I actually prefer this location to the Lansing one. The ambiance has a nice Japanese Steakhouse vibe. It can get a bit crowded inside, and I wish they'd not take up so much space for the sushi/bar part of the restaurant, but the food makes up for it. Some of the chefs are a bit grouchy, so that could be a deterrent if you're really coming for the show, but their cooking skill makes up for it. Their food is fairly consistent compared to the Lansing location, although the service is often a bit slower at the Okemos location. One other thing that I don't prefer is their reservation policy. I've arrived at my scheduled time (example 7 pm), and I'll be the first one there (party of two), and they like to wait as long as possible to fill up the rest of the table before starting the service. This is frustrating if you have plans afterwards, especially since they sound so serious over the phone about their reservation/no-show policy. (This review is based on the Hibachi side of the restaurant, not the Sushi or Bar side). Thanks. read more

Over all good experience . Good food good service. Had a nice time at the bar and the grill. read more

TOO MUCH SAUCE! Holy cow. Could barely taste the sushi due to the thorough saucing. My friend got 3 rolls and hers were drenched even worse. I am pretty sure some of what we ordered had no sauce in the pictures so we were surprised, and surprised to see so MUCH on what we did order. I will say they were good, but it was very hard to tell under the sauce and they all tasted the same. There was no sashimi on the menu. No soup, no salad came with our dinner. Weird. Gyoza are weirdly shaped and very large. Each dumpling is about two normal gyoza. Our waiter was nice. Took a while to arrive, to get waters, he brought the appetizer at the same time as the rolls, had to ask for water refills. Assuming he was new so I understand. The host seemed especially NOT thrilled to be working. Restaurant was warm, and loud - there were only a few tables full and one hibachi full, but I could barely hear my friend across the table. There's TVs every few feet, some showing news, some showing stationary pictures. More like a sports bar feel than a sushi restaurant. read more

Ukai - Woodlake - Godzirra roll (top); yummy yummy roll - Japanese Near Me - Okemos, Michigan

Went here for sushi and it was definitely a disappointment. Our waitress got both of our drink orders wrong and honestly wasn't that friendly. I understand people have bad nights and servers are people too, but it was just meh. Food came out and looked a lot different than the rolls we usually get at the other ukai off of Saginaw in lansing. Went to use the restroom and the women's bathroom was out of soap and looked like it hadn't been cleaned in a while (seriously why was each toilet dirty and why did I have to hover when I'm at a place I'm paying $100 for 3 people to eat?) definitely will not be back. When we got home my stomach also felt like it was in knots and upset from the food. The location off of Saginaw in Lansing is top tier, the one in Woodlake HARD PASS. read more

NO yum yum sauce. No garlic butter. What is the point of some dry hibachi with honey mustard ?! If you get STUCK visiting here... I SUGGEST you make the dry hibachi tolerable with spicy Mayo mixed with teriyaki sauce. (They don't give you either at the table) the cook was cool as was the waitress. However we had to ask for the ice cream or plum shot that can with the meal we ordered instead of it being offered. All in all a hard PASS on this restaurant especially with with other way better hibachi restaurants around. The tables are also pretty small compared to other spots. The tables are pretty close to one another. The ambiance as a whole is pretty basic and boring. I will say the white peach sake was pretty good: but again I would def skip this place though. You pay the same price for this place with discount service and amenities not worth it. read more

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We loved it! The restaurant was bright and inviting, we were seated right away, staff were friendly and attentive, sushi was tasty (tempura California was a favorite), and Hibachi was fun and delicious! It was our kids' first time for Hibachi and they were amazed. Definitely recommend! read more

Let me tell you now, the food and the service was excellent! I really enjoy eating where the service you receive dining in matches the experience when you are dining out. This place has a wonderful bartender. The atmosphere has a nice ambiance. It all coincides with what you would expect from a dine in experience that is good for meetings, dates, or group outings. read more

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Went here for a hibachi dinner. Good location. The staff/service was great. However when it came to the food it was below average. The chicken was so chewy and tough to eat. Also the fact that they don't have YUM YUM sauce is crazy!!! read more

It's not my personal favorite, but the food was OK. And we had good service. Our chef at the hibachi did a great job. Very personable. I would like to go back and just sit in the restaurant area and order some sushi. read more

I don't know where to start but by saying the whole staff at this woodlake location was absolutely incredible! We left disappointed/angry by the lansing location after them cancelling our reservation after we were just 5 minutes late and making no accommodations. The manager at the landing location was horrible and rude. The woodlake location took us in last minute, went ABOVE & BEYOND for our group of 6 by not only providing amazing entertainment from our chef, Saol who was absolutely hilarious, but also such kindness by our waitress Kendall. A special shout out to the manager, Sam who let us keep our homemade cake in the fridge! Not only that, but the staff came out singing happy birthday to one of the people in our party. The whole staff was incredible and I cannot thank them enough for making our experience so memorable! read more

What can I tell you... what a great surprise. First off, Covid really did a number on small businesses in the area. My wife has worked best for 10 years and has visited many times for Dragon Rolls and some of the best sushi. I love Hibachi but had never been here. We went to Beni Hana earlier this year and was shocked at their lack of tables, charisma and pricing. When we walked into Ukai I was amazed at how beautiful it was. With 12 Hibachi tables. There were a couple big tables taken and we were set at one by ourselves. We were immediately greeted and ordered the Teriyaki chicken dinner. Chef Jimmy came out and DELIVERED. A show for two. And you know, it was grand. Pricing is great. Food was better and we left feeling special. We paid for a show and dinner and drinks and will be back again and again. I urge you to go and try them out. Bring lots of friends and support LOCAL. Outstanding read more

Ukai - Woodlake - Everything you want in a Hibachi dining experience. - Japanese Near Me - Okemos, Michigan

We are staying at a hotel across the street, so we decided to try their takeout since that is the only way to order from them right now. I thought I'd spring for the Hana Special hibachi dinner tonight because I skipped lunch. It's of the specialty dinners for more $$. It was supposed to come with soup, salad and ginger dressing, rice (I subbed for noodles for extra $3), shrimp appetizer (the 2 included in my styrofoam container), vegetables, hot tea and a shot of plum wine or ice cream. Unfortunately it seems they are not giving out the salads (yet they gave me the ginger dressing which was awesome), and they are not giving hot tea or the plum wine or ice cream. They said to compensate, they are giving people 20% off. Well, my friend got sushi and gyoza and also got 20% off, and he wasn't missing anything from his order whatsoever. (He said it was awesome by the way). I was missing three things at least (I have to read their menu again to be sure there wasn't more listed on it)... Now let's talk about what I did get: the soup (broth) they gave me was not even half full and it was cold. The scallops are great; the steak is dry as can be; the veggies taste awesome, but there are hardly any there! For 23.74, I feel they could add some more veggies! (Please!) This is hibachi after all. Can't we have the same type of experience even if it has to be to-go? It would be great to be in my hotel, imagining being back at a hibachi table where they load on the veggies and such (hopefully we can open up and enjoy days like that again someday). Anyways, the veggies would be the best part of this meal, so it's too bad there are hardly any. I can tell Ukai takes pride in big flavors, which is awesome, but it would be even more awesome if there had been more soup and veggies (at least), especially since the dinner was missing items that are described on the menu. Pretty bummed out for a first time, $23.74 meal. 2.5 stars. read more

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The cook had an attitude problem because my mother is old and couldn't pronounce the words. He was so focused on his tricks that our food wasn't fully cooked. Ive been here before and it was great but this time was terrible. The host was great, service was okay, but cook is a 0/10. read more

Amazing presentation, variety, and ambiance. Loved this place. Also outside dining to make a perfect lunch. read more

Ukai - Woodlake - Japanese Near Me - Okemos, Michigan

COME HERE IF YOU WANT TO WASTE $40-50!!! My girlfriend and I waited an hour for food that was cold. It tasted like it was sitting in the back room for 30 minutes. I wish they just cooked in front of us like a normal Japanese steakhouse, so that my food would've been warm. I didn't even bother telling the waitress about it because I just wanted to leave already. Extremely poor service, I hope they make changes soon. I suggest any other restaurant over this one. read more

This place might be okay for people who don't like sushi. Weird for a sushi restaurant, huh? This location is convenient, so I've been here several times. Ukai has pretty good rice bowls and their hibachi grill is decent as well. But their sushi... meh (at best). The nigiri has small pieces of meat that are obviously a step below top grade fish; it's just a little less tender and less tasty than I would expect at this price point. If you're into rolls, they have a large selection but it's really hard to find something that doesn't have tempura (fried) in it, and many of them are completely fried, like they make the roll and dip it into the fryer, then put the sauces on it, and serve it hot. It's weird to eat warm rolls... On my last visit, I opted for a spicy tuna roll and was disappointed to learn that they shredded the tuna and just buried it in salt. I never leave sushi on my plate, but I only ate about half my lunch at Ukai. read more

Love this place. Food is excellent and the atmosphere is casual. They cook your dinner right in front of you. We come for most special occasions. Love it!! read more

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The service was excellent. Quick and friendly! The sushi not so much. It seemed like grocery store sushi. The rolls were HUGE. I had a rainbow roll and picked the sashimi off top and ate that separately because the rolls were not that tasty. The sashimi was good. If I go back I'll get that instead of the rolls. Miso was excellent and so was the hot tea. read more

So we walked in and the first thing you notice is old fish smell, not the best thing to be welcomed with when a restaurant serves sushi. I trudge along as I'm not there for sushi but hibachi. Drink orders taken and delivered, we wait for the hibachi table to fill up, dinner orders taken, and miso soup comes out at almost about room temperature. I hold my tongue which was probably a mistake. Now comes the hibachi griller with the food, about 5 minutes later comes the side salad. Which is kind if annoying because you want to watch the griller do the routine. Griller show was fine, but overall I've experienced better. The steak wasnt anything special in terms of quality and was generally underseasoned. Our server ended up being just below average, with dirty dishes piling up on the table as courses finished. Even as the check was delivered she walked away empty handed. At no time did management come to check on things. IDK in the end there are better places to blow 50 bucks on two meals. You should always trust your nose. read more

The teriyaki salmon is amazing! Best I've ever had. They cook your food right in front of you. Very kid friendly. Highly recommended. read more

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Your stomach will growl as soon as you walk in the door...it smells incredible! Cool modern Asian design. Large sushi area. 8 large hibachi tables with talented and entertaining chefs. The food is so fresh and wonderfully seasoned. Went with ages 10-47 and everyone loved it. I tried the noodles with the hibachi instead of rice and was a big fan. They were very flavorful & cooked perfectly. I'm a sushi addict & thought that was very good too. Creative and delicious selection of fresh fish & rolls. Being a sushi snob, I'm very picky on my nigiri. Theirs was among the few places I'll order it. Like butter...super fresh & delicious. Easy highway access too for those passing by on their way elsewhere. read more

Ukai - Woodlake - Onion volcano! - Japanese Near Me - Okemos, Michigan

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This place is a great spot for sushi and lunch bowls. Their service has gotten much better since they opened up this location a couple years ago. You can't beat the price of their noodle/rice bowls at lunch and they have a nice patio. This is my go-to for sushi in the Okemos area. read more

This place has become a regular stop for me and it rarely disappoints. The variety of lunch bowls are great tasting and a better value than almost any other lunch spot in the area. I had the Drunken Tiger and the Crazy Dragon for lunch today and both rolls were delicious!! read more

Ukai - Woodlake - Drunken Tiger and Crazy Dragon. - Japanese Near Me - Okemos, Michigan

This used to be our favorite restaurant. Now, it is our least favorite. We sent our food back to the kitchen because it was not cooked the way we asked. The kitchen fixed the problem, however they sent our sides back cold. After bringing this to management's attention, he offered to warm up our sides. Did not offer fresh sides, plus we had already been waiting an hour for our food and did not want to wait any longer. Did not offer a discount, either. Such low standards and a lack of consideration by management. What a shame. What a disappointment. We will not be back to this location again. read more

Had a fantastic meal with great beers on tap. Great service and a good show by our chef.

My husband and I came in tonight around 6:15pm. We sat on the sushi side but ordered hibachi meals. We ordered spring rolls , Tuna poppers, and fried crab for appetizers. The appetizers took around 40 mins to come out. Wasn't the server Jordan's fault ,he said they were backed up in the kitchen. After ordering our appetizer another waiter ( Gia is what I think her name was) came over to take our meal order, which was confusing because she wasn't your waitress ( as she reminded us whenever we had a question or needed something ). We decided to leave after a couple who came in more than an hour after us got their food before us. We looked at their plates and it was exactly what we order ( again an hour before them). My husband asked Gia for our waiter so that we could leave. At the moment our food was suddenly ready ( and wrong) . We told Jordan it was not his fault and that we were still leaving and just paying for our appetizers. I was very disappointed tonight. I've ordered from this restaurant plenty of times and also work at a hotel in the area where we always recommend Ukai to our guest for dinner . read more

First of all, the inside of this place looks like a warehouse. The harsh lighting really needs to be changed out for warmer bulbs. Second, the hibachi food came out in a really odd order. People who ordered fried rice got their rice first, and people who ordered noodles got the noodles at the VERY END of the meal service. So they had to sit there and eat vegetables and meat with no carbohydrate. Very, very strange. Third, the rice was VERY undercooked. You can't own a Japanese restaurant and not know how to cook rice. This was my first time visiting any of the Ukai locations, and my friend told me that she had problems with undercooked rice in the past so she ordered noodles. Not acceptable. read more

One of my favorite places to eat in Lansing! If you want sushi this is the perfect place to go for lunch. Usually not over busy, very good food and service, and affordable! I usually make it in here once a week for lunch. The manager (Scott) is aware and very friendly, and his serving staff are great as well. read more

Surprisingly disappointed. I waited several weeks before checking out the new location for Sushi. This was so that the staff could get a good grasp of how to provide quality service. Last nights dinner..... The waitstaff didn't notice that we had been seated for 10min, so I flagged her down. The entire restaurant was super smokey from the hibachi grills and the noise level made it difficult to talk to my fellow diner. The interior needs to have some fabric added or something to absorb the tinny noise. Once our order was taken, we waited for the soup to be served. However the sushi came out first. That took about 20min. The order came out wrong and had to be sent back. It was at this point that the soup was served. After the manager brought the food out, still not totally correct, the waitress apologized that everything was wrong. She brought the check. We paid and left. I'm not sure what to think. The food wasn't even worth having the negative experience. Bummer. read more

My husband went to Ukai on Valentine's Day . The food and service were great. Meat cooked perfectly and delicious. The two things that need improvement are the atmosphere and the ventilation read more

Very much the McDonald's experience. Timing of delivery was way off. Soup and salad arrived so quickly, I don't think I even had my jacket off. I was originally very excited to hear there was another sushi place in town. We opted for the hibachi experience because it was the preference of the couple we were with, so I may be back to try the sushi. I know this place is new to this location, but they could've spent a lot more time on the ambience. Bare walls, and a tile floor makes for a very loud room, not to mention the bright lighting (you thought it was closing time all the time). The only reason I gave it 2 stars is that the hibachi chef was good, but the rest of the staff needs a little brush up on customer service. read more

Excellent Sushi and outstanding service. Staff are very friendly and the place is beautiful. Bartender Jake (aka J Money) slings some mean lemon drops. Come check it out! read more

3 of us had fabulous meals! The teriyaki salmon was delicious! The shrimp was cooked perfectly as was the chicken! Vegetables and rice or noodles were perfect! We will definitely be going back! read more

This is my favorite sushi restaurant in the Lansing area. I always come for lunch, and the service is always top notch. They have a weekly special roll for $6 every week, and I always enjoy their selection. Highly recommend! read more

worst hibachi i've ever had :( so disappointing since it costs so much!!!! my food is horribly burnt and i asked for my steak to be medium well and its cooked way past well done... my mom got scallops and shrimp and when she opened the box i thought it was a side order!! she only got 5 scallops and they were each smaller than a quarter read more

When we arrived the hostess had no idea how to read the reservation list. Everyone is poorly trained(except the cooks). We tried to take our mom out for a nice Mother's Day dinner and waited for over an hour to finally get food, we watched as people who were sat (and ordered) after us getting served ahead of us. Will never be coming back, not worth my money. read more

Had better, waitress was distracted I guess, we ordered 3 Kirin and 1 mixed drink and 1 hot sake., when she came back she had 2 beers and 1 mixed drink. I said I think your missing something, and she looked at me totally confused, and said oh did you order a beer ??? yes and a hot sake. When she returned she had my Kirin and 2 hot sake, we just over looked it. She never came back to the table to see if we wanted anything else, just came with the bill. We had decided that we wanted some seaweed salad to go, so she had to bring another bill. I asked her if they had bags for my take out and she told me we could get a bag at the hostess counter -however after she picked up the bill/with tip she came back with a bag (why in the world would a customer need to carry their "take out" boxes to the Hostess counter to get a bag ??) Disappointed that they no longer have the Bento Box's, have replaced those with a "Bowl" that consist of mostly rice with a few veggies and your choice of chicken or salmon or shrimp or beef. Not even a close 2nd to a Bento Box ! You don't even get a salad anymore, but still get the Miso soup. Sushi rolls were good., probably the only thing we will be ordering in the future, as bowls are not worth the money. Will go back to the Ukai on Delta Commerce Dr. instead of Woodlake Dr. for my Sushi. read more

Wasn't impressed. Ordered take out hibachi. Did not receive the salad and soup with my meal. Price is really expensive for the amount and quality of the food. I wouldn't go back unless you like sushi. read more

Good food-bad service at this one. My family and I just had a very odd experience first, we ordered noodles with a meal, they didn't come-we told the chef, his response was "it's too late." Odd. It never came... We did not get shrimp appetizer that came with our meals. We asked a server about it (we hadn't seen ours in a while and he seemed to be walking around a lot). He was very nice, apologized. However, when the owner (presumably) came over he seemed to not comprehend that we didn't get the shrimp appetizers. When asked if he was familiar with the menu, he said he wrote it. He was very defensive instead of apologizing. Mistakes happen. We understand that, good customer service would tell you to apologize anyway-instead of making excuses and storming off. Then a manager came over. Asked if the problem was with the chef or server. Again-odd. Finally served the shrimp and noodles (after ice cream) and were clearly displeased with us pointing out the errors. Would go to the Grand River location, avoid this one. read more

My husband and I went here for our anniversary. We both agreed it was some of the best food we have had since moving from a large city. The staff was very nice and they even gave us a pineapple boat to celebrate when they found out it was our anniversary dinner. We will be back soon! read more