Daimajin Japanese Restaurant

An amazing experience. Keijo is a true master of his craft. Even the most simple rolls taste incredibly delicious under his care. And the house specialties are beyond my expectations. The sashimi cuts are unbelievable, and the flavors… Every lover of Japanese food should visit this place. I can guarantee they will return!

Burnt gyoza. Unevenly cut sushi pieces with overly sticky rice.
Started to wonder about the place when I had to be buzzed in to enter the establishment. First impression was right.
It’s a shame because as an x New Yorker I am desperate to find adequate sushi place and this promised to be the one.
Nyet.
Overly priced for subpar cuisine.
Won’t return.
Extra star given for the waitress who was very sweet.

I’ve come to this restaurant several times before and honestly each time the service was fantastic, and the food was great.
Today is definitely the exception though. After ordering generously from the menu we were brought out individual items from our order one by one, fantastic, we were enjoying the pace.
Upon receiving our last item, a sushi roll called the new daimajan, we were sort of surprised to see that the five sauces it claims to come with were some strange, reconstituted fruit sauces that were completely devoid from mention on the menu. Needless to say it was gross, the roll was DOUSED in the sauces and there was no way we could eat around it. We patiently waited 10 minutes for the waitress to reappear whereupon I told her that we really just didn’t like the roll and weren’t going to eat it. She said she would ask if we could get anything else and I told her that we would consider some dumplings which were half the cost and I knew couldn’t possibly be a bad decision. 15 minutes after we order the dumplings the waitress comes out to tell us they had burnt some of the dumplings and she apologizes for the delay, this was fine and we really didn’t care. A few moments later we receive a plate of visually charred and burnt dumplings, I ate half of one and could barely finish my bite because it was so bitter. Not willing to wait any longer for the waitress to come out where ever she felt like it I walked up to the sushi bar, where the gentleman that is pictured in some of the photos whom I think is claimed to be the owner was standing, and I told him that the dumplings that were just brought to us are completely burnt, he acted like he didn’t understand a word of Spanish and responded to me in English: «HUH? what?». I then explain to him that our roll that we had just received was comped in place of the dumplings and that they were burnt… and he stood there with a gaping mouth and rung his bell to summon the waitress and didn’t say a word to me, I sat back down to wait for the waitress. When the waitress came up to our table she had our bill in hand and asked us if we had said anything to the gentleman because he had just abruptly told her to bring us our check. Upon inspecting the bill, he had no intention of comping the dumplings. I told her we would not pay for an item that was inedible and that we did not eat. She said she would see about getting it compensated reluctantly. A few moments later she returns and tells us that he will not take it off our tab and she then told me that I should talk to him personally. I stood up and went up to the bar and this is where the real magic happen.
Apparently he was upset that we did not order another «sushi» item and was very upset that we did not enjoy his New Daimajan roll. He starts by yelling at me in an argumentative tone that he had never been spoken to that way or that he has never had problems with customers. He tells me that he doesn’t want to make enemies? I have no idea what he was talking about, I simply was not paying for burnt food or was leaving completely. I requested that the waitress bring the dumplings to the owner for him to try and he tells me: «how do you expect me to eat that? You touched it» … Words couldn’t describe the disappointment I felt when I realized this owner was the most stubborn, unreasonable person I had ever had to deal with at any dining establishment. He obviously just had something against me from the very moment I approached him and told him I wanted to return the burnt dumplings. Since I was speaking English he actually told me that I had no place on this island and that my opinion didn’t matter, that he has lived here over 14 years. Yea? Well I’ve lived here my entire life, that’s well over 14 years sir. I do in fact have a place on this island and have never been disrespected
by anyone like that for the mere dispute of a $ 10 dollar item. You have long road ahead of you if you believe that treating your patrons like this is acceptable. I ended up paying over $ 90 for a meal that left me complete unsatisfied. Despite the rest of the food being perfectly fine, the entire experienced was tarnished by a very rude and disrespectful owner who gives no head to the saying the «customer is always right.»
It ended with my girlfriend becoming very upset and getting into a shouting match till he finally gave in and took off the dumplings. He never once apologized.
If you feel the need to dispute anything while visiting this restaurant then be prepared for a potential dispute over the matter with the stubborn and dim witted owner who has a knack for telling people they don’t BELONG, or that they don’t matter just because he might assume you’re a tourist.
I told him I review things at times and was going to review their delicious salmon miso, and he told me he didn’t care to do what I wanted. In his own words «your opinions don’t matter…
I’ll never return and share my experience with everyone.

all top. must go place. Best japanese in years. You should, no must try on the pulpo. Exquisite.

I really wanted to like this place. I’m a big fan of Japanese food and most «Japanese» restaurants in PR serve americanized sushi and generic asian or «Chinese» food at best, so I was super excited to try this place. Unfortunately, the service was bad and the prices were super high for what we got. That said, the food itself was good and it is the closest I’ve gotten to authentic Japanese food in PR. If the service would have been top notch, I wouldn’t have minded the prices, but it’s one of the worst service experiences I’ve had in a while. We had to wait forever for the food and the waitress was barely paying attention to our table. It seemed like they were expecting delays, but they didn’t even apologize for the tardiness.
Some ideas to improve the restaurant:
— If you expect long waits for the food, please let customers know, give them an estimate and explain what is going on.
— Include the Japanese names of the foods in the menu in Japanese alongside the English names
— A lower price point might be more profitable
— If the restaurant is aiming for a «premium» experience, then offer top notch service and bigger food portions.
— Offer more sake options in a wider price range
— Suggest sake pairings
— Have more Japanese beers e.g. Asahi Super Dry and the other common ones
— Have Japanese whisky
— More Japanese staples e.g. araage
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I found this Japanese restaurant on Unilocal and I have to admit that the experience was incredibly delicious. My fiancée and I started the evening with two rolls of sushi. Try the the ocean roll, the mixed of shrimp and crab with a creamy sauce on top made all the flavors come together. The place is so authentic, every bite has a unique taste. Forget about fusion restaurants this one will wake up some taste buds that aren’t usually stimulated by Caribbean food. Specially with the dessert Mochi Mochi! Mochi Mochi are two artisanal balls made of green tea ice cream and the structure of a soft pound cake all together… You won’t regret the experience. The place is really affordable, I can’t wait to go back! The decorations are so beautiful and the experience with the staff was phenomenal! So far my top Japanese restaurant in the island.

Been at this restaurant at least 3 times in the past month. Service is great at the chef is a nice guy. I recomend the Ramen Noodles. Also recomend to go early so you can sit down and talk to the chef.

So far, the best Sushi in PR that we have found! 100X better than Ikebana! Go! Quickly! Great lunch prices also Tues — Fri

Simply one of the best sushi restaurants in Puerto Rico. Excellent sushi and okonomiyaki a Japanese omelet. A bit pricey, but worth it.

This place is like your Japanese Dream, the ambiance was spectacular, the attention of the staff was superb and the food was delicious. A small cozy Japanese place in the heart of Guaynabo attended personally by his owner. As a foodie I can say it’s a bit pricey than other Japanese restaurants I’ve been to but for the food quality I guarantee you is well worth it. Highly recommended and will be visiting often.

A cozy, warm and little japanese gem with a superb service by its owners. Definitely a «must» to real Sushi Lovers in Puerto Rico, let yourself go by the suggestions of the Itamae (Chef) just saying omakase… Remarkable freshness, very well done dishes. Try the okonomiyaki, was great as the tuna tataki and the homemade marinated mackerel nigiri.
I really enjoyed! Domo arigato gozaimasu ^O^

This place is over priced. I spent $ 100 for a few sushi rolls and a noodle dish that was simply disgusting. Whoever has reviewed this restaurant must be the owners. Yuck!

This was a most pleasant experience! The ambiance is very warm and welcoming. The service provided was superb, very attentive without being too intrusive. In terms of taste and presentation, the sushi did not disappoint it was rather exceptional. Prices were fair, and
the chef and owner even came by our table to chat. Without a doubt this place won me over, you will not regret giving this place a chance!

Wonderful food and service. The owner, who is one of only two native Japanese restaurant owners on the island, came to greet us and offered us the freshest items in his sushi bar — fresh fluke sashimi and amazing sea urchin, which we loved. Very gracious, fast, and attentive servers as well. A gem and unexpected outstanding sushi experience in Puerto Rico. Pricey and out of the way of the tourist venues but worth it.

I was in Puerto Rico on Vacation, and my gf was craving noodle soup. So I hop on Unilocal,stumble across Daimajin and decide what the hay, let’s see if Puerto Rico can muster up some good Udon.
We arrive and already like the atmosphere. A glance at the kitchen shows a Japanese Chef (I’m still curious how he ended up in San Juan to start a Sushi restaurant, I’m sure it’s a great story). We order tea and udon soup, noticing the steep prices of just about everything (seriously though, I could accidentally a $ 80 sushi bill by myself).
We chat, drink tea and anxiously await our soup. Unfortunately, when the waitress brought our food it was a plate of noodles and not Udon soup! She apologized profusely and immediately ran over to the kitchen. Mildly annoyed at this point, we wait for about another 20 minutes for our soup.
However, when the waitress did bring our Udon, it was unarguably the best I’ve ever had. The chef himself walked over to our table to apologize and gave us extra tea plus some plum wine on the house (which was fantastic as well). We ended up also getting a red dragon roll, which was delicious.
For dessert, we ended up going with the Rogel de dulce de Leche, which might literally have been to die for.
TLDR: This is a mildly expensive place, but the food is well worth it, particularly if you are bringing a special someone :)

Went on a Saturday afternoon and the place was completely empty! Needless to say, I wanted to go, but we were so hungry, that we decided to stay. Do-​not-​regret-​it! Although I can’t speak for the quickness of the service (I have to be fair, we were the only ones), the food was very good and they had a quite extensive menu. The price was average, as you would find in a casual sushi bar. A spicy tuna sushi costs about $ 8 while the house specials $ 20-​ish. I take one star out because it only has about 3 parking spots (again, that day wasn’t a problem for me), and since it is located in one of the busiest sectors of Guaynabo, some people might encounter trouble with this.

I come to this restaurant often with my wife, the place is small, but very cozy. The food is always amazing and the service is the best you can get in Puerto Rico. This is by far the best sushi restaurant I have ever been to, it never disappoints.

Great, fresh sushi, small unassuming place worth the visit. Watch out for prices though. You can end up paying quitr a bit.

The BEST Sushi in Puerto Rico!!!

I dont like sushi and here I had the only sushi i liked… It was their special sushi or something!!! Just plain good!!!