We are trying out restaurants in Arlington for my sister who moving there in October. Sunday night we had a wonderful dinner at the Japanese restaurant, Toraya, on Mass Ave. above Arlington Center. It is a great little restaurant, with a sushi bar down one side and 6 tables on the other. Reminded me of VMajestic in Brighton or East Asia in Powderhouse Square, but with a little bit more decor. Most of the customers were Asian, which I always take as a good sign. We ordered edamame, which came cold and not salty. Had not seen that before, but it was ok. We had miso soup and the red bean soup with mushrooms. Both very smooth and soothing on a rainy night. We had appetizers - shumai steamed and the shrimp and veggie tempura. Excellent. Then hubby tried the mackeral box sushi and I had a CA roll, unagi nigiri and shrimp tempura maki. All were very fresh and good. The portions are on the small side, but are very reasonably priced. Our entire meal was only $50! The service was friendly, and the sushi chef kept an eye on us to make sure everything was ok. Definitely a great place for a low key dinner. I gave my sister the thumbs up on this place! -B
Boston, MA
Review: Toraya, Arlington, MA
bex Hunter wrote: > The portions are on the small side, but are very > reasonably priced. Our entire meal was only $50! > > The service was friendly, and the sushi chef kept > an eye on us to make sure everything was ok. > > Definitely a great place for a low key dinner. I > gave my sister the thumbs up on this place! Glad you like it too. I've been going there for over a year now, but most recently more than lats year. The chef is very informative. And I love the fact that he has a specials board by the bar listing the seasonal items. The nigiri aren't huge, but they aren't that expensive either. I usually spend about $25 - $33 on a big lunch, which is usually the Sushi Lunch and some A La Carte. The chef often mixes up some of the items in the Sushi Lunch so I'm not always getting the same things. Also, the chef marinates his own saba wonderfully! It definately is a low key dining experience, and I usually do see mostly Asian patrons. I've actually seen the same set of Japanese businessmen come in.. don't even place and order and the chef starts making Chirashi for all three. I look forward to the Winter when the chef gets ankimo and amaebi again.