Amimoto Japanese Restaurant

Excellent sushi! Sometimes service can be slow. Do yourself a favor and try the mochi for desert.

Although the restaurant did not LOOK open on a Tuesday around 6:30, we were pleased to see another couple walk in in front of us. Upon entering, what a beautiful surprise! The décor is very tasteful and authentic! (I lived in Tokyo for 4 years) We were promptly seated, our waitress was busy helping the other 5 tables of guests, but was attentive and helped up promptly. The seaweed salad was DELICIOUS, not fishy at all, and the sushi rolls were fresh and flavorful. I was able to speak some Japanese with our native waitress as well. We were celebrating a birthday, and were given a surprise slice of cheesecake with a candle in it and serenaded with the birthday song. It was a very pleasant experience and I would recommend this restaurant to everyone! They are open VERY LIMITED hours, so try a weekday to keep your service faster!

This restaurant is the epitome of supply and demand. Nestled in the middle of Port Charlotte, Amimoto is probably the only Japanese Restaurant around. Because of this, everything is crazy expensive… and I mean crazy expensive. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Amimoto is very similar to any other Japanese Restaurant you’d find in any other city. The menu has it’s regular range of sashimi, rolls, dinner dishes, and what not. To me, it was pretty ordinary. The sushi itself was pretty fresh, so I don’t have many complaints. I ordered the Udon noodles with an Alaskan roll. The Udon noodles were pretty plain and simple. Nothing made them too special, but it wasn’t too bad either. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come with the side of soup and salad like the other entrees.
The service was fine. There were times when the server didn’t understand what was on the menu and exactly what we ordered. Even with the slight language barrier, I found our server to be quite helpful. However, the food took FOREVER to come out. If you’re thinking about grabbing a quick bite to eat, then think again. This takes place takes forever… like forever forever. We literally waited outside the restaurant for it to open and were the first ones in there. Even though we took these precautions, it still took over 45 minutes to get our food out.
Although we had several mishaps, the one thing that will move this location from a three star review to a two star review is that they wanted to charge us $ 5 to share a dish… Let me repeat that: $ 5 to share a dish. Is that a joke? Already overpriced sushi and you still have the nerve to ask for $ 5 for an extra plate? Yeah, I’m out.
tl;dr — Desperate for some Japanese food near Port Charlotte? Wait until you get home because Amimoto will be very disappointing.

no more takeout??? called this evening to get some sushi for my mother who is not able to get out and was told that they no longer do takeout VERY dissappointed indeed guess they dont care to make any money any more, because the place is too congested to have an enjoyable meal!

So I’m visiting from Des Moines Iowa and had to get my sushi fix. They did not disappoint. I shared 5 rolls with my boyfriend and my sister and her husband and kids. While i wouldn’t call this place necessarily kid friendly. we were not made to feel unwelcome. even though the older son of my sister’s kids was having one of his 2 year old meltdowns.
The sushi was fresh and carefully crafted. The warm saki also complimented the food very much. The best dragon roll I’ve ever had. I will go again!

What a great surprise. Haven’t had Japanese food of this quality since my frequent visits to a Japanese restaurant, in 7 Corners Mall Arlington, Va., many years ago.
Wife & I had the Shrimp Tempura platter. It was huge. Beside 3 large shrimp, there were about 4 vegetables. All tempura style.
Our friend had the lamb platter. 2 large chops. She said it was very tasty, but a bit hard to cut & chew.
All platters include a clear broth soup & a small salad.
Considering it’s in a small strip mall in the south end of Punta Gorda, the place was packed. Highly recommend making reservations.

If you want some truly fresh and well prepared sushi or sashimi this is the only place to go. I have been there three times in the last few months with friends and everyone was pleased. They serve a nice variety of fish and the portions are generous.
If you like grilled fish, try the escolar (butter fish) is truly wonderful. If you have never had it, you must try it either as sashimi or better yet grilled. It is a white fish with a high paraffin content that gives it a smooth texture. It is mild and the grilling brings out the flavor.
My wife isn’t a fish fan so she has the tempura. It is done nicely with a light batter, but even so tempura is never spectacular anywhere. On the negative side, once she ordered the chicken (she can eat it every day) and she was very disappointed. It was dry and tough. They must have had a bad day since everything else has been done perfectly. She won’t try it again, however.

Great to be back here for dinner after more than a decade. Same as always, exceptional sushi.

This place is awesome. I recommend it for great, fresh sushi and rolls. Probably the best in the area.

So glad to have found a good place nearby for sushi. Moving from a large city in the northeast we had awesome sushi. Amimoto delivers on par with many urban spots. I will bring guests and friends for sure!

OK… I read the reviews about how crowded it gets, and there’s only one sushi chef, and it takes a long time to get served… so, I went on a Thursday. A Thursday in early September when it was 90 out — and there’s no snowbirds coming down to Florida. And…
I sat at the sushi bar and was the only one there. I got served immediately with fresh sushi prepared with pride. I had a nice conversation with the sushi chef who has been doing this 20 years and takes quality over speed.
I tried spicy tuna nigiri, unagi, and a couple of rolls. All the ingredients where fresh. The waitress checked a couple times to make sure I was fine. I’d never had spicy tuna nigiri and it was a treat.
Prices were on the low side from my experience for this kind of food — of course I live in a much more populated and expensive area of the country.
Place is hard to find — in a quiet strip mall on the S side of Punta Gorda

Upon walking in, I was met with a folding Japanese barricade. It might as well have been a big stop sign. Problem with this sort of thing is that the staff can’t see you walk in, and you have to poke your head around the corner of the thing.
Slow service. Even slow to be seated. They only had one waiter working, and he was as attentive and meticulous as he could be.
We spent just minutes short of a whole hour before our three orders of sushi found our table. Others were having the same issue.
Although it lacked flavor, the sushi seemed rather fresh, but something on the plates had a very off-​putting odor, which I was unable to pinpoint. Nothing made us sick though, for which I was eternally thankful.

Outstanding! I was there a few days ago with friends. I’ve been wanting to try Amimoto for a while but just haven’t been able to make it there. The place was so good I’m hesitant to review it because I don’t want all the snowbirds going there when they get back. It’s a fairly small restaurant.
I started out with a squid salad as my appetizer. It was incredible. The squid had just the right bite to it and the light vinaigrette was tasty without being overpowering.
The sushi was off the hook good. Some of the very best I’ve eaten anywhere! We didn’t get any pics until we were about halfway through, so I won’t post those. I guess I’ll just have to go back and take photos.
I paid $ 40 for my whole dinner, which included the salad, lots of sushi, and sake. The $ 40 also included a generous tip for our server, Alex, and a tip for the sushi master.
Go to Amimoto, but don’t go too often — I don’t want it to be too crowded. ;-)

I’ve been coming here for many years and realize I’ve been remiss not posting earlier. Sorry Tony
I’ve been an avid sushi fan for many decades and this sushi rivals anyone, any place. Always perfect and spot on. Recently, I tried the cooked food just out of curiosity and guess what? It’s every bit as good as the sushi.
This is not a paid announcement; just a nod to a great place hidden away in a little strip mall. Yes, sometimes the service can be a little slow but that’s because everything is made to order and they can be very busy — rightfully so.
My favorite place in SW Florida.

Tucked in the corner of a small plaza I didn’t expect much from this restaurant. I was pleasantly surprised with a very comfortable atmosphere, and some great service. Not to mention, excellent food.

Very good and freshly made rolls… All at a very fair price (most within $ 5-​$ 8 and ranging up to $ 15).
Service is okay… But would definitely come back when visiting Punta Gorda again.

Ok, how can I make this six stars. Honest… Best sushi I have ever had. It’s a hole in the wall and understaffed. But the one chef is a genius. I waited almost an hour after I ordered, but had a ringside seat to watch the man in action, a true artist. And it was the best sushi I’ve ever had. If you even LIKE sushi this place is a must. If you LOVE sushi go right now.

This place continues to serve excellent food. Fresh and tasty.
Will not eat sushi at any other place in Punta Gorda! Great job!

This place has been the place to go for sushi in Punta Gorda. The only other place is Lashley Crab House, which is inferior. Tony is the only sushi chef here. His lovely wife works in the kitchen. There may be one or two waitresses on duty, depending on the night. In season, the wait can be long. Out of season, the wait is also long. Expect 90 minutes to two hours for your meal.
The sushi is delicious, as is the sashimi.
Tony’s spicy tuna roll is delicious and his portions generous. Miso soup is yummy. Limited selection of beer and sake.
He’s been in business well over a decade so he has a loyal following. Again, the sushi is worth the wait and he really is the only game in town for quality Japanese food.
Service is not a strong point and can be excruciatingly slow, but it’s worth the wait.
For the guy who was complaining about take out… you must be a tourist. if you want to come here, accept that some people don ‘t have 2 hours to sit and eat. Wait for your order. They have a right to get take out, especially the person who may be home bound but enjoys sushi from here once a week as a highlight of their week. Stop complaining… this is Florida!

Why 5 Stars? Because sushi has never been better in Port Charlotte… if not, Southwest Florida.
To be honest, I’ve kind of delayed this review for a few years. I initially signed up to Unilocal to spread the word, but I figured, «let’s keep this little secret to myself a little while longer.» I have since come to terms, and decided to let it out. Initially, I could absolutely never bring myself to eat raw sushi ever in my entire life. The number of redundancies in that sentence expresses how bad my problem really was. I would end up going to all these sushi restaurants and always ordering cooked food. This store changed my life.
Tony, the shopkeep, single-​handedly runs the sushi bar by himself– even during peak times. However, he diligently works behind the counter to produce high quality sushi every time. For Tony, sushi is an art. He absolutely loves what he is doing, and appreciates every second of his time creating beautiful dishes throughout his career. For this sushi chef, the process even goes beyond the counter. In order to create the best quality sushi, he requires the highest quality ingredients. Tony has a meticulous eye for selecting and preparing quality fish. With Tony behind the scenes, you simply can’t make the wrong choice with sushi.
The sushi is fantastic, so why are you not already there?