Maneki Neko Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar

I can’t figure this place out. The rolls are great but the couple who run it are so unfriendly. I’ve been in there many times and they still look at me like they’ve never seen me. Barely speak to me. Wife waited on me and only thing she said was «what you want?» Never asked how food was. Set check down without saying anything. Gave my card/​receipt back without a word. Every time I’m there I see them talking to other patrons. Past visits I’ve tried striking up conversations and complimenting the food but nothing back. I want to patronize a local restaurant but don’t think I’ll go back.

This is a belated review. My husband and I have lived in Westfield since 2009 and this is our favorite restaurant for sushi/​hibachi. Its small and mom/​pop, so it’s hard to have a large group, but that’s the only set back.
So delicious! Anytime we have a special occasion or friends/​family visit we try to go there. Prices are reasonable and staff is friendly.
Jimmy is awesome! We always save a tip for his jar. He does all the sushi rolls himself and you can certainly see his attention to detail and flavor. Try the Crazy Jimmy Roll and Marinated Lobster Roll, my personal favs!
Hibachi is also excellent and a great variety for those that aren’t fans of sushi.
Best sushi and hibachi around!

My husband and I ate here a couple of months ago. Service was very slow and the sushi was not great. It seemed to not be very fresh. We won’t return.

This is a tiny mom/​pop sushi place. Not a lot of thrills, service isn’t super attentive. So I opt for take out.
They have a big variety of cooked rolls in addition to the raw. The cooked ones satiate my cravings while I’m pregnant.

Not bad, but not great either. Place smells musty and not sure it’s the cleanest. Food was ok, again nothing great. I’ll drive the extra 5 minutes and hit some where else that’s cleaner when my sushi cravings hit. Was hoping this would be a hit as it’s only a few miles from my house. :(

Well, sad to say the quality has gone way down over the years. Sorry guys, it sushi, that’s one thing you can’t cut corners on. Pretty dirty inside and service is fine, not great but fine. There is just much better sushi in the area.

Great food. We arrived a little after 5pm Thursday, and were the first customers. Then, within about 15 minutes, the place was filled. The only problem was the service. Our drinks were never (ever) re-​filled. Jimmy and his wife aren’t enough of a staff to properly serve this place, even though it’s a small restaurant. It’s a shame — kind of ruined what would have been a great meal. I have to leave now, to go buy a bottle of water at the gas station.

We love this place! We have been going to Maneki Neko for the past 15 years. Its a 50 minute drive from Avon, but it is well worth the trip. The sushi is always fresh and Mr Jimmy is always entertaining. The tuna Ahi appetizer is awesome!

It would be great to have a good sushi restaurant downtown Westfield. Unfortunately, the food is not good enough to make me want to support such awful service. A short list of things the Chef could do to make people want to fill the empty seats.
1. Say Hi when we walk in
2. Check back after the food is served (just once would be a plus)
3. Turn the soccer game off
4. Turn the soap operas off
5. Turn the loud tv off
6. Say thank you as we leave
This place seems to get slower and slower

This place was quite good. My son ordered the chicken yaki soba which was delicious… the veggies were cooked to perfection. We also had the Indy 500 roll with smoked salmon & shrimp & eel which was enough to share, and very good. The snow crab roll was also great. Jimmy stopped by our table to chat and gave us more ginger (yum). The onion soup that came with the yaki soba was tasty and I will definitely order that again (but I will not get the salad which was average at best). Although I liked the concept of the seating arrangement the cushions were not very comfortable. Overall, I can’t wait to come back here for more scrumptiousness.

Well run, beautiful and tasty sushi. I love the quaintness!

Our group ordered a California roll, Philadelphia roll, Steak Fried Rice and Chicken Yakitori. The California Roll was really good with a very slight sweet taste. All other dishes were average but still tasty. We got our meal to go and it was quick prompt service.

Great restaurant! I’ve been there many times, and never had anything but excellent food and great service! The resturaunt is mostly staffed by its owners. Jimmy is the sushi chef, and is always very friendly. Very nice environment. Not overly gaudy like many sushi restaurants.
I recommend this restaurant to people all the time, and would definitely reccomend it to you. Try the rainbow rolls!

I told Jimmy, I have a LUCKEY KITTY. (Our cat, Marley)
Food fantastic.
Service friendly and fantastic.

I’m so sad to say that Maneki Neko’s quality has plummeted this past year. Friends and I have been back severa; times since the move to Westfield, and it just keeps getting worse. Sorry Jimmy and Song, we tried to give you some time to get things straightened out, but it’s just not happening.

UPDATE: Sort reviews by date (the high ratings are from their old location) — their new location has four 1 & 2 star ratings in a row!
We hadn’t been to the old location & saw on the website their new location was open at 214 E Main St. in downtown Westfield. The website says they «have the large family-​style grills where the chef prepares meal right in front of you» which sounded great for a Saturday night family outing since we love Sapporo & were excited to try out something closer. However, despite the website claiming to be a «Japanese Steak House”/“Hibachi Restaurant» with family-​style grills, unfortunately they do NOT have hibachi grills at their new location (UPDATE: still says «sushi & hibachi restaurant» 2 years after opening). The misleading information on the website made our 20 minute trip extremely disappointing, especially with our 2 year old daughter excited about seeing the «fire» show. So much for an entertaining family night out on a Saturday night. We decided to stay since we were a good half hour from the nearest hibachi restaurants (Sake, Sapporo, or Izakaya — all of which are four stars on Unilocal).
Seating is bench seats where you are literally back to back with the people behind you with no divider, which is extremely awkward & a bad design. To make matters worse, the temperature INSIDE the restaurant well into the 80s. We overheard the owner say to a patron they liked the new location except it was «a little hot» — like this had been going on since they opened — & she indicated they had told the building owner & were waiting on him to fix it. Even if the AC broke that morning, they should have demanded an emergency repair since it is impacting their businesses. If someone causes you to lose money, you demand they fix it or tell them they will be responsible for your business losses. Or just get it done yourself & deduct the bill from your lease payment. It is just completely unacceptable to have no windows, no fans, & no AC in 90 degree weather.
We hoped they would still have some family friendly stir fry meals despite having no hibachi. However, the stir fry entrees are limited to about four entrees hidden away on the menu, & inexplicably there are no kid portions. People with more than two kids will split the adult portion anyways, & people with one kid will just not order an entrée, so they aren’t saving any money by not offering a kids menu. They do not serve liquor.
The menu is black & white text on office paper — no explanation of any of the items, sides, sauces, etc. Just Sushi A combo, Sushi B combo, etc. The waitress didn’t know if the Sushi Combos were rolls, nigiri, or how many pieces came in A vs. B. We ordered edamame since our daughter was hungry, & inexplicably the appetizer came out after our salads, a full 15 minutes later, despite being the simplest thing to cook on the menu (boil soybeans, add salt). Appetizers should come out before salads, not with the entrée, & need to be prioritized in the kitchen. My wife ordered steak stir fry. They didn’t ask how she wanted it prepared, always a bad sign when you order steak, especially from a self-​described «Steak House». The steak was low quality & chewy, & they covered up the lack of flavor with lots of sweet sauce.
I ordered rolls including Jimmy’s Special Roll (the house specialty), Spicy Tuna, & Spicy Yellowtail. Jimmy’s Special Roll was caked in batter (not tempura flakes) & was absolutely soaked in the same sweet teriyaki sauce as the stir fry, probably to cover up the terrible fish smell & taste (it smelled like dead fish in Lake Michigan — a smell I know well having lived in Chicago — & tasted like it smelled). After one bite I couldn’t eat any more or I would have vomited. The Spicy Tuna & Spicy Yellowtail were drowned in spicy sauce dripping down the sides of the rolls even though the fish already had spicy sauce in it – terrible presentation so hot you did not need wasabi — again, the sauce was trying to cover up the taste. I wiped the sauce off, & you could taste both fish weren’t fresh — not nearly as bad as Jimmy’s Special Roll, but still bad. If you can’t keep your specialty roll or basics like tuna fresh, you obviously aren’t buying fresh sushi-​grade fish that is flown in & thrown away when it is no longer fresh
The basic rolls were a little pricy, not that it matters since the fish isn’t fresh. Service was ok, but not knowledgeable of the menu, did not ask if we needed anything (had to stop her to ask for a plate for our daughter, extra silverware, drinks), did not ask how the food was (or why I didn’t touch my roll). Overall, Maneki Neko is just a disaster & needless to say we will not be coming back. There is much fresher & better sushi to be had nearby (Kona Grill 2 miles south on 31 which has half price in the bar in the evening; Kona Jacks 5 miles south on 31; Sake, Sapporo, or Izakaya for sushi & hibachi (all of which are four stars on Unilocal).

I have not tried the hibachi here. The sushi I had today was below average. I did not eat it all because it didn’t seem fresh (dry, with darker than normal color) and I kept imagining it would make me sick. Maybe it was just an off-​day for them. I don’t know how this place compares to other sushi places in the city, but it is below average compared to other places around the country.
I can give them this though — the atmosphere was nice. Peaceful, well-​decorated, clean, creative…

Well the new place is even better then the old. It is smaller but much more cozy.
This is a very nice place to eat, no to big but not to small, I feel like Goldie locks! It has a feel like you have stepped off a street in Japan not Carmel! You are not met with water falls and fishing holes when you walk in. The food keeps up with the feel of the place the sushi and hibachi are the stars here, but try some of the more traditional dishes they offer. I’m fond of all of the noodle dishes! The sushi is fresh and has a very clean taste to it, and they offer a large selection to chose from! The table hibachi is also very good the selection is OK, but I would like to see some more traditional dishes! The show is not to over the top, it keeps your attention!
Remember to eat well and live well! And please no chains!!!

I love this place. The sushi is great. In addition to the other rolls mentioned, order the «wooly bully» roll. I’m not even sure it’s on the menu, but Jimmy will make one up for you. It’s my favorite roll in the city! Ask them what’s fresh, and they’ll set you right up. Song (the owner) is also very friendly, though she typically is so busy it’s hard to get her attention. We eat there sometimes on Sunday’s for lunch, and she cooks the Hibachi!

I love the sushi here… especially the Dragon Roll. The hibachi is great entertainment for the kids. My only complaint is that the service tends to be on the slow side…“take out” has been especially slow for us.
The map is wrong. This restaurant is located in the Village Park Plaza on the Kohl’s side, right next door to Old Country Buffet… at the end of the strip.