Jo-To Japanese Steak House

Service was friendly but there was no sense of urgency. The food was okay for a Japanese Steak House, but nothing special. Prices were in line with other competitors. The sushi rolls being made looked good but I didn’t have any.

めちゃくちゃ美味しい！！！Best Japanese good in America! Had great conversation with the chef, the sushi is unbelievable!

Service was excellent. Server was always making sure drinks were full. As for the dinner, we all had the hibachi grill which was just o.k. we all had the steak or chicken except for my husband who had just the veggie grill. It did not seem like it was enough compared to what we had. The cook was far from friendly and entertaining. He seems to be in a rush to get to the next table to cook. Would have to really consider if going back and spending that type of money if worth it.

Compared to the previous years I have gone here, this place seems to have really gone downhill. The sushi was still on point otherwise I would have rated it a 1.
We sat in the bar and I ordered the sushi nami dinner and my husband had the teriyaki swordfish. While waiting for our food to arrive, a couple entered with a small white dog… not on a leash… and definitely not a service dog. The staff quickly welcomed the couple and they sat down next to us. They were obviously regulars who do this all the time. Among the barking and distraction of a dog walking around, it was not a normal or peaceful meal at all.
My husband’s swordfish was super gamey, dry, chewy, and bland too. Yuck! We were particularly grossed out by the restaurant providing the dog with water in a serving bowl, and the doggy parents with a dinner plate to share their food with him on the floor. Who allows this? I don’t care how important you think you are, have some damn manors! And restaurant owners, have some common sense! There are too many other GREAT local establishments to go to. Bye bye!

Celebrated my son’s birthday here, and our party of 6 were entertained with table side cooking by a Japanese chef. Great food with large portions.

Took friends from out of town here. Couldn’t have asked for a better experience! The waitress was excellent. Constantly checking up on us and cheerful. The hibachi cook was excellent and joking with my friend. The meat and seafood was very top grade. Will definitely be going back!

We had never experienced this Japanese Steakhouse until tonight, and it was simply on a whim. My daughter called to see if we had to have reservations and they said that it was walk-​in. So, we were about 7 miles away and decided to try it. One of my daughters had never been to a Japanese Steakhouse before. It was clean, decorated nicely and the staff was courteous, kind, helpful and prompt. We had 3 steak and shrimp entrees, and 1 filet and shrimp entrée. We tried the seafood eggrolls that were excellent and brought to the table hot with a delightful dipping sauce. Our waitress wan constantly serving and checking on us with all of the sides that were provided prior to the chef’s preparations. The chef arrived, was kind, had a wonderful sense of humor and was amazing with his skills of preparation and serving, providing a show for our table and an excellent meal. My hats off to all involved with the steakhouse. We truly enjoyed ourselves with an impromptu evening meal. I would strongly recommend that you stop by and try it out. I can assure you we will return.

We went to Jo-​to for dinner. It sucked! The service was horrible! The guy who cooked our dinner didn’t make eye contact or a joke when he was in front of us. He didn’t let us know before he made the big fire. This wouldn’t have been a problem but we had our small child with us. The food was good but the overall experience was not! I am very disappointed. For the cost of the dinner I expect so much more. I am not sure this is a location that is worth trying again.

The fillet is my favorite. Never disappointed, love the retro 80s feel. Service and cooking show are always excellent.

Now that I have experienced this restaurant, I plan on going there two or three times a month. The portions are large enough you’ll have a second meal the next day, service was great, and the food was excellent. If you’ve never tried hibachi cooking on the grill at your table. you need to try Jo-To’s.

Why no reviews? This place is still kilin’ it, folks — don’t keep it to yourselves!
This place is Baller! They have a new Sushi chef who is amazing. We go there a lot. Since I was a boy, in fact.
They do some new-​style rolls, but this has always been a sort of old school place. Which is what sushi should be, in my opinion.
It’s very fresh. go to the bar, talk to the chef, and he will hook you up!

Affordable dining is overrated!
This place is ridiculously popular, so get a reservation if you don’t want to sit in the front room staring at the wall for ten minutes.
They have both teppan-​yaki and sushi, but they want you to get the former. Of course they do, because it’s much more expensive. Seriously, if you just get sushi the teppan-​yaki chef will make fun of you… it’s happened to me before.
The teppan-​yaki is good, but not fantastic. My meat is usually overcooked so it’s not like I’m shocked into ecstasy after any of the bites. Besides, if you’re here on a date (don’t bring anyone here on a first date, you’ll be sitting with a bunch of strangers) you’re going to be paying at least $ 50 if you both get teppan-​yaki.
The sushi is really good! Limited options, but made extremely well. Also worth noting is that you can call this place for pick-​up orders, handy for me since I live 30 seconds away. Again, it’s too bad that you can’t just sit at a table here and enjoy their sushi, since they force you to sit at the teppan-​yaki tables.
I also love the drink menu. Tons of sake varieties and creative spirits combinations.
It’s worth your while, but don’t come here after losing any bets — if you take the bill for a whole table you won’t be paying your rent for a while.

Great food and service but building needs a little updating, old and smelly.

I love Jo-​to, and have been going there for decades! Though I’ve tried the Teppan-​yaki, which is always well prepared, tasty, and entertaining with the flashy knife work, I have always liked the sushi which is consistently delicious, and made from very fresh seafood and vegetables. The sushi room has a traditional sushi bar, where Chef Sugi from Gifu Ken, Japan will prepare and immediately serve the ordered selections. There is also a dining area with picture windows which allow diners to view a serene, traditional Japanese garden, complete with koi pond.
My favorite rolled sushi selections are the Original Rainbow Roll (avocado, cucumber, and smoked salmon), the Red Dragon (Maguro Tuna inside and out with cucumber and avocado in the middle, and the Sexy Roll (tempura fried eel and fresh tuna, with avocado, scallion, and spicy sauce in the middle), tuna or salmon tempura roll (choice of tuna or salmon with avocado and spicy sauce where the whole roll is tempura fried), and the Arizona Roll (yellowtail and scallion). For non-​rolled sushi (two pieces per order) my favorites are unagi (eel), uni (sea urchin), hamachi (yellow tail), ika (squid), amaebi (sweet shrimp), and the special blue crab. Sashimi can also be ordered either in individual servings, or in combination plates.
I have lived and studied in Japan, and I love Japanese cuisine. I have tried other Japanese restaurants in the area, and many are excellent, but the service is not always to my liking. I keep coming back to Jo-​To for the fresh, delicious sushi, and to enjoy interacting with the very polite, helpful, and good spirited staff.
Oh yes, Jo-​To also has a full bar with a skillful, witty bartender.
Jo-​To has a good web page:

omg. when i lived in FL i went here ALL THE TIME! it got to the point that me and my friend would go in friday night, right before work at inextremis, and we wouldn’t even have to order. they knew exactly what i wanted, how it was cooked, even down to the double ginger sauce no mustard sauce.
everytime i come home to visit i make a trip here for sure. hibachi steak and shrimp with a karate punch. YUM!

Excellent food. Chef was bland and not very entertaining. Expected more base on past experience with Japanese Steakhouses.

Wow. What a terrible restaurant!
Among our family group of 5 we had a large sampling of the hibachi menu.
Steak: Meh… nothing special… NY Strip, ordered it medium-​rare and it came out medium. Meat was middle-​of-​the-​road, flavor of the sauce was soy-​based and at least an interesting twist.
Shrimp: YUCK! Rubbery. I love shrimp and I love cooking shrimp… it takes 3 minutes MAX if not less. This shrimp — all of the shrimp — sat on that damn 600-​degree grill for about 6 minutes. Needless to say everyone’s shrimp was hard and rubbery… shame b/​c it came out with 3 fun dipping sauces.
Chicken: Dry. Same sauce over it as the steak. Boring. Bland.
Salmon: Possibly worse than the shrimp. Dad got it… it was at least dry as a bone and flavorless… I actually tasted the flavor of old salmon.
Scallops: ¹⁄₃ of the scallops served were very good — the right texture. Not enough to push it up to the 2-​star range, even with the chef flipping the little shrimp tails.
Wow — the worst was paying 20 bucks a piece and up for anything on the menu. It could be really fun, despite the completely overpriced (even for the area) and terrible food, if you’re placed with the right group (the tables seat 9 and the host waits until they can seat an entire table). Sorry, Jo-To.maybe your other outposts are better, but I won’t be finding out!

I went here my first and only time. I am not into the pan fried foods at the table, so we went for sushi only. I was warned by a Japanese friend that their sushi is not very good, and she was correct. The rolls were all very bland and minimal, like something that I would make at home. They do not have any types of fancy rolls with cream cheese or spicy mayo, for people who like that sort of sushi. This was all clear and to the point with a hefty price tag. We sat next to the sushi bar and the room was beautiful, with a secluded garden area outside the window. I do not plan to ever return. For Bradenton, Sam Oh Jung is much better.

Benihana & Kobe eat your hearts out. Surprisingly, one of the better Japanese steakhouses I’ve been to is this one in Bradenton/​Sarasota. I’ve always found Japanese steakhouses to be good fun. The food is almost secondary to the atmosphere.
I’ve eaten here with my family several times — and it’s a solid experience each time. Though it’s really ideal for large groups — getting thrown in with people you don’t know always makes for an interesting experience. For those that don’t know — these restaurants seat you at a table where the cooking is done in front of you. The seats are filled with guests even if they are from multiple parties (don’t worry — they don’t split parties).
The chef’s are almost never Japanese, but they all have a happy-​go-​lucky attitude and some really fun knife skills. Who doesn’t like seeing a shrimp tail flipped into a chef’s hat?
The food at Joto is pretty solid — I’d recommend the hibachi shrimp and/​or the chicken. Also — the fried rice is good, even if it is a very «Americanized» interpretation. It has good flavor and mixes great with the shrimp appetizer that comes with the hibachi orders. The appetizers range from decent to tasty. I recommend any of the tempuras (again — think shrimp). Most of the meals come with an assortment of extras and sides — so don’t feel the need to order extra.
However, there are a few serious flaws here. First is the sushi, which I have ordered on occasion. If this were the Midwest, I’d be okay with it — but it’s Florida and there are some very good fish markets just around the corner. I’m not expecting Nobu, but some half decent product would go a long way. Also, the steak lacks flavor. Most hibachi style restaurants have this problem, and Joto is no different. We don’t need Gene and Georgetti, but something just above rubber would suffice.
I said it before — it’s about atmosphere here. The food is an added bonus. Provided you stay away from the steak & the sushi — you’ll be alright.

Watch your food flip and fly as it is cooked up on the heated table. Of course if you don’t have 5 or more in your party you’re going to being sitting with some strangers at your table.
I thought my expensive drink would come in a Geisha mug (the menu wasn’t very clear) but it was delicious.
The food was all great and we were never hungry. There are really tasty (and reasonably priced) appetizers so (we had dumplings and tempura veggies, very good) — you could get a drink, an appitizer, and your table grilled meal (complete with soup, salad, and shrimp appeitizer) for under $ 30. Really well worth it!
The service was great too! They were very attentive and made sure we were happy and tried to anticipate our needs.
My only complaint? Sitting with strangers. So grab some friends and go!