Todai Sushi Buffet (Fair Oaks Mall)

[Callisto]

Awhile ago, a thread was started asking about the quality of Todai, a sushi buffet restaurant in the Fair Oaks mall:
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/...

What are the more recent reports on the quality? Is the lunch or dinner buffet better?

[rcheng]

The Songbird Korean restaurant in Vienna (corner of Gallows and Route 123) offers a lunch buffet that feature Korean dishes as well as fresh sushi. For some reason, I find it difficult to rate sushi, but the stuff seemed adaquate to me. I do enjoy the Korean dishes offered at the buffet.

[Bob W]

Which Arigato is that and when do they have the buffet lunch? I went to the one on Rte 29 a few months ago and had to order a al carte. It was good but I ended up spending a lot more than I had planned.

[Meg]

There are two Arigatos, the one on Rt. 29 is a la carte and imo much better quality than the Arigato in Fair Lakes (near the Target) which has the buffet (though even their a la carte sushi is subpar).

[Lowbar]

Yeah...I was referring to the one in Fair Lakes, which has the buffet. I was not intending to suggest that this was great sushi, just better quality than Todai in my experience with other Todai locations. Limited options and nothing fancy but at least the fish is always fresh. They will also make stuff to order for buffet customers upon request at no additional charge...possibly just for people they know. Usually I only go there when I have to be in and out in less than 30 so I don't screw around what that sort of stuff.

I didn't even know they had a la carte ordering there...I was just saying that in general with sushi you are almost always going to do better somewhere that focuses on a la carte service than one that does a buffet...but if you want a buffet and you're in the Fair Oaks area I suggest Arrigato over Todai. However, Todai will offer a broader selection.

Let's put it this way...I usually work in easy walking distance from Arrigato Fair lakes and probably wouldn't go there if not for the convenience and the fact that I'm usually in a hurry at lunch. I likely wouldn't go to Todai if I worked next door as long as there were other eating options in range.

In a perfect world I would beam over to Sushi King or Sushi Sono in Columbia which are, in my sure-to-be unpopular opinion, superior to just about anything in NoVA/DC. My favorite place in NoVA recently has been Ichiban, though it is not very convenient and I don't get there much.

[Chownut]

Good lord.....first you talk about Fair Lakes, and then somehow two joints in Columbia come into the equation. :D Just worlds apart, but only in a perfect world as you say.

[biscuit]

Went there once and it was god-awful. Didn't taste fresh and the whole place had an assembly line feel to it. This place is Anti-Chowhound.

Go to Sweet Ginger over in Vienna instead.

[Lowbar]

For a better quality sushi buffet in that immediate area try Arrigato. Still not as good as you're going to do on an a la carte basis but good enough to be well worth a big $15 lunch.