Kotobukiya Sushi Bar
Categories: Sushi Bars, Japanese [Edit]
Neighborhood: Porter Square1815 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02238 (617) 492-4655
- Nearest Transit:
Porter (Red)
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: No
- Parking: Private Lot
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: No
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol: None
58 Reviews for Kotobukiya Sushi Bar
Quick, yes. Convenient location, yes. Cheap, yes. Good food? Iiiiiiiiiiiiidddunnnoooooaboutttthatt. Am I the only one that doesn't want their sushi too cheap? It's kind of like cheap steak. Do you really want a $5 steak? I don't know. I've had Kotobukiya's sushi. It's okay but I wouldn't go out of my way to use the amount of exclamation marks I see up and down this page. It doesn't always look its freshest either. Dare I say head to the neighboring Shaw's for a quick fix?
PS - MAD props to the girl that works the register. Chica wears like 4 inch heels. Who does that at a restaurant that doesn't involve dollars down your pants?
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I recommend their salmon skin rolls.
And a smart way to check out fish-freshness would be to know when the kotobukiya market puts out fresh sashimi for the take-home.
It's a decent little place, and nice to stop by for a quick snack or a light dinner.
Beauty of it is the ability to order many things without pushing the envelope on the price; very very nice.
If only this place opened late for a midnight snack.
I've been to this place a few times since I've moved to Porter Square and have been pleasantly surprised every time. The sushi is pretty good, and it's insanely cheap. I didn't realize how cheap it was until I went to other sushi places in Boston. My boyfriend and I got five sushi rolls for 17 bucks... That's unheard of!! The service is quick too.
Once again, Yelpers never let me down! After a quick search of "cheap sushi" in the greater Boston area, yelp directed me to this wonderful establishment.
It took a little while to find because I'm terrible with directions and I had no idea that Kotobukiya Market was actually a shared space with a college. By the time I found it, I'd worked up quite an appetite.
2 rolls (spicy tuna and salmon & avocado), 2 piece of sashimi, and a miso soup put me back $10.46 including tax. Not bad at all! In fact, pretty friggin impressive. I swore I heard the hallelujah chorus when my lovely waitress placed the bill in front of me. Incredible!! Just remember, this is a CASH ONLY business.
If you're looking for cheap sushi, I guarantee this is as good as it's going to get.
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I thought I'd try a few nigiri yesterday afternoon as a snack - 2 pieces salmon, one piece tuna. Not bad not bad. Not the most amazing melt in your mouth sushi you'll ever have, but at the price of mostly 99 cents/piece, heck yea! The salmon was good (in season right now, i think) while the tuna, altho not quite tender enough for my taste, was good enough. Definitely a go for those occasional sushi cravings when you don't feel like pouring out your wallet.
The best cheap sushi place around. 2nd best is probably whole foods, if you get it custom made to order, but I'm sure it's quite variable.
Kotobukiya is also an excellent take-out option.
I am not sure what the relation to Shino Express is anymore. I am pretty sure they were the same operations years ago, but I heard they are now Snappy Sushi and have brown rice. I have tried the new Snappy in Davis, it's good, but it's very "heavy".
Regardless, Kotobukiya still stands as a modest consistent sushi bar without serious competition in their price category.
Kotobukiya is pronounced in a Japanese fashion. One consonant plus one vowel equals one syllable here. Try it.
I like cheap, relatively good quality sushi. This place doesn't burn a hole in my wallet like other sushi restaurants do. There isn't any ambience and it isn't the best sushi I have had, but at least I can get my sushi cravings satisfied so I don't spend $20+ at a more expensive sushi place.
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My husband and I wanted to try out a sushi bar in the area so we went to yelp (believe it or not) and read all of these good reviews and decided to try it for a quick bite to eat. We usually have our sushi nigiri style (no rolls, just fish and rice) and it was great! And better yet, only 1 buck a piece for salmon!! We left full and only spent about 20 bucks total! Definitely great place for the money you are paying.
Great little stand alone sushi bar in the middle of the "Little Tokyo" that is the porter exchange. Generally really great fish here, but I have gotten some sub-standard pieces occasionally. Generally a great place to grab some quick sushi.
the best cheap sushi ever.
yes, the rolls are small and they're not very generous with the sushi/sashimi pieces, but its 99 cents each and like $2.50 for a 6 piece tuna roll so you get what you pay for. the quality is good; nothing amazing but all in all, an excellent place to get some solid, cheap sushi!
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Picture it: It's 3pm on a Saturday. It's a bit rainy out, maybe overcast. You're in Somerville, maybe Cambridge. You're dressed like a schlub, but you only threw on some clothes to grab a cup of coffee--it's a miracle you're dressed at all. You don't really feel like hauling butt over the river for some sushi, but you have a hankering. I mean a HANKERING.
What do you do? What DO you do?
Well, you go to the Kotobukiya sushi bar in Porter, of course. It's quick. It's easy. It's cheap. It's good. Talk about no frills sushi, this is it. It satisfies hunger, or just the craving for a piece of inari. No, don't think you'll get any type of crunchy roll here--it's the simple stuff, but it's good. Good for a snack, good for lunch, good for dinner--but get there early if you're going for dinner, because there's a finite amount of seats at that tiny bar.
Bottom line: Need to quench your sushi fix? Try the Kotobukiya sushi bar.
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Brilliance in a bar.
There was a time when everyone I knew was all about "bluefin" (pre renovations) and I always had to drag people over from waiting in que for hours --- to have mediocre sushi. But this review is not about them.. its about Kotobukiya.
The usual waitstaff is a brother and sister team, little hip middle class asian kids, who aren't terribly chatty, or terribly observant, but they get the job done.. unless there in only one of them... and its too much for them to handle (its the take-out that gets time consuming.) Don't be shy... flag them down if you need something.
The sushi-chefs are fabulous guys who never really speak at all, but have been there forever. The younger guy's rolls are more misshapen on the ends... but hell... its all going to the same, place, right?
The sushi, while some folks mention that it made them ill, I have in my 3+ years of eating there regularly (sometimes more than once a week) I have never gotten sick. And I have enjoyed every single meal.
Though you won't find things like uber-racecar-dragon-dork-maki. You will find fish, and rice, wrapped in seaweed. The one thing that you WILL find is the best tempura flakes in Boston. I don't know what they do to their tempura, but in every single crispy roll in this fair city, they have always fallen so short in comparison to the awesome crispiness of the crispy roll here. (just write "crispy" in the right margin next to your choice - I recommend the philly and the eel avocado crispified)
This is also a "bar" its not a place to study, or bring a date, or often even a friend. You go here when you are flying solo, and need some unagi (cooked eel -- the gateway sushi, for the perfect uninitiated)
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So cheap that it makes up for the complete and total lack of ambiance and/or customer service.
The fish is extremely fresh and they have some decently creative rolls considering the price point. The miso soup and seaweed salad are standard but good.
If you come during prime dinnertime hours, it can be difficult to get a seat, particularly if you are not flying solo. However, they can pack up an order to go in about two and a half minutes, no joke, even when it's busy.
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Wow-- for the price and the location, you would probably never guess that some of the best sushi around is right here...
My absolute favorite thing to do after a workout downstairs at Bally's is to pop up here for a yummy and healthy lunch/ dinner. The ingredients are always super fresh. Great sashimi, maki, seaweed salad, and miso, plus daily specials. I usually spend about $10 and leave very satisfied. I know, right?!
Oishii!
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This is definitely is a fast food sushi type of place. But I don't care, this place is awesome! Cheapest sushi in the city IMO. Minimal seating, so you are better off just getting it to go and sitting somewhere else. Sashimi/Nigiri ranges from .99-1.99. Rolled sushi from 2.99-5.99. I mean who can beat that price? Yes, it's not the highest qualirty, but it's certainly better than getting your fast food from McDonalds! If I lived closer I would probably come here a lot more often.
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This place is for low budget sushi outing. You pay what you get. Price of sushi/sashimi is proportion to thickness/thinness of the cut. Hence you will get thinly sliced fish.
Sushi/Sashimi is a lot like wine tasting. You have to go through some trial and error to settle with kinds of fish you enjoy.
So instead of wasting lots of money for fish you end up not liking, start with this place. You won't be disappointed.
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Best decent low-budget sushi around. Not fancy, not superb, but entirely delicious for what it is. I also really like the canned tea they have here, for some strange reason. If you're choosing between here and Bluefin, just come here if you can.. its cheaper and exactly the same quality. Good luck getting a seat, though... if you're bringing a date here, maybe you should plan on ordering to-go and having a sushi picnic.
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Good cheap fish. Nothing fancy or super, but there is the appeal of ordering fast, fresh sushi at a tiny dumpy counter. I had heard a lot about this little place so went myself one day when the cravings were getting bad. I had eight nigiri, two maki rolls and ginger ale for $15 and was stuffed. The very next day I dragged my friend back there for lunch. The crispy spicy salmon roll is glorious.
Edit: I've decided this place is four stars if you're alone, three if you're with anyone else. The value and convenience is great for solo diners but when my bf and I got a large order the quality didn't compare to what we've had elsewhere. Fish was fresh but raggedly cut, unagi was drab and they forgot to make our inari until we reminded them at the end of the meal. OTOH, the lady next to me ordered the most delightful little plate for one and it was cute as all get out.
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You might get a seat right away if you are by yourself, otherwise prepare to wait. It is decent sushi at a LOW price. Nothing remarcable. Just good cheap eats if your in the mood for sushi. No frills attached.
Isn't a "wow" experience, but does everything need to be?
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Fast food sushi!! I seem to have a lot of these reviews. I like sushi. Anyway I can get. And although fast food sushi isn't the best quality out there, I will still eat it! Happily I may add. So, this actually isn't the best fast food sushi I have had. They are located in the Porter Exchange building so, their seating is limited. They basically have a sushi bar with a few seats up against the bar. We actually had to take our food to the tables downstairs by Bally's because they were full.
Their prices are cheap. Super cheap. The rolls range from $2.50-$5.00. The selection is pretty good for these prices. I got my favorite Philadelphia roll for $3.50! The miso soup is only 99 cents! And the edamame was $2.50. We bought 2 miso soups, 1 edamame, and about 5 or so different types of sushi all for $29.
The quality was not the best for sure. The fish didn't seem to be the freshest and one of them (the tuna I think) seemed really fatty or something. The miso soup was good and standard. The pieces of tofu were pretty small though.
But hey, for this price I can't really complain. However, if you are looking for quality, high end sushi, this is not the place for you. But like I said, I am a sushi junkie, so I will take it any way I can!
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I wanted to like this place but we ran into some snags:
* The kind of service that is chilly enough that you're afraid you're going to starve (something sorta like: "That's an awesome dress you're wearing! ...Could I have a menu, by the way?"). Not a huge deal - it's just a sushi bar.
* We were a little grossed out by our water glasses, which got us off on the wrong foot.
* We liked the rolls. Nothing out the ordinary, but good. Given the price, roughly in line with my couple dozen sushi eating experiences.
* Took a gander on sea urchin nigiri, which I don't think either one of us had had before. Unfortunately, it was boobie-trapped with shell (wrapped inside the seaweed!), which nearly broke my lovely dining's companion's pearly whites.
* We felt a little weird afterwards.
I may try it again... but maybe not. Sometimes you and an eatery want to like each other but it doesn't work out... though I'm not convinced this place wanted to like me.
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Seriously one of the best sushi places I have been to. It is the only place where I have returned to over and over to get great sushi at a really low price. Its even cheaper than pre-packed store sushi! Such a great place that is really low key and fast.
Wow. Natasha brought us here for "brunch" yesterday and it was amazing. I stuffed face (literally) on nigiri and rolls and seaweed salad and miso soup and spent next to nothing considering how much I ordered. The rolls fall apart a bit, but the inari is some of the best I have had, and overall, this place rocked. Wish I had known about it when I lived in the area!
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Kotobukiya is one of my new favorite places to go for sushi. The food is incredibly inexpensive; nigiri/sashimi are only a buck each, and they're nicely large pieces of fish. The rolls are generic, but for 3-5 dollars a roll, it's great value for your money. My personal favorite are the hand rolls - you can specify what you want in it, and they give you a huge roll for only 3 bucks. You only get 3 bucks' worth of fish, but they do fill you up pretty quickly.
The quality of the fish is pretty remarkable for a nondescript little sushi bar in the middle of Porter Exchange. That's because they take their fish fresh from their market's seafood department (which is located conveniently down the hall) every day. There's never a fishy taste to the sashimi, and it always tastes smooth.
That said, this place is a sushi bar and that's it; if you're looking for a sit-down place, try Bluefin. Don't bring groups here; you'll never get seated if it's anywhere near lunch or dinnertime. But other than the small seating, which is always an issue at Porter Exchange, and the tap water they serve if you don't feel like buying a drink, Kotobukiya serves pretty stand-out fish at a fraction of the prices you'll find elsewhere.
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I have to change my review. Although originally I gave the place 5 stars when I moved to the neighborhood a year or so ago, I feel that the quality has gone down precipitously.
At first I was seduced by the prices (most roles are about 3-4 bucks, and most nigiri is only a dollar a piece), I soon realized you get what you pay for. I have definitely gotten a piece of slimy squid and salmon roe sushi that was frozen!
Now that Blue Fin in the same building offers combination specials (chose any type of sushi for a fixed price), I do not see the point of playing russian rue let at Kotobukiya.
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Sigh. This place was a staple for me many years ago. Unfortunately its success seems to be part of its downfall.
If you go here for lunch or dinner, god help you. Even on a weekend, this place has very limited seating and it's very tough to get a seat if there's more than... one of you. On weekdays the lunch clientel are often obnoxious Bluetooth/Blackberry/Pencil-You-In asshats who aren't even enjoying what they're shoving down their gullet. It's a damn shame, as this place used to be a bit more... secret. Now you have to fight for a space.
The quality of the food served here has really gone down, which is kind of shocking. It's still good for your basic rolls, but often even those rolls are sloppily prepared. Falling apart in some cases. The quality of fish used has also degraded a bit -- more often than not, the cuts are chewy. What on earth? I was pretty surprised to see this after coming to this place for almost a decade, it wasn't always like this.
You can't beat that the food here is cheap and fast. I almost always get the chirashi sushi as it's an excellent value (9 bucks! no lie), but I've been avoiding the rolls as of late. For many years this was the place I'd bring friends when I wanted to share with them THE place for cheap but excellent sushi in the area. Sadly, I now take them elsewhere.
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Cheap and pretty darn good sushi. I've eaten here far too many times to count and have never been disappointed. I usually prefer to take my sushi to go, but it can also be fun just to sit down at the bar and hang out.
I usually get salmon avocado rolls and spicy tuna rolls, but pretty much everything on the menu is tasty. I highly recommend the "Crispy Spicy" rolls which are great.
The chef's are nice and friendly, they waitresses are generally pretty attentive but seem really stressed all the time.
If you are looking for fancy sushi this is definitely not the place, but if you want good, solid, cheap, fresh sushi in an unpretentious atmosphere look no further.
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It must be decent if you see other asians eating at the little sushi bar.
It is inexpensive, the rolls are a little smaller, but still fills you up. It is great for a quick snack to go or for a sit down lunch. The cooks work fast to get the food out. Friendly service.
They only take cash, but there is a Bank of America ATM on the same floor (near the bookstore).
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Anthony Bourdain warns us against "cheap sushi" in Kitchen Confidential...
but he hasn't been here.
You grab a seat at the bar, where you may be elbow to elbow with someone else, but it's all good... the fish is fresh, and the service is like lightning! You eat, you go....
Not sure why Rustic Kitchen and the Gap couldn't make it here - there seems to be quote a few people around when I go...
Worth the trip.
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I used to come here all the time. I love the quickness of it. Sit down, order, eat, and just move along. The food is always perfect, never was I disappointed during any experience.
Everything is made right in front of your face, literally.
The rolls are $1 cheaper here than anywhere else I go, and that goes for all the food in general I would say.
Super consistent place. I wish I still frequented it as much as I used to.
At some point, I tired of the Boston sushi scene. I can't afford Oishii and I'm just not impressed by deli counter staff rolling my sushi. Does anyone else have a problem with this? Kotobukiya Sushi Bar solved my problem. The sushi is fresh, tasty and cheap...did I say cheap? A ravenous pair can sate hunger here for $30 or less. Take that Bluefin! The Porter Exchange is a slowly leaking secret among the sushi loving set. Expect to wait on a weekend if you're a party of more than...1. In my opinion, the wait is worth the savings. The drawback? No plum wine. I'm working on a solution to this...it involves a thermos...or a sippy cup with a straw. My favorites here are the crispy spicy tuna roll and the salmon skin hand roll. For the price and the quality, you really can't go wrong at Kotobukiya. Further recommendations? Head over to their sister market after dinner to cop some mochi ice cream or mochi daifuku.
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Consistently great and just excellent value for money. This and the fact that it is one of my closest eateries makes me a very happy person indeed.
I pretty much always get their sashimi combo which comes with a side of rice. It's enough to feed two (if you can bare to share it) and has a good mix of favorites along with a couple of things I'd never deliberately chose but am happy to eat - octopus springs to mind. Just great.
Definitely great value. This is some of the cheapest sushi to be had in the Boston area. The place is cute, very Asian. You sit at the sushi bar and basically fill out a slip of paper letting the staff know what you want and how many of each.
The quality is okay. Pretty much what you would expect of a $3-5 sushi place. Don't go on Sundays. The fish quality is kind of blah on that day. Also, I wasn't crazy about the fact that they charged for green tea.
But if you're on a budget and craving sushi, this is definitely the place.
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I like this place better than Shino, which is their sister store on Newbury St. The menu has a few more items, portions here are larger, the quality slightly better, and the attitude slightly (only slightly) less snobby. You will have to fight for a seat, and do not come here with more than one person, because the odds of getting more than two seats together is are slim.
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I know I'm repeating what everyone else said, but, yeah, it's cheap sushi! I'm not snobby about sushi, but I know that the sushi's not that great--but whatever I'm fine with that. And I usually eat there about twice a month, and I've never gotten sick! (Maybe I've built up an immunity over time.)
They recently installed a new bar, and since I feel like the sushi's a little colder and a little fresher.
We usually order our rolls "crispy," which means for 50 cents extra you get fried tempura crispies in your rolls which adds a nice little punch.
A few annoyances, though, but with people and not the bar: people who leave an empty stool between them and their neighbors, and people who linger and hang out at the bar. This is Asian fast food, people. In Asian culture, the system works because there's complete disregard of personal space. Cram 'em in, and when you're done eating, get out. Don't be selfish--let the people eat their sushi!
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No sit down - sushi bar only.
UNBELIEVABLE prices.
I was very happy with the quality of the rolls and sushi.
The miso soup was average and the edamame was salty.
The "waitress" was all business and we had to flag her down for more water and low sodium soy sauce, but the sushi chefs were friendly.
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I love this place. If I ever want sushi, I don't go anywhere else. You absolutely cannot beat the prices. I've traveled all over, and there is no sushi place that has the prices that kotobukiya has, no joke. I can't vouch for fish quality, as I'm a vegetarian, but anything they have that is vegetarian is great. I always end up getting the same avocado roll with sesame seeds, and it is always great. Highly recommend this place.
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I love Kotobukiya. I get it, it's cheap, it's not the best sushi you've had in your life. But there's just something very sincere and unpretentious about the little bar and its employees. For more or less a fast-food sushi joint, the service is really quite wonderful. I go on Thursday nights, and the men manning the ship are always fastidious and courteous, and let's not mince words, extremely attractive. Also, it's worth pointing out that they are Japanese (well, I haven't asked, but I'm making an educated guess), which is a cut above many other sushi places.
Take-out is a fine option but I really enjoy sitting at the bar. It's always been a very satisfying people-watching experience, and is one of the few eat-out options that doesn't make you feel weird or lonely if you come by yourself.
P.S. Kotobukiya, my friend wanted me to tell you that you were cute and would you go out on a date with her, circle Y or N, thanks.
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For a vegetarian who's always hated nori - and thus avoided the vegetarian sushi options - this place did help me out today.
I am new to the neighborhood, and had heard things about all kinds of Japanese food places in this "Porter Exchange," so since I'm not starting my job for a couple weeks, I popped by. How cool all these places were! But oh dang - they only took cash and I didn't feel like taking out money beyond the $10 I had on me. And oddly enough the cheapest place was...sushi. Hm.
Well, they had a vegetarian sushi box for only about five bucks, and I could get a couple pieces of tamago (only a little strip of nori, that I could handle) to go with that. The vegetarian roll has a lot of cool stuff in it - okay, alright, this sounds pretty good. I dared.
And you know what, it opened my mind. The inari was really good (the last time I had it at another place, it was dripping wet, way too sweet, and way too cold, whereas this was lightly chilled and very tasty), the tamago was quite flavorful, and oooh, the vegetarian roll had cucumber, and avocado, and daikon, and tofu, and I have no idea what "gourd strap" is but I liked it too!
I can't say anything about the fish, but if you're a vegetarian craving a light Asian dinner, I sure would recommend that veggie sushi plate.
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After my friend and I had been talking about sushi all day at work, we decided that the only remedy and proper end to the conversation was to actually go out into the world and find some.
We had decided on Blue Fin in Porter Exchange, but they were surprisingly closed. After some deliberation over whether or not Kotobukiya seemed slightly sketchy, we decided to give it a shot.
I was more than pleasantly surprised by the prices and our sushi was top notch. Aside from an ordering mix up with our order and the person beside us, our server was very friendly. I highly recommend this place for trying out new sushi-- I ordered the plum roll and loved it.
The prices are right and the sushi is wonderfully tasty...and I will admit, sitting at a sushi bar makes me feel a little bit cooler than usual.
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