Totto Sushi & Grill is the perfect stop for hungry diners with its all-you can- eat sushi buffet for lunch as well as a dinner menu full of fresh sushi, soups and hibachi dishes.
Whether serving lunch or dinner, the new restaurant prides itself on great service and fresh food, says Carlos Kal, who manages and owns the popular North Shore restaurant with his wife Eunice.
"I have only been open four months," Carlos Kal says. "Now I have people coming from Hixson and North Georgia. I had customers come in who hate to eat buffets but who loved ours because we put it out a little by little - always keeping it fresh."
During the restaurant's lunch hours, Totto presents guests with a choice of 10 sushi options, including a few basic rolls like the California and spicy tuna along with several types of nigiri sushi. There are also a few specialty rolls on the buffet that change every day. Kal says his guests can come in three or four times a week and not have to eat the same sushi every time. The restaurant's sushi chefs prepare each roll with fresh ingredients at the open sushi prep counter.
"It's about having good food and making food from the heart, not just making it," Kal says. "Besides sushi, the bento boxes are popular because there's a little bit of everything, with tempura, California roll, vegetables and meat. There may be just a little bit of everything, but it's a lot and often hard to eat all of one bento box."
The bento boxes are served with guests' choice of chicken, scallops, shrimp, bulgogi - basically a Korean style of barbecued pork or beef - salmon, lobster, tofu or vegetables along with soup, salad, white rice, grilled vegetables, four pieces of a California roll, two fried dumplings and tempura vegetables and shrimp.
For kids, the menu offers a variety of American favorites including burgers, nuggets and fries as well as some common favorite Asian recipes like fried rice.
"We have lots of kids who come in and like eating rolls and even the raw fish sashimi," Kal says.
This fall, Kal plans to add new items to the menu. Among the newest dishes will be a serving of Asianstyle baby back ribs slathered with a house-made Korean sauce. If the ribs are popular, Kal says he will continue to add other new recipes as the season progresses.
Diners who want to come out and have a few rolls of sushi for dinner or a cup of warm udon soup can also enjoy a few drinks. Kal often offers special half-price deals throughout the week on beer, wine and sake.
LOCATION: 330 Frazier Ave., Suite 124.
PHONE: 508-8898.
HOURS: Lunch is served Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and Saturday from noon to 3 p.m. Dinner is served Monday through Thursday from 5-10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 5-11 p.m. and Sunday from 5-9:30 p.m.
NICE TO KNOW: Guests can enjoy half-price wine and hot sake Friday, Saturday and Sunday.