Little Jo-To

This name probably sounds familiar to those who remember Jo-To Japanese Steak House in Sarasota. A culinary institution that stood for over 30 years serving authentic Japanese food. Chef Van, Jo-To’s former head chef, now brings those same flavors to his own restaurant in Bradenton. 

Little Jo-To offers a calm and serene space with inspiring murals and soft music to compliment their personal attention to every meal. The menu offers traditional Japanese dishes, such as hibachi, tempura, and teriyaki alongside a selection of sake, beer, and wine. 

Little Jo-To is open for lunch and dinner. Lunch Specials offered Tuesday – Friday include four bento boxes; Hibachi, Tempura, Teriyaki, and Chicken Katsu. A bento box is a full meal combination with soup, salad, dumplings, and steamed or fried rice.

The hibachi preparation includes meat, seafood, and vegetable options. Hibachi literally means “fire bowl” and in today’s kitchen, this is achieved on a hot flat plate. Tempura is prepared by deep frying any of your choices of meat, seafood, or vegetable and rendering it with a light crunchy batter crisp.

Teriyaki cooking involves marinating the meat, seafood, or vegetable in a sweet, savory, and thick sauce, then grilling or broiling it . And finally, Chicken Katsu is a deep fried thinly pounded chicken cutlet covered in a panko dusting and sliced in thin strips. It’s often served with a Japanese tomato or curry sauce. This one is my favorite. 

If you choose dinner, then I recommend starting your meal with appetizers like Shrimp Tempura, Seafood Egg Rolls, Gyoza, or Shumai. Similar to the lunch menu, dinner is served in the same four preparations or cooking techniques, Tempura, Hibachi, Teriyaki or Chicken Katsu.

Additionally, they have traditional Japanese Curry dishes with steak, chicken, or seafood. Yaki Soba, or Japanese egg noodles, served with steak, vegetables, or shrimp. And other menu items include Chicken, Vegetable, or Shrimp Fried Rice. All dinner meals are served with soup, salad, and white or fried rice. 

Dessert, probably my favorite course, didn’t disappoint. You can pick from Green Tea Ice Cream; Japanese Soda; Mochi Ice Cream; Tempura Banana or Oreo Tempura with Vanilla Ice Cream. Guess what, Oreo always wins!

Once again I have made myself hungry just writing about their food. It’s time to return for a good meal at Little Jo-To. Maybe I’ll see you there!

Little Jo-To is located at:
5911 53rd Avenue East (SR 70)
Bradenton, Florida 34203
941-751-9703

Monday:  Closed
Tuesday – Friday: 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Saturday – Sunday: 4:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Lunch Special Hours: Tuesday – Friday: 11:00 am – 2:00 pm

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About the Author

Jean Totti has spent a lifetime traveling and eating to satisfy his curiosity and learn about food. After many years of an Ivy League career in Architecture, he went back to school in 2014 and completed another master’s degree, this time in Journalism and Food Writing at USF.

That also led him to open his own restaurant which he ran for a number of years until he retired. Today he takes his writing and passion for food to several publications around the Tampa Bay Area and North Carolina.