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Samurai Express
Category: Restaurants Japanese Japanese [Edit]
31 St James Ave(between Berkeley St & Park Plz)
Boston, MA 02116
Neighbourhood: Back Bay
(617) 431-2281
- Nearest Transit:
-
Saint James Ave @ Arlington St (192, 193, 504, 55, 555)
Arlington St @ Saint James Ave (9)
Boylston St @ Berkeley St (55, 9)
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 10:30 am - 9 pm
Sat 11 am - 9 pm
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- Yes
Sheila S. said: "Delicious rolls - fresh, neatly wrapped." read more »
8 reviews for Samurai Express
8 reviews in English
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Review from Josh M.
Somerville, MA
4/13/2012
If you go to a sushi place and order crab rangoon, there's a good chance you're gonna get actual crabmeat in that rangoon!
I also had the eel avocado roll. It was fresh and delectable. I feel like they piled more eel into that roll than at most places.
So great to have a cheap sushi option right next to my workplace
OH, BTW (as if you couldn't guess) I'm no Sushi Expert! -
Review from Elaine A.
Medford, MA
3/30/2012
This place is incredibly disorganized. I had no idea where to order, since instead of a tidy queue there is a mass of people both trying to order and waiting for their order to be ready. Had to ask four people if they ordered before I realized it was actually my turn and I was holding up other (also confused) people.
The waitress stand is next to the kitchen, which both does not make sense, and means that it's in the way of people waiting for orders.
Let's talk about the menu for a moment. All "Bubble Drinks" are listed at $3.50. (Add Bubble for $0.50) Uh, no, that means that Bubble Drinks are actually $4.
The gentleman at the front didn't give me a receipt. When I asked for one, he said "it's okay, we have your name" and didn't give me one.
A gentleman walked in, ordered, got his food and walked out in about 5 min. Everyone else I saw took about 20+ minutes to get their food.
One table of people left without paying. Took about 15 minutes after they left for the waitress to realize this.
AND, finally, when there were 3 people left waiting for our to-go orders, and 4 bags of to-go food had been placed on the counter without any order numbers (not that we would know our order number since there are no receipts) or names called, I asked if any of them were mine. The waitress told me they were not. I said "Are you sure? Because there are only three people here and you have 4 orders up." She asked me if my name was Sarah. No, it's not. Then no, the food's not mine. Then I asked it if was a #3 with Miso. Yes, it was. Well then it's mine and I've been standing here waiting for it!
So not worth it. The food was okay but overpriced for the quality. The Miso is SUPER salty. Not worth it in my opinion. -
Review from Frank S.
Boston, MA
2/8/2012 1 Check-in Here
Mediocre at best. Prices were relatively cheap for the quality of sushi. Don't expect anything great from this place but you normally get what you pay for so it isn't bad.
I had the watermelon bubble tea and def did not enjoy it. Would not recommend the bubble tea here.
Even though it is a bit confusing with how you order, pay and get served at first the orders come quickly.
I would have given this place two stars if it wasn't for the customer service. They are a bit skimpy on the fish in the rolls. An employee came by to ask us how the food was and my friend informed him that some of the sushi was missing the fish in it. He came back with a whole new roll at no extra charge which made me rethink this place. Since they are new I'm sure they are just working out the kinks for now. -
Review from Josh N.
Boston, MA
2/3/2012 1 Check-in Here
My first experience was good. I plan on updating this review after I try some more of their food. Prices were not outrageous, but you don't feel like you are getting a steal. The lunch combo of two rolls (12 pieces) and a soup or a salad seems like a decent portion, though 9.15 for lunch is on the steeper side. My coworker said that the Deluxe combo box was enough to split between two people, though I have not had the chance to try this. Im giving this a hesitant 4 stars based on the quality of the food so far.
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Review from David A.
Winchester, MA
2/3/2012 1 photo
If you're looking for mediocre sushi that probably won't give you food-poising, this is the (a) place to go.
I work across the street so was excited about a new restaurant in this menu-deprived part of Boston. However, while there's nothing particularly awful to say about this place, there's nothing that really stood out after my first visit. The best thing I can say is that I'll probably at least go back at some point, but with much less excitement than the first time, now that my expectations have been appropriately adjusted downwards.
I ordered the lunch roll special, opting for the spicy tuna and - this was a mistake I'll never repeat anywhere - the salmon skin roll. The special also comes with either miso or a salad for under $10, which given the unimpressive quality of the sushi barely qualifies as a value. The rolls were smaller than what I'm used to seeing. The very hungry might opt for a regular roll + a la carte strategy, or maybe one of the boxes.
The spicy tuna was room temperature and not very spicy, with no outstanding flavors. I did like the crispy/soft contrast offered by the salmon skin roll, but it had far to fishy a taste to want to order again. (I suspect this has more to do with the fact that it's, you know, salmon skin than anything against how it's prepared in particular here.) The miso was probably canned or powered, but as good as miso is anywhere. There were nice ratios of tofu to seaweed.
The wasabi was way to mild and they only provided 2 small packets of soy sauce (one low-salt). If you get take out be sure to ask for extra.
Samurai express has about 15 tables for anyone that wants to sit down.
As an irrelevant aside, the restaurant name is a little politically incorrect as both stereotyping japanese people and glorifying a violent martial cultural elite.
[update: I really wanted this place to be somewhere I could eat on a regular basis since it's so close. Consequently I decided to go back the following week. I skipped the sushi this time and went with the Pork Katsu Combo Box which was a great improvement over the visit that inspired the initial review. The boxes are more expensive than the Roll lunch, ranging from $16-17 after tax, but worth the premium.
The amount of food is substantial and justifies the price, and the variety is nice: tempura, katsu, sushi, with a decent salad and the miso (see above). The katsu is not something I normally order at Japanese restaurants, so don't have a lot to compare it to, but the one here was nicely breaded and fried using acceptable quality of meat. The shrimp tempura was a little over breaded and therefore not as light as I'm used to experiencing tempura, but still pretty good. The california roll is a california roll - hard to mess up and almost always nothing spectacular.
If I had to go on this meal alone I'd probably change the rating to 3 stars, but willl maintain some skepticism for the time being.]
[Further update: I've been back to SE a bunch of times now and can safely raise the rating on the place to a solid 3 stars. Stay away from the salmon skin roll and your experience should be just fine. I can add to that for an extra dollar, they'll make you a roll that's not listed on the lunch roll menu. I asked them to do a spicey scallop for me which was on a par w/ the rest of their sushi. SE has become a viable regular lunch alternative.] -
Review from Dogen B.
Framingham, MA
3/5/2012
Mediocre but affordable sushi to go in back bay, but would like to see better service and quality. Whats up with all the to go bags even when you are eating in? Make the service faster and keep some commonly ordered rolls in a refrigerator so that most don have to wait. Tried a few of the rolls, chicken katsu and miso soup. Must give a half hearted woof for now...
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Review from Molly R.
Medford, MA
3/12/2012
I often go here for lunch, as I work across the street. They are quick. he lunch specials are a great deal. And the staff is VERY friendly. Not the best sushi I've ever had, but I don't really have any complaints either. The salad is pretty measly, but you get what you pay for.
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Review from Kara R.
Boston, MA
3/1/2012
Just had a really good lunch there. Service was excellent - quick, attentive, and hospitable. Its not a fancy place, but it is a good place to have some basic sushi. Get there early for take out - always room for sit downs but line for take out gets long fast.
