I haven't been to Todai in YEARS (like the last time I went was when they just started doing that one-lobster-per-person during dinner thing). Anyway, I went to Todai today with my friends for lunch. I thought it was a pretty good experience. The waitresses were super nice and everything, and they even broke our 20 dollar bills for us when we were trying to split the bill. Haha. My main purpose for going today was to satisfy my stupid sashimi craving. That's one bummer though; they didn't have actual sashimi laid out. I ended up gorging on the sashimi salad and taking tons of nigiri and just eating the fish and not the rice nor salad. The chefs/cooks/whatever they are around the sushi bar must've thought I was crazy or something because I took ALL the salmon, tuna, and albacore (or some other fish; I have no idea what it is really, it's just white) nigiri they had out everytime I passed by (and I passed by about 4 or 5 times). Plus I picked out all the sashimi from the sashimi salads at the bar so after a while it was just salad... Besides all the raw fish, I also tried a few pieces of their sushi rolls. I think I tried the baked salmon roll which actually had no salmon in it at all (it was all imitation crab). But the sauce was pretty good. I tried another roll that I forgot the name of, but it was also a kind of roll that had sauce on it. I didn't eat the inside of the roll because I didn't want to get full from the sushi rice (remember, I was trying to kill myself with sashimi). I tried one tempura roll. Pretty awesome. I also tried the chocolate cake, chocolate chip cookies, green tea & taro cake, and coconut flan. The only thing worth getting 2nds and 3rds for was the coconut flan. Oh yeah, and the chocolate mousse crepe was disgusting. So, overview: Sashimi = 5 stars Deserts = 3.5 stars Service = 5 stars Price = 3 stars Notes: The service was just the way I like service---waiters are nice and smiley when we come in, then they leave us the hell alone until we call them. Perfection. I don't like having waiters buzz all over my table asking excessive questions about drinks or whatever. With the prices, my friend had a 10% off coupon, so with that, we each paid $15 exact which included the split bill, the discount, and the tip (there were 3 people total, and we left approx. 7% tip). I'd come back if I weren't so broke and if I were starving and craving raw fish again.

To the average college student, to be blunt--Todai is expensive. That's why I came here on my birthday. Unlike the overly pessimistic reviews, I (along with everybody else who came) felt like the $25 Sunday dinner was worth the price of admission. While I'm a big fan of sushi, I'm not the kind of person who can name every cut, but from what I had--it was delicious. I'm into REAL sushi. I'm not high on that "roll" crap. That's just rice covered in seaweed. When I eat sushi, I want the raw fish. Plain and simple. And Todai definitely had that. The service was pretty genuine as well. Empty plates leave your table quite quickly, and the same goes for drink refills. Seeing as how I turned 21, the waiter offered me bottles of Corona Extra that were buy one get one half off. I ended up paying $6 for 2 beers. That's a little much, but then again, I never paid for my dinner anyway. On top of this, we were given a plate of complementary stuffed lobster tails that were actually quite delicious. Aside from the gargantuan seafood bar, they had some Americanized dishes as well. They had buffalo wings, fries, and that sort of thing. But the most pleasant surprise was definitely the dessert section. They served crepes. That's a winner in its own right. I've never been to a buffet that featured crepes that you can make yourself. You could get a chef to give you a crepe and it's up to you to put the extra trimmings like coconut shavings, chocolate/strawberry syrup, bananas, and that sort of thing. That was amazing. They even had creampuffs, a good fresh fruit section, and the granddaddy of them all--a fondu fountain. That's total score. I'm giving this place 4 stars for genuine service, a good selection, and good food. What's stopping it from 5? It's $25. Come on. It's Eastridge Mall, not Vegas. Then again, you gotta buy high quality ingredients somehow.