12345 Fri Jan 23 14:22:19 -0800 2004 7 4 Pacific Northwest 0 22140 Is it any good? I like the concept, but admit that I'm a tad scared of it, too. What's your experience? Fri Jan 23 14:22:19 -0800 2004 0 k e m 1 22141 hi kem - i haven't been but sara dickerman just published a review in the stranger this week. i've been to blue c in fremont. i'm in the minority, but i like it. it's clearly not the best quality sushi in seattle, but i love hamachi & saba kama, and if you watch for the super "fresh" stuff - it's very fast and convenient - and it's a pay for what you eat situation as opposed to todai. Link: http://www.thestranger.com/current/chow.html Fri Jan 23 15:10:26 -0800 2004 22140 0 reese 2 22149 Thanks for the scoop. It sounds like a place I might be willing to try at lunch when I'm stuck downtown, but it might not be worth a special trip or a dinner. Fri Jan 23 15:46:09 -0800 2004 22141 0 k e m 1 22150 I have not been to the downtown location, but have been to the one in Redmond as well as several in Southern CA (which are all pretty similar). I would rate their sushi quality as fair; hot food is also fair. Reminds me of a Vegas style buffet. Todai is all about quantity, not quality. That said, I've overeaten there a few too many times. N.B. If it's your b-day, your meal's free, but thankfully I've been spared a b-day meal there...so far. Fri Jan 23 15:58:11 -0800 2004 22140 0 twinbliss 1 22152 I've been to the downtown location twice and have not been impressed either time. The Portland location was worse. Fri Jan 23 16:15:45 -0800 2004 22140 0 Chris 1 22156 for those of us not familiar with todai, what's the basic concept? is it a buffet? something more like what nikko used to do at lunch? Fri Jan 23 17:28:57 -0800 2004 22140 0 kieran 1 22158 You know, it depends on what you want. The place does a fine job at being a buffet. If you want variety and quantity and aren't as concerned about quality then this may be the place for you. The food's not bad, it just isn't really good and soulful Japanese food. I was underwhelmed with the flavors and textures and overwhelmed by the selection. In addition to sushi, they had lots of crab, whole dungeness steamed (overcooked and too dried out) and cold, spindly crab legs (king?)and also fresh shrimp and oysters, all of which I love. But again, none of this was really great--although I could have had all I wanted--I just didn't want much of it. So for my 23.95, I'd rather go to my favorite neighborhood sushi joint and order a smaller amount of good sushi, or teriyaki, or udon...whatever I'm in the mood for and I know they do well. You might want to try it at lunch with the lower price, but I imagine they won't have all the crab and seafood at the lower price. Fri Jan 23 18:15:27 -0800 2004 22140 0 SeaGal 1 22160 Poison! I've eaten at the Redmond location and I'm afraid to say it was just aweful. I'm not a buffet snob but the food here was especially poor. The sushi was worse than what you get in the grocery store and the other seafood items were worse. For all you can eat sushi, try Sushi-Ten in Bellevue. You order your sushi and it's made in front of you like a traditional sushi restaurant. The sushi, while NOT top-notch, is 1000 times better than Todai. It's fresh and you can order pretty much anything you want. Reservations are required and you sit up at the sushi bar and talk/order directly from the sushi chef. Fri Jan 23 19:16:03 -0800 2004 22140 0 Sir Eats A Lot