Sapporo Sushi & Steak House

I would give this place negative stars if I could. Half price sushi = half quality sushi. I went there 3 times and got food poisoning all 3 times! Plus the half price sushi is not really half price. First it is overpriced, then you have to add .50 cents to each roll and you have to order at least $ 10 per person. Then only some rolls are «half priced.» The quality is also NO good!
The service — negative stars. I’ve sat at the sushi bar and never even recieved water or drinks from the waitress. The only thing she gave me was the bill. She barely even spoke English. The manager (who always wears a cheesy bow-​tie and looks very funny) is rude and doesn’t value anybody’s business. He just thinks that all the college kids will keep coming. I live across the street and came in 3 times in 2 weeks and he still treated me like dogsh*t.
If you walk by this place on any night that is not half price sushi, it is empty — that tells you a lot!
AVOID THIS PLACE — YOU WILL GET SICK!

This is the closest Japanese Steak House available around Rutgers campus in New Brunswick. It is a large venue that can hold large parties to small get together. It is decorated in some Asian style, a mix between Chinese and Japanese.
The manager is nice at the restaurant. The owners are understanding and helpful. Unfortunately, this is because the restaurant employees mess up a lot. The hibachi chef set a lady’s hair on fire once when I was there. The other lady that was on the table fell backwards to evade the flames. Another time, the waiter screwed up the order, and the table had to wait a long time to get their food. The other time, a hot shrimp from another table ended up at my face.
The food is not that spectacular either. For the quality it gives, it’s over priced. Way over priced. The sushi and sashimi do not taste all that fresh to me. At times, it comes way to cold, and it does not give that «melt in your mouth» feeling. When it doesn’t, it’s because either the fish quality is bad, too old, no fish fat, or it’s been frozen in the restaurant. What you must avoid is if the sushi or sashimi smells like a fish market. Other «hot» food were ok at best. It’s bad when your fried rice is your best meal in the restaurant.
Overall, I went here multiple times to give a benefit of the doubt, but every time I went, I ran into a lot adverse situations for the restaurant. I would not recommend anyone to this restaurant for any purposes. If you are desperate for food, then yes, go ahead, but if you have other choices, I would choose other locations.
In contrast, if you would like get your date get set on fire or get hit by a flaming hot shrimp on the face, then yes, take the person here.

Only plus: Manager was super friendly and helpful, especially with keeping my friend’s kid entertained (if not fed, see below).
Gruh?: Happened to be half-​price sushi night, but apparently it only applies to a subset of the sushi options…
Minuses: Waitstaff was pretty disaffected, slow, or just really didn’t want to be there. Some of the food gave the same impression. Tuna rolls tasted off… pretty disappointing and awkward all around.

Very good Hibachi vegetables, completely vegetarian, with miso soup and tofu!

This is by far one of my favorite restaurants on George Street. I love the ambiance and appreciate the fact that this place doesn’t get as loud and as crowded as all the other New Brunswick restaurants. It’s a fantastic place for taking either a large group of friends, but there are a lot of seating options for more intimate dining (my boyfriend and I come here often on date nights).
As far as the food goes, I frequently eat sushi in places around the New York-​New Jersey-​Philadelphia area, and Sapporo’s sushi is by far one of the best. Fresh ingredients, great presentation, and I love the new additions to the menu. The amount of choices surpasses most sushi places I’ve been to, so no matter how often I eat here, I can try something new every time.
I took a group of friends there last night, and they loved the sushi so much, they ordered about four rounds of it. Wayne, the owner, was so nice, and our waitress was great.
From experience, I highly recommend the hibachi as well. The salad and miso soup that come free with the meal are some of the best I’ve tasted, and the hibachi chefs have a lot of personality and humor. Tip for the folks who’ve written negative reviews about their hibachi experience — the chefs are only going to be as fun as YOU are. So if you show up and are unenthused or in a sour mood, don’t expect the chef to be peppy in an attempt to cheer you up. They’re CHEFS, not CLOWNS.
Bring a big appetite and a positive attitude, and bon apetit!

The food is mediocre, but super-​expensive, definitely out of a college student’s budget, but it’s centrally located in downtown New Brunswick. The décor is okay, doesn’t do anything to my mood. Don’t get their hibachi or their sushi, rip-​offs! Their wait staff is also very slow & don’t seem to care much about the customers.
Other than their prime downtown NB location, there really aren’t any highlights to coming here.

They offer ½ off dinner on Wednesday and Thursday. The manager is really nice. Sometimes the wait staff can be slow but the food is good.

One of my worst sushi experiences ever. Probably in contention for THE WORST dining experience ever and let me tell you why.
ONE. came in during lunch time, and you’d think being in the center of corporate filled new brunswick, they would have their act together to accommodate for typical business style lunch. However, it took them too long to seat us. Too long to take our order. And even longer to serve our food. We were the only ones in there and the service was about as fast as a
TWO… The place looks a little worse for the wear. They seemed more like a hole in the wall chinese restaurant than a slick japanese restaurant. Ratty carpets and dank lighting just made for a depressing ambiance all around.
THREE. and possibly the worst of all… terrible sushi (food in general). I’m not sure what they brought to me, but it sure wasn’t anything that I would consider sushi. They should tell you that the half off prices meant that they would also shrink the portion sizes in half as well. The bento boxes that my friends ordered weren’t any better with just a soggy mish mash of what looked like japanese food.
There are very few places I dislike more than Sapporo in New Brunswick. It’s funny though because the Sapporo in Milburn (don’t know if they are affiliated) is the complete opposite offering quality food and reasonable prices. I don’t know where you went wrong Sapporo-​NB but you can learn a thing or two from Sapporo-​Milburn
THREE STRIKES AND YOURE OUT!

I think I was just punk’d there. What they just served me was definitely not sushi. I should have taken a picture of what I ate because it was really funny and sad what I was served. The fish was not cut properly. It was shaped like cutting a piece of steak. The roll I had the rice falling off the outside and showed more seaweed than rice. The rice was basically just a handful of rice plopped underneath the fish. It was not sushi rice either. The fish had no flavor at all what so ever and was definitely frozen. I would never go back here. This is quite possibly the worst sushi I have ever had including supermarket sushi.

The place is a little on the pricier side, but they do try to step it up with the interior design, wait staff, etc. I believe they still do half off sushi on Wednesday nights which is worth going to if you’re in the mood for sushi. Although I think U-Yee’s has a better selection for half off sushi.

Good if you are in the mood for basic old school style sushi or hibachi. I like the Christmas roll. Prices are very reasonable, and most rolls are half price on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Friendly and fast service… sometimes too fast.

Visited Sapporo before a show at the State Theater (on a Saturday evening). Restaurant was practically empty — other than us a guy sitting alone with his laptop at another table.
Waitstaff was friendly and attentive — as it should be as there was no one else in the restaurant. Décor was nice. Simple — not overwhelming.
I ordered Beef Teriyaki and my boyfriend ordered chicken teriyaki. Nice portion — nothing overwhelming. Plates were sizzling hot.
Entrée came with soup and salad. Soup was a miso broth with scallions and small pieces of tofu. Tasty. Salad was typical plain greens with a thick savory ginger dressing.
Entrée was served with a small bowl of white sticky rice. On my plate was a single broccoli floret and raw tomato slices that were soggy from the sauce and heat.
Food was good — nothing spectacular. If I remember correctly our entrees were $ 13 or $ 14 each.
Would I go back, probably not — but if I’m going to see a show at the State Theater or Stress Factory — I might.

TERRIBLE. One of the worst dining experiences ever.
A group of 4 of us chose to try the Hibachi at Sapporo. We didn’t have a reservation but upon arrival at 7:30, they said we would be sat at 8:00 which is completely understandable for a Saturday night. We had beer and 2 sushi rolls at the bar up front. The sushi was okay at best. There was no bartender on staff — an older woman, who appeared to possibly be the owner, served us our drinks and left.
We were finally seated around 8:30 — 8:45 at a table with 2 other groups of 4. There are 3 Hibachi tables that seat 16 at Sapporo. When we were sat, there was 1 table completely full of college age students. They looked to be enjoying drinks for the most part. Around 9:15, that table’s hibachi chef finally came from the kitchen. There was an applause coming from that table when he arrived — I assume they waited for a long time. I should mention that when we sat at our table around 8:30 — 8:45, it took a solid 15 minutes for a server to greet the entire table and take drink orders. It took so long to place the order and receive the drinks that the ongoing joke at the table was order your next round when you receive the first.
We watched the other hibachi table as the chef did his magic and cooked… still no chef at our table and it is about 9:30 at this point. (Saturday night mind you). Around 9:45 we received soup and salad that came with our entrees. The salad dressing was terrible. The miso soup was actually pretty good — had a spicy twist to it. During the entire time at the table, our server rarely spoke and was rarely at the table. THE SERVICE WAS HORRIBLE. It may have been around 10:00 that our chef finally showed up to the table… this was after contemplating leaving and finding somewhere else to eat. It was turning into such a comical event due to how bad the service was that we decided to just ride it out. Our chef was friendly and did a great job cooking the meal. Surprisingly the chef was the same one from the first table we saw. He spoke broken English but told us that he is the only hibachi chef at Sapporo and there is one other chef that caters to the restaurant portion of Sapporo. The entire hibachi meal tasted good (average) and was prepared as expected. It’s unfortunate that there was a lack of management and a lack of good customer service.
It’s likely that the only reason this place stay’s alive is serving college students alcohol. It was apparent that this was the place to go if you couldn’t get into a real bar.
This was a quick summary of a terrible dining experience. I don’t recommend going here for any reason.

Went here for dinner on Friday not really set on what to eat. From the outside the place looks super empty, but in the back room there were other diners. It was an ok choice, since I was sort of craving sushi at that time.
The service was good, and our food came out pretty quickly. My SO and I decided to split two rolls and an appetizer. The tuna tataki was pretty good, and the rolls (brunswick roll and sweet potato) were ok, i’ve definitely have had better sushi elsewhere, but it was good for what it is. The waitstaff was pretty attentive except when the one waitress went to take the plate away and let the left over soy sauce spill on the placement in front of my SO. oh well, as long as it didn’t land on him!
Can’t say much for the hibachi since I didn’t even know where they would have it in the restaurant, since the front is a bar and I didn’t see any other parts of the restaurant, unless it’s further back. The décor is ok, the main dining room is nicely lit.
If you’re looking for good sushi, I would suggest looking else where, but if yuo’re hungry and can’t seem to find/​agree to a place to eat, at least you’ll be able to get a table at Sapporo.

It’s as underwhelming as others have said. My wife and I went to have hibachi before a comedy show at the Stress Factory on a Wednesday night. We were the only ones there. Most of the restaurant was dead. Granted, it was midweek… but wow.
The hibachi room was a bit shoddy and looked like it needed some TLC. (And we both totally agree re: the lighting – dimmer would have been better.) There was no music – just the hum of exhaust fans and chattering staff. We felt like we were in the Phantom Zone.
The chef did the Traditional Hibachi Chef Stuff. Flipping the egg around with the spatula, the onion volcano, etc. etc. However, he asked if we liked garlic. We said yes. I was expecting some delicious garlic for dipping. (Shogun 27 does this – nom nom nom.) Well, it didn’t happen. He didn’t even put that much in the food. I mean, if you’re not going to use a lot of garlic, why ask? On top of that, the food lacked seasoning. Nothing was overcooked… but everything was meh.
This was the first and last time we go there. It wasn’t An Awful Experience™, but it wasn’t anything to talk about. There are plenty of other hibachi joints in the area. But at least we got our Entertainment discount…

Eh, it’s okay. I’ve been here for both sushi and also the hibachi. You can get EXCELLENT sushi down the street in Highland Park (Midori Sushi is the name).
The hibachi is fun and entertaining and doesn’t have alot of hibachi selection. If I remember correctly, just chicken, steak, or shrimp. It’s always the same old tricks.

This place is still open?! I didn’t think it’d be possible… with horrid food and service this place is anything BUT Japanese. Please, if you love life, or just good food… spare yourselves. You’re better off at Burger King next door.

We wandered in here since we were craving sushi and did not know any sushi places around. Average sushi… nothing great. The waitstaff was nice and effecient. The price is resonable but given a choice, I would pass on it.
Now only, if I could find a great sushi place in Central Jersey!!!

The half price sushi on Tuesdays and Wednesdays is fantastic. The owners are really nice and the waitresses are prompt. If you like Philly rolls, they have the best (biggest). The Crunchy and Spicy Rolls are also a hit.

A place named after Japan’s number 1 American beer!!! I’m there!
This place would be pretty easy to miss (the entrance is rather cramped) were it not for the neon SAPPORO sign overhead. Despite the small entrance, it really does sprawl into a rather spacious dining area and sushi bar.
The sushi was pretty good — nothing out of the ordinary — but certainly worth a taste. The waitstaff were nice and efficient. The food is reasonably priced, a maki combo with miso soup and a salad will run you around $ 15.
The lighting could be a little darker.