Pleasantly surprised with the food & the service, esp. since I had low expectations. I live in NYC & have easy access to great sushi so figured it would mid at best. Came on a very cold, rainy day, service was fast, professional & polite (contrary to some of the bad reviews here). The sushi was beautifully presented, very fresh & tasted great! No complaints & I'll definitely be back! read more

Sushi Osaka - Sushi Lunch Special - definitely exceeded expectations, very good & filling! - Japanese Near Me - Ithaca, New York

I can only speak to their boba which is delish! Was craving some bubble tea after a hike through Cascadilla and ended up stopping here on the way back to the hotel. Great ice, perfect sweetness, and great amount of boba. Highly recommend if you're in the Commons and looking for some speedy boba! read more

Sushi Osaka - a hand holding a cup of coffee - Japanese Near Me - Ithaca, New York

See all

Very good food. 3 people all got bento boxes. Tons of food. We all ended up stuffed with left overs. Kids were amazed by the food. (Terriaki chicken and bulgolgi). Also had the red bean paste bun and it was delicious. 4 stars only because inside was a little toasty. read more

Sushi is pretty tasty and I order takeout from them a lot. I always do the tri-colored sushi and the your choice rolls (salmon and tuna rolls). They don't often have diners in their in person location, but their service was great and they tried to plate the food nicely and were very attentive. I had the whole place to myself, which was nice. read more

Me and a buddy were visiting from Buffalo. Almost went somewhere else because of the 3.5 stars, but we tried it anyway. We both got the chicken teriyaki box, and the food was great! The salad, the soup, and then the box came out with all sorts of sushi and chicken and rice, shrimp shumai! All that for 20 bucks each! We were both pleasantly surprised! read more

Nothing was bad, it was just ok. I got a mango tango roll which I enjoyed. Service was phenomenal. Clean and quaint.

came in here for dinner this past friday. i put in my name and number to be texted when a table was available. i was told about 20 minutes. after 30 minutes we checked back to see where we at. the host told us she forgot to text us and was about to do it. we ordered the braised duck and mapo tofu. we waited 35 minutes for our food. we saw another table that came after us get their food before us. i inquired, one of the servers told us our dishes took longer to make. the thing is, mapo tofu takes me 10 minutes to make and any restaurant about 4-5 minutes to make. the braised duck is made in the morning and just warmed to serve. that was my exact response to the server that told me that my dishes were more complicated and that's why it takes longer. i got an eye roll and no response. when the food came out, the mapo tofu was overtly salted, probably about 4 times the salt. for comparison, we were served miso soup. think miso soup and think of a miso soup that is 4-5 times saltier. the braised duck was decent. read more

See all

So-so experience here. I got the lunch special which consisted of 2 rolls plus a miso soup for $9.95, which seemed like a good deal, but if I was going to do it again I'd rather pay a bit more to get a more interesting specialty roll. I got the Oshinko Roll and Spicy Kani Roll. The oshinko roll only contained oshinko wrapped in rice and nori, so not very exciting in texture or flavour since the flavour of oshinko stands out most to me when it's paired with other vegetables. Also, the sushi rice was pretty dry, and although the oshinko seemed fresh it didn't lend much moisture to the other parts of the roll which made for a very dry overall experience. The spicy kani was a bit more interesting since it had spicy mayo and crunch inside plus what seemed like a little bit of spicy tuna(?). I've definitely had better kani but it wasn't bad by any means, but the dry rice prevented this from being really good. On the other hand, the miso soup was great. They use smaller cubes of tofu than I'm used to but they make up for the smaller pieces by putting more in. I also got a Lavender Bubble Tea - the boba was perfectly cooked, the tea was pretty standard but definitely enjoyable and worth getting if you're going there since it's pretty cheap. I appreciated that it wasn't super sweet like many flavoured milk teas. Their service system seems kind of awkward to me. I walked in and ordered at the counter, planning to eat at one of the tables outside, but even if you're going to wait outside they won't bring it out to you, you have to come back in to pick it up. This would be fine if they gave you an order number or texted/called when it's ready, but I had to go back in after the 10 minute estimate they gave me and ask the staff if the bagged food on the front table was mine. I have to give them credit for being ready exactly on time though. Giving two stars for mediocre sushi, and even though the soup and bubble tea were good I don't think many people go to a sushi restaurant just to drink bubble tea. read more

Sushi Osaka - Spicy Kani & Oshinko Rolls, Miso Soup, Lavender Bubble Tea - Japanese Near Me - Ithaca, New York

The customer service and food was excellent! My boyfriend and I order the Maki rolls (all of them), vegetable gyoza (AMAZING) and shrimp & veg tempura. Everything was fresh and delicious. Perfect date night. read more

They do not cut corner in preparing Sushi and Sashimi. The ingredients are fresh and high quality. They pay detail in what they do even down to the soy sauce on the table. We are greeted with smile and warm welcome when we entered the restaurant. We really enjoy this experience. read more

Sushi Osaka - Sushi Sashimi Combo - Japanese Near Me - Ithaca, New York

The only good rating that I would leave about this place is the boba. The boba was very good but aside that, the order took quite awhile to get out, The ramen was not even ramen, it was spaghetti noodles. The chicken was undercooked and the vegetables squishy. The price was also wayyy over what it should be. I honestly won't be coming here again.. read more

Sushi Osaka - Spaghetti noodle beef Tonkatsu - Japanese Near Me - Ithaca, New York

I have been here about four times and each time I am greeted with a smile. Service is fast and friendly. I ordered the Tonkotsu Ramen, one of my faves...it is topped with bok choy, a marinated egg, and a protein of your choice (beef, shrimp, chicken) or veggie. It was very good and nice and hot (it was a kind of chilly day). I also ordered Okonomiyaki (a type of Japanese pancake) which was really good! The black tea milk tea with boba is a little bland and the boba was kind of mushy so I give that about a 5 out of 10. Overall, I will return to try more from their menu. read more

See all

So, tried three items at this place. Curry Beef. Sauce is a bit too thin/watery. a bit of corn starch could have fixed it. Sushi Dinner. Spicy tuna + 7pc of chef's choice. and the chef chose 3 types of cheap sushis to fill the 7pc. Not worth it at all. Do mot recommend. Thai milk tea. Very Good. :) Over all... It may be a long while before I return.But to each their own read more

Best Sushi I've had in Tompkins county so far! Ordered the dragon roll and braised pork belly rice bowl. It was sooo yummy and warm on this cold winter day. Had the restaurant to myself at 11am on a Tuesday. Thankful they were open. Also got hot green tea and it felt so nourishing. Very friendly staff, would definitely recommend! read more

I'm only being nice with two stars because, well, COVID. I went in and ordered take out. There was a sign that said order $50 or more and get free edamame or ice cream. Good start, so my friends and I combined our order- easy. But everything else ended in shambles. I literally waited outside in the Commons within plain view of the staff for over 40 minutes. I was constantly deceived every time the server brought out an order and it wasn't mine. You would think if a customer was waiting for so long you would put a bit more of a pep in your step but nah. Also on yelp it also says that if you check in you get a free order of house sake. Don't bother because when I showed them this she told me they don't have a liquor license. I get it's COVID but then make sure to update your info. The sushi itself was all in all, just FINE. Nothing special by any means but by the time I got home to eat it my *free* edamame was soggy and the sushi was hardly fresh- probably because it took them over 40 minutes to make it! On the positive note, it's very central in the Ithaca Commons and I'm sure (or at least hope) they do better under pre-Covid conditions. read more

Let me start off this review with the ending first: don't spend your money here. I don't like leaving bad reviews, especially now during quarantine; it's a tough time for everyone. But this place sincerely does not have good sushi. After waiting 45 min for a take out order, which contained only sushi, we sat down for our dinner only to find sushi that was just poor quality. Dry, hard, just not fresh. What made me upset was being told if I spent over 50$ we could get a free side: either ice cream or edamame. We chose edamame, or what should have been edamame. It too was very poor in quality, which I felt was a shame. As for the service, it was also not great, but not as bad as the sushi. All in all, not the most terrible experience I've had, but really put a bad taste in my mouth, literally. read more

We ordered beef bulgogi to-go. It was ready in a timely manner. Very affordable, hot and delicious!

The sushi is terrible.. I honestly have had tons of sushi all over the place but this place wins a price for worst sushi ever. I also ordered soup and found a piece of metal in it probably from cleaning utensil and hair in the soup it came with. read more

Sushi Osaka - Dumpling Soup - Japanese Near Me - Ithaca, New York

See all

I've ordered their braised pork rice several times and it's very legit. The pork is extremely tender and flavorful, much beyond my expectation. Takoyakis are delicious as well. Can't remember much about their sushi, but definitely not bad. I hope this business does well during the pandemic. The owner/staff is always polite and warm. read more

Upon entering, I was seated and quickly given service. their staff were pleasant, nothing to complain about there The Chicken Katsu Curry was delicious. The curry itself was hot, but not so hot as to be unpleasant. I don't know what kind of spices they used for it, exactly, but they were delicious. The chicken component was crispy, cooked just right, and tasted great. The white rice was a pleasant component, too, for mopping up the curry. I'm not sure what brand the cold sake was, but the fact that it was served in a chilled martini glass helped it. Lastly, the red bean ice cream was tasty, though slightly underflavored for my tastes. Overall, I'd say it's some of the best Japanese food I've had, and I would definitely recommend having it to anyone who enjoys this sort of food. read more

Bubble tea is not "tea". I ordered a plain green tea without milk, and what I got was a powdered tea mix in water. The mix clearly already had powdered milk in it. I can't believe they served it to me, like maybe they hoped I wouldn't notice? Having eaten there otherwise, I've never liked it much. You'll notice no one is ever there... There's a reason! read more

Everything u can order here is the best food ever. Everything is cooked amazingly and service is great. Definitely recommend the sushi and the pork and rice. This food is so splendid it made my tastebuds happy and made my stomach dance with joy. read more

This place was horrible. The service was shit and it took over 40 minutes to get our food. I also saw a man who waited 30 mins to pickup their sushi. The food wasn't good. The sushi tasted warm, the ramen wasn't even ramen noodles but it was like rice noodles . The chashu pork in the ramen was fried and burnt which left the burnt smell in the entire broth. read more

Sushi in Ithaca is questionable at best, but if you must, go to Plum Tree*. If you're in the Commons, stick to cooked/veg rolls here. Nothing to write home about. *Unless it's summertime, in which case there is no safe sushi in Ithaca and you should make your own or wait until your next excursion to NYC. read more

I was walking in the cute square, headed towards a taco shop. I stopped here, checked out the sushi. I was sold, but decided to keep heading to the original place. I looked at their menu and turned right back around to get some Sushi Osaka. Don't laugh at me, but I am obsessed with avocado rolls in soy paper. I got 3 avocado rolls and a side of spicy Mayo. The rolls were a great size! So delicious. They accommodated all of my requests. There was a stinky man that came in and asked for some water. He didn't have a mask, it was kind of rude. The server went in the back and gave him a bottle of water for free. She was so kind, even in an uncomfortable situation. I'm definitely coming back here when I'm in Ithaca. Probably every time. read more

Their pokemon roll is iconic! Whenever I want a lighter meal I would always turn to it. The crunch of the sweat potato tempura, the butteriness of the avocado and the smooth texture of mango slices work so well together. The other rolls are also up to par, and with lunch pricing, super affordable. The bubbles in their boba are very soft and chewy. The staff always pack everything nicely for pickup. You should definitely give them a try. read more

This is the best sushi restaurant in all of Ithaca! Definitely stop by!! The rolls are uniquely delicious. One of the best shrimp tempura rolls that I've ever had! Additionally, the staff was super friendly and attentive. Overall great place. read more

I went to this place for five times now. And I have to say how disappointed I am. The first time I went there, the sushi in bento box I order taste disgusting. And I had to spited it out immediately. And the staff explained to me a new staff just came in so that the cucumber were cut from yesterday, cause the new staff didn't know he need to throw it away. So they made another roll for me. The second time, my friend ordered the chicken teriyaki bento box and the chicken was not cooked throughly! But the staff there insisted maybe my friend liked the overlook taste of chicken. So they take back the bento and recook the chicken for my friend. And today, I ordered Korean spicy beef soup. It is the spiciest Korean soup I ever had in my life. I'm from north part of China and I can handle Korean spicy beef soup easily if it's made authentic. And this place is not authentic. It is made with very chemical like spicy sauces and my stomach hurts for a whole afternoon. The thing really pissed me off is when the staff were like: oh you can't eat spicy, next time I can make it less spicy for you. And I'm offended that they always blame their customer for their mistakes. Would not recommend this to anyone. Stay away this unauthentic place will make your life happier read more

I went to Sushi Osaka today with two friends, hearing good things about the sushi here. The food itself was pretty good for the most part. We ordered two Cornell rolls, and they were both crunchy and flavorful without being overly greasy. For entrees, we got the udon, donkatsu ramen, and beef yakisoba. The donkatsu ramen was delicious, with perfectly cooked noodles and very flavorful broth. However, the udon broth was very salty and we could not finish it. The beef yakisoba was good, definitely not the best we've ever had but perfectly suitable for the price and what was ordered. The reason I am giving Sushi Osaka two stars is because of the service and execution of our experience here today. There was only one server running the entire restaurant, which led to us having to wait 15 minutes before even being served water. We had to call her over multiple times just to take our orders. Once she took our orders, we then waited 50 minutes for our sushi to come out which is absolutely ridiculous considering nothing had to be cooked. After our sushi came out, the waitress came over 3 times to tell us our entrees would be coming out shortly. However, it was another 30 minutes before our entrees came out. What we had originally planned to be a casual hour long lunch ended up becoming an almost 3 hour meal. This is not acceptable for any restaurant and I will not be coming back to this establishment. Maybe they were just having an off day today, but waiting as long as we did for our food was definitely not worth it. read more

Looked good from the menu but looks can be deceiving. We ordered the braised beef spicy soup and there was no beef meat and only tendons and fatty bits. Sushi rolls were tasteless and not very good. Tea was served in a bag. All in all if you want authentic Japanese or Chinese this may not be the place to go to. But it's probably passable to the local upstate crowd. read more

Absolutely delicious! I came here for the first time with a friend, saw they had bubble tea on the menu, and was hooked. Their menu is seemingly endless, there are so many options. Resisting the urge to sample everything, I managed to narrow my choices down to a lunchtime special, the salmon teriyaki lunchbox, as well as lavender milk bubble tea. Everything was amazing. The bubble tea had perfectly chewy boba and a hint of lavender, and the salmon was so tender and flaky. It's amazing how much other food came with the lunchbox-rice, a house salad, two gyoza, four California rolls, and edamame. Three hours later, I'm still pleasantly stuffed. Sushi Osaka is a friendly little family-owned restaurant with a great ambiance, and the seating was nearly full at 1pm. Hope the other people enjoyed their food as much as I did! read more

Sushi Osaka - Lavender milk bubble tea - Japanese Near Me - Ithaca, New York

Really good! I got the pork dumplings, taro smoothie and chicken yaki-soba which were all delicious!!! The calamari here is the best calamari I've had in my life. read more

Great sushi and affordable price, a little less expensive than the other sushi place in town (plum tree), would recommend both if you're in Ithaca. Would also recommend any of the original ones (I got avocado eel and spicy tuna). The shrimp tempura also came in a good portion which was good. The spider roll is solid too! Very sweet and friendly people there, 5/5 experience & got a free Thai iced tea from a pick up or :)) read more

Sushi Osaka - Spicy tuna and Eel and Avocado - Japanese Near Me - Ithaca, New York

See all

I don't understand why so many people dislike this restaurant. The restaurant is really great! It's really cheap and the food is delicious! The fish is fresh and very tasty. We ordered: King Kong roll (tuna, shrimp tempura, cucumber, and eel sauce) Cornell roll (spicy tuna, avocado, deep fried with spicy mayo, eel sauce, masago, and scallion) Black dragon ( tuna, avocado, and eel) Sushi and sashimi lunch combo The sushi and sashimi lunch combo was really beautifully presented and it tasted good. We liked the Cornell roll so much that we ordered another one. It might've been the best roll we've ever had. Plus our waitress was super nice. Overall this place is amazing and it definitely deserves every single one of those five stars. read more

Sushi Osaka - One of the menu pages - Japanese Near Me - Ithaca, New York

See all

I usually order lunch from Kimchi on the Commons but they were closed so thought I'd give it a try. Ordered Udon and the online menu clearly states it's $7.95. I arrived 10 min later to pick up and the staff person charged me $12.95. Spent 10 min trying to get her to understand that the menu states $7.95 to no avail. Didn't use a 3rd party like grubhub or ithaca to go, called the restaurant directly so not sure of why I got charged an extra $5. On top of that, the Udon was terrible, broth had no taste and the noodles were mushy. Back to Kimchi for me. read more

One of the worst experiences I've ever had at a restaurant. Even though there were only 4 or 5 tables occupied at the time, it took well over 20 minutes to get drinks, and over an hour after that before my food arrived. I ordered the beef yakisoba noodles, which I'm pretty sure were dressed-up instant noodles. My food was cold when it got to me, and it tasted like it had been sitting out for a while before it reached my table. I am also pretty sure saw one of the hosts texting at the counter several times. Definitely not worth the money or the time spent waiting around. read more

cheap non elaborate ingredients and presentation, high price tag. do yourself a favor and buy wegmans if you want cheap sushi. ordered three types of vegetarian rolls. Cucumber, avocado, and peanut avocado. The peanut avocado roll, which is literally a skimpy amount of white rice, a little strip of nori, an insignificant chunk of avocado, and the addition of a couple-to-a-few roasted peanuts, for the extra dollar, did not at all please me for the amount of money I spent on this. Last time I went to the sushi place as a non vegetarian, when it was under different management, it was elaborate really beautiful rolls, not this subpar food for massive price tag. read more

Sushi Osaka - vegetarian maki... peanut avocado roll (left) and avocado roll (right) its literally 2 peanuts tucked into an avocado roll, not interesting - Japanese Near Me - Ithaca, New York

I love Osaka! By far the best sushi in town, and their happy hour half priced rolls every day from 11-3 is unbeatable. Plus, Mimi is the best - she's so sweet and works hard to make sure you're comfortable and well taken care of. Also - their fried rice dishes/boba tea are bar none. Loveee. read more

There shouldn't only be one waitress working on a Saturday during lunch time. The poor women was running back and forth and service took a while. There were people who didn't even get water till 15-20 mins after they walk in. The food is okay and smells delicious, but it's the wait that's bad. HIRE MORE PEOPLE. That poor waitress looked so stressed out trying to serve all the tables. read more

The sushi is delicious and Mae, the host is extremely helpful with helping navigate the menu if you have allergies. I highly recommend eating here! read more