I haven't see any more exhaustive reviews of Japaneiro on Warm Springs between Buffalo and Rainbow, but we decided to visit for the first time last night, curious to see what the place is about.
Turns out it's a small, slightly shopworn eatery in a largely deserted strip mall, surrounded by empty storefronts, not exactly glamorous.
As we had little clue what the place was capable of, we started by ordering a few starters for sharing.
It was
very warm inside the restaurant, with a freestanding portable A/C struggling to keep the temperature down. At the point whe we had finished the starters, we were in fact so hot that we decided not to order more food, in spite of enjoying everything that had been put in front of us. This is clearly not a place to eat in the heat of the summer, but we would consider coming back in the winter.
Our order included one order of Black Cod lettuce wrap (two small servings), one order or Tuna taco (also two small servings), grilled skewered beef (Kushi), a house salad, and one order of Japaneiro special fried rice.
The fried rice came with shrimp, chicken, and beef, and was OK, not greasy, but in no way outstanding. The house salad was nice, but again just OK.
On the other hand, the remaining three starter courses were all very flavorful, beautifully presented, and enjoyable to eat.
Except for the fried rice the portion sizes were small, but we left feeling that we had eaten just enough to pass for a light meal. Including tip we paid a little more than $40, and thought it was absolute reasonable, but based on the menu we surmised the cost of a full meal for two would run closer to $100, depending on what options we choose.
I completely forgot to take pictures of the food, but here is the check: