Tokyo Marina

I was so sad when Tokyo Marina closed. I’ve been going here for years, and the food was very consistent, fresh, reasonably priced, and delicious. To. Die. For. One of the most friendly staff for a sushi place in the city. Sorry to see you go, but thanks for the memories!!! RIP, Tokyo Marina… Your work is done…

I have been going here ever since I was a little girl! Oh, Tokyo Marina, I know it’s too late, but give your favorite customer a chance.
BEST RICE EVER.
BEST GYOZA EVER.
BEST EDAMAME EVER.
And last but not least…
The tuna tempura.
And now you are closed. Forever, turning into a Halloween store! Suddenly, stuffing my childish self with candy doesn’t seem so fun.

Bad service, no ppl came to ask how was everything actually we needed more tea and in the end we needed to go to the front desk to ask the bill, all in all no ppl around us and do service.

I’m a little surprised by the high ratings for this place. The sushi was mushy and not fresh. The service was good. I don’t often leave a sushi place with food left over, but I simply couldn’t finish it. Do yourself a favor, walk up the street to Ora.

Tokyo Marina is a good, inexpensive go-​to spot in Andersonville.
Their sushi is not the best I’ve ever had but it’s not crazy expensive so it’s sort of a compromise. In the mood for sushi but not in the mood to spend $ 100. You have to sacrifice maybe some creativity and flavor but you still get good-​enough sushi that doesn’t make you sick and can satisfy a craving.
Their menu is large and they have plenty more than sushi. They have damn good Tonkatsu. Reallllll good. Considering they have delicious Tonkatsu they naturally do a good Tonkatsu bowl, that being the katsu served over egg/​soysauce/​rice something or other. It’s freakin great.
A variety of udons and soups to cure a cold or warm you up on a typically terrible winter eve. Don’t forget the hot sake.
Very good miso soup comes with about everything you order. Incredibly friendly staff, big restaurant with a lot of tables, good for parties. Tokyo Marina is a nice, inexpensive friendly restaurant. It’s not high end dining but good food that doesn’t break the bank is what I’m talking about.

Came in for a late lunch. Was seated immediately. It was a warm and welcoming atmosphere. My friend and I split the seaweed salad and their sushi combo. Both were authentic and delicious. The prices are great. I’ve definitely found a great new spot to come for a relaxed meal with friends.

I have been in search of a Yoshinoya Beef Bowl (a chain in the L.A. area) for some good Gyudon — a variation of sukiyaki. It is a simple dish; just thinly sliced marinated beef over Jasmine rice — sometimes with veggies. I took a chance and ordered the «beef bowl» from Tokyo Marina — which is quite good — just not quite what I had in mind. But as a teriyaki dish, it was good. I should have known better because teriyaki is traditionally sweeter than a traditional beef bowl — but the picture they had on the website looked like it could be it. What arrived didn’t look at all like the picture — the rice was in a separate cup, the sauce separate and the marinated beef in yet another container. Actually, this packing method works very well for leftovers. Here is what else I ordered:
The Beef Bowl combo included Maki, which was fresh and nicely prepared
Egg rolls were okay, but not worth $ 4 for just two of them
Pork Fried Rice — very good. Not too salty and tasted fresh. Large portion — but still seemed a bit overpriced.
My search for Gyudon continues — and I will wind up preparing it myself — unless I am fortunate enough to move where they have it. I’d order again from Tokyo Marina — especially for the sushi.

Had a wicked taste for ramen, so we decided to try this place. The ramen was ok although the broth was slightly bland and the noodles were mushy (almost the consistency of instant ramen…)

I love Tokyo Marina, but a lot of it is nostalgia from intimate times with friends and my significant other.
The service has always been great, the sushi delicious and the chicken katsu rocks. The thing I love about Tokyo Marina the most is that they have real ramen. Apart from the suburbs, there is no other Japanese restaurant that I’ve been to in Chicago that has real ramen noodles.
This ramen is not your college staple food with the processed noodles and flavor in a packet with enough sodium to kill a blue whale, this is amazing fresh noodles with fresh vegetables and other fresh ingredients in an amazing broth. You’ll never look at ramen noodles the same way after you have the real thing!

My mom introduced to me this place while I was hospitalized for a couple weeks in June. One day, she was spending the afternoon in the city with a friend. On their way back home, they stopped by my room with an order of Oyako Donburi. It’s on their lunch menu so it was cold by the time I received it. That didn’t matter. I liked it so much, I wanted to have it again the following day.
It didn’t take much convincing or nagging to have my mom and her friend bring my boyfriend and me dinner. She spoke so highly of this place, it was obvious they had become regulars. We began to look forward to her visits and couldn’t wait to see what would be in the bag!
Sadly, after I was discharged, I had forgotten all about this place. As luck would have it, Christmas Eve modified my appointment times at RIC from noon — 5p to 8a — noon. My boyfriend agreed to pick me up as long as we could eat Japanese food and sushi for lunch. I agreed and immediately sent a text to my mom asking her about this restaurant.
We jumped on LSD and were there in less than 15 minutes with parking right out front. Once inside, you can tell this place has been in business for a very long time.
We tried the Takoyaki Broiled Rice Balls. Of the five that came on the plate, I was only able to eat one. They looked like testicles and a bit too gooey for my taste. He loved them so it’s a matter of personal opinion.
He ordered the 12pc Maguro Sashimi that is garnished with plenty of daikon. The tuna had a nice length and girth to each piece. Miso soup and a side dish of steamed white rice accompany the lunch platter.
This was my first experience having the Oyako Donburi served hot. Now, I’m able to say with confidence, this is the BEST Oyako Donburi I’ve ever had,
It also confirms the impression I have had about dark chicken meat lately. It’s an American thing to eat white meat and we’re pushed to eat it like dark meat is poisonous. We don’t talk about dark meat and it’s hardly ever offered or advertised.
I haven’t been able to draw any conclusion as to how this might contribute to the obesity in America; BUT, since I see more Asians (Chinese, Koreans and Japanese to be specific) are naturally thinner, it must be from eating dark chicken meat and drinking green tea. I could be wrong but I’m going to be mindful and watchful for any differences. I’ll keep you posted!

Rolls arrive fast and fresh. The tempura is light and crispy. I like the miso soup but I havent tried the other appetizers.
Waitstaff and chefs are very nice and the place is spotless.
Overall the flavors are good, not great. I would give another star if the recipes were more creative.

I stopped in for a casual Wednesday night dinner close to home a while back. Service was sloooooow but there was only one waitress for all eight to ten tables.
I normally love a seaweed salad as something that is always the same but their version was salty and overdressed. However, the negi hamachi maki was very solid and the fried calamari downright excellent.
Based on the service experience, I decided that this was a good takeout spot for week-​night dinners or for lunches when I am working from home. Later visits have shown me the same frustrating scene as that first time – too many tables being served by a single, harried waitress. Several customers had that impatient, exasperated look on their faces, as they sat with empty plates and no check or with menus flat on the tables waiting to order. Stick to takeout, folks.
So anyway, I have subsequently tried several other maki, including the Mexican, spicy scallop, and shitake (all B+), and Philly and oshinko (both B). You get a lot of bang for your buck: these come as either eight– or ten-​piece rolls. Even when hungry, two is enough for a filling meal.
The maki menu seems overly reliant on mayonnaise, which is a big turnoff. But you can request them to skip the mayo, which they do without complaint.

Good Sakis
Good Soups
Good Sushis
Thank You

I give it three stars in the utmost respect, if that makes any sense. The food was solid, especially my short-​ribs and chicken teriyaki dish. The sauce was savory, but not thick, and I kind of liked that. I also tried new sushi while I was there, one with squid, and one with scallop. I liked the squid, but I found raw scallop to be a bit odd for my palate.
The service left a lot to be desired, needless to say. Overall though, the food didn’t wow me in anyway. But I felt like I had eaten a good meal, nonetheless. I will probably be going back, especially considering it’s a stone’s throw away from my apartment.

A friend and I met here for dinner. Very cozy spot, so don’t think you are going to have any private conversations. The tables are placed pretty closed together and its pretty popular since the price is reasonable for the area, food you get, and it being a BYOB.
We ordered the miso soup (which was not spicy as I was led to believe *sad face*) and my friend had the seaweed salad that she said was great. Totally unfortunate I cannot remember all the rolls I had, but we had one on their «special» list not on the menu — the Tequila Roll and it was fantastic. Ask them if they still have it and let me know what you think.
I posted a pic of the goodness. Definitely would come back with bottles in tow!

Nothing like an afternoon on the hunt for some food. With Unilocal on the cell phone, I looked for something in the Andersonville neighbourhood, where I had been visiting with a friend at a local coffee shop. There were listings for a few Japanese restaurants, many that opened at 5:00 PM. Tokyo Marina was only a short distance from where I was, so I headed down the street to my destination.
Soft shell crab maki. Spicy ebi maki. Sloppy maki.
Those Mexicans must have trained in Tokyo with some sushi chefs because they decked my plate out with nothing but goodness. I think it helped that the ingredients were fresh. I may not frequent Andersonvillle that often, but I will make Tokyo Marina Japanese Cuisine my destination when I am in the area.

We stopped by late on a Saturday evening, for a cheap, yet filling meal for four. Parking was available out back, in a small, dark, fenced lot behind the restaurant.
The sushi platters were satisfying although more focused on the basics, rather than fancy foo foo presentation. The tempura was wonderfully crunchy, well made, and as bland as proper tempura should be! The teriyaki… not so much. I do not recommend it.
If you are tall like me, watch the low ceiling over the sushi bar. I narrowly avoided the unexpected gift of a concussion.

Went here for lunch to celebrate a birthday and it was a-​ok. Nothing special. I ordered the Box 2 — their special of tempura, chicken teryaki, eggroll, soup, rice, and California roll. It was nice that they allowed me to switch the eggroll for gyozas and the California Roll for a Spicy Tuna Roll with no extra charge.
However, our rice was brought out way before our food so it got cold and nothing in my box was fresh/​hot. Everything was cool, but the amount of food I got was a lot. Definitely good for 2 people if you’re not all that hungry. Overall, it wasn’t worth the $ 20.

Now I’m part of that lovely group of folks seeking employment in what folks are calling the «Great Recession.» Sounds serious to me!!! So when I want to still feel I have some sort of life by making my dollars stretch like a contortionist in a circus I look for places like Tokyo Marina.
I heart sushi… I always feel like I’m eating pretty fresh food that is good for you. Tokyo Marina sits on the edge of the main strip in Andersonville and though we have several sushi places, this seems to be the cheapest in the area.
Décor of this place is simple, if not dated, but that doesn’t take away from the friendly greeting I received when I walked in… even by myself.
The menu provides a little of everything and while perusing the menu the server brought a small salad and hot tea. I ordered 3 rolls (1 tuna, 1 eel, and 1 veggie) and a beer. I was then brought Miso soup… so far my dollar is getting a good workout and value is piling up at Tokyo Marina.
The sushi was good, held up well and was tasty. I wasn’t aware of the extras I was going to receive, so by the time I finished eating I was past full, but with a bill under $ 15 was also happy that I found a nice little inexpensive sushi place to keep me in the world of the working (plus I couldn’t make sushi at home if my dear life depended upon it!!!)
I know we are far for most folks, but trust me, visit Andersonville and Tokyo Marina and you’ll have a good time between eating good inexpensive food and fun window shopping.

One of the few «old school» Japanese restaurants around. The food reminds me of my grandmother’s cooking… meaning, it’s like home-​cooked, comfort food that’s been passed down for decades. Quality wise, it’s questionable, and it might not impress a whole lot of people… but I’m going back for sure.
On a personal level, I like the fact that…
1) tempura is spelled «tenpura»
2) they serve genmai cha (rice tea) in a kettle per table — without you having to ask first
3) they use sweet Japanese mayo in their sushi rolls
4) their teriyaki sauce is not the Americanized version, but light and subtle in taste
5) their yasai-​itame (stir fried veggies) reminds me of my childhood
6) they serve several kinds of «nabe» — chiri nabe, kani nabe, etc (I have yet to try these)
The food is decent. The spicy tuna rolls were pretty good. I got the small chirashi that was served super fast, like within minutes, and it made me wonder whether the slices were precut? That would be very sad. Sashimi didn’t taste all that fresh — still a little slushy for not being completely thawed. The sushi (the actual rice) was nicely sweet, though…
Chicken & beef teriyaki combo was surprisingly tasty. We normally don’t order teriyaki at a Japanese restaurant, but this time we made an exception… and glad we did! We had asked them to go «easy on the sauce» assuming that they’d pour one of those infamous bottled teriyaki sauces on top (like how many places do), but they apparently don’t do that here. We got the gomae and agedashi tofu recently. Gomae was a little too sweet, and agedashi tofu was a bit tasteless and lacked the crispiness.
PRICES: So affordable… can’t emphasize this enough
SERVICE: quick and attentive
PARKING: there’s a small lot in the back for 8 cars only
HOURS: Open daily. Unlike other Japanese restaurants, they’re open for lunch on Sundays!