I wasn't expecting much from a strip mall sushi place, but boy, was I surprised! Don't let the location put you off. First, the staff was friendly and the service was fast. We were seated immediately, even though they were surprisingly busy for a Sunday afternoon. Hot tea was brought out immediately. The menu has a good selection of sushi, nigiri, hand rolls, and donburi (!) as well as katsu, teriyaki and tempura dishes. We ordered a Super Washington roll to share, and then some Tempura Udon and Miso Ramen. The udon broth was delicious, and the noodles in both dishes were cooked to perfection. The roll was very good, and the presentation gets extra points for being fun! It was such a satisfying meal. The prices are very fair for what you get. I will definitely be back, because there are so many dishes there I want to try. Two thumbs up and then some. read more

Aya Sushi was such a pleasant surprise. We were in town late and our original choice had closed. We came in 25 minutes before closing and they graciously allowed us to stay. We ordered the crunch roll, volcano roll, 911 roll and chicken yakisoba. All of the rolls were AMAZING. The volcano roll was one of the best sushi rolls I've ever had. [[HIGHLIGHT]]5 stars for sushi, presentation, atmosphere, and service.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

Aya Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Olympia, Washington

Love Aya! Great sushi, and teriyaki, and tempura. My go to place -- I go there almost every week!

I stopped here at random driving through Olympia. I got the Aya roll and three nigiri (hotategai, saba, and unagi). They were all fabulous. Even the miso soup and iced tea were special. [[HIGHLIGHT]]The bathroom could use a bit of a reno, but the rest of the place is charming[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] and the server was polite and attentive. read more

It was my first time trying Aya Sushi out & I'm so sad I didn't find this place sooner! Absolutely amazing, my new favorite spot. We got the miso soup, octopus nigiri, & the cracker roll with the fried potato strings on the side. The roll was definitely one of the best rolls if not the best roll I've ever had. We'll definitely be back soon & I'll be telling everyone I know about this place The service was amazing they were so sweet. I wish we could've gotten a bit more water but besides that no big deal & everything was awesome. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Beautiful & fun plating as well as a very calm atmosphere.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

Aya Sushi - Octopus Nigiri & Cracker Roll with fried potato strings on the side - Japanese Near Me - Olympia, Washington

Our new go-to sushi spot. Caterpillar roll and salmon sashimi is my usual order at any sushi spot. It's my personal deciding factor for quality and flavor. This place has it. Presentation was excellent, [[HIGHLIGHT]]service and ambiance were great too![[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] We'll definitely be back. read more

Aya Sushi - Aka Shiro Roll, Salmon Sashimi, Spicy Tuna Roll, Caterpillar Roll - Japanese Near Me - Olympia, Washington

Went here for lunch with my coworkers for the first time and this place was AMAZING! As a sushi lover, I was thoroughly impressed with the quality of the food prepared for us, the friendliness and attentiveness of the staff and [[HIGHLIGHT]]the cleanliness and aesthetic of the restaurant.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] There wasn't a line so we were seated immediately. Our waitress was very prompt yet very patient with us as we ordered; there was also another man who helped on the floor who was equally kind and attentive. Our food came out within a reasonable amount of time and we appreciated the freshness and presentation of everything. My boss and coworker had ordered rolls that came with these cute looking "volcanoes" with a smoke effect. Definitely enjoyed our time here, I'd love to return here again and next time with my husband for a lunch/dinner date! read more

Aya Sushi - Salmon Mania Roll - Japanese Near Me - Olympia, Washington

Ordered sushi and tempura for take-out and it was absolutely incredible. Just as good as the sushi you'd receive as a customer seated at the sushi bar. Hands down the best sushi on the west side of Olympia, and arguably all of Thurston County! read more

Aya Sushi - Tempura...light batter, delicious veg and shrimp! - Japanese Near Me - Olympia, Washington

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Superb sushi at Aya Sushi! The menu is extensive with lots of appetizers, rolls, sashimi, noodles, and desserts. They first serve you a small bowl of miso soup, then we added edemame. I got the Crunchy Roll, cuz anything with tempura shrimp is gonna be on my order. It was nicely spicy but the pieces were a lot bigger than the traditional size. I had to cut each one in half. Everything was delicious though. Especially the strawberry Mochi Ice Cream. It's a must! read more

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My go to Sushi place, I can't count how many times I've been here. Great food, great service, good parking! [[HIGHLIGHT]]It's always clean and decor is cozy, I keep coming back![[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

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Terrific spot. Fresh vibrant sushi, and the menu is extensive. Definitely ordered too much, but had to sample a bunch of rolls. Their miso soup is warm and comforting. The staff are friendly, the service is great, and the food was delicious. Will definitely be back when in town. read more

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OMG we had an amazing birthday dinner at Aya!! Great service and look at my pictures. The food was awesome and the presentation was beautiful. Highly recommend! read more

Aya Sushi - Toro and sake nigiri - Japanese Near Me - Olympia, Washington

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This is by far my favorite Sushi restaurant. Great selection and great service. My go to is the Aka Haka roll and Tuna Tataki.

Service:0* Food: *** The server wasn't attentive, and chirashizushi was boring. I was quite disappointed. Waiting for taking the order about 8 mins just right after 11:30 am. When I was done eating, raised my hands for the bill, the servers enjoyed chatting too much and forgot to look around the dining area. I suddenly became noticeable after my server finished taking 2 tables' orders. But my meal was done before the 2 tables's customers came though. When I left, there were only 3 tables were occupied. I wonder how busy they could be to check their customers even though just stopped by to ask "how everything goes?". read more

Aya Sushi - Chirqshizushi. 3 kind of fishes and seaweed salad. Don't spend $23.95 on it, not worthy - Japanese Near Me - Olympia, Washington

Not sure if it was because I did a pickup order but the fish in my hand roll was of obviously poor quality, almost every piece. It was scaly, dark red, tough and stringy. read more

Aya Sushi - Yellowtail hand roll. Poor quality fish in it. - Japanese Near Me - Olympia, Washington

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The Food IS and has always been amazing here. the new staff is a huge improvement, considering the old staff was rude and unprofessional. I got the Nigiri Bento Box. read more

Aya Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Olympia, Washington

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Fabulous sushi. Generous portions of fish. We used to be trappers lovers, but will make the 50 minute drive time and time again to eat at Aya. Each roll is well thought out, and favors come together amazingly. You will not be disappointed. read more

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Fantastic sushi the best in olympia no questions about good service and very good price the rolls are super good. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Good atmosphere[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

Beautiful presentation of the Chirashi Donburi They included great wasabi, Gluten free options, and gave us free miso soup with our meal. Very kind waitress that helped us and checked in often. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Peaceful environment[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

Aya Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Olympia, Washington

I want a sushi spot with a sit up bar, Aya Sushi came through for us! We dined in and went big! [[HIGHLIGHT]]The ambiance was very welcoming.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] We ordered Tiger Roll Special, Rainbow Roll, Spider Roll, Maguro Sashimi, Miso Soup, Seaweed Salad and a couple rolls to-go for later. The food was delicious, fast, flavorful and moderately priced! The service was quick, friendly and very attentive. We will be back! read more

Sis and I tried this place because we remember liking it but we didn't remember which sushi we liked. We came back months later with our family in tow and they were surprised. Tehy'd never tried this restaurant before and they couldn't tell from the plain exterior that this place had a quiet, well appointed dining room. It's the kind of place where there are people are around you, but it also feels kinda private. A couple of us grabbed bento boxes and my sis in law was so impressed with how filling it was. I had the beef and it was really good. I don't think it's the best bento I've ever had, but I remember being reallyhappy with my choice. Love a place that uses genmaicha tea, which my mom loves because it reminds her of her being raised in poverty, where the only tea they could afford was to scald some rice and scrape the crusty layer at the bottom of the pot and use that toasty flavor to drink. read more

I wrote recently about our dining experience at Aya Sushi. My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Since then, we have been back twice, once with a party of eight and then with a party of four. Again, it did not disappoint. The food was great and we were impressed with our waitress. She was friendly and her service was impeccable. We plan to return soon and take more friends. Please give Aya a try. If you're like us, you won't be disappointed. read more

The Bento with spicy chicken wasn't spicy and didn't have any teriyaki taste. The Bento with teriyaki chicken was dry. The tempura on both bento boxes were cold. The sashimi and sushi was good, if this wasn't good they would have gotten 2 stars Service was slow due to lack of servers. The ambiance is good and the establishment is clean. read more

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The food was spectacular. Sushi was very fresh. The waitress was very polite, patient, and knowledgeable about the menu. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Great atmosphere.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] I highly recommend! read more

Pros: sashimi is fresh, atmosphere is relaxing, ample seating and parking Cons: chirashi bowl is a little bit borning...it's only topped with salmon, tuna, and tamago. I was looking forward to see how they showcase their fresh selection of sashimi. Also the veggie stir fry appetizer is super random, definitely not restaurant quality (it tastes good like a home cooked meal) read more

Aya Sushi - Veggie stir fry just like how it's described on the menu but it's such a random appetizer. It also comes out after the chirashi bowl. - Japanese Near Me - Olympia, Washington

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[[HIGHLIGHT]]I absolutely love the aesthetic atmosphere.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] The staff are super friendly and attentive. The food is fresh and delicious every time I go! It's my favorite sushi place around I highly recommend the plum wine read more

This spot never disappoints when it comes to the sushi and service. Very joyful staff with exceptional cooks. Presentation is a major plus! [[HIGHLIGHT]]Although I've never been there and seen a "busy" restaurant, I've decided that most people just don't know where to go for good sushi![[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] 10/10! read more

Aya Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Olympia, Washington

Went out after a horrible day because I always eat at Aya and have enjoyed it. But we got the wrong order and our server would not let us get what we actually ordered... She kept looking and never came to our table to check on us. Ended up having to go up to the front to pay, no thank you or anything. Please be kinder to people you do not know what is going on in others lives. read more

I went to a restaurant last night and there were 5 of us. The food was not great but what was even worse was they brought out the one woman's food, she didn't want to eat by herself, so she waited. Then they bring out 2 more plates 15 minutes later. Then they waited another 10 minutes for the last 2. Horrible...We were either eating solo or eating cold. I wanted to complain and send it all back and go somewhere else, but the women said no, it's fine. We will just have them nuke it. It wasn't a huge deal to me because mine was last...except the long wait time to get my food. And once we got our food, we never saw them again until the end. So, no refills on the drinks. I wasn't paying this time so no idea if the person who did pay left a tip, but I wouldn't have. Part of the tip they earn should be to be the buffer between us and the kitchen and she should have said...I can't trickle out their food 1 or 2 people at a time with long pauses in between. Who wants to eat their food when everyone else is waiting on theirs and you feel like they are just watching you eat? Someone said maybe they are understaffed...But we saw other orders going out. I would have rather a little bit longer wait, and all the food is ready at the same time, then some food comes, then 15 minutes later some more comes, then 10 minutes later some more...It was almost 30 minutes from the first order to the last. Sure, if it was appetizers, you want them to come before the main entree...But no one ordered appetizers. This is why tipping should never be mandatory...Because some people think they don't have to do anything to get it. Or they can even do a shitty job and still expect it. Some of us got cooked food. The first person and the last 2 got hot food. The two in the middle had sushi. I wasn't thrilled with the beef dish but it was edible. The people who had sushi seemed to like theirs. read more

[[HIGHLIGHT]]Excellent ambiance-intimate but not pompous.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Sushi was delicious and prices were fair for fresh rolls.

I have been a fan of Aya in years past but for the last couple of years I have noticed their service declining. I have given them some grace due to the pandemic but after tonight I will not return. My boyfriend and I showed up for dinner and there were only 3 other tables besides us. The server brought us our menus but never returned in 20 minutes. There were two ladies working besides the sushi chefs but they were focused on all of the to go orders instead of us. 4 people walked in after we were sat to pick up to go orders. They were all helped first. Then I heard them take two phone orders. If you want to be a take out only restaurant than just advertise it as such, but don't make customers who actually want an in restaurant dining experience suffer. Aya has good sushi but it is expensive. It is a treat to go there, so receiving this type of service is just a deal breaker. We ended up leaving at the 25 min mark and drove down the road to Sushi house where we received excellent service and amazing sushi. Sushi house will now be our go to restaurant for sushi. read more

Second time for me and first time for my wife, joined by friends in town for the day, and all four of us had a fabulous lunch at AYA. I had the bento box luncheon, and my wife the yakisoba. Our friends had a combination of sushi and the Bento box. I even threw a side of calamari to check that out. Everything was excellent. Service was first rate, the inside of the restaurant is very nice, and the prices are very reasonable. I think this is my new go to Japanese restaurant in Thurston County. read more

Aya Sushi - Wonderful friends, and wonderful food. - Japanese Near Me - Olympia, Washington

We recently had dinner here again and had a much different experience! Gluten awareness was excellent and clearly labeled on their menu, service was speedy and friendly, and food delicious. My Avocado roll was beautifully rolled and much fuller than most avo rolls I get. The husband loved his crispy katsu! Happy we have it another chance! read more

Aya Sushi - Delicious avocado roll - Japanese Near Me - Olympia, Washington

Tldr: I was disappointed in service, felt a bit weird. But food is good. Environment: lots of seating. The restaurant is casual and has dim lighting. Service: The server was nice. But our overall experience felt weird overall for a sit-down restaurant. Our food was served stacked on a tray, and we were asked to grab our food from the tray (which is fine, we'll help). But later our group of 5 split our checks in 4 to reduce the amount of checks to be dealt with. And we were asked to bring our checks up to the counter so that our server didn't have to make a trip back to the table to ask us to collect the checks (which is fine).. I get to the counter and was told to leave the checks on the checkout table and that they would go to our table for us to sign. Our whole group came up to the counter instead just coz we though it was more efficient. Just the overall experience was weird. But aside from tht we were well taken care. Food: Had nabeyaki udon, the soup was really good. I think my udon was a bit over cooked but must just be a one of? I recommend the udon if you are craving it. Also had the salmon hand roll and it was good. The salmon was fresh. The bento box was pretty good value as well, if you need something more filling. Sushi rolls was also pretty good. Our food overall was pretty good. read more

Aya Sushi - Nabeyaki Udon - Japanese Near Me - Olympia, Washington

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Just had dinner tonight with my two sons and my son's fiancé Zina, Choi is the absolute best if you love fresh fresh fish and wonderful flavor profiles. I highly advise you come to this great sushi bar in Olympia. Keep up the great work Choi read more

I've been craving some sushi since arriving to Olympia and saw this place had pretty good reviews! Decided to try it after one of my roommate said it wasn't too bad. It's located on the first floor of the Cooper Point Pavilion where Orange Theory and Walgreens are located. There's ample parking in the parking lot that won't ever be a problem. Upon entering, the ambiance and interior design of the restaurant are beautiful! There's also a sushi bar with chefs around preparing the sushi rolls, nigiris, etc. Cute little date night restaurant! I got two rolls: the Aya roll and the Scallop dynamite roll. The price wasn't too bad but at first, I felt that two rolls wouldn't be enough. Boy, I was wrong LOL. The Aya roll came with 10 pieces with salmon, tuna, crab, and shrimp tempura (wow! so much seafood in one roll. LOVE IT). It was cut into nice thin pieces and lightly battered with tempura flakes. The fishes were thinly cut and wrapped around the roll (half-half which was pretty cool). The shrimp tempura wasn't crispy at all as if it was out for a while after deep frying. The Scallop roll came with 8 pieces with scallop mayo on top of a California roll (I think). I thought the dynamite would be hot, but it was like a regular sushi roll. The scallops were actually cold. Both rolls were presented beautifully and were pretty good! They had so much flavors and different from one another that was really enjoyable. This restaurant definitely satisfied my cravings for sushi with the amount of food given and the original flavors. They also offer different lunch/dinner options (should have asked for a takeout menu smh)! read more

Aya Sushi - Aya roll and Scallop Dynamite roll - Japanese Near Me - Olympia, Washington

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Always happy with the sushi and service. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Dining area is nothing to write home about but it suits the restaurant just fine.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

Nice cozy atmosphere with good menu items. I enjoy date nights here and the sushi rolls are my favorite. read more

Aya Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Olympia, Washington

We went to eat here this last Saturday and was very disappointed in the food and service. The tuna a salmon in our rolls tasted pretty fishy. Our waitress never checked in with us during the meal. Got weird vibes from the staff and that perhaps they did not like or want to serve us and strange as that sounds but that's how we felt. Skip this place and go to the Sushi House or Koibito Sushi both also in West Olympia. read more

Delicious Tadai roll! Aya sushi never disappoints. The service is wonderful, the food is fresh and exceeds my expectations time after time.