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Mikado Japanese Restaurant
Category: Restaurants Japanese Japanese [Edit]
977 E Commercial BlvdOakland Park, FL 33334
(954) 491-0738
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
Stephanie L. said: "I think I just travelled to South Korea!! I had always wanted to try Korean food so I drove from Miami to check this place with a friend. From the outside it doesn't look like much, more like any US suburbian commercial areas. However…" read more »
11 reviews for Mikado Japanese Restaurant
11 reviews in English
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Review from Michael S.
Pompano Beach, FL
1/6/2011
I first visited this sushi restaurant at the encouragement of a close friend, in 1980. I was greeted by family, shown a clean table, encouraged to try many different things, and have been coming back ever since. Tonight, I asked the wife "what was for dinner?" and was dispatched to Mikado for a sushi dinner for two.
Upon my arrival, I found a note taped to the door, announcing the untimely death of the owner, Shojiro Minami, on December 17, 2010, and that the restuarant was closed indefinitely.
30 years of wasabi tears, family and friendship times, and more evaporated before my eyes, as the owner, ever to ensure your perfect sushi meal, always greeted you on your exit with a simple saying "see you tomorrow".
His wife paid attention to all the orders, and his family worked the restaurant in recent years, but regardless of the recession/depression, that man delivered quality product and food relentlessly. I feel as if I lost a brother or distant family member that I wished to do more for. I am in awe for his/their tenacity to stay relevant and running for 30 years, and I mourn the loss of a great man and restuarant.
If there's one thing the old man taught me, treat your customers like family, deliver consistent product at a competitive price, and your efforts will reward you. I'm overwhelmed at the loss, ashamed that I took for granted he'd be there forever, and wish I had the chance to say thank you more than I did. This is like a "Rocky" or "Mr. Miyagi" character dying. We lost a star in 2010. Hopefully many will remember. -
Review from Sal G.
I am always looking for a good sushi place. Being in the Fort Lauderdale area and having found nothing worth merit south of Sunrise Blvd, I decided to search north of Sunrise Blvd. I was expecting a small hole in the wall restaurant from reading the other reviews, but when I walked in I was truly shocked. The first thing to come to my mind, "Had I designed or built anything like this in school, I would have failed on the spot."
Taking it in stride, I moved forward to the table of my choice. We were greeted by an older, 5 foot tall lady. She handed us menus and asked for our drink orders. When she moved, she moved with a swiftness that belied the fact that she was walking. Looking through the menu I had some questions and asked them when she returned with our drinks.
I have been to a lot of Japanese restaurants and I am always looking for a tekka don (tuna bowl). As soon as I said the words, she knew what I was talking about and asked me if that was what I wanted. HELL YES! So many sushi places have no idea what a tekka don is. I placed our order:
Gyoza
Tekka Don with a side of spicy mayo
Chicken/beef Teriyaki
I started to listen to the other customers around me. Everyone else was a regular. I was getting this warm and fuzzy feeling in me. Our server brought out Miso soup and it was good. Difficult to ruin a bowl of miso soup, but it has been done. Out of no where we have two salads brought to the table. I had to send them back, it would be too much food. Our server was so apologetic at how long the food and gyoza was taking.
We received our entrees before the appetizer, but that was fine because I had my tekka don in front of me. I went right for the tuna and I was in heaven. Not the best presentations in the world, but the taste was all there. Such good tuna and rice. I tried some of the teriyaki. Oh so good. And then the gyoza arrived. The gyoza with the ponzu sauce was really good. I haven't had a nice and tangy ponzu sauce like this in quite some time.
I will be returning. I am happy to say that the food definitely makes up for the presentation. -
Review from Colleen R.
Fort Lauderdale, FL
7/8/2011
I've been here a few times. It is a small place, so if you are a group of about 8 or more call them ahead of time - they have a little enclave in the back of the restaurant they can set up for you. The service is very attentive and they are always appreciative when you come in and thank you when you leave. The menu is not too expansive, the prices are reasonable. They do make sushi rolls with brown rice so that's always a must for me. It won't knock your socks off or anything, but it gets the job done.
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Review from Julie A.
4/28/2009 11 photos
I loved my waitress here. Thanks to the reviews by Aria V. and Vanessa P., we wouldn't have found this place.
When we got there, I ordered fried gyoza for an appetizer ($6.25). It came out at the same time as our sushi, but with the standard sweet sauce.
We got a great deal on sushi. Just paid $14.95 for the One Specialty Roll and one Regular Roll Special. So we got the Dynamite Roll with the Mikado Roll (deep fried roll with avocado, cream cheese with crab). Both were OK, but would have been better if there was not so much rice, and the filling ratio was a bit higher. Otherwise, the Mikado roll looked a lot like what you would call a dynamite roll here in my town (seaweed on the outside, and served with drizzle of hot sauce), and the Dynamite roll just looked like something else (seaweed on the outside???). Add to the confusion that the spicy roll was the Mikado roll and the dynamite wasn't so spicy. :: shrug :: new place, new rules I guess?
To go with our meal, Zohan decided to get some sake while we were there. Oh boy... This is the reason why I was still yopparai a few hours later and ended up tripping and falling in the parking lot. Yeah, I got the spongebob bandaids to prove it. Hahaha. Anyway the sake was smooth and warm going down. Oishikatta.
And I had to get some Fried Ice Cream while we were there. Zohan had never heard of Fried Ice Cream "WHAT? Why would anyone want to fry ice cream? Weird!!" he said. He ordered Fried Cheesecake. Both were fried in tempura batter.
Our waitress was a really friendly Japanese woman. Very helpful, too.
Yes, they did have ramen here, but not chashu ramen.Listed in: Fort Laudy Dottie, we likes to…
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Review from Aria v.
New York, NY
12/7/2008
When I was in high school, Mikado was THE lunch spot. Not for the popular kids, and not for the jocks or the nerds or the freaks and geeks. No, Mikado was MY restaurant. We spoke Japanese, they had special chopsticks just for me and they always knew what time my girls and I would come in on Tuesday that they had our diet cokes on the table as we walked in the door.
Food:
This isn't just a sushi place, this is a Japanese restaurant. And by that I don't mean, oh they do teriyaki and katsu too. No, this place has a separate menu in Japanese, a specials board outside that denotes their fresh catches that would be incomprehensible to anyone who didn't know what the squiggles mean, and best yet, husband and wife are really from Japan.
So you want don buri? They have it, it's delicious. Ramen? Check. Yakimeshi, udon, okonomiyaki? How about some traditional washoku of sake, gohan and nori? Oh yes. And it's all fantastic. Each dish, be it a bento box of sushi and sashimi or a dinner entree of sukiyaki, is perfectly crafted by a chef who grew up eating and making these dishes. He knows what he's doing, and it shows. Each slice of fish is cut with care so that it melts in your mouth, and all of the ingredients are authentic and used properly. Even if it's not on the menu in English, chances are they still make and make it well.
This is authentic Japanese food at its finest, and the best I've found outside of Japan. I've had some great fusion, and I've had some delectable sushi, but nothing compares to Mikado for me. Every time I go down South to visit family I make sure to stop buy for at least one lunch. I love them there, and they treat me like an old friend. I would eat there every day if I could, and I'm sure that one week in high school I did.
Venue:
Mikado's tucked away in a shopping center on the corner of Commercial and Dixie, and I you visit Fort Lauderdale and want to eat like a local, know these are the places we go to. Not Las Olas, not A1A on the Beach, and not 17th St if we can avoid it. Small, home restaurants in large centers that typically house a grocery store, a department store and a dry cleaners.
From the outside, it looks more trendy than local. It has dark plate glass windows and a decorative logo, but inside it's very much a stale faux-Japan decor--until you look closer. The TV is actually playing NHK, the trees aren't bonsai, but flowers you'll actually find in a Japanese backyard. The paintings and clippings and posters cater to the Japanese crowd that frequents there. The restaurant's small, and can at most accommodate 30 or so, but it definitely gets busy sometimes.
Still, it's the atmosphere is what sells it. The people are the nicest, and you feel casual and comfortable. It's a real local place, and that's very noticeable when a regular comes in. I used to spend so much time there, each lunch got longer and longer because we would just keep talking to everyone. We were frequently late to class because of it, but it was always worth it.
As my first 5-star review, I'm proud it's this restaurant, one of my favorite in the world. I can without hesitation say, if you get the chance, go to Mikado, you won't be disappointed.Listed in: Nihon ryori no risuto
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Review from Vanessa P.
Aventura, FL
2/24/2009 1 photo
It's been quite a while since I've had sushi (living with someone who only does red meat and occasional chicken can do that to a girl). So I decided to venture out and find some sushi places by the office. After reading the review from Aria, I had to check it out.
Although I ordered take-out for lunch, I was enchanted with the inside of the restaurant. Stepping inside is almost like stepping into another world. There weren't many people inside, but it had a very homey feel to it.
I ordered their #7 lunch special which included sushi, sashimi and a California roll. It also included soup and salad for about $10.50. Everything was wonderfully fresh and it has helped to reignite my once dormant affair for this wonderful cuisine.
I definitely plan on coming back to dine-in and escape into the quiet yet welcoming ambiance of Mikado. -
Review from Cal F.
Temecula, CA
3/10/2011
This joint deserves are -1000.
This place gets our #1 rating for the best place to be scammed. Lets just say we will be filing a multiple State complaints on Monday.
Regarding just the food: Sushi was substandard, and this is NOT a Japanese place, its some backwater Japanese wanna-be hole. Their product is far past the freshness date yet they will sell you that seafood "just smells that way". Classic scam move. I have had better in 3rd world countries.
4.5 rating is due to the raters, who are clearly ignorant goobers who can be sold cat turds on rice and still love to pay their bill.
The worst part is, we turned back two pieces of sushi, was offered two pieces back for no charge ($5.50 value), was given a bill for about $74, then had our $74 bill yanked and replaced with a $94 bill. We signed off on the $94, confused, and left. Then added all the items we bought, and the prices from their menu, and realized we are defrauded out of $10. This on top of being served garbage fish, which by the way, we applied southern politeness and did not make a fuss about. Southern courtesy to these people is simply at pathetic act of good ole American wussiness, I was truly stupid.
We will be double checking out CC bill too!!!!
We will NEVER trust Fort Lauderdale restaurants again. Joints like this give the entire region a bad name. -
Review from Jenny G.
Fort Lauderdale, FL
10/28/2010 10 photos
We were looking for a good sushi place in the neighborhood since our favorite one is soooooo far away. It's in the publix plaza which I frequent a lot but never really see anyone in there so never thought to give it a try. But are we glad we did! It's a very small but cozy place. The service was good, the food came out rather quick & everything was so fresh & delicious that we are definitely going back! Didn't know I could substitute my salad for some California rolls, will keep that in mind next time! :-)
~~~~UPDATE~~~~
Ok, so apparently this place has been sold to a new couple because the older couple that was there when I wrote the first review are no longer there. Now its a yourger couple who runs the place and i dont know how japanese they are since they had a mexican dude working there, you dont see that too often. Well, lets just say that now I WILL NOT BE GOING BACK! they dont honor the same deals that the other couple had where you substitute the soup or sald for a few sushi rolls AND we had a coupon from http://justmealdeals.com and they didnt want to honor that neither!!!! The lady was acting all stupid saying "NO, NO we dont do that" and asking me "who put that there?!?". the coupon was $5 off of a $30+bill so obiously our bill was OVER $30+, AND we WERE regulars there and I say were because today was our last visit!!!!! if you cant treat your "regulars" good, cant honor deals and discounts and can't keep them happy so they keep coming back AND bringing you more customers (which we have several times), then you are not a good bussiness owner!!! SO PEOPLE IF YOU SEE A DEAL OR COUPON OR ANYTHING WHERE YOU GET FREE STUFF OR $ OFF YOUR BILL FOR THIS RESTAURANT, DONT BELEIVE IT!!!!! IT'S JUST A TACTIC TO GET YOU IN THE DOOR THAT'S ALL!!! -
Review from Kat S.
Fort Lauderdale, FL
12/23/2010
Yummy food, reasonable prices, long time owners and true japanese hospitality! Everything I have tried here is good.
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Review from Jeremy B.
Updated - 10/4/2010
I get takeout sushi from Mikado every week or two. Each time the husband and wife team that own the place are so nice and friendly. The sushi is always fresh and tasty and the prices are reasonable. Sometimes when I go in there to pick up my takeout order for lunch the place is empty, and I wonder why? I guess this place is still a local secret. Highly recommended...
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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7/15/2009
I've been craving sushi for the past few days, so partly based on Yelp reviews I decided to give… Read more »
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Review from Mira B.
Manhattan Beach, CA
10/9/2009 1 photo
Great sushi and I'm not kidding. The restaurant atmosphere isn't justified the taste of the food. I had all nigiri and no roll, excellent cut, fresh fishes. I ordered conch, baby octopus, saba, uni, sweet shrimp, toro and hamashi (see pictures). I would say the reason I didn't give it a 5 stars because the rice, wasabi, soy sauce and ginger are only acceptable. (I'm a real snob sorry!)
