SATO

Great spot for lunch. Ramen as a dinner doesn’t do it for me, but on a cold week day afternoon, it’s perfect. The $ 8.99 lunch specials are a bargain, and will fill you up. Definitely go for the spicy ramen, then use the pepper tray to add some various flavors of heat.
The Elmwood location has more space and a slightly higher-​end feel that the UB South location, but the food is just as good. I like that they use seasonal vegetables rather that using the same frozen produce year round (at least that’s what I was told and the food itself seemed to agree).
One word of warning: be careful as the floor is slippery. For whatever reason, the tile they used is much more slippery than most, and if you’re walking in out of the snow, that little bit of wetness might mean you bite it.

Went in on a Sunday night and got the Spicy Miso Ramen this time. Amazing. The dish was flavorful and warming on a chilly night. We had average service and are looking forward to returning. Cheers for the Spicy Miso Ramen!

Really great food. Servers are excellent and even though we’ve had a problem every time we’ve ordered with orders being forgotten they have taken a discount off our bill so I can’t complain. Go with the spicy ramen over the plain as the plain is a bit too bland. Their okonomiyaki fries are so tasty and a great starter as well as the mushrooms they offer.

I don’t know why I waited so long to check out SATO! Super interesting drinks and great variety on the menu. I’m a vegetarian, and they were ok with my request of adding the «spicy» element to the vegetable ramen dish. It was such a great meal — filling and perfect for a cold day. Wait staff was super kind and accommodating. Highly recommended!

Got the Large SATO Ramen, spicy tuna roll and the eel nagoya roll. It was very good! Tuna was a great quality and although Im not normally a fan of sushi rolls with the rice on the onside, I did not mind one bit in this case! I got the extra noodles in my Ramen and my belly is HAPPY!!!

Absolutely delicious and fun. Back patio outside is nice and rarely full. The sushi is excellent and the ramen bowls are interesting enough to at least give a try. Their ice cream desert is so cool. This restaurant absolutely delivers a unique experience.

I’m really trying hard not to be biased because I hate peanuts… but here goes. The ambiance was great here. Classy, quiet, and clean. I came here with my roommate from Japan to test it’s authenticity and they pass! Although some of their dishes are quite Americanized, this place seems to be the best place in Buffalo for authentic Japanese food.
I had the spring roll which was abnormally delicious. Usually these taste the same from place to place, but Sato has found the key ingredient to perfect it.
The Ramen was very filling, packed with vegetables in addition to the noodles. I was afraid the dish would be unhealthy but it seemed very nutrious. Flavor wise, idk why it smelled and tasted so much like peanuts, perhaps they used peanut oil, but it really ruined the whole dish for me. Next time I will just try another dish!

My boyfriend took me here for a birthday lunch and I have to admit, the décor is gorgeous! So why the four stars? The ramen. I ordered the shio butter ramen with chasu pork. Now the chasu, perfect, the noodles and soup were a different story. They were pretty… soft. Ramen should have more on an «al dente» texture. The soup, I feel like it was missing something.
But aside of that, service was great, dessert was superb.

As I walked into this restaurant the ambience was amazing very dim but very pretty. I order the Shio Butter Ramen and it was pretty good. The soup was very flavorful and went really well with the ingredients in bowl. The only reason I gave this a 4 out of 5 is because of the delay in service. It was not very busy maybe 5 out of all there tables were occupied. Things that we requested like straws and ice water took about ten minutes for them come back with them. Waiters and waitresses looked as if they were rushed but very friendly.

The place is still very nice. They extend their lunch special to include Saturdays until 3pm. Ordered the Sato ramen this time. The broth was not overly salted and tasted very rich.

Everyone in Elmwood Village seems to love this spot. I’m not as charmed. However, I will say that my last review was a little reactionary and possibly even unfair. I’ve given Sato a couple more shots and had better experiences.
Most recently, I really enjoyed the vegetable curry dish. It was a pretty large serving and even made good leftovers. Others in my party that day enjoyed their ramen. Unfortunately, odd service once again kept the experience from being really good. We were rushed and at the same time somewhat neglected.
I would especially recommend visiting Sato if it’s warm and you can sit outside. They really do have a prime location in be heart of Elmwood. To be honest, I’ll probably continue to give this place a shot once in a while. Others love it and geographically, it just can’t be beat.

Spicy Ramen Noodle Bowl! Oh, yum. Get it if you like a little zing. I ordered the large… And large it was! Some nice veggie options on the menu too.
The hubby tried some hot apple cider bourbon drink that he enjoyed… Perfect for fall.
The service was good. The atmosphere had a nice loud but not overwhelming loud noise level (we were here on a busy Saturday night).
I heard the patio out back is great but I didn’t realize they put one in until after we were seated. I’ll just have to come back and try it out… And when I do, I’ll get the spicy Ramen again :-)

I had SATO on my list ever since it caught my eye when I first started becoming a regular in Elmwood. I just never got a chance to dine here. Finally, a couple of colleagues from work wanted to check it out after happy hour one fine Friday evening.
The menu looked fantastic and we were hungry too but we decided to not get ahead of ourselves and order too much only to have the rug pulled out from underneath us. I’m a master at that. But needless to say, our taste buds were in wonderland. Their ramen bowl was super delicious and my colleagues both ordered the tuna tar tar and we split sushi and a bunch of appetizers amongst us. We were not disappointed.
The chefs really know what they’re doing and it was evident on our tongues. It was SO good, I left my dignity aside, picked up the bowl and slurped the last drop of soup into my mouth.
Seriously, seriously good food!

Came in for some drinks and was pleasantly surprised. There was a new bartender believe the name was Kevin, what a gem! He was super friendly gave us a great recommendation for sangria. Kept casual conversation during our time at the bar and even allowed us to sample some of their special beer.
He was very educated on the IPA he had us try and just overall very welcoming. Haven’t tried the food their yet, but with service like that, I plan on making a second visit or two!

I really never had Japanese food before, at least not the good kind! I sat outside to have dinner on a warm summer night. The patio chairs kinda suck and the table was wobbly. But that’s the worst of my gripes.
We ordered pork dumplings which were good. I wasn’t liking the sauce they served with it. I tried the white sangria which was amazing. The pears in it were so soaked they tasted like straight alcohol.
I got the small order of Spicy Miso Ramen. It was really amazing! I don’t usually get noodle dishes because I don’t eat a lot of pasta in one sitting. The noodles were cooked perfectly and the broth was very flavorful. Spicy but not burn your mouth off. I don’t know how the eel tacos were (icky!) but my BF said they were good, just not filling.

SATO has gradually become one of my favorite places for a nice dinner outing with friends. Interior wise, as mentioned in my review below… it’s a nice place — casual, but also nice enough to dress up for a date.
Since my last review, they’ve added an outdoor patio in the back (not the one in front of Elmwood) which I really like. Each table has an umbrella and it’s a very nice and comfortable patio to dine outside. My last two meals there have been outside and I’ve really come to love their patio.
Some of my favorite things on the menu? The chirashi (with ikura) and the Ramen. For the longest time I couldn’t decide if I liked SATO’s ramen. The flavors were just not bold enough for my personal taste, but after they’ve started making their own noodles instead of importing them from NYC; I’m now sold on it. Not to mention, they’ve been experimenting with different weird off-​beat flavors (like the Buffalo chicken Ramen) and I would encourage them to keep at it! I tried this past Sunday and loved the weirdness of the dish. Ramen meets chicken noodle soup meets deep fried Buffalo chicken wings. Somehow, it worked.
The service has always been pretty good when I’ve come in here. The desserts are always so, so delicious and I encourage you to save some room and make sure you order some when you come here! They are opening up another location near University Heights which will mostly cater to Univ students. It’s focus will be more on Ramen and it’s rumored the price point will be lower.
I hope they keep it up. It’s about time we got some decent Ramen in Buffalo.

I thoroughly enjoyed my meal at SATO. I went with two friends from school. We ordered a bunch of appetizers and split them between the three of us. I especially enjoyed the Ramen bowl.
We also each ordered a flight of Sake. All three samples were delicious, and very different from one another!
The atmosphere at SATO is great for catching up with friends. Service is quick and the restaurant noise level is quieter than average.

It was my first time coming to Sato and I must say this place has won my taste buds.
I came here for lunch with my family and the restaurant wasn’t too busy. It didn’t take too long for us to get seated.
The seating area on the first floor was somehow small, but the layout on the second floor was spacious enough to seat a party of six. I loved the atmosphere and the décor with monochromatic grey color throughout the restaurant. Very modern and sophisticated.
Our waitress was very attentive, helpful, and she made sure our glasses were always full.
For appetizers, we ordered Agedashi Dofu, which was fried silk tofu with nori, green onion, and tamari-​ginger-​soy broth. The tofu was enjoyable, seasoned well and tasted great with the soy broth.
Since we came here for ramen, we ordered off the lunch special. It was $ 8 for small and $ 10.50 for large ramen. You can order additional toppings such as chasiu pork, boiled eggs, mushroom, or noodles, etc. into your ramen.
We tried Sato Ramen, a delicious house made ramen noodle in pork broth with chasiu pork, pickled ginger, green onion, bean sprout, and marinated boiled egg. The broth was tasty, not too salty, and the noodle was cooked perfectly. I really enjoyed the dish from the first to the last bite.
We also ordered Spicy Miso, a heartwarming ramen noodle soup with miso based broth, green onion, bean sprout and marinated egg. The noodle tasted amazing and the miso broth was excellent.
Moreover, we tried the sushi special ($ 12 for sushi with miso soup) which was single tuna roll and hamachi roll. The sushi was plain and fresh, just the way I like it.
They also have kids menu for $ 5, it came with miso soup and drink. My son ordered purple heirloom rice with yukari (rice seasoning) which was great as well.
I was pleased with Sato. Great service, nice dining area, and the restroom is clean! The price is pretty pricey for Japanese food, which was to be expected. I would come back to try their sake and sashimi (or for more ramen).

We have been here three times in the past month, so You already know I have good things to say about Sato!
Good food and service (for the most part). Waiters were knowledgable, but some weren’t attentive even after I’ve mentioned that we were in a rush one time. Cool décor — fresh flower on the tables. Nice cold beers. Had Sapporo and Kirin on tap, among others.
We usually get the lunch special ramen set. You get a small ramen plus either gyoza or spring rolls, both of which are excellent. We have tried different soup bases and think the original SATO one (I think they renamed it now but it’s the first one on the menu) is the best. We also add extras to ours such bok Choy, scallions, bean sprouts… etc. we have also ordered some rolls before — they were good but definitely pricey considering the amount you get. I’m picky with sashimi but not so much sushi rolls so I tend to not be willing to pay over $ 10 for one small roll (unless it had like lobster in it).
Overall, very happy that SATO opened up in our neighborhood and will definitely be returning. I just returned from a trip to Tokyo recently so perhaps I will order some other dishes and see how they compare!

I was literally freezing my ears off (I think I had mild frostbite as my ear hurt to touch for 3 days afterwards) in –22 Celsius weather when I ran right into this Elmwood Asian-​fusion restaurant.
A solid choice for shoppers in the mood for a hot bowl of rameny goodness or some modern Japanese food with a trendy feel. The waitress was knowledgeable and answered my questions with willingness and a great attitude. She also pointed out that a small portion would not be enough alone for dinner– always helpful to know as I haven’t been accused of being a shy eater. I had the Shoyu Ramen which had a deep flavor and a marrowy broth base. The pork was thinly sliced and well marinated but slightly tougher and less browned than I’ve had previously.
The interior is very current, with two levels of seating, bright colors, and a neon-​on-​white old school disco floor around the bar area. As I was leaving I inquired about a cab and they were attentive enough to call one for me. SATO is a great Japanese place in a great area. I would definitely come back and try the sushi as I spied it on several plates across the table, causing major food envy. Also, they seem to have a good cocktail menu and happy hour so would be an excellent place for a introduction to a girls night out. However, on that frosty February evening, the ramen was just what I needed.