Toraya Restaurant in Arlington

- Chef and Owner is the only one that handle making the 🍣. - Most Authentic Japanese sushi restaurant around Boston- Plan on wait to get seated. Wait time varies

Best sushi restaurant in Boston area! A hole in the wall (but cute), so not many tables, but great fresh sushi and proper size nigiri. (Meaning not humongous)

Seriously good sushi in a relaxed no-frills atmosphere. It's the way I want all sushi places to be.

When dining at Toraya I immediately felt welcomed as I walked into the small, yet beautifully decorated restaurant. Behind the sushi bar the chef was filleting a full salmon and it was fun to watch! I recommend this to those are in search of affordable and spectacular sushi. You can place your specific order online or you can stroll in take a peek in the cooler/fridge where there are plenty of pre-made rolls (individual or in combos). Another with avocado and tuna and salmon roll plus a set of salmon and tuna nigiri was a great portion. The place is really small (mostly a takeout place) and there is only one sushi chef, so order ahead and pick up.

Love this place, it's our #1 go-to neighborhood restaurant. Sushi is as good as any you'll find in the Boston area. It's a small place (6 tables + sushi bar) with one sushi chef, so you have to time it right to get seated right away or expect to hang out a bit.

Just for sushi lovers. Don't expect decor. Sushi is great but the service is starting to take a toll (reduced rating from 5 stars to 3 stars).

The food and service were above our expectations. I truly enjoyed the vibes of this restaurant. Amazing spot to take my family out for lunch.

One of my favorite Japanese restaurants in MA. It's a small place with an excellent menu and good sushi.

Luv this place. Good food, tiny tho, gotta pick a good time to hit it or be ready for some wait time.

This place has amazing sushi

Hands down favorite Japanese restaurant

Again and again, we go back to Toraya and are always impressed. Every dish on the menu is delicious, fresh, and beautifully displayed. Highly recommend!!

Really excellent as usual!! Authentic and fresh, no fake food. Highly recommend!

The most incredible hidden gem we’ve found since moving to Boston. It is a proper Japanese restaurant, where you can get decent sushi without mayo or other westernizing additions. The salt baked mackerel (Saba) is just perfect. As is every single piece of sushi and sashimi ever ordered there! Perfect hole-in-the-wall and staff!

If you are looking for real Japanese cuisine this is the place. Really fresh food, good taste and flavor. The girl serving is always looking to help you.

Fantastic food, wonderful service.

Fantastic! One of the few authentic Japanese-owned Japanese restaurants in greater Boston area that isn't devoted to ramen. While the sushi is excellent, way above average, this old-style family place is maybe the only place left serving Sukiyaki. Other dinners like Yosenabe, various fish Shioyaki, all Teriyaki are also delicious. It's small, and they don't take reservations, so go early or on a cold weeknight, or be willing to wait.

Delicious food and very welcome

If you wanna experience rude service, just try calling for a takeout at around 1 pm. The waitress will rudely tell you the restaurant doesn’t accept takeout at lunchtime! “Busy here!” Hmmmm what’s the point of opening a restaurant and not accepting service?!Arlington town should look into this restaurant service hours because it seems they are doing this very often. They should’ve advertised “dining room only”! It’s not a question of busy hours, it’s because there’s only one sushi chef who can’t keep up with all the orders! What if we walked in?! We would be turned away too!??

If you want authentic japanese food. You came into the right place. A bit pricey, food are on a smaller portion. I had two small pcs of-grilled mackerel for 16$. Personally it was worth it since ive been craving for it since i left tokyo. Will come back.

I love coming here. Everything is authentic and perfect. Sometimes the wait is a little bit longer for food because of this commitment to perfection, but it is absolutely worth it!

Excellent, fresh sushi at a fair price. However, it's the literal hole in the wall, which means it takes time... Worth the wait!

Always amazing.

Very good. Keep in mind that there is Wasabi in all the sushi. Maybe worth asking customers if they want Wasabi.

Love the food here, but wish they would expand and make the atmosphere nicer, but then people would hang around longer and I think the waitress likes to get you in and out and there is only the one sushi chef. Great joint overall.

Very simple place by the looks but the food is amazing. Lives up to the hype

Still my favorite sushi place after all these years. Nothing fancy or trendy. Just good seafood and good rice, expertly prepared.

This is the best Japanese food I've had in Massachusetts and the prices are hard to beat. I especially recommend the bento lunches!

I love this hole-in-the-wall place. People were lining up for tables 30 minutes before opening

I loved the Zarusoba. It's been a while since I had been here, and I forgot how good it is! Small though, so get there early or you'll be waiting for a seat...

Toraya has great lunch specials. But it's such a tiny space that you really need to come early (before 12 noon) or come alone and sit at the sushi bar. They offer free hot tea. Sushi is the main star here, but their tempura is quite nice as well.

The best chirashi I have had in years. Thank you.

Small shop, maybe 16 seats. Sushi is the best I've had in Boston. Always fresh and super delicious. Best advice for newcomers is to go right when they open or off-peak/odd hours to avoid the wait. They are uncompromsingly good at delivering the best possible sushi experience and are unashamed of how long you may wait for it. Be warned that many kitchen entrees are not available for takeout. I've also been straight up refused when attempting to make a takeout order because of how busy they are.I highly recommend this place at least once at the risk of increasing my own wait times in the future.

Great sushi at an affordable price. The place is very small however and there is only one person preparing the sushi. So be prepared to wait for a long time. You better get there before they open or later when the first wave of customers begins leaving. Ditto for take out orders.

I visited Hokkaido with my parents in May and planned to take them to a very good Japanese restaurant in Sapporo. I searched via tripadvisor and found this perfect place. I made a booking by email with ease. We received very warm welcome by the owner the moment we arrived at the restaurant. The food was simply fantastic. Their Main ingredients are vegetables and seafood/fish (so if you are a meat lover, this may not be the place for you). Every dish was delicately prepared. My parents loved every dish the served. Not only the food, the service was exceptional too. The staff were friendly and professional. You cannot help but to feel like you are receiving personalized service. LOVE IT.

So cozy and authentic. This was my second visit, and I was immediately transported back to that time I went to Tokyo and had sushi at a tiny place like Toraya. That flavor! You know what I mean if you love true Japanese food. I haven't heard this much Japanese spoken around me, in Boston. There were three separate parties of Japanese folks talking in Japanese. The waitress spoke Japanese. The sushi chef- I am pretty sure he is Japanese AND went to those old fashion sushi school. I can't think of any sushi place in the greater Boston area that is run by Japanese sushi master- I feel like it's a dying tradition at lease in the US and enjoy it while you can! (Vs. Uni which is also great, but that is almost different kind of cuisine in my book). Note: there is always wait so it is hard if you have little kids. There is no space to bring the stroller inside so plan accordingly. It's worth it.

This small (24 seats) restaurant could be found anywhere in Japan. One waitress and the Sushi chef. I usually go for their lunch Chirashi that is excellent but the quantity of fish has decreased over the years. Today I went for a lunch Bento Box with Pork Katsu. The pork was cooked well and I got both mustard and tonkatsu sauce. The goyza was cold as was the tatsuta-age. The miso soup was good but served in freezingly cold bowl.

Really good place. Very simple room with just a few tables. The food is exceptional. Had a bunch of appetizers and was blown away by the choice and quality of sashimi. Maki was also stellar.

Best Japanese food from Japanese chef. Try Salmon Okabe and Agedashi tofu. They are so good.

Yummy food, lots of choices.

This is definitely a hidden gem. Very nice sushi, but very small place with a usual long wait. They don't accept reservation.

My all time favorite place to get lunch and Japanese food. The dishes I've tried so far have been excellent, all for a reasonable price. The servers are very nice and are a pleasure to see, especially the waitress who works during lunch. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a pleasant experience with soothing food and drink. Favorite Dish: Tempura Bento-Box

This is the best Japanese restaurant in the greater Boston area in my opinion. The food is always try and fresh, and I'd never had anything unsatisfying 4 years living in the area. The sashimi is fresh, and the tempura looks very pretty, and taste great. The noodle here is also very tasty. We had their special deep fried baby octopus today. Very good!

We come here often for authentic Japanese food. So far, we've only had the noodle and rice bowls but their sushi is apparently quite popular. This place is physically small and seats are limited so arriving early is essential.

Friendly neighborhood sushi place with very fresh fish. Also delicious side dishes (agedashi tofu etc.)One odd note: sometimes the place smells of cleaning products. Nice to know it's freshly cleaned, but it would be better to air it out before customers arrive.

This is my go to place for sashimi. When I go in, they know me and I can have my favorite Sashimi plate with an appetizer of Soft-shell crab. It's lovely, and the service is fast and friendly as well.

Excellent. Super fresh, great flavor and texture. Very reasonably priced.

Amazing sushi at a very reasonable price. The quality is top notch and the chef really knows what he's doing. The wait staff is very attentive and kind as well. This is my favorite sushi spot in the greater Boston area. Their non-sushi dishes are delicious too!I recommend the sushi deluxe.

A great place to eat fresh sushi, nigiri and sashimi. We took 2 different plates and the fish was not only fresh but tasted great. It's quite a small place but they turn over pretty fast so you won't have to wait too long if it's full.

I love this restaurant! The food specials are always delicious! Also a very nice ambiance inside.