“Kintaro Hot Pot” opened its newest location at The Village Square shopping center in Woodmere on Oct. 25, roughly one year after announcing an expansion of stores. The Japanese hot pot, barbeque and sushi restaurant, located at 27091 Chagrin Boulevard, took over the space formerly operated by Corky & Lenny’s and revamped it with a sleek, modern design.
As an all-you-can-eat experience, the price is reasonable for the offering, but don’t expect the best sushi of your life.
The restaurant offers many different pricing and menu options across their three main food categories: hotpot, sushi or barbeque. Among these choices, you continue to curate your personalized meal by deciding between a la carte or all-you-can-eat dining. For lunch, the all-you-can-eat option is $19.99, but for dinner that price rises to $29.99. While both options seem to be cost efficient, it is important to note that there is an additional $10.99/lb charge if you don’t finish the food you ordered (when choosing from the all-you-can-eat menu) as stated as a disclaimer on the menu.
Upon entering, I was amazed by the decor. The dark, moody color scheme, bright neon signs and futuristic lighting are a drastic contrast to the classic deli style of the former occupant.
After being seated promptly, I noticed that the table design featured a central grill and numerous heated place settings in order to accommodate each of the dining options. My table ordered multiple dining options, including all-you-can-eat sushi as well as hot entrees in an attempt to get the full range of experiences.
As a part of the all-you-can-eat sushi lunch menu, we ordered a seaweed salad, edamame, an avocado roll, a shrimp tempura roll and steak hibachi. Additionally, not included in the all-you-can-eat menu, I ordered one of their specialty drinks: a passion fruit tea with rainbow jelly.
The speed of service seemed to dwindle as the meal went on. Besides receiving the items in a sporadic order, the wait was overly long for basic items. The first sushi rolls arrived quickly, however, we waited 15 minutes for the next item to arrive: a lukewarm plate of edamame. During this waiting period, we had little to no interaction with our waiter. Despite these shortcomings, the waitstaff remained friendly and patient throughout the entire process.
We started with the sushi rolls, which are arguably the main focus of this all-you-can-eat deal. I found the avocado roll to be delicious. The fresh avocado made for a sweet, soft center that was satisfying and light. The shrimp tempura roll was one that I had some trouble with. The flavor of the shrimp got lost within the greasy crust of the tempura batter, a feature that ultimately ruined my experience of this particular roll. Besides that, I enjoyed the sweet teriyaki that topped the roll.
The edamame was relatively good. The beans seemed fresh and were tastefully salted. Although it was a tasty plate, it’s pretty hard to ruin edamame.
The seaweed salad was among the best dishes I had during my meal. Though simple, I found it to be fresh, vibrant and crunchy. I typically don’t order seaweed salad, but I found the mixture of textures and flavors appealing and can see myself ordering it again.
Lastly, the steak hibachi was quite savory. It was well served considering it consisted of fried rice, a hearty serving of steak bites, grilled vegetables and a creamy dipping sauce. I found each facet of this dish to be a wonderful texture and flavor with the exception of the steak bites. Though a majority of the steak bites were cooked to perfection, I found a concerning number of pieces dry and tough.
As a sugary side, I ordered the passion fruit tea with rainbow jelly. The tea was sweet, and I complemented it with pieces of fruit and rainbow jelly. The tea itself was overly sweet, and I was not fond of the crunchy passion fruit seeds. Additionally, it was a bit overpriced–almost $9.
After finishing this meal, we were ready to roll out of the restaurant and couldn’t fathom ordering anything else- not even dessert. However, it is a huge credit to the restaurant that scoops of ice cream are included in the all-you-can-eat menu.
My lunch totaled $29 pre tip. I find this price reasonable considering the amount of food I ordered and the unlimited quantity possible for ordering.
In the end, I found the price to be commensurate with the offering, however, the food was certainly not the best sushi I’ve ever had. Quite frankly, though I went in excited and with an open mind, I didn’t expect it to be the best considering the all-you-can-eat offering. Overall, I would rate my experience a three out of five stars considering the slow, yet kind service, the adequate food and impressive quantity to price ratio.
