good portions :) s/o to Quang for being a chill server! would recommend this place for AYCE sushi

Food and service was great! Duy was out waiter and he did a great job recommending what to try. Will definitely be coming bac read more

Kakuna Sushi - Kakuna Roll - Ramen Near Me - San Jose, California

All together the food was good, the restaurant was clean and the service was okay, there are a lot of drink and meal varieties and the price was decent. There are 2 menus available, AYCE and regular. Below are notes to check out if you do plan on going for the first time. Please note that the oysters and special menu are limited to 2 pieces per person in total not at a time(so if you're looking forward to eating more than 2 oysters it will meed to be ordered from the regular menu). Another thing before ordering is there are no indicators on spice level so please ask your server which options have spice and which do not beforehand. Bougee roll does not have a lobster tail topper like advertised but rather lobster karaage on the side, it was still amazing and good for people who like a very smokey flavor. The Salmon carpaccio was okay, too much arugula was added so completely took over the flavor. read more

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for AYCE, the food selection was great. food quality also very decent. we will be back. service was on par. our server came to check on us several times throughout our meal. the restaurant was clean and open. as was the restroom. we went on the weekend so the AYCE was higher ( $47+) then week days pricing, but still worth the price. however if you are NOT that hungry, go à la carte instead. cant go wrong with the house signature rolls and hand rolls. for the first time, we even had pork ramen with the AYCE. DELISH! generous portions! we will be back soon. thank you! read more

Came here with the work crew to celebrate a birthday. Our party of 4 arrived and had our choice of seating. Since there were only 2 other parties dining, Kakuna Sushi's spaciousness was obviously magnified. We were asked if we wanted to dine via AYCE or A La Carte. Our party passed on the AYCE. Lunch consisted of: *EDAMAME SEA SALT *EDAMAME SPICY GARLIC *GYOZA *SHRIMP TEMPURA APP *SIDE SALAD *MISO SOUP *49ERS *BOUJEE *CHICKEN TERIYAKI BENTO + SHRIMP TEMPURA ROLL + A FEW ADDITIONAL ROLLS Food was okay. Very doable. This spot is great for a sushi fix but the quality isn't anything memorable. Customer service could have been better. Our server took our order and then disappeared behind the counter to chat with other coworkers. We had to flag staff down for our requests and my hot tea took forever to get delivered- and that's with me inquiring about where it was. The slow pace and splotchy attentiveness just didn't make sense given the lack of foot traffic. 3 stars. read more

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Omakase box - had fatty tuna, tuna, salmon belly, salmon, yellow tail, butterfish, roe on rice, uni, oyster, scallop. All very fresh and flavorful Mango crunch - good for imitation crab and mango lovers. A little too sweet. Kakuna - inside has imitation crab and spicy tiny. Topped with torched salmon. Too heavy on the sauce and mayo so it's hard to taste the fish. Good lighting, spacious interior, service could be a little faster but staff is friendly. read more

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Still the best sushi with reasonable prices in the Bay Area. Our Server Duy was great, very quick, and given us a complimentary coconut jelly dessert after we finished our meal since we are ate here almost every week. read more

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Eating shrimp tempura rolls California rolls and a Ramon soup . DUY is my server and he is a great person.

We just visited for our first time for dinner and we had a great time. I had a Butterface roll and a Spam Musubi, Jax had a Citrus Roll and pictured, the Bubble Roll. All delicious. Duy and the staff were very attentive, he recommended the Bougie roll which we will get next time. The restaurant is clean and bright, very nice feel for sushi. I heard there's an all you can eat option but I can't eat like I used to so it's just single orders for me. read more

Kakuna Sushi - Bubble Roll - Ramen Near Me - San Jose, California

Service was great and attentive, thanks Duy :). Food was yummy and fresh, a pretty good ayce sushi in san jose. $48 per person on a monday night for the premium tier. read more

Kakuna Sushi - Oysterss - Ramen Near Me - San Jose, California

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Finally got to fully enjoy their offering. Luckily they were not too busy so the service was a lot better! Food came out quicker and i learned a strategy that its better to order A LOT in the first round, to avoid waiting. But keep in mind, do only order what you can finish! Lastly, they are one of only a few/couple of all you can eat sushi IN San Jose. So its always great to have them when youre craving for sushi. You get the same quality of sushi as you would at any Japanese restaurant. (Excluding omakase amd high end sushi places ofcourse) read more

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We were originally going to come here for the "all you can eat" lunch, which I guess has some restrictions and isn't a truly unrestricted all you can eat, but that's fine - we're not really gluttons at our age. But after weighing the price of the all-you-can-eat vs ordering exactly what we were craving a la carte, we decided to just order off the menu, which was the smart move since it was much less expensive and we ended up full. The place is casual and a little not-fancy decor or ambiance wise. You wouldn't bring anyone here you wanted to impress. . .but the food is what's important, right? The sushi was good! The rolls were large, the options were creative, and everything was tasty and met expectations. I wouldn't say it's elevated sushi, where there are layers to the flavors and you go "wow". But you get your sushi and see the portions are a good size and are happy that you get to dig in and eat satisfying sushi. I'd come back here again, especially for casual sushi where you want good value. Service was good as well - again, nothing fancy or overly attentive, but perfectly adequate for the level of restaurant. Also, it came pretty quickly, which was a plus as well (it wasn't that crowded when we went). read more

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Knowing Kakuna is one of the few AYCE sushi spots left in the area, we had to give it a try. Even though these establishments were our go-to with buddies back in the day, one can only endure so much rice nowadays. To each their own, though--getting old, hehe! Food: B For the AYCE Premium experience, they offer an extensive list of options to choose from. Adding the premium option unlocks access to the nigiri and special selection. Rolls: These were definitely solid and meet up with the standards around the Bay. So if you have an itch ya need to scratch for good ole 'Murica-style rolls, they gotchu. Special selection: You can only choose one per person. We opted for the Boujee Roll and the Sashimi Salad. The Boujee Roll--an upscale roll made with premium ingredients--was good, and the Sashimi Salad was solid. Nigiri: Left the best for last, but we were disappointed with the quality of this lineup. Knowing that it was the premium addition, the quality wasn't the best--and yes, this is factoring in that it's AYCE, but the texture and taste were still a bit off. Overall, we would come back maybe for the à la carte rolls, or if we do AYCE, we might just stick with the regular option. Vibe: B Service: B+ Friendly staff checked on us regularly during our stay and made sure our water were full. - John read more

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Great local sushi place! The Boujee roll was fresh, high quality, and super delicious. Everything was packed well and tasted amazing. Will definitely be ordering from here again! Duy was a great server. read more

Got this for take out during happy hour. 2 maki rolls and a miso soup for $11! Negihana roll (5/5); So big and fresh love it! The shiso leaf also added this elegant flavor. Salmon avocado roll (5/5); The salmon pieces were huge. Definitely one of the more filling rolls I've had. Sumo Roll (5/5): salmon and escolar on the inside with tobiko on top. Super flavor and affordable. This is definitely one of my favorite sushi places in SJ read more

Kakuna Sushi - Ramen Near Me - San Jose, California

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I came here for the ayce with some friends over the weekend. It was not busy. There were some challenges around ordering because we were a larger group and the menus were limited. Taste: - We got the premium so we got to try a lot of the nigiri. It was good but the rice tasted very sweet. The rolls themselves did not stand out to me too much but my friends like the baked rolls. We also ordered some premium ingredients off of the menu but they never came. Service: - This was not good aside from the challenges around the menus. Parking: - We easily got parking but I heard from a friend sometimes the plaza will be full so they will park elsewhere. read more

Kakuna Sushi - Ramen Near Me - San Jose, California

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Fresh, delicious sushi and outstanding service -- attentive from start to finish, never felt neglected. Clean, comfortable spot with fair prices. Will definitely be back with friends. Highly recommended! Also, thank you Lee Wong! Excellent service! read more

Came for dinner on a Friday night and this place does get busy but it could be because it's the only sushi spot that is close in the area. First off the place gets super stuffy as there is no air movement and doesn't seem like they turn the AC on. Rolls are average at best with way too much sauce that over powers anything else. Not even worth listing what I ordered and the sushi rice is off as when you pick up a roll it falls apart. The sashimi was like warm and extremely slimy. Won't come back as there are better places around even if they are farther. Service is average and the place is clean and modern on a plus side. read more

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Great staple sushi spot with clean and spacious interior, ample parking in plaza, fair prices and portion, and decent quality. They have an AYCE option but we opted to order a la carte instead. The prices are very fair for the portion and quality of food that you get. Service was courteous and neutral - not particularly notable. Nigiri moriwase: presentation was amazing, generous pieces of fish with good fish:rice ratio. I could taste the good quality of the nigiri. Good pricing. Ichiban roll: baked roll full of flavor but kept completely disintegrating every time we picked it up. Kalyan roll: delicious, lightly seared salmon, flavorful. They do catering party trays (available on their website) that seem pretty good value! We'll definitely be back. read more

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Large selection of items on their menu. Tons of open tables. My group got 4 rolls to share and a bottle of soju. Food came out pretty quick for a Saturday night. Service was a tad lacking as we had to flag servers down for items we needed, but over all food was great and vibes were awesome. read more

Kakuna Sushi - Sushi Rolls - Ramen Near Me - San Jose, California

Food 5/5 Service 5/5 Ambiance 5/5 Walked in and was able to get seated quickly on a Friday. Friendly and attentive service. Everything was delicious, accommodating and priced fairly. They do have AYCE menu as well. I would be back again with family and friends. read more

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Food was great and the service was awesome! Duy was friendly and very helpful. The atmosphere was very welcoming. I would definitely come back again! read more

Kakuna Sushi - Ramen Near Me - San Jose, California

My friend chose this place to eat because he said it was AYCE. We came here during lunch. The place wasn't busy so we were seated right away. They have a good amount of seating for groups. They have a time limit and an order limit per round for the AYCE. You are given a paper which gives you 3 rounds and 6 orders per round. Service for our 2nd round was a little slow. Portions are big if you get the rolls which will fill you up quick. We stopped at our second round, we were stuffed. Food was good and price was fair for AYCE. read more

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3 of us came here for lunch on Saturday around noon. There're plenty of tables available inside and we got seated right away. Both decor and service were minimal. We grabbed the menus ourselves from a nearby table. We originally wanted to try their AYCE, but since the whole table had to participate, and one of us wasn't that hungry, we decided to order a la carte. We're glad we did. The 3 of us were already stuffed after sharing an appetizer and 4 signature rolls. The sweet potato tempura came out piping hot; the batter wasn't too thick. While the dipping sauce lacked flavor, the dish was still ok, and not too oily. We're impressed by the number of signature rolls they offered, and tried to pick something we hadn't seen at other sushi restaurants. My favorite was the lobster tail tempura that came with the Boujee rolls. It was tasty with a light batter. The plating was beautiful. The torched salmon, shrimp tempura and spicy tuna were good as well, but I didn't really see any real crab inside. The Skittles roll was pretty delicious, too. I liked that it had unagi, crab, tobiko, and avocado among other things. The Umami roll also had unagi and carb, but the salmon skin and bonito flakes were what made the roll special. My daughter didn't care for the salmon skin, though. The Black Mamba was interesting if you liked softshell crab. I didn't care for the macadamia nuts, though. Portion size was huge. However, their rolls weren't rolled very tightly nor cut evenly, and their rice was on the sweeter side as other Yelpers had mentioned. Since most of the rolls had similar sauces, they kind of tasted very similar, despite the different ingredients. I wouldn't mind coming back again to try other items on their menu when I'm in the area. read more

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Solid sushi spot! A chain restaurant with other locations on McKee and in Fremont Arrived on a Friday night around 7:30PM. The place was pretty full, but got seated right away! They offer AYCE and also have decent lunch/happy hour specials! My bf and I ordered takoyaki and 3 rolls: -49er: I really like sushi rolls with the thin slice of lemon, but my bf not so much. It's a mix of salmon and scallop, tempura, and imitation crab. This one was my favorite! Very refreshing and light. -Sumo: this one only came with 5 pieces. It's spicy tuna, unagi, imitation crab. Not bad. More of a filler roll. -Simba: baked salmon, mayo/cheese sauce, imitation crab. Very filling and rich. I forgot how heavy baked rolls are so I might stick with just the raw ones next time! Their menu was overwhelming due to the wide selection, but that just means I have to come back and try more rolls! Pricing is on the more affordable side too. Plus easy parking. I'll be back! read more

Kakuna Sushi - 49ers Roll (scallop/salmon with tempura, crab, lemon), Sumo Roll (uni, spicy tuna, crab) - Ramen Near Me - San Jose, California

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I was looking for a new sushi place to try in San Jose, and I stumbled upon this place on TikTok. So I decided to give it a try with my partner. We were super hungry this day after getting off of work on a Friday night. We saw there was an AYCE menu and decided to try it. The quality of the fish is great and they cut the slices of the fish thick on the nigiri. There is a little too much rice for my preference but I don't typically eat that much rice daily so just my own preference. You can taste the fresh ingredients and the fish just melts in your mouth. I didn't have a bite of fish that I did not like. The table next to us seemed like regulars and made comments that it was a super slow service day. I can agree unfortunately the service was super slow but I can tell they were short staffed. We entered the restaurant around 6pm and left around 8pm. So for the 90 min ayce time limit we left after but were only able to get two rounds in since the food settled while waiting for our last order. My partner and I stated we'd go again and probably order off of the ala carte menu instead Worth a try! And not just "as see on TikTok" the quality is there & I wouldn't let one slow service day be a big deal. read more

Kakuna Sushi - AYCE Nigiri & limited premium items Salmon Belly Nigiri & Oysters - Ramen Near Me - San Jose, California

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Not too many AYCE sushi restaurants nowadays and was surprised there is one near home. Came for lunch on NYE and there were a handful of tables taken but it's such a large restaurant it seemed emptier. There are two choices of AYCE options and the premium gives you access to nigiri and a choice of one of the 5 ish premium options. I do appreciate how you an order rolls and some of them only have 4 pieces so you can order more variety. Our rolls and appetizers came out quickly, but the nigiri took awhile. It seemed as if they wanted us to get full from all the other food. The carpaccio was pretty good, the fish seemed fresh. The boujee roll was really tasty, a lot of fried lobster pieces. The Gilroy Garlic was my favorite so had to order another one of those. The nigiri did not seem very fresh at all. I was excited for the salmon belly but it wasn't very good compared to other places. I also ordered the pork belly ramen to end and it's a big portion but wasn't a fan of it. There were only two servers that were juggling a lot but they still managed to do so with a smile. I would definitely come back for the rolls only next time, though the omakase platters looked really good. read more

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Thanks to Yelp, because there's no way I would've found Kakuna Sushi just driving around. Kakuna Sushi is kitty corner to Branham High School in the Meridian Park Plaza center where you'll find Lunardi's & CVS. There is a ton of parking, so no worries there. I met a friend on a Saturday afternoon around 11:30. There were only a couple of customers at that time, and when we finished chatting at 2:30, it was once again pretty empty. The servers were respectful and gave us our space and refilled beverages throughout our visit. We had salmon nigiri (their orders are singular, so if you want the traditional 2 pieces, you need to order 2), a Dragon Roll, Volcano Roll, Lion King Roll, & Hokkaido Roll. The portions were large and the quality was very good. Kakuna Sushi has an AYCE option but we didn't feel that hungry. I will definitely go back. read more

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AYCE sushi. Decent quality and taste. Nice service. Large slices for the nigiri. Would pass on the spicy tuna nigiri, the color was a bit off. Lots of baked rolls. read more

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We weren't expecting much when we walked in as we were just looking for simple sushi but Kakuna went beyond our expectations! We were seated pretty quickly since it was relatively empty that day so it was quiet inside. We ordered 3 rolls, 2 scallops, and some jalapeno bombs. The citrus roll was our favorite as it was super refreshing and light. The baked roll was super rich and creamy, exactly what we were craving. The scallop nigiri (not pictured because we ate it too fast) was super fresh as well. Kakuna sushi might become our staple as the sushi quality is fantastic and the price point is great! read more

Kakuna Sushi - Citrus Roll - Ramen Near Me - San Jose, California

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Went again for AYCE weekday dinner! My party of three did the regular AYCE (so we couldn't do premium items like nigiri). But we enjoyed the variety of rolls we got to try with this option. I am going to have dreams about salmon avocado hand roll. The salmon came in thick quality slices that were fresh. Good ratio of rice to fish. Overall for the AYCE the rolls did not feel overstuffed with rice so we appreciated that a lot!! The Kakuna, Lemon Salmon, and Bubble were some of our favorites! Kakuna has a nice seared/torched flavor. Lemon Salmon was refreshing. Bubble is tempura scallops (never tried that before but it's so yummy). At the beginning, the food came quickly and the service was very attentive. However, for our last round, it took 20+ minutes to get the first roll of the round. At this point, we were starting to get full so the wait made the last couple bites a bit painful LOL Overall, not usually too crowded and moderate sound level. read more

Kakuna Sushi - Kakuna Roll & 49er (AYCE) - Ramen Near Me - San Jose, California

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This was my second time at Kakuna Sushi with my family, and we came around 6pm for an early dinner on a Sunday night. There were 2 other parties at that time, and we were told to pick any table we'd like to sit at. By the end of our meal around 7:30pm it was definitely busier but still with plenty of tables open. The service was fine throughout, and the space itself is brightly lit and spacious but not too fancy. We got the Omakase box, a deluxe chirashi, the hokkaido roll, citrus roll, and mango crunch roll to share across 4 of us. The quality of the fish in the omakase and chirashi bowl is really good, and everything was fresh and cut into generous, thick slices. The rice in the chirashi bowl was surprisingly good - you could tell it was fresh and had a good bite with each grain of rice holding its shape - this was a really pleasant surprise! The rolls weren't as good this time as we remembered, and you can actually see from my photos of the citrus roll from the last time we came compared to this time that there was significantly less salmon inside the roll, and more pickled radish, and we felt that there was less sauce/flavor as well. Despite this, the quality of the fish is still great even in the rolls - just wasn't as satisfying this time around. Overall, Kakuna Sushi offers really great quality fish and sushi rice at a reasonable price! I definitely enjoy the omakase and chirashi, and would come back again for those :) read more

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Meh... I was excited for Kakuna ayce since there aren't a lot of ayce in the south bay. Service was okay, the waiter checked in on us twice for orders. It's spacious inside with lots of seating. The first round of sushi was good. We got a mix of different rolls. It went down hill starting the second round. The hand rolls we ordered were horrible. The spicy tuna was weirdly dry and not flavorful and it was a huge amount. The sliced cucumbers were soggy and there were also so much in there. Not sure if it's just this location or just the ayce... read more

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This was my first time dining at this restaurant, and my friends and I chose it as a spot to catch up. We went with the premium all-you-can-eat menu, and it was absolutely worth it. All of the nigiri we tried were amazing. I'm a huge tuna fan, and the tuna here really stood out in terms of freshness and flavor. The carpaccio was also very good, and I enjoyed the oysters as well. One standout item for me was the special boujee roll and the spicy scallop handroll, which was stuffed really well and not rice heavy. The only item I didn't care for was the eel nigiri, which was oddly slimy, but aside from that, the fish quality across the board was great. We easily ate more than the cost of the AYCE per person, so it felt like a great value. The restaurant has an open, casual layout, making it a comfortable place to sit and chat for a while. The servers were attentive and always ready to take additional orders without us feeling rushed. There was plenty of parking outside, which made the visit even more convenient. I would definitely come back again to try more of their rolls and, of course, eat more tuna. read more

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We've eaten here twice and had great experiences both times. Duy and the rest of the staff were great as they checked on us frequently to make sure we were doing well. The atmosphere was relaxed and enjoyable. The first visit we just ordered rolls and bentos which were great. The second time we ordered the AYCE. We got the AYCE premium and although we enjoyed the offerings, I will say, for the price you definitely want to go at least four rounds or more to make it worthwhile cost wise. Thanks for the great experience! read more

Tried out the AYCE sushi at Kakuna. It was tasty and the servings were very generous- large slices of sashimi. We tried poke salad, sashimi salad, different nigiri's, spider roll, sumo roll, spitfire roll, rainbow roll, saba mini don, edamame, boujee roll , hand rolls and more. Service was good, very clean. read more

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Kakuna is son favorite sushi roll place and since it was his grad celebration we came here. Food was better this time around. I ordered from the early dinner section and got salmon Kama bowl and you two rolls, eel and tempura. Salmon Kama was fresh no smell and cooked perfectly. Rolls also were tasty. My son got the Omakasa assorted sushi box. Mind you my son and I don't eat raw seafood so we were adventurous today. Beautiful presentation and lots of variety. We on the uni, oyster and large size of fish egg. Well at least we got to try it. Rest got bento box of chile. And grilled salmon. Our food was good but service not so much. Service had to get up or flag down the host to get his attention to get water refills or order. read more

Kakuna Sushi - Ramen Near Me - San Jose, California

Staff: not attentive even restaurant is so slow Food: poke bowl tastes so weird and very spicy (menu didn't say it would be spicy neither did they ask us). I had diarrhea afterwards. read more

Kakuna Sushi - Inside - Ramen Near Me - San Jose, California

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I don't think there's any AYCE sushi place in San Jose that compares to Kakuna sushi. It's a bit pricey, especially if you do the premium menu, which has the nigiris and specials. The sushi is worth the price, especially if you're not willing to drive to Ultra Sushi in San Mateo, or Sake2Me in Fremont. My friends and I stopped by for dinner Sunday evening. We were surprised by how big the restaurant was, but it wasn't busy so we were seated immediately. The AYCE menu had a good variety, but not many appetizers. You have 3 rounds and the rules were written on the menu. My favorite roll is the crunchy mango!! The only downsides we experienced were that the rice was a little too mushy and sugary. They also gave a lot of rice for the nigiris so we were struggling to finish our last round. The lion king roll was not good. The waitress is really nice though :) I would definitely be back next time i'm craving AYCE sushi! read more

Kakuna Sushi - nigiri's - Ramen Near Me - San Jose, California

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We wanted to try a different sushi place, but specifically a place that also had bento boxes or rice plates. We found Kakuna on Yelp and noticed a lot of great reviews so we decided to try them out. One thing to note is their pricing. It's super affordable compared to a lot of sushi places! I was actually surprised with how affordable the price was since I usually get unagi and unagi is usually on the pricier side. We ordered the Umami Roll, Salmon Skin Roll, Beef Teriyaki, and Pork Belly Bao. Both rolls were very good! I feel like the Beef Teriyaki was a little on the harder side, but the flavor was still really good. I think the Pork Belly Bao was just okay and the outside seemed a little burnt. The food actually came out really quick and I really appreciated that the server constantly checked up on us. When we went, it was a little later in the day so it wasn't too busy. We would definitely come back to try more! read more

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