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    Sando Cafe

    4.6 (27 reviews)
    ModerateJapanese
    Closed 11:00 am - 10:00 pm
    Updated 2 weeks ago

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    SANDO CAFE ATMOSPHERE

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    Sara B.

    Absolutely loved Sando Cafe - everything was 10 outta 10. The space is really tiny and cozy. I'd imagine they do a good amount of takeout business. We were able to snag a table though which was nice! A katsu sando is a must and the crispy fried chicken was perfection. I've had sandos a few times and don't always see an egg on it. I really liked this! Sharing a sando and a few small plates was the perfect meal. We also loved the pork gyoza, seaweed salad and fried potato croquettes. They have some really fun drinks that come in the cutest branded cup. Loved the sweet peach tea! Service was super friendly and overall this was a great pick for a delicious lunch in Montclair.

    Sand
    Rosa R.

    This is place is just average. It's the only one of its kind in downtown Montclair and maybe people don't have anything to compare it to but it's honestly just average. It's lacking flavor which says a lot for a Japanese spot. It's a good spot it you want to get introduced to JP eats.

    Sakura Tea
    Christian R.

    I was eager to try Cafe Sando ever since reading about the special egg salad sandwiches they serve in Japan. This is not your standard deli egg salad sandwich. It's prepared with special sweet mayonnaise, "milk bread," and the egg itself is more pulverized--all to create a creamy, sweet mouthfeel. It also features a full split hard boiled egg and shredded cabbage. I was not disappointed. The ingredients of the "tamago sando" were fresh and flavorful. Since this is my first taste of the genre, I can't compare it to others like it. But I enjoyed it very much. To drink, I tried the Sakura tea, green iced tea flavored with cherry blossoms. The server asked what level of sweetness I preferred, since she was to make it fresh in a shaker. I said "regular" in order to establish a baseline. Next time I'll ask for light (but not zero) sweetener. Your mileage may vary, but you'll want to have an answer to that question if you order it. Finally I ordered a fruit sando for dessert. This is like strawberry shortcake served on the sweet, fluffy milk bread instead of shortcake. I found the ingredients delicious and fresh, but felt a bit stuffed afterwards. Cafe Sando is a nice atmosphere. Japanese pop music plays, and there are about five small tables and seats at the coffee bar. If you want a taste of Japan in Montclair, I recommend it.

    Vivian C.

    so excited to see more asian food in the area, especially a new japanese restaurant! the prices here are very affordable, especially compared to the rest of the neighborhood. most of the menu was around $10 or below!! the food here was delicious!! we plan on coming here often, the katsu sando and curry over rice was delicious and so flavorful, but the katsu sando definitely was the best! so tender and crispy and delightful! making good food takes time, so be prepared to wait a bit during the food rush hours for your food, but it's worth it! staff was friendly and constantly busy with all the customers, but they have a button on each table that helps you call the wait staff. there's only 4 small tables, so takeout is definitely a good option as well if you can't get a table. street parking only.

    chicken katsu & tamago
    Tina K.

    Awesome local gem! The chicken katsu & tamago sandos are very good and the service is great as well.

    Gyudon
    Victoria P.

    The food and service is excellent! amazing staff and so quick!!! We were in and out within 35 mins with our belly's full!

    Fruit sando

    Food here has consistently been great! Their mango or passion fruit with hojicha tea best option and it comes served in the cutest cups. The potato croquettes are perfectly crisp and full of flavor. The real stars, though, are the sandwiches (Sandos) -- from tamago and kani salad to chicken or pork, every option hits. Don't skip the booster combo: chicken katsu with tamago is hands down the best pairing. Everything is made fresh to order, and their gyozas and rice bowls are excellent too. This spot definitely shouldn't be slept on -- plus, they've got a great playlist! Highly recommend checking them out.

    Pork Katsu

    A quaint little area with a lot of options. The food was good for its price and I plan to return to try their sandwiches.

    Chicken Katsu Curry

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    5 months ago

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    7 months ago

    Tasty sandwiches, friendly service. We tried the egg salad and the katsu pork sandos and they were excellent.

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    28 days ago

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    9 months ago

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    3 months ago

    Amazing customer service and cozy atmosphere! I had the pork katsu sando and enjoyed it.

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    9 months ago

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    7 months ago

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    7 months ago

    Had the katsudon, a rice bowl with a pork cultlet. The best! Can't wait to go back and try the rest of the menu.

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    9 months ago

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    Minoru

    Minoru

    4.4
    (75 reviews)
    2.1 mi
    Women-owned & operated
    LGBTQ friendly

    I've had this spot saved in my bookmarks for so long, I'm so excited I finally got to come here!!…read moreReservations are easy and they allow cancellations for at least 4 hours before without a fee. But who cares about that right? Let's get to the food. Everything on the menu sounded and looked delicious but we were most intrigued by the kaisendon and the hitsumabushi. The Mentaiko spaghetti as well -- which was unlike any other Mentaiko spaghetti I've had before ! Everything was so delicious, fresh, and full of umami. Our favorite dish was definitely the hitsumabushi, which you can enjoy 4 different ways. Staff are all so kind and sweet and explains everything to you thoroughly. 10/10 recommend and 10/10 will come back!

    Pros: nice ambiance, great service, fresh and authentic food…read more Cons: small portion sizes and expensive, that make some manhattan places seem affordable (e.g. $9 for one panko crusted King prawn bun). My $48 kaisen don undoubtedly has premium ingredients but at least include more sushi rice so that I'm left satisfied. Maybe I'm biased because I commute into Manhattan for work and I know I can find similar quality for a cheaper price or larger portion sizes. I'm giving this 4 stars because I understand that similar options are more limited in the suburbs. This is a nice place for special occasions and the quality here is great but just know that you are paying a premium.

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    Restaurant
    Restaurant
    Shrimp Bun
    Shrimp Bun
    Mushroom

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    Mushroom
    MM by Morimoto

    MM by Morimoto

    3.9
    (106 reviews)
    0.1 mi

    Brunch at MM Morimoto?! Sign us up…read more I was shocked to find this place empty on a Saturday prime brunch time. The restaurant is stunning. The food was so great! Everything we had was delicious and we ordered A LOT. Sticky ribs are a must. The wagyu roll is fun - the presentation is great with fire. Fantastic service, amazing food, great vibes. A bit on the price side and not exactly kid-friendly but we had a blast.

    Eh. Best part of the restaurant is the decor. Very modern and hip. As someone mentioned looks like…read morethis in lace belongs in Vegas. Food was the problem. Most of the appetizers were overly sauced and too sweet. Maybe Morimoto is catering to western tastes that prefers stronger sweeter flavors but in general you couldn't really taste the freshness of the fish or the richness of the wagyu. Steaks were just okay. Nothing to write home about. Got the Tomahawk, Porterhouse, and prime rib. It was just okay. No huge complaints nor compliments. Just average. Desserts were another major disappointment. We ordered every item. You know it's not great when everyone's favorite dessert was the vanilla ice cream which was clearly just store bought vanilla ice cream . Service was inconsistent. They were too concerned about clearing the table to the point they kept coming and trying to clear the table while we were eating. Then they would continue to bother us trying to take our dishes away. Relax! It wasn't like the restaurant was so full they had to clear our table for the next diners. Anyway a very disappointing experience overall.

    Photos
    Inside
    Inside
    Tiramisu
    Tiramisu
    Surf & Turf Roll...torched A5 Wagyu and Shrimp Tempora roll.

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    Surf & Turf Roll...torched A5 Wagyu and Shrimp Tempora roll.
    Nami Nori

    Nami Nori

    4.4
    (165 reviews)
    0.1 mi

    Nami Nori in Montclair was such a great experience from start to finish. Walking in, the ambience…read moreimmediately stood out, the space has a picturesque Japanese aesthetic that feels both modern and calming. It's the kind of place that feels thoughtfully designed without trying too hard. Our waiter was incredibly welcoming and friendly, which set a great tone for the meal. For drinks, we ordered the Raspberry Moon and a matcha latte. Both were colorful, well-presented, and really tasty, a nice way to start the meal. The food itself was an experience. We ordered the temaki set and got to learn how to assemble our own hand rolls, which made the meal interactive and fun. The sushi arrived in a beautiful presentation and everything tasted fresh and high quality. Overall, it was a memorable dining experience with great service, creative drinks, and delicious food. Definitely a spot worth checking out in Montclair.

    Hand roll heaven! I booked this spot for a weekday birthday dinner for my friend for 7 people (5…read moreadults + my two kids, 9 and 11) on OpenTable. The reservation required a credit card but I was able to mention a birthday. We were seated right away at a nice window table with a bench, which made it easy to fit everyone. We ordered a bunch of small plates and not a single miss: Tuna Crudo -- fresh, simple, and kid-approved Japanese Potato Salad with Ikura -- lightly creamy with a salty, briny pop Asari Clam Soup -- loaded with clams, miso; buttery and comforting Furikake Cottage Fries -- hot, round crispy ridges with a ketchup-y dip, very snackable for everyone Spicy Tuna Dip -- gone in about 60 seconds For the temaki (hand rolls), they recommend 5 per person. They do something a little different and honestly pretty fun. The fillings come out on flat sticks in a wooden holder (kinda like a taco stand), and you get boxes of nori (seaweed sheets) on the side. You slide the filling onto the seaweed yourself and eat it right away, so everything stays nice and crisp. It's a little DIY, but in a good way. While they offer 3 Temaki preselected sets, you can also order a la carte. I went with the Signature Set (tuna poke, XO scallop, coconut shrimp, salmon serrano, cucumber black sesame) and was really happy with it. We also got also got 2 sets of California rolls for the girls. My brother's Everything Bagel hand roll was a fun surprise. It tasted just like one. We finished with the Lemon Curd Churros- fresh, hot, and crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. The curd was a little on the firm side, but still good. Everyone left full and delighted. NOTES/TIPS: **BYOB, Wheelchair-accessible. Clean bathrooms. Modern vibes. **Entire menu is gluten-free **Vegan options available if you ask, plus a strong plant-based roll selection **Plan for ~5 hand rolls per person (including the kids) **Several parking decks a block or two away

    Photos
    Ocean trout
    Ocean trout
    A la carte selection of Temaki (hand rolls)
    A la carte selection of Temaki (hand rolls)
    Japanese Potato Salad with Ikura

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    Japanese Potato Salad with Ikura
    Nori

    Nori

    3.7
    (294 reviews)
    0.4 mi
    $$

    Came here on a Tuesday night with some friends. The restaurant was very empty, but they did have a…read morelot of takeout orders ready. We were able to be seated right away and the person who greeted us was incredibly kind to us. The restaurant is fairly spacious. They have lots of tables and some booths. As we were looking through their very large menu to the side, what to order, the waiter brought an appetizer on the house, which I believe was some kind of tempura fish, which was pretty good! We ordered four rolls and one miso soup. I do have to say that other places give you the miso soup when you order more than one roll, so it was different that we had to order it separately and pay for it separately, but I understand that restaurants are different. We got the Montclair, the Caldwell, the salmon avocado, and their Hawaiian roll. The one that truly stood out to me was the Hawaiian roll, it had kiwi and mango on top which made for a delicious combination and very refreshing. The other three rolls were OK, nothing outstanding. That miso was a bit sweet, which was different for me. At the end of our meal, they gave us orange slices and they were actually delicious! It was a cute surprise and truly showed the vibe of the people who run this place. Overall, the bill came around $50ish which was incredibly cheap for all four rolls and the soup. I definitely would come here again to get the Hawaiian roll and maybe try out some other stuff!

    Is this the best sushi in NJ? No, but you get a friendly staff , great selection of apps and rolls,…read moresome unique menu items like sushi pizza and fried banana on sushi (digimon roll), but the number one selling point for me is the prive point. For how expensive everything is nowadays, they keep it affordable hell without it feeling like budget sushi. All the fish tasted fresh, no complaints here

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    Nori
    Nori
    Decor

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    Decor
    pastaRAMEN

    pastaRAMEN

    4.0
    (545 reviews)
    0.2 mi

    I have seen this place all over tiktok and the food and the ambiance always looked great. I gave it…read morea shot this past Friday night. First off, this place needs an outdoor sign. We walked past it 3 times and when we finally left they decided to shine a light with the logo on the floor. When walking in it's more of a lounge than a true restaurant so prepare for that. You will sit right next to people which isn't my preference but it was fine. We started off with the cucumber salad which was excellent. Just wish there was more cucumber than other veggies they put in it. We then got the Cacio e Pepe Gyoza which was the star of the show. It's was unbelievably good. We followed that up with the calamari which was also extremely good and finished our apps with the Chicken Bao buns that were delicious. My friend got the carbonara dinner and honestly I don't get all the hype. Honestly I thought it did not taste good at all. I had one bite and that was enough. I wasn't sure what it exactly was that made it unappetizing but it just wasn't great for the amount of hype social media gives it. The presentation was beautiful for pictures but the taste wasn't there at all. I had the Spicy Miso Ramen which was very tasty. Only problem was it was about 110 degrees in the restaurant which made hot ramen a lot less enjoyable. The beef that they also put in it didn't taste like much just a piece a beef so that was a little underwhelming. Service was very nice, it just seemed they struggled tending to each table consistently, not sure if they were short staffed or just extremely busy because it was a Friday night. Nonetheless everyone was super friendly and tending to our needs eventually. Overall, I'd say the appetizers were the star of the show. I thought all were delicious. Entrees were a little underwhelming though my ramen was delicious, it was just extremely hot in the restaurant for some reason. Staff were good and price was what I expected. Great place to try but probably won't go back. I shouldn't leave a place sweating after a date night. I think social media hypes the place up too much but it is good just not great. People who come here are worried more about posting on social media than getting great food that the price reflects.

    Quality food! It is on the pricey side but the food did not disappoint!…read more Service could have been a bit better, however, I would still recommend! The food is absolutely worth it. Presentation was amazing! It was a whole vibe!

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    Inside
    Inside
    Delicious octopus skewers
    Delicious octopus skewers
    Cacio e Pepe Gyoza

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    Cacio e Pepe Gyoza

    Sando Cafe - japanese - Updated July 2026

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