Shuhei Restaurant

"Food was absolutely terrible. Stale seaweed, lukewarm rolls. They were probably premade, and the rice was old. I'm very disappointed and surprised this place has good ratings. My first time and will never be going back."

"Gyoza and sushi are awesome. Very fresh, almost feels like you're eating sushi on the coast. Good beer and wine selection, cool atmosphere."

"Shuhei is a Cleveland institution. A wonderful variety of Japanese appetizers, sushi, and cooked entrees. Hiroshi has been rock steady in his pursuit of great taste, beautiful presentation, and outstanding quality for over two decades. My guaranteed stop for a lovely Japanese meal every time I get to Cleveland!"

"I used to dine here regularly (pre-Covid) and always had an excellent experience -both service and food were always perfect. I went with my sister last month and found something very different. When we walked in, the overpowering air freshener scent hit us like a brick wall. We sat down, but it was just too strong; I am allergic to perfume and in two minutes my eyes were itchy and watery, my lips and mouth started to itch and swell (hallmark signs of chemical perfume allergy for me). We could not even smell the food or signs of things cooking. A dining experience starts with scent of the kitchen but now, here, no. We got up to leave. I told the manager (?) woman in charge that the perfume was too strong. She gave me a dirty look without a word and we left. Not only do many other people have allergies like me, folks want to smell the food to whet the appetite! AND the lack of that made us wonder WHY - what are they trying to cover up with all that perfume?? So disappointing, as it used to be an excellent restaurant but apparently has changed management."

"I was going to a concert with my companion and I'd read about and been recommended to this place by someone in a Facebook group. I was pretty excited to try what was billed as "Authentic Japanese". Anyone who's familiar with actual Japanese cuisine knows the struggle. The atmosphere was nice, service was great, food was a bit of a miss. They certainly appear to try to be "authentic", and they come close, closer than most any non familiar with Japanese food person would be able to tell, but just not quite. One of my favorite dishes is Agedashi Tofu. I cannot tell you how hard it is to find this dish prepared right. Nearly all of the non Japanese owned or operated "Japanese" restaurants don't come close and many offer what is actually Korean or some other form of "fried tofu", with the Korean version being my least favorite, fried portions of tofu that are very dry and bland, in my experience. This place came close but there were issues. First there were two huge blocks of fried tofu, and it was actually prepared right, but never have I had such large chunks. They're usually several small cubes. They did get the bonito flakes right but I found them not nearly as smokey as they should have been, almost non existently smokey and didn't add to the dish as they should. There was absolutely no greenery, scallions, nothing. The sauce was very almost watery tasting and not very flavorful. Needless to say I was disappointed. Second would be the "giyoza", which was actually the topic of the Facebook group post on someone looking for authentic Japanese prepared giyoza. This place is definitely "not it". The "dumplings" we got were deep fried, in a shell that was thick and powdery tasting to eat. Just not in any way remotely like actual giyoza. The sushi nigiri we ordered was fine, much like any other decent sushi place, so no complaints there. Lastly the Nabeyaki Udon took forever to come out, the tempura to go with it even longer, and the broth was different tasting than expected. At that point we were pretty full, pressed to get to our concert as the wait for our food had set us back. We took the Udon to go but later found the noodles had soaked up all the broth and it was pretty unappetizing. The Yakitori was ok, not the best but not the worst. Lastly, the place is a bit hard to find. The frontage from the street looks like office buildings or something residential and you have to go around that and down a slope to the back bottom of that to get to the actual restaurant and even then we weren't sure we were at the right place until we entered. Overall, while most people will probably enjoy this place, someone who knows Japanese food, may not."