Little Tokyo,

120 New Canaan Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06850

"I feel compelled to speak up in response to those who complain that the service at Little Tokyo is substandard. People who don’t understand differences in speech and grammatical patterns between Mandarin/ Cantonese/Japanese/Asian cultures think that an abrupt speech pattern is rudeness. For instance, what appears to be abrupt, direct speech is actually a function of grammar structure in certain dialects like Cantonese. Go down to Chinatown in Manhattan or Flushing, Queens, and you’ll hear many examples of colloquial Cantonese that sounds abrupt because the speech consists of nouns and verbs and few connecting consonants. They also seem to be yelling and every interaction, even ordering from a menu, involves much negotiating and argument! Apart from those linguistic differences, there is also a bigger issue with respect to expectations of “service” in a restaurant. Often service that is prompt, and efficient is downgraded because it appears that the waitperson fails to ingratiate himself in order to flatter the egos of the customers. That is degrading. I have often found that those same people are also disappointed with service in Europe when dining out in restaurants. Servers in Europe are paid a living wage. They do not depend on the customers’ whim to earn a wage from tips. They’re actually paid a living wage to do their job and they do it well. The waitstaff are efficient, hard working, and cordial, but not in the least obsequious. It is an American peculiarity that restaurants on this side of the “pond” expect restaurant customers to subsidize the employees’ wages. Europeans only tip if they want to do so to acknowledge extraordinary service. They are not expected to do so. Thus, one is not expected to tip. In this country, tips are not only expected- even for bad service, but are mandatory in order to subsidize the wages of employees so that employers can comply with the requirements of the laws of minimum wage. I find this peculiar American demand for obsequiousness from a server as a gauge of good service is directly linked to the employers’ failure to pay them a decent living wage. The onus is on the customer to subsidize the waitstaff wages. This allows the patron to make unreasonable demands and have unrealistic expectations of what is deemed good “service” justifying a tip. Also why should customers who are already paying higher prices due to inflation be expected to subsidize the wages of waitstaff? Isn’t it already covered by overhead and profit built into the pricing? No wonder many are balking at higher menu prices and expectations of higher tips. Having got that out of the way, let me speak to the food and the service of Little Tokyo. The fish is fresh, varied, and relatively inexpensive in view of the quality. For example, any restaurant who always has Uni available every day is amazing. Most restaurants are always “out” of uni even though it’s listed on the menu. Why don’t they stock it? It is very expensive to do so. Uni has to be fresh, and does not freeze well at all. Hence restaurants cannot stock extended quantities of uni if the clientele are not in the habit of ordering them every week. At Little Tokyo, there is always uni available every day. That is a benchmark of the freshness of their fish and a litmus test. Their loyal clientele order vast quantities every week so that there is always a fast turnover of their fish. As for the service ? Henry, who speaks Cantonese fluently, has been the manager there for 20 + years. He is always welcoming and remembers all his regulars. There are no complaints ever regarding his attentive service except from those whose expectations go beyond friendly efficiency and prompt, dependable service. All I can say is that those who complain about Little Tokyo are clearly NOT regulars. They do not appreciate the fresh quality of the fish, and they expect a level of service that is beyond what is expected of the dignity which is rightfully accorded to servers."

"We decided to try this place in spite of the recent reviews about the rude owner because other reviewers commented on the excellent food. I was expecting a Seinfeld episode to unfold, we were prepared to be treated rudely. I did not find the person who waited on us rude, but rather to have an abrupt way of speaking. I can see how others could interpret this differently. The food was great and we found the atmosphere pleasant. The prices were much lower than the other sushi restaurants in Norwalk with the same quality of fish."

"Came to this place a few times and the food was wonderful. Owner always seemed abrupt to the point of rudeness, though other servers were kind. The food was very good though, so we did not think much of it, and left a good tip in the past. On the final occasion he seemed extremely off, abruptly saying ‘No’ to our order when it included items he didn’t have (he hadn’t clarified) and rushing us with the check at the end of the night. When we left a lower tip to reflect the almost alarming service, he returned to our table and yelled at me and my partner. Worked himself into a frenzy over the ‘minimum amount’ and how if we couldn’t afford it (which we could not that evening) that we should never come back. Attempts to diffuse the situation or explain were ignored, almost felt inclined to call authorities over his belligerence. I understand his feelings regarding gratuity, yet his behavior constituted abuse."

"This place is a GEM! I stopped here for dinner when I was traveling for work. Super cozy vibes; the owner and chef are incredibly friendly and knew many of the folks that came in. Delicious fresh sushi and great value in my opinion."

"Food was delicious and staff were friendly. They were very busy but we were still accommodated well. Sushi has to be the best around! I enjoyed eating here and I will be back!"