Zen Toro

Location

132 E Street #1A (in Mansion Square)

Hours

Lunch: Mon-Fri 11:30AM-2:00PM

Dinner: Mon-Thu 5:30PM-9:00PM

Dinner: Fri-Sat 5:30PM-10:00PM

Phone

(530)753-0154

Fax

(530)753-0194

Established

January 4, 2006

Proprietors

Masa & Masako Nishiyama

Website

http://www.zentorosushi.com

Zen Toro Japanese bistro and sushi bar came to Davis in 2006, replacing Tapioca Express. Zen Toro had a Sacramento location for some time. That location has since closed and was replaced by a new sushi restaurant.

The presentation is more stylish instead of traditional, as is the food. The portions are generally large, and they have a few Hawaiian-Japanese specialties, including a dish with Spam. The tempura seems to be their strongest dish, while some side dishes such as the pasta salad tend to be critiqued negatively. Prices are (roughly) $8 for lunch and $10-$18 for dinner. Most reviewers enjoy the food and rate it highly, especially their sushi rolls. In fact, Zen Toro was voted Best Sushi/Japanese Cuisine in Davis Wiki's Best of Davis 08 and was recently given a four star rating by the Sacramento News & Review. The common theme of complaints though regards the speed of service, with the consensus being it's too slow (whether it is refilling water glasses, paying your bill, or in some cases placing/receiving an order).

Something unique that Zen Toro features has a Japanese heated toilet with an integrated bidet in the women's restroom, providing a warm water spray and a gentle blow-dry.

Note: Their paper menu (which opens left to right) stresses ***NO SUBSTITUTIONS PLEASE***.

Chicken from Zen Toro.

ZT Crunch Roll Tempura dish from Zen Toro.

Media

• 2008 Review — 2008 review in Davis Life Magazine of the food and drink available at Zen Toro.
  

• 2008 Feature — A Davis Life Magazine interview with the owner of Zen Toro.

Comments:

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• Reviews from 2006 ~ 39 comments.
  

• Reviews from 2007 ~ 23 comments.
  

• A long argument regarding Zen Toro's handling of allegedly-intoxicated patrons can be read at Zen Toro/Punk In Drublic.
  

2008-01-26 17:15:56   Does the light look like its off from E street? I've passed by two friday nights now and I'm convinced it must be closed. ? —TheStomach

2008-01-26 20:51:55   Mmmm Mmmmm Mmmm Mmm good. Had dinner the other night- a simple california roll- and loved it. My friend's food all looked and tasted good too. bit pricey compared to mcdonalds, but worth it. —KenichiSan

2008-02-02 02:50:26   I've been here twice. The first time was right before closing time for lunch. So only me, my girlfriend, and maybe one or two other tables. We get our ZT Crunch Roll first. Awesomeness. We also both ordered the udon and sushi combo I believe. I get mines, and the waiter apologizes and says, "Sorry, her's is still on the way." We wait like 20 minutes and my girlfriend's dish finally comes out, when my dish is already cold and soggy. I enjoyed the food enough, however, to chalk it up to one incident and I say I'll come back.

So tonight my girlfriend and I come for dinner. Crowded, as usual. We sit down and get our main dishes fast. Only problem is, it took them an hour and a half since we sat down before our ZT Crunch Roll finally came. By this time, we were already full and wondered why it took so long to get our roll.

The food here is great, I'm sure a lot of people have had good experiences exclusively (and some have had a bad one here and there like myself), but ultimately, I don't think the quality of the food (which is great, by the way), is going to justify me or my girlfriend spending another $50 on dinner and not get good service. An hour and a half for a sushi roll is fucking ridiculous, and yes, I asked the waitress a couple times where our roll was and she said "it was coming."

I'd rather go to Osaka or Moshi Moshi, where it seems like the staff is more coordinated. —BlackHamster

2008-02-12 13:42:16   The food here is very good, the sushi rolls are awesome, not too much rice and sauce, more sashimi. I went here with my wife on a friday night and we got fine service, no complaints. I hear the women's restroom has a nice toilet with a heated seat and water spray to clean yourself. —DagonJones

2008-02-29 10:55:43   Came here a couple times. One Friday night my boyfriend and I ordered two meals and one roll. Our regular food came out pretty quickly. However, after we finished eating our meals, we still waited a half an hour for our one roll. Since it was taking so long I was eating my food slowly. The waitress look annoyed and asked twice if I was finished, and the second time we asked her where our roll was. She then looked surprised and said she would check on it. Basically I think she forgot about our roll. The food is really good, but sometimes the restaurant gets so packed the service goes downhill. —RiyoKwong

2008-04-15 23:14:45   In recently moving to Davis I was afraid I would not find a decent sushi restaurant, our standards for being gaijin are extremely high. My partner and I frequent Zen Toro about twice a week. The primary sushi chef and owner makes better rolls than his understudies. As rolls from most sushi restaurants are disgusting, we stopped ordering them until going to Zen Toro. They use high quality ingredients, perfectly combined with the right embellishments and garnishing. If you prefer nigiri, I would suggest evening dining. They have fish deliveries on Tuesdays and Fridays, plan your nigiri days around the delivery days. We regularly frequent this restaurant and the service has not been an issue for us. The level of business goes up and down, can you blame them for not wanting to pay an extra hand. I highly recommend Zen Toro. It is unlikely I will go to any other sushi restaurant in Davis (unless Kan Sha in Escondido decides to move to Davis). —unipeg39

2008-05-14 23:10:09   good food, but every time i've been here i feel like leaving zero tip...although i always leave 20%, something about the service here makes me feel like they dont even want tips...over all...i'd give this place a C+ only because the service is horrible, otherwise it would get a A- —foodexpert

2008-05-16 23:04:16   I've never noticed the "no substitutions please" request anywhere. I just ate there tonight and they very kindly gave me my citrus roll with no cream cheese. Oddly though, they made a change and covered the top of the roll with a gooey sauce instead of the lemon slices mentioned in the menu. They were very nice and corrected it. I don't eat there as often as I'd like because they are a bit pricey, but two of us ate until we were full tonight and our bill was just over $30, about $37 with tax and tip. The trick is to split things, because their rolls and dinner plates are huge. —HopeBravo

2008-06-09 17:31:44   It took us about 10 minutes just to get our name on the list. The wait after that wasn't too bad, though they almost seated someone else in my name. After we were seated, it took about another 10 minutes for the waitress to ask us what we wanted to order. It was another 20 or so minutes before the waitress came back to fill up my water. Ridiculously slow.

However the food was delicious. We ordered the mixed sashimi with tempura, ZT crunch, and the Citrus Breeze rolls. The salmon and tuna sashimi were delicious, melts in your mouth. The ZT crunch was delicious, with a satisfying crunch to add to the texture - highly recommended. The Citrus Breeze was a bit strong on the lemon, but for those who like the cream cheese in their rolls, it's pretty good. Tempura was standard, nothing special. For dessert we tried their mango ice cream, which was way too strong on the mango; it would have done very well if it were mixed with vanilla ice cream.

All of this came out to be about 45 bucks for dinner for two. Considering the quality of the sushi, the price isn't terrible, but such a tab calls for a better setting (it's too crowded!) and better service (I felt neglected). If the service weren't so bad, I would come here again. I would suggest sitting at the sushi bar if you ever plan on coming here. —BrandonWong

2008-06-19 01:56:35   The Zen Tofu rolls with asparagus tempura are a very yummy vegetarian option. The service was slow both times I was there, but the restaurant has a relaxing atmosphere which made it easier to deal with (the plum wine I was sipping on helped a bit, too). —AprilAries

2008-07-05 19:33:11   The best Japanese food in Davis. Bar none. Everyother place in Davis is a JOKE. However, this place is really expensive. And the service can be god awful. I've left many a cheap tip at this place. They really gotta get it together. This is unacceptable for a Japanese establishment. It's all the more shocking because Japanese people actually work here instead of the typical Chinese. —JimBob

2008-07-20 01:18:08   Best quality sushi I've had so far! —cnk.midori

2008-07-25 20:25:46   Of my experience, it's the best sushi restaurant in Sacramento area. Though, I think the quality is kinda slipping. I always ordered the momiji or the chirashi. Momiji is suppposed to have uni sushi, but it wasn't there when I ordered it. But the waitress was helpful and gave my lovely uni sushi. They have many special toro like tuni toro, salmon toro .....Those are really good. I haven't really tried the rolls here since those rolls are Americanized. You will get better off by not visiting the restaurant at peak hours because the chief would put speed on their priority over quality like they will cut the sashami really big..I tried that once.

Service is bad as many people have commented and I agree with them —KelvinCheng

2008-10-21 00:58:56   My girlfriend and I just ate here the other night. I was pleasently surprised with the quality of the food and service. My experience with Japanese restaraunts has not been very good in the past but this place was different. We both loved it and plan to go again soon. —smittyhoy

2008-11-20 20:00:48   I've been here twice and both times were bad experiences. The first time I ordered teriyaki steak, and it was horrible! The meat was mostly fat and was way overcooked to the point where it was difficult to chew. The second time I went I had one of their lunch specials. These specials come with coleslaw, soup, and rice. They ran out of coleslaw and soup and still charged us for it!! The food was okay, but the service was very slow. One of the guys in our party was served ten minutes after the rest of us got our food. —MAlexa

2008-11-30 19:03:21   If I were to star in 'The Sound of Music', one of my favorite things would be Zen Toro. Or, more specifically, their 'Surf and Turf' sushi roll. It is delicious, and topped with a layer of uber tasty tempura onions. The staff is so nice and the environment is way better than most nasty Davis establishments. It is owned by the cutest couple ever. ALSO, for the quality of their food, the prices are SO LOW. In SF, you'd be paying about $10 more. I usually go with a friend and we split a $35 bill, which includes a TON of great food/sushi.
yum yum yum —AliciaEdelman

2008-12-18 02:20:53   Ate lunch here with a few of my friends a few days ago. I loved the atmosphere; very cute but clean but. I ordered beef udon and the Tuna Lover's Dream roll, and found both to be very yummy and fresh. The only gripe I have is that my friends and I had to wait about 30 minutes for our orders, although it was the lunch rush... I'll come back again for the sushi. —kthrnngo

2008-12-18 05:34:55   Best sushi in Davis, no doubt. This place was a gem when my wife and I discovered it. So glad we did. We were beginning to think we couldn't find quality sushi in Davis after frequenting the other places in town. —condemned2bfree

2009-01-14 00:20:07   Their meals are pretty good, but a little pricier for Davis. They also take a while to prepare the food. This is a good "date" place because the restaurant setting is well decorated and the staff is professional. Also, the long wait can be used to your advantage so you have a longer time to talk. —AmanpreetSingh

2009-01-21 23:48:15   This is the best sushi restaurant in Davis. I highly recommend Zen Toro to anybody who wants to eat authentic sushi. —Tomo

2009-02-09 08:59:12   I came here for the 2nd time over the weekend. The first time was a few years ago right when they opened. Due to the great reviews, I decided to give them another try, and I'm glad I did. I love their unique rolls! They also have some really spicy choices on their menu which is always great to try when you go out with friends....since I can't eat a whole roll that spicy myself. They had people lined up at their door waiting for their 5:30 open time which was immpressive enough. In addition, their rolls are quite reasonably priced. Other than it smelling like fish (never good in a sushi restaurant!) for a few minutes, I'd say judging by how busy it was and caliber of food I ordered, I will definitely be back! —AmLin

2009-04-24 12:55:11   Definitely my favorite sushi restaurant in Davis. Everything is always fresh, perfectly prepared, and delicious. It'll be a tad more expensive than the all-you-can-eat-extravaganza place across the street, but definitely worth it for the unique rolls, thoughtful presentation, and quality of fish you get. Even the side salads that come with the lunch specials are little works of art with fresh local greens arranged just so.

—annlewis

2009-05-10 14:59:56   My personal favorite sushi place in Davis. Seems to be better quality than many of the other sushi places in Davis, no major complaints, seems relatively fresh and service is good. Favorite is the New Age Bake California, I got it to go for lunch several days straight before. —Michelleshueh

2009-05-15 17:26:16   It's ridiculously expensive and the sushi rolls are so thin and small. I got one of their salmon rolls for 12 dollars and I was so hungry afterwards I had a hotdog. They charge extra for a small bowl of miso soup and dont even refill it. When I had sushi at home, the rolls were huge and hefty and the toppings extravagant. Here you will feel hungry and robbed of your money for what you get! Dont go unless you are filthy rich! —alexlee333

2009-05-16 11:49:23   I think Zen Toro has the best Japanese food in Davis, as well as a friendly staff and pleasant atmosphere—it's a great place to take a date! I also have always wanted to take my parents here, but it is never open when they come to visit (usually on a Sunday). —ColinDoyle

2009-05-17 21:11:37   The food is so yummy~~ We go there at afteroom.......... our food comes so fast~ —coffeetea99

2009-05-29 16:12:56   Finally got a chance to go to Zen Toro for both lunch and dinner- and both were delicious! Not only is the service good (e.g., attentive, friendly waiters), their fish is fresh and their rolls are inventive (but not unappetizingly so). Their lunch specials range from about $7-$10 for sushi/cooked food combos and are a great value; servings are large and diverse. They also have quite a good sake selection. All in all, Zen Toro is a great deal for either meal. (One caveat: I've heard they have odd hours, so I would check their site before going to ensure they'll be open) —chellebelle1685

2009-05-30 19:44:35   Top quality sushi and interesting fusion dishes for suprising reasonable price. One of the best restaurants in Davis!!! —BelindaYT

2009-06-12 11:25:21   One of my favorites in Davis (other is Moshi Moshi). Sushi is always fresh and I love their miso soup. I don't get the big green salad though...either I was missing dressing or it is just bland. —LokiAbbi

2009-06-24 08:04:51   A little pricey, but the service and food definitely make up for it. If you're looking for a local restaurant to go to on a date, Zen Toro might be it. —AbbYu

2009-07-20 13:04:42   I actually think the prices are very reasonable considering the quality of food and attention to detail. If you want to try Zen Toro without spending as much, go during lunch - you can get a variety of sushi/noodle/other stuff combinations for under 10 bucks. I've had to limit myself to only going once a week, but find that difficult - I may be addicted to the udon noodle bowls. I've only tried a couple of the specialty sushi rolls, but the ones I have tried have been interesting, delicious, and very filling. Service has always been very friendly, although not always the most attentive. Food can also take awhile, particularly when they're very busy, but I think there's only one person or maybe two at a time handling the sushi-making, which would explain the hold-up. Again, if you go during lunch during the week, it's rarely very busy and is inexpensive. —jmofro

2009-08-29 21:55:14   Zen Toro is my favorite sushi restaurant in Davis. The food is consistently excellent. The owners are both very sweet and are always present. Lovely ambiance. Worth every penny! —davisdebbie

2009-10-21 11:53:52   I went here awhile ago with some friends. The atmosphere was nice enough, but the service was slow! By the time we got our food, we were so hungry that we were getting irritable, and the mood affected how much we liked the food. —waterlilees

2009-11-09 18:35:40   Wonderful. Everything here is delicious, especially the tataki beef. It's costly, but it's sushi so that's to be expected. Decor is excellent. —KCcomix

2009-11-13 21:38:05   The food has improved! When we ate at Zen Toro's a few years ago, the sushi was good, but the food from the kitchen was uninspired. We went with friends twice in the past month and were impressed with the quality and flair of the dishes. The Hawaiian Ahi Poke Salad, Agedashi Tofu, and Mackerel grilled with salt were flavorful and fresh. After the owners closed their Sacramento restaurant 2 years ago, they put their efforts into the Davis restaurant and it shows. —Craighton