i guess there may also be a champa thai and sushi place in brier creek now that i look

7/22/2010 9:04:48 AM

Champa doesn't do kaitenzushi unless they had a major renovation while I was gone lol.

7/22/2010 9:06:41 AM

i was just listing sushi places by brier creek. the others are in durham it looks

7/22/2010 9:07:22 AM

waraji has been going downhill for a while.

i was just there last weekend and it was pretty garbage.

7/22/2010 9:28:56 AM

uh oh - ^ this will certainly draw wrath from certain twwers

[Edited on July 22, 2010 at 9:46 AM. Reason : that]

7/22/2010 9:46:04 AM

Quote :

"waraji has been going downhill for a while. i was just there last weekend and it was pretty garbage."

I go there once a week and I have never had a bad experience...

What did you get?

7/29/2010 5:56:50 PM

Once a week?

$$$$$

Quote :

"I think it's kind of a shame that all of the sushi restaurants in Raleigh are more or less the same. It's about time downtown Raleigh had a kaitenzushi place or even an izakaya."

SECONDED.

7/29/2010 6:08:53 PM

I would love to go to a good sushi train place... I'll have to ask the lady when she gets home where that was

7/29/2010 6:09:32 PM

MURA hands down best sushi in Raleigh!!

7/29/2010 7:36:38 PM

where is it and what makes it special? is it $$$?

7/29/2010 7:37:27 PM

Hayashi (Super N Ral/ WF area) is great....

...never been a fan of Fine', Sono or Mura...

7/29/2010 7:46:23 PM

They have one of those sushi conveyors at a little place near the corner of Franklin and Columbia in Chapel Hill. Yes, this is immediately across from UNC.

I'm no expert but I like Waraji and Sushi Tsune. Admittedly I haven't been to either in at least a year because I no longer live in Raleigh.

If we expand our parameters to "greater Triangle Sushi" then Kurama in Durham and Akai Hana in Carrboro are both favorites of mine.

7/29/2010 11:29:01 PM

i am a relative sushi n00b, but i really like shiki sushi in southpoint.

also, mt fuji in brightleaf square was decent.

7/29/2010 11:38:25 PM

^^^^ it is $$$ if you go any other day then tuesday which is buy one get one half off. also zspotlight does these sushi tastings there where you can pay $15 for all you can eat sushi the third thursday of every month. what makes it great to me is the creativity in the rolls and the freshness of the ingredients. paino roll, punk rock roll and screaming O are my favorite rolls they have. just two of those will fill me up. the ambiance is very nice plus its in North Hills so its a cool place for a date night.

7/30/2010 8:28:55 AM

does that zspotlight thing fill up pretty quickly? I would be all over some all you can eat sushi (sushi is like pasta and pizza- I can eat waaaay more than the average persons serving for some reason)

7/30/2010 8:32:48 AM

^^^Shiki is my go-to place because it's < 5 minutes from my house, and they run 2 for 1 deals most of the time. Not my absolute favorite but pretty good.

7/30/2010 9:21:15 AM

Fareako and I went to Champa on Wednesday. They had BOGO that night, and we got a $25 certificate off zspotlight so we ended up getting 6 rolls of sushi and a seaweed and regular salad for $30 or something total. I thought it was very good, but I am admittedly a sushi noob.

7/30/2010 9:25:40 AM

now i'm gonna be craving sushi

7/30/2010 9:26:00 AM

^^^ yeah it does fill up pretty quickly but you can get on the mailing list and they'll send you an email reminder for the next one coming up and you can buy tickets online. that too makes for a great date night. sushi for 2 for $30. spend the rest of your $$ on drinks.

7/30/2010 9:30:26 AM

who has cheap sushi tonight?

any Bogo's?

8/4/2010 5:12:23 PM

^Tasu nom nom nom

8/4/2010 5:47:04 PM

yeah, the gf really likes that place (I still haven't been)- I just don't feel like driving all the way up to brier creek

8/4/2010 5:55:18 PM

If the gf really likes it and you're looking for BOGO then I feel like it's worth the drive. I've never been to Sushi Blues but I think I remember them just recently starting half of rolls every night of the week (if you'd rather go there).

8/4/2010 5:58:30 PM

we ended up just going to Haru (it is right around the corner, not too expensive, and it is pretty darn good)

8/4/2010 7:36:10 PM

not the best, but i know people like sushi blues and sono

anyone doing the downtown raleigh restaurant week special at either?

menus look pretty good.

SONO - $30 menu - http://www.godowntownraleigh.com/restaurantweek/menus/sonomenu.pdf
SUSHI BLUES - $20 menu - http://www.godowntownraleigh.com/restaurantweek/menus/sushimenu.pdf

8/27/2010 7:59:06 PM

does sushi blues still do half off rolls after 8PM on sundays? they don't open until 5 so i can't call and ask..

other than that, sounds like the only bogo place is tasu and that is far away from fuquay..

any other specials tonight?

9/5/2010 2:32:59 PM

If you just want cheap sushi and don't really care if it's amazing or not, Sushi Thai has half-off sushi after 7PM on weekdays, and their stuff isn't AWFUL, though I'd stick to rolls instead of nigiri.

This thread reminds me that I need to do a return review of Sono since they've "repaired" some of their policies.

9/5/2010 2:51:51 PM

sushi thai has the worst service of any restaurant i've been to in raleigh. we waited 45 minutes for our check.


i second sono! we went there a couple weeks ago and it was AMAZING! great service too. but i tend to avoid sushi just because i can't use chopsticks and it's pretty embarrassing to be caught struggling with a fork or those kids helpers

9/5/2010 2:55:47 PM

^When you're paying that little for sushi I'm not sure you can be too picky about service, but it sucks that it took so long. I've never had an issue there, but I've only been there twice. I'm not of the ideology that cheap sushi can in any way provide a good alternative to proper sushi. Some people can go to a Japanese/Chinese Hibachi/Buffet with a "free sushi bar!!!" all day every day and never know the difference, but some things are just worth the money to me, and sushi is one of those.


And Sono is great, I'm glad you recognize this. There's been some hate earlier in this thread and I'm not sure why. If there was some issues with service during peak crowd times I could understand, but their sushi itself has always been spectacular, it's the only place in Raleigh I've put down good money for sushi consistently.

And as I mentioned earlier, Sono was voted Best Triangle Sushi by The Independent so I can't be toooooo wrong.

[Edited on September 5, 2010 at 3:17 PM. Reason : independent is normally pretty spot on when it comes to food]

9/5/2010 3:16:05 PM

sono is ok. maybe i need to try it again. i wasn't wowed the first time i had it, but that was awhile ago.

9/5/2010 5:05:08 PM

They just put up a sign for a new "sushi bistro" on Glenwood next to Tobacco Road where Dunkin Donuts used to be.

9/5/2010 5:10:38 PM

my wife and I ended up going to sushi blues tonight for their half price rolls (after 8).

i had never gotten their sushi before and didn't know how big the pieces were going to be.
we got 8 rolls... yeah... needless to say, we didn't finish it. they were HUGE
total price was only 34 bucks...so that wasn't too bad for all that sushi
we brought some home but i'm not going to save it past lunch tomorrow.

9/5/2010 9:55:56 PM

Sono vs. Waraji....go!!! Anybody done the omakase at Sono?

p.s. I forgot about Little Tokyo in Cary...not the best sushi ever, but cheap as shit and they just give you stuff with it every time.

10/8/2010 11:04:32 AM

Waraji is better in my opinion simply because of the price.

10/8/2010 11:10:21 AM

For real sushi (nigiri/sashimi): Hayashi - Three things. Quality - Freshness - Selection. It's above and beyond most places I've visited in Raleigh. Plus, they don't give you a small sliver of fish that barely wets your tongue, it's always good sized chunk.

For Americanized sushi (sauced up, cream-cheese-in-everything rolls): Tasu - It's like going to the state fair, but a Japanese state fair. Not the best quality fish, but for the price you can't beat it.

Honorable mention:
Sushi Thai (Cary) - Lobster bomb, is the bomb. Worth every penny.
Little Tokyo - Used to be a good hole in the wall place, until it went under new management. Been downhill since then. But, they do provide nice treats during dinner hours (sometimes).

Places to avoid:
Sushi Blues - Cheap. Both in price and quality of fish/rolls. You're an amateur if you think this place has good sushi.
Mura - High class atmosphere. Low class fish.
Haru - Last time I went, I got stinky fish. Bad idea to eat there. Your risk, not mine.



Personally, I'd like to try some of the Durham/Chapel Hill places that I've heard of. But, for now, Hayashi takes the cake for me.

[Edited on October 8, 2010 at 11:30 AM. Reason : mo info]

10/8/2010 11:23:15 AM

never been to sono but it has to be better then waraji

10/8/2010 11:29:38 AM

^^I thought Hayashi closed??

Last time my parents went, the owner said he was going to close that location and open a new location in Durham.

[Edited on October 8, 2010 at 11:41 AM. Reason : f]

10/8/2010 11:40:30 AM

^ http://hayashijapaneserestaurant.com/

10/8/2010 11:43:33 AM

Maybe the plans fell through

They haven't been in a while b/c its a bit of a drive from where they live.

10/8/2010 11:45:25 AM

Mizu, if you're in the Wake Forest area. Love love love.

AND they have a sushi train!

10/8/2010 11:49:42 AM

^ Mizu is average. Sushi train is novel, but I actually refrain from grabbing anything other than a California roll. It could've been rolling around on that thing all day long. Overall, they are skimpy on their fish portions and even the sizes of their rolls.

Edit: I actually had their sea bass dish last time I went because I didn't want the sushi. It exceeded my expectations.

[Edited on October 8, 2010 at 11:58 AM. Reason : edit]

10/8/2010 11:55:38 AM

Mizu is not average. Somewhere like Sushi Blues is average, or below it. Maybe you went on an off night, but its always exceeded our expectations.

I've never gotten sushi from the train. But other people on here get excited about it.

10/8/2010 12:05:28 PM

There is a new place over across from Six Forks Station (in the shopping center behind Rudinos) that has some great Sushi. It is called Cafe Asia. Nice selection of rolls and pieces. Seems to use very fresh ingredients also. This is not a plug, as I do not work for them or have any connection to them. Just really like the new place and would love for them to get more business.

10/8/2010 1:07:42 PM

Quote :

"Places to avoid: Sushi Blues - Cheap. Both in price and quality of fish/rolls. You're an amateur if you think this place has good sushi. Mura - High class atmosphere. Low class fish. Haru - Last time I went, I got stinky fish. Bad idea to eat there. Your risk, not mine"

I'd have to disagree... we ate there all the time when my fiance lived in the beckanna, and still eat there about once a month. We only had so-so sushi one time, and all the other times it was terrific. We always got ours to-go too, so I can't really comment on the atmosphere/service (it seems like any other decent sushi place on the inside though). Side note, the reason we go there is because they have the best sweet-potato roll in the world (short of this one place down in wilmington, but that place is the best sushi I've ever had, so it is going to win in everything)

10/8/2010 1:27:40 PM

I forgot to mention one last place...

Shaba Shabu - Sucks. Seriously. Rolls are sloppy and look like they're made by a 12 yr old. Fish is also sub par.

I know I've given a lot of low reviews, but coming from Cali, I guess I've turned sushi snob. So I'm really picky.

10/11/2010 7:31:15 PM

Sushi O just opened on Glenwood South

10/11/2010 8:22:52 PM

^^You've eaten at like every sushi restaurant in the Triangle BUT Sono, the one that's a repeat-offender for Best Triangle Sushi?

10/12/2010 12:12:29 AM

I like it all. I buy it in the grocery store.

10/12/2010 12:39:59 AM

akari near state has a spicy crunchy tuna roll that is pretty good and cheap

10/12/2010 1:13:21 AM

Quote :

"Shaba Shabu - Sucks. Seriously. Rolls are sloppy and look like they're made by a 12 yr old. Fish is also sub par."

what were you expecting going to a Thai restaurant and ordering sushi?

10/12/2010 6:01:10 AM