Konbu Japanese Restaurant(now open/new management ) - Manalapan Township, New Jersey

Darya Dobroskok

This place used to have the best sushi! But unfortunately, it’s not the same anymore. Now, it’s just like any other sushi restaurant with average-quality ingredients. That said, the service is excellent—everyone is working hard to provide the best experience. Plus, the brand-new interior looks great. But sadly, the food just doesn’t match.

Emily Verzicco

I have been eating sushi here since I was 7 years old (27 now). The place is completely renovated which is nice but the food is not the same. The spicy tuna used to be really high quality and juicy but now has crunchy in it. If you were a fan of the old tuna pizza DO NOT TRY THE NEW ONE. It comes on a soggy tortilla with unchopped tuna and too much of a truffle sauce that does not pair well with the tuna at all. Really miss the old version of this dish as well as the way the rolls were done before. It is nicer on the inside though.

August-Leo

Since they just reopened under the new management, me and my family have been there for few time. All I can say it’s perfect!! I don’t know why there’s so many negative review. Everyone is so nice and polite to us, also they have the best fish quality in NJ. My favorites is their Toro tartar with chef special fresh wasabi, also they have the best hot and sour soup. Overall indoor atmosphere is very nice, the staff is very friendly, price are very reasonable, and they have two private party room. will definitively come back.

Kristen Hunt

Food and service were amazing! Ordered the 3-roll lunch special and the Titanic roll. Our waitress was extremely kind and accommodating. Atmosphere is warm and inviting. Quality of fish was incredible. This is my new go-to lunch spot!

Cafe Late

I want to share that we been eating at this place back in 2019. I would say this place has the best sushi. It was always very packed here and took awful long time for the food to arrive. The only reason we haven’t come back often is the bad attitude of the previous owner. The lady in the counter is Chinese and I am too. She never greet us or thank us for spending over $200 all the time there. She even had the audacity to ask us for outrageous tips for take out orders. Their prices were very high. The place was a dump.

So we decided to check this place out saw the sign of new management. I was not surprise that there is nothing special to this place. I am disappointed that most of the previous menu items were my favorite are not on the new menu anymore. The previous owner sourced higher quality fish. The fish the new owner gotten is the same as other Chinese Japanese sushi restaurants. The rolls were absolutely tiny compared to the value I got from the previous owner. The salmon sashimi was the most tiny cuts ever. Even though previous owner was a nasty Karen i overlooked it with their quality sushi. Their chefs deserve my tips. I have him a big tip. One big tip to any owner appreciate your customer. When customers spent a lot and give big tip say thank you to them. They will feel appreciated if they had a good meal or bad they will not have an awful taste on their mouth. If this the staff and owner don’t say thank you next time the tips will be lot less and I will call you out. It is basically common sense to thank your customers. Without them you have no business. So be nice to your customers. Thank you.

Brianna Vinokur

WOW! I am actually surprised to see any negative reviews posted here after the new management (but to each their own of course). My family and I frequented the old Konbu for decades. We were always a fan and it was our favorite sushi restaurant in the area. In the last years it got stale and didn’t want to order there any more. When we heard there would be new management we were excited. When we tried it for the first time after reopening our expectations were surpassed. Better than ever before. Amazing dishes that remind us of NYC style sushi restaurants. Every time I go or order I can’t wait for the next time to have it again. Best sushi in Manalapan

Mr. Backrooms

My family always ate from Konbu for almost a decade every Sunday. When we heard they would be under new management, we were nervous to say the least. After trying the food again, I'm upset to say that Konbu is no longer the sushi restaurant we loved for so long. While some of the new menu items were alright, the rolls just now tasted like every other sushi restaurant. The cucumber roll, which was honestly one of my favorite rolls, didn't taste nearly the same. The rolls in general have less rice than they used to, making them all taste like a normal boring sushi restaurant. The spicy tuna was changed to be like others, and the fish didn't taste nearly as fresh as they used to. Overall, we felt that the restaurant really lost its spark, and now it just feels like any other below-average sushi restaurant.

Tanisha Morgan

I dislike leaving negative reviews but Konbu is not particularly good.

We went to Konbu on a Thursday evening because our go-to sushi place was full and the wait was too long. Konbu was able to accommodate us, so we gave it a try.

We ordered appetizers - clam soup, fried oysters, garlic pan seared mussels, spring rolls and a sushi platter. The mussels, oysters and spring rolls were enjoyed. The sushi platter was a mistake! With the exception of the tuna, the fresh did not seem fresh. Also, the miso soup had zero flavor and the salad dressing was very sweet.

Our entrees included a sashimi dinner, rolls (Titanic, shrimp tempura, garden vegetable and captain crunch), some kind of chicken Ramen soup, the name of which i cannot recall and tasty chicken / noodle dish. After the disastrous sushi appetizer, the member of our party who will not be named should have known better than to order the sashimi dinner but he risked it... and did not enjoy. The fish were not cut properly and the slices were quite large...

To top it all off, the person who took care of our table was not at all pleasant. She really seemed grumpy the entire time. We still left a good tip but, I have to say, she did not deserve it. The cost was okay (for a party of 5, it was around $240 before tip). We will not return.