Bento Cafe Sushi and Roll

I really wanted to like this place but it just didn’t work for me. Slow service, not the worst sushi but far from the best, and high prices for the amount of food given — you shouldn’t have to leave an eatery still hungry! I have to admit the «homemade» soy sauce was good, but really you have to tell me not to waste it? What am I, a kid? Was it decent? Sure. Will I return? Most likely not.

Best Sushi I’ve had a Bento Mom is very sweet and helpful. I haven’t been let down and this has been my go sushi place for over 2 years. Yes the prices are a bit more than your average place but the ingredients are fresh and put together nicely, you can tell they take pride in their food and art. The only thing I have to be sure to do is ask for more wasabi and soy sauce, which they give but generally doesn’t come with what I think is enough. And yes the soy sauce is delicious.

Ate here the other day with my boyfriend. First time we were there always seen it when we go to the pet store so we decided to give it a try. My boyfriend ordered a dragon roll and I myself ordered chicken katsu. The roll was over breaded and didn’t taste very well. My chicken katsu was presented nicely but was not hot and very dry tasting as if it was thrown in the microwave. For the price we paid for it the portion size was waaayyy small. We also ordered a citron tea which was probably the only good thing but still quite expensive for the size. After we left we went and ate something else just because the food wasn’t filling and wasn’t really that great. The customer service was great and the nicknacks, souvenirs, cards and what not around the store very cute but cluttery.

Their fish is top notch. can’t argue with that… the sushi rice was under seasoned and bland. Over priced for what you get. Not to mention she charged me $ 5 for a tiny bowl of rice for my 8 year old son. seriously… She talked more than she cooked and our food took over 30 mins and we were the only people in the entire place. I hate to sound rude but the owner is pretentious and the sushi is sub par. Wegman’s sushi is WAY better and not nearly as expensive, I know good sushi… been around it my entire life.

Its been eons since I’ve even been around here but its always hard to forget your Bento Café experience as this place is a standout among anywhere else in Woodbridge. So when I came in this place after noticing it in the shopping center nearby my hotel one evening back in 2013 I found myself the only one in the restaurant. Even though this was the case I was noting and amazed how immaculate this little restaurant was. I ordered the salmon sushi platter which was accompanied by a rather talkative Bento Mom! :)
She explained to me the whole restaurant’s philosophy as to why items are served on paper plates, and drinks in disposable cups, how the ginger is fresh and so is the soy sauce, why the bathroom door is locked, here’s her kids all grown up now etc. etc. and how she was wondering how I heard of this place and how she doesn’t care for what’s said on the internet and what not. Naturally I was curious so I went online afterwards and saw what she was referring to but lemme tell you I’d take the whole Bento Mom/​Café experience over so much of the nonsense places around Woodbridge. They’re either scummy hangouts like the Bungalow Ale House or every other chain restaurant known to mankind. Quite honestly I prefer the whole overbearing semi-​awkard Bento Café experience to dealing with various low lives in any other chain or local restaurants on any given night in this part of VA. Plus the sushi is pretty good: nicely sliced, melts in your mouth. The fact that the place has these types of idiosyncrasies makes it worthwhile to stop in in the first place otherwise it would be a generic experience just like anywhere else around here.

I have never received more attention at anyother restaurant and it was phenomenal! The food is made with love and is fresh. The plum tea hit the spot and I left feeling great. The sushi is authentic and carefully put together into perfection. This is now my favorite place to go.

I ordered a to-​go meal and needless to say this place gets one star and I won’t be coming back. For one, the price of the meal was ridiculous. I ordered a spicy chicken ramen and a six piece California roll. The ramen was delicious, it’s what I’ve come to expect but after further reading their online menu I don’t think their sushi is worth 9.95 for 4 pieces. it’s supposed to come with dumplings, didn’t get those. That meal wasn’t worth 17 dollars. I felt rushed to leave the store, as if the lady in charge knew she was skimping me on my meal.
The entire time that I was at the restaurant she was practicing her Spanish on me (I’m not Hispanic) and was telling me that I was in charge of delivering my meal???
Will not be coming back or be recommending this place to friends and family. I would rate wait for the Japanese sushi place in Stonebridge town center to open rather than come here again.

Enjoyed an excellent sushi lunch here today. The owners are also super friendly, which was a plus to the overall experience. I think this is the best sushi place in the area. I look forward to going back!

Food is very good. Place is very homie and comfy. And the owner is very nice too very welcoming.
I recommend this to anyone who loves shushi.

My wife and I were craving some sushi and some Asian food. We decided to try this place. As soon as we walked in Momma Bento greeted us with a smile and asked us if it was our first time. She took her time to explain us the menu and shows us her «collection» wall. She has tons of energy and a lot of personality. We ended up ordering the teriyaki chicken with rice and California rolls. They were good. Please keep in mind that’s it’s not a lot of food so if you are starving this might not be the best place to go. The place is clean and neat and good atmosphere. Overall, great experience and we will definitely come back again.
PS — my wife was in a car accident recently and Momma
Bento recommended one her teas which supposedly helps you recover. Really nice thought of her.

So I’ve had sushi all over the DMV area. Little did I know that we had some great sushi right down the street from my house. I’d been getting my haircut next door for years but never stopped into this place. The sushi is excellent. Everything was fresh from the shrimp tempura to the dumplings and sushi. Even made some custom soy sauce that didn’t even need wasabi or ginger to kick things up a bit. This is one of those places you’ll see on the Food Network or Discovery Channel once it’s discovered and wish you would have come before word got out.

Best sushi in the Woodbridge area. The owners are kind and are dedicated to giving their customers a good experience.

I’ve visited this place twice looking for a nice and quick meal after my college classes. It isn’t located in the most high-​end shopping plaza, so I wasn’t expecting too much; just some affordable well-​made sushi that would satisfy my hunger.
The establishment is a fair size, not too large or too small. The entire left side of the room is littered with fan memorabilia, gifts, and reviews. I understand that this is the owners way of showing how much their customers love their food, it just made the atmosphere feel a little cluttered. With the small space that’s available, I would prefer a more simplistic and elegant approach when it comes to décor.
I ordered the first selection off of their menu: a California roll, and a shrimp tempura roll, 12 pieces in total with a side of miso soup and two dumplings. Although the food was tasty enough, I didn’t feel anything special or unique about it. The price is slightly higher than I feel like it’s worth. The food is good, but not the best sushi I’ve ever had.
I was greeted in a friendly manner, and felt like I was treated appropriately. However, the experience is more like going to your grandma’s house for an after school snack rather than a more elevated and elegant experience. I wasn’t sure whether to treat this place as a fast food joint or an actual restaurant, and so after eating, I placed my dishes and napkins in a neat pile and left it on the table. Before leaving, I was asked to place my trash and dishes in the bus cart. This really made me believe that I was really at a grandparents house and I felt like I was young again, being nagged to pick up after myself.
In conclusion, this place is great if you’re just looking for a quick roll of sushi. But not the place you’d want to go for an elegant sushi experience.
But I would still like to thank Mama and Papa Bento for your service.

0 Stars
Came in tonight for dinner, was told by Bento Café staff taking my order that they were busy, there would be a wait and to be patient and that they suddenly got a rush of customers.
Waited 1 hour for:
Pork Noodles– Actually instant ramen, the pork portion was 4 pieces of minced pork meat. Cannot describe as «cubed» pork, much smaller, about chicklet size meat.
Waited 1.5 hours for:
Sushi– very small portion, the roll size was about half the circumference of what you get for supermarket type sushi boxes, soggy rice,
Other– Saw order of katsu, which was presented as a small mound of chopped meat
Many people would consider omission of information to be dishonest. It is one thing to have busy restaurant, even a counter service type like Bento Café, and have your customers wait while each entrée is being made. I support small business and fully understand the challenges mom-​and-​pop type places face.
It is another to have customers wait because food ingredients ran out– this is omission of information. It is unfair to have customers wait and not tell them that Bento Café ran out of rice! This I overheard from Bento Café staff! How can you have customers wait while you cook rice and then wait for it to cool and then serve incredibly undersized portions and pass it off as value for the cost the customer paid? This should have been disclosed so customers can choose other items that are available or take their business elsewhere.
Another example of value is charging $ 8 for noodles, when in reality it is instant noodles? Instant noodles can be had for a pack of four for $ 5 at the supermarket! And not providing a fair serving of pork when the customer pays more for «pork» noodles?
It appeared Bento Café also ran out of pork and chicken due to the extreme rationing of the meat! Chopping up the meat does nothing to hide the fact of small serving size– katsu is NEVER chopped up!
There were 9 tables with people with no food and waiting– being counter service, we all paid first and essentially were trapped into waiting 1 — 1.5 hours for our food. The wait really wasn’t the problem, once again I sympathize with small businesses, the poor quality of the food is the issue. I definitely would have walked out if it was a table service type restaurant that was paid after the meal.
Bento Café cannot try to rationalize by saying «we didn’t meet your expectations” — that is placing the blame on the customer. Based on their actions tonight, they simply are a disservice to customers.

They were really busy tonight, so I didn’t get the full effect of Bento Mama that others have mentioned. Though, I am a fairly introverted person so I was kind of happy. Due to being busy we waiting a long time for food. My brother never got his soup, but he wasn’t bothered. I think it took almost 40 minutes to get 3 rolls and an order of chicken katsu. My cucumber rolls were good, but I didn’t care for the sauce on top. Overall, my party agreed the food was good but portions were small for the price.

More like 3.5 stars. We ordered take out while visiting my sister tonight. Sushi was good. Sashimi was good too. Shrimp Udon was good too, but only 1 shrimp?!
Dumplings are great– my sister said they make them inhouse! That’s awesome
Wish there was maybe more variety/​creativity in the rolls?
Great pricing & value
Soup was tasty for sure.
My sister says «mamma bento» is a real joy. Wish I could have met her!

1^st time try out this place. I simply said «I don’t like California roll». The lady who works there immediately get high temper and said «You don’t know what you are missing. You been eating the wrong California roll somewhere else. We have the best California roll «—– California roll simply has fish roe, Avocado, and crab in the roll. Nothing is super complicated here. I just don’t like the roll. Thats all. please have some respect to your customer’s choices.
Anyway my boyfriend ordered a combo with Cali roll in it and it doesn’t even have fish roe in it… just avocado and crab… (to make profit obviously) yet must be «best California I will be eating in my life»…

We have been coming here since they opened. We have not made it here for a few years, but they remember the kids and details that I tend to forget about the kids and I’m their parent.
The atmosphere is a fun place and enjoyable every time we come. We never leave Bentos without a full stomach, a fulfilled palate, and smile on our face.
Bentos is a dining experience, not just a meal.

Great service. The lady who runs Bento is very friendly and the it definitely is delicious! She definitely takes pride in her food!
Update–
I ended up coming back to Bento Mom’s restaurant with my girlfriend. My girlfriend doesn’t really eat sushi or Japanese food so she started out with the Ramen and I ended up getting the BBQ Beef (Korean style) and an order of California rolls and shrimp tempura rolls.
I was kind of worried about introducing my girlfriend to Japanese food but Bento Mom showed her how to use chopsticks and everything was so good! It was a success! Everything was very good and my girlfriend even liked the sushi.
Best sushi in town! It’s hard not to eat here every day!

Momma Bento was very welcoming, her personality will take you back if you are a person that’s to yourself. Otherwise, you’ll love her. Thanks for showing me which order to eat the Sushi, how to use chopsticks, and how to make origami.
Papa Bento comes out after you’ve finished eating to see if you enjoyed your meal. We did!
Honestly I didn’t mind the wait. Monday, even when quiet, there was still a wait — it’s called preparation of fresh food. Would you really want 2 minute sushi?!? A suggestion would be offer warm black tea or cups of water and wonton/​crackers for customers to nibble while they wait. This will keep them at ease.
Speaking of special teas, we enjoyed the tea MOMMA Bento made us. (Ginger and the Plum) We even took cups to go!
Overall, very pleased with my experience. Call ahead if you want a quick transaction. This isn’t fast food. They spend time with each customer, teaching them the traditional way to eat Sushi, you know, without insulting the chef :)