Review Toyoko Japanese Restaurant - Fayetteville

Like many others, I found our experience at Kojyu to be underwhelming, albeit beautiful and still fun. The food was generally good, the sake pairings well thought out, the service exquisite and the setting is beautiful (albeit it generic and normal for this style of eating), but while there were some standout dishes like the crab and hot pot, for 2 michelin stars, a lot of pedigree, and almost $800usd for two people, we expected a lot more. A traditional kaiseki is going to cost a lot no matter where you go, but... Despite some dishes impressing, the biggest disappointment for us was the lobster; after all the big show of icing, cutting, preparing, and presenting the lobster, the theoretical main delight of the dinner, we found the texture to be extremely disappointing, tough to eat, and seemed to be sliced very strangely in terms of the grain; not what I am used to with raw lobster. Perhaps the chef was going for something different, but it didn't work for us and differed from past kaiseki experiences. In terms of a traditional kaiseki, it still had all the right ingredients and the presentations were of course immaculate and amazing, but they did not make up for the underwhelming flavors or textures we had on half the courses. However, there were still many enjoyable dishes, and so we gave it 3 out of 5 stars because it was still impressive and chef was great. As one would expect from any nice restaurant in Japan, service was perfect, and there were some real sake gems. But I would save your money and do a kaiseki in Kyoto or the Hakone area instead, where we were more impressed, and for less.

Ingredients and plates lack luster to say the least. Cleanliness and service is top notch. Friendliness of head chef and all staff is excellent. The challenge is with the food. None of the served plates left a memory. None of the served ingredients have a reason why this place had stars or was recommended by any magazine. Save your time and money and avoid this joint.

This was very disappointing, especially for the price. Two soups during the meal and a heavy vegetable reliance certainly didnt help the cost vs wow factor. The food was not standout in taste or highly memorable. The beef was very good as was the fatty tuna but out of all of the courses to really only have a couple, not good. We were sat away from the preparation area in a private room, which I guess is kind of nice but having eaten at Sushiya a couple of days ago we would have preferred to be at the counter. The staff were nice and attentive enough as should be expected of a 3 Michelin star venue. Food was presented nicely as can be seen. The blandness of the food though and the price, I would suggest there are DEFINITELY BETTER options that you could find in Tokyo.

Amazing kaiseki fare. The amount of flavours in each dish is unbelievable. The chefs and staff also seem to treat everyone with the utmost attention and care and do not seem to have any bias towards foreigners. From the food to atmosphere to service this place had it all. Despite the high price it was worth every penny.

Great ingredients prepared and served well. You can tell the difference between the normal quality and the quality of this restaurants ingredients. Food was excellent and so was service. We had a good selection of dishes in the tasting menu and experience was worth it. Would recommend to others.

A fun experience. We did not see any cooking or preparation performed in front of us which is what gives this experience four stars.

I would rate it 3 starred Michelin, from A to Z, it’s just perfect, it’s our second visit, definitely will go back soon

We haven't had an actual joy by eating food for quite some time. This place is just special. Yes it is pricy but both my girlfriend and myself agree that it's well worth it. Every dish is well prepared and demonstrated, almost like art. Strongly recommend!