinner. We've never been here…read morebefore and it's close by our house so I figured why not ? It has a very, very small parking lot, which is pretty inconvenient. I had to park all the way down the street. We approached the restaurant and it looks so cute from outside with that big lucky cat. I don't know the names of these things so don't laugh at me, lol. We get inside. It's quite small inside. Also, they have a big cage that people can sit in only one though, and I wanted to sit in there, but it was already occupied by a family. The decorations are cute, but they don't have very many at least not on the side that we sat. We sat to the right when you walk in the door. The menus look like you're opening up a humongous encyclopedia or an almanac but there aren't that many pages in there so don't let it fool you. They have lots of different types of sushi, Japanese food, Chinese food, etc. My son got a salmon roll and a caterpillar which he said was amazing. I got General Tzo's chicken , which was much better than any Chinese place I've ever had it from. This was the real deal. But first I had pork eggroll and it was so good. They served it cut in half with duck sauce all over it and it was so good that way I loved it. Then I ordered a nice size bowl of pork lo mein. That was the best lo mein I have ever had in my life. It was absolutely delicious. My son tried some the next day and said that that was the best lo mein he's ever had. The employees were nice. Took a while for our food to come, but that was OK. We weren't in a rush. I ordered a Diet Coke and it seems that all Japanese and Chinese places that I go to lately they only give you cans of pop which seems weird to me, but whatever ! And this seems like a higher end type restaurant too. It's not a cheap little restaurant. This is a pretty pricey place, but like I said, it is delicious. I highly recommend going there and eating. Hopefully, you'll be as satisfied as my son and I were.

    Photos
    Kumo - Dining area

    Dining area

    Kumo - Gyoza, crab "ravioli", and chicken katsu appetizers (takeout obviously)

    Gyoza, crab "ravioli", and chicken katsu appetizers (takeout obviously)

    Kumo - Interior

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    Interior

    Taisho Bistro Japanese Izakaya - Chicken Yakitori

    Taisho Bistro Japanese Izakaya

    4.0(333 reviews)
    5.8 mi
    $$

    Second time being here…read more Ambiance- Perfection, hidden gem, very clean, large seating never crowded. Service- Very attentive, never felt like I was waiting too long or too little. Service was prompt and to the point. Very respectful staff Food- Had many of the sushi rolls Rainbow, Chopper, kamikaze and Akazaru. Every single roll was amazing and full of taste. I don't know where they get their fish from but it is some of the freshest fish I've had in the area. Also had the spicy miso ramen which was another perfectly made meal. The spice was full of taste but not so hot that it took away from the meal 10/10 restaurant.

    Friendly service, good food, reasonable prices. My dad…read morewanted to go here for his birthday, so we did. We visited on a week day for lunch. There were no other tables seated when we arrived. We were seated quickly by a friendly waiter and our order was taken as soon as we were ready. We ordered a hot tea, a pumkin korokke (because it was new to both of us), scallop & shrimp hibachi lunch and sushi sashimi lunch with salad. The tea came out in a plastic pot, which I found kind of odd and was not a fan of; neither was my dad. The tea itself was tasty, but I'm not sure what kind it was. The pumpkin cake was good. Basically mashed pumpkin battered and fried. It came out super fresh and hot with a sweet chili dipping sauce. The salad was okay; the dressing was not very gingery or carroty, more creamy with a sweet taste. Our main meals were good. Nothing that knocked our socks off, but great portions for the price. The place could use a little sprucing up. It was not super clean and some decor seemed to be old/need fixing.

    Photos
    Taisho Bistro Japanese Izakaya - Inside

    Inside

    Taisho Bistro Japanese Izakaya - Yakitori platter

    Yakitori platter

    Taisho Bistro Japanese Izakaya - Bar

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    Bar

    SATO - Okonomiyaki

    SATO

    3.6(391 reviews)
    0.3 miElmwood Village
    $$

    We literally NEVER have a good experience with SATO. Tonight was another witness of their terrible…read morecustomer service. Here goes: We were on our way home and called to place an order. The hostess told us that they would not take a pick up order until 8:30 (um ok....). But since it was 8:12, we decided to WAIT until 8:30 to order rather than finding an alternative to feed our family who already picked out their orders. So, we waited in our car for 20 minutes, and called back ready to place are order. The hostess said that the kitchen is now "not taking orders". I explained the situation and asked if we could just get a few ramen since we just waited at her direction. She must not realize that rent on Elmwood is expensive, or that there are bills to be paid, or that humans ordering food pay the bills, or that an owner would appreciate this $100 ramen order or the many orders we place all year, or large eat in bills because there is no attempt to keep us as a customer. We live in the neighborhood and love to support local restaurants and businesses and our family of 6 places large orders. Last time we were in to eat the service was bad as well. It took about 20 minutes to get our drinks. And the time before that we came on my daughters birthday and they said they weren't seating parties of 6 even though the entire restaurant was open. Hmmm. We literally could see every open table. My daughter in her 10 year old birthday crown telling them how much she loved ramen didn't even make them flinch since they seem to have delicious broth and no souls. We will keep spending our money at local establishments that treat customers like humans.

    Service was wonderful! We were seated quickly. Our server was kind and checked in on us…read moreperiodically. The ambiance was nice, not too classy but not too relaxed. It was a nice date night spot. In terms of food, my partner and I were unimpressed. To preface, we are from CA/Bay Area. The okonomiyaki was delicious! 5/5 but we have no base reference for this dish. We would skip the sushi and ramen. Unfortunately the sushi rice was too hard. The fish was fine though, relatively fresh! The avocado in our CA roll was a little browned. The ramen was a little undercooked and hard. The toppings were good but the meat was a little hard/dehydrated? They did do us a favor and split our one order into two small bowls before bringing it out. overall, we would not come back, but we are glad to have experienced it.

    Photos
    SATO - Gyu-Don

    Gyu-Don

    SATO - Lake Erie Water, I prefer mine filtered and chilled. This place is more like 3 stars but could easily be 5. It's all in the details.

    Lake Erie Water, I prefer mine filtered and chilled. This place is more like 3 stars but could easily be 5. It's all in the details.

    SATO - Sashimi Plate (Chef's Choice) There were five pieces of nigiri and 8 piece CA roll

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    Sashimi Plate (Chef's Choice) There were five pieces of nigiri and 8 piece CA roll

    Kuni's - sushi - Updated August 2026

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