In August, I left this place a 2-star review because my visit started with a hostess wordlessly, rudely dropping the menus as she whisked by and ended with the waitress bringing me the wrong pork meal. (I will admit I came with the dinner rush so it was very busy that day). Also, for the prices, I vented that rolls should have had crab not krab. It was very hard to find real crab on the menu. The business owner, Kimin K, messaged me not long after, not only with a sincere apology, but resolutions to my gripes. This included retraining staff on customer service and tweaking the menu a bit. Just, wow. I really appreciated the feedback, so I decided to delete that review and give Waraii another chance. Fast forward three months. I came for lunch today, and Ana, my hostess and server, enthusiastically made me feel very welcome. My water glass stayed full this time, and she checked up on me numerous times...something the previous server did not do. When I asked for more ginger, the kitchen gave me a generous mound in a little bowl lol. Even the Sushi Chef greeted me today. It seemed like everyone was on-board with making customers happy! Sushi Lunch Specials include weekends, so I happily ordered the 3-hand roll combo plate. It came with miso soup and a salad. The miso was so much better this time! The broth was hot and flavorful. There was even kombu in it, I think. Well, it had something dark green anyway haha. The salad came with just enough of a bright orange, gingery dressing. Too many restaurants are heavy-handed with their dressings. Oh, and I was surprised to see dark leafy greens hiding under the bits of iceberg. For the rolls, I chose 2 salmon skin and 1 tuna. The salmon skin had a bit of meat on it still, and it added a varying texture to the roll. Sushi rice gave a nice sweetness. I would totally order this again, even though it has krab lol (I mean, it's great for the price- around 12$ for 3 courses). The krab is not fishy here! The tuna hand roll had big chunks of bright, super-fresh fish. It literally melted in my mouth. This little restaurant gives off a bright, upbeat vibe. There's two closed-captioned televisions going as well as music. Lots of white, orange, shiny metal. Most every seat is comfy because it's basically all booths. Overall, I look forward to returning and bringing friends. I want to experience dinner again, and I will add that to this review. Pros: - Lunch Specials - Caring Owner - order online/ to-go - a few unique ingredients in some rolls, like mango - Japanese food and a few Korean hot plates - quality hashi Cons: - small location - shared restroom - gets loud - parking - most rolls have krab read more

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4 1/2 stars. I had lunch here during the week. Parking was no issue since I arrived before the noon hour. The selection and pics made it difficult to decide but they have a lunch menu that right up my taste buds. Sashimi, spicy hand roll, miso soup and salad. The waitress took care of me and sat me at a spot with a power plug so I was able to get some laptop work in and take my time before my next client appointment. Service from my waitress was spot on and I'd return to this small but quaint sushi restaurant again. read more

Waraii Sushi - Sashimi & spicy tuna roll combo entree - Japanese Near Me - Oceanside, California

Decent rolls for great prices! Hole in the wall, so don't expect fancy shmancy... 50% rolls! We ordered 4 rolls: -Lemon roll: The lemon is inside the roll, which typically is on top when I order it. I was charged $1 extra for tuna vs. the customary spicy tuna. BOO! -Rainbow roll -Yellowtail roll -Starfish roll The rolls took a while to make, but with good reason. The fish was fres, looked delectable, and tasted good. The service was a little slow. I think because it's a family owned place and they had 2 small kids that they watch in the restaurant. Not too thrilled about that part since the kids were playing and standing on the counters. Some of the containers that were on the counter fell on the floor and I'm not sure what the owner did with them. Honestly, I don't think they care and placed the containers back on the counter. EW... The restaurant only had about 30 seats and is in a shopping center shared with Mr. Pho, a Thai restaurant and a massage joint with lots of parking available. Total spent with tip = $40 read more

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Pretty good cooked Japanese food and sushi. I ordered the Tempura Philly roll (super filling), garlic edamame, beef Bulgogi, and the Bento Dinner. Great atmosphere and great customer service. The tables are a little small so not much elbow room, but I really like the vibes and service here. read more

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Tried their sashimi poke bowl and was quite disappointed. Overpriced, small quantity and untasty. Not sure I am going back. read more

Waraii Sushi - Tried the mixed Sashimi Poke bowl and sadly disappointed. Overpriced also for the serving. Not sure I will going back. - Japanese Near Me - Oceanside, California

It's very unfortunate. Been coming here for years. This place used to be pretty good. The cuts of fish have gotten very thin, and rolls are smaller, compared to what they used to be, but the prices have gone up. Now a days, it's sticky tables, watching a bunch of to-go orders get taken care of while you wait at a table without even a menu to look at. Long wait to order at the table. Seems like they are more likely to take good care of a to-go order than someone that physically shows up to enjoy a meal. Sorry to say, but after coming here for years, I have deleted my good review and ended my being a customer on this one. With so much competition in sushi places, you gotta keep up quality and service. read more

Most of the rolls were pretty good In order of best to good I got 1) Very hot - was indeed very spicy ! 2) Lovely Gloria - spicy (tuna) with hint of sweet (sauce) and then with the avocado it was amazing 3) I Love You 4) Hungry - fried We also ordered a small combo and specifically asked for NO SHRIMP Bc of allergies but they ended up giving us TWO INSTEAD OF NONE. Oh well. Lemonade had a very strong flavor & drinks were large! read more

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Probably the best service I've ever had! The sushi is delicious, fast made to order, and they give you lots of fish especially crab which we liked. We got the aloha (has a good refreshing taste), rainbow (amazing lots of fish), and Alaska (sooo good u have to get it with ponzu sauce to dip in). Their Menu is huge and can be overwhelming. Be sure to look at the top 10 rolls list on the wall to help decide. I swear our rolls came out in 10 minutes or less and they were all big, lots of fish, and delicious. I honestly don't think u can go wrong with any sushi roll u order here. I love that they have a variety of other foods here too (Korean and poke bowls to name a few). Also good food and service for the prices. I can't wait to to come back again! read more

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My wife and I always love going to this restaurant! We tried multiple sushi from them so far all of them are very impressive! Vista roll, Monkey ball, baby doll & Golden cali roll are just a few of our favorite! I also love how generous they are with their eel sauce! read more

Ordered through Uber eats. The meal is 30% fake crab, 20% Mayo, rice and a minimal amount of actual fish. Half the fish that's in the order has been dyed red. I called the restaurant and they say they get it like this sometimes and it's normal. I think they should state that the fish has been dyed to look fresher on the description. The spicy Mayo has just enough sauce to tint the Mayo with a hint of Orange/pink, which in turn makes their 'spicy crab' a glop of Mayo and crab. All the special rolls fell short of any other restaurants 'special' rolls. Very generic food and small portions/roll sizes. Honestly would've been happier getting a platter of sushi from stater brothers for half the price. This will be my first and last time. read more

Waraii Sushi - Dyed fish? Literally turned the rice red. I've never seen this at a sushi restaurant before :/ - Japanese Near Me - Oceanside, California

Good sushi but honestly the reason we always come back is because of the great service. Especially Crystal. She makes going there so enjoyable. read more

Waraii Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Oceanside, California

There is better sushi around. My issue was the amount of fish on the rolls. The rainbow roll had the thinnest pieces of meat I've ever had on a roll. The salmon sliver literally broke in half when I pulled it off the top of the roll to get a better look. The ratio of Krab to eel in the caterpillar was about 9 parts Krab to 1 part eel. Salmon skin hand roll had the least amount of salmon skin for one of the pricier ss hand rolls I've had. One and done for this place. read more

Sushi was very very good. Rice cooked well, fish was tender and flavorful and sauces not too salty, sweet or mayonnaisy. Great execution and even the spicy chicken teriyaki bowl was tasty. Highly recommend read more

Mediocre sushi. The relatively small slices of tuna on top were ok, and I really like the ginger sauce. However, the rolls were small for the price, and all rolls have cucumber even when not mentioned in the description. I have severe indigestion with cucumber so I like to choose rolls without it versus having to poke it out. The rice or seaweed tasted old or just off. I just ate the topper fish. I ordered the cream cheese wontons and they were equally disappointing. Dry inside and not folded the right way. They almost seemed to have been baked. read more

Best dam ramen around try the black garlic seasome ramen with pork cha chu with a side of brave jaden sushi trust you wont regret it if you have real taste buds for the best read more

I love this place! The food is really good imo, and no matter who is working when I go in, they are always very friendly and attentive. The best part, the big smiles, thank yous and "See You Tomorrow"s from the sushi chefs as you leave! read more

Crazy good! Decently priced and super fast service. Definitely come here! Parking is super convenient a d the staff is friendly and knowledgable. read more

Waraii Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Oceanside, California

This is my go-to sushi place in oceanside! It's always so yummy. A couple things that can maybe improve on are going back to actual menus vs the QR code. It's so frustrating to use a phone and also not see pictures of what the sushi looks like. One other suggestion would be to try to add more sound canceling to minimize the soud. When it's super busy its almost unbearable how loud it gets in the tiny restaurant. If the sushi wasn't my favorite, I prob wouldn't be back because it can get super loud, and eating sushi takeout isn't the same experience. read more

Ultra friendly and wonderful food! When you enter you get greeted by the sushi chefs as well as the host. I always feel welcomed here! They have super good food too. The soft shell crab hand roll is the prettiest, it's like a little bouquet of happiness. Their non sushi items like the yakiudon and bulgogi are also delicious. They have a very well priced lunch combo, and their salad mix they serve is actually cut up there and not from a bag. I love the good vibes and good meals! See you tomorrow! read more

Small, but great friendly atmosphere with wonderful service! The food is consistently good!! We love the Crunch Dragon rolls, the Lovely Gloria, Lemon Flash, teriyaki bowl and ramen!! It is our go-to place!! read more

We are regulars here. My husband loves the sweet ebi and my favorite is the Firecracker roll! read more

Waraii Sushi - We are regulars here! I love the Firecracker roll and my husband's favorite is the sweet ebi. "See you tomorrow!" - Japanese Near Me - Oceanside, California

This has become my favorite sushi spot. Everytime I order something different, I would end up loving them. Everything I've tried so far is delicious. They're very accommodating to our allergies. And food is always ready on time. read more

This is mine and my boyfriend's go to sushi spot. The service is always awesome (seriously, those ladies are a well-oiled machine) and the fish is sooo fresh. We're big fans of the Uncle Rudy, ninja and samurai, and lemon flash rolls. Also, the spicy garlic edamame is to die for..trust me you need it. See you tomorrow, Waraii! read more

We love going to Waraii and are there at least every other week. The boat deal is killer and so much food for a low cost. Love this place and can't wait to "see you tomorrow!" read more

My fiancé and I came here for the first time based on yelp and google reviews. We had 3 rolls and Gyoza. First and foremost - almost EVERY roll has imitation crab in it, which neither of us like - so that was super disappointing and narrowed our options drastically. I think among their special rolls, only 2 had no crab at all. :( We had the I Love You roll - it was good but was a little bit sweet and we didn't expect that. We had the sombrero which was sweet and spicy - it would be better without the sweetness to the salsa on top, honestly. The other roll we had was the Ninja and Samurai, which was actually really good. The service was pretty good and the prices were very reasonable. But based on over abundance of crab in everything, we probably wouldn't come back. read more

Best food and service. I have enjoyed getting to know the folks there. They are always so helpful and the taste of the food is so fresh. I honestly go weekly. "See you tomorrow "!!!! read more

Service is fast and friendly. Atmosphere is bright and relaxing. Prices are right for what you get. Sushi is excellent. Their house rolls are different from other places. My only complaint is the parking lot but that's not a reason to give a bad review. read more

My boyfriend and I are obsessed with this place, always consistent with their rolls and always taste so yummy and fresh! The staff is always really nice and helpful! read more

After a long day of getting our new house situated we definitely didn't want to cook and looked for a spot close to us to eat. We stumbled across Waraii Sushi and I am so glad we did! We got there a half hour before they closed and I apologized to the server and told her we would eat quickly! She was so nice and accommodating, letting us know when last call was, getting anything extra we needed, and not rushing us! I wish I had caught her name. The customer service alone was exemplary and all of the employees were so nice. For drinks, weordered large Sapporo's and a hot sake to share . It was such a great deal, and the sake was delicious! read more

Waraii Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Oceanside, California

Absolutely LOVE Waraii Sushi! I go once a week, even through the pandemic. I almost always order to go. It is nice they remember my order as soon as I call. Their portions are filling and I don't feel short-changed at all. The staff is AMAZINGLY helpful, friendly, and always positive. Recently I asked them to cater a small family party and the trays were AWESOME- everyone loved the sushi, even non-sushi eaters. Love their tag phrase, "See you tomorrow!" I would def recommend with at least 5 stars! read more

My parents go to at any japanese spot is Salmon so they both ordered the Salmon Teriyaki. It had good flavor and wasn't overcooked but there were a few bones and a piece that looked like melted plastic. Not sure if it's fresh Salmon or not, but didn't seem like it. My Tuna Poke has been better in the past. My son did enjoy the beef Teriyaki and crunch roll. Maybe just no Salmon next time if we come back. read more

Love this place. Consistently good quality and good pricing. Located in a strip mall, so not an exciting location but the food makes up for it. read more

Their responsiveness to service and questions is extremely slow and lacking. I emailed the business directly with feedback and questions, last week, and never heard anything back. Therefore I will publicly disclose my written concern here, verbatim: "Dear management: The last 3 times that I have placed orders on your website for takeout have resulted in significantly longer wait times for the food than what is expected. It says it will take 30 minutes, but each time has resulted in at least an hour, and yesterday it took over an hour. I discovered that it is because once an order is placed online directly on your own website, the staff is not aware of it until much later. Once, after waiting the expected 30 min, I went to pick up the food only to realize that the staff just realized I had an order there and told me it would take 25 minutes. And yesterday, I placed an order at 6:53pm, called 20 minutes later at 7:15 pm to see if they saw it, and the lady told me "oh i see it now, i'll put it in right now." So, I waited at the restaurant from 7:40 pm to 8 pm until I finally got our food. I noticed on the receipt at pick up that my order became labeled as a "phone in" at 7:16pm- that is clearly incorrect. This is completely unacceptable. The food you make is amazing, but what is the point of ordering food online on your website if the staff is not even monitoring it? Do I need to place a call to your restaurant each time right after submitting an order online?" In addition: While waiting at the restaurant during my last order, another customer had the exact same issue- customer went to pick up food that was ordered directly on their website, the business never saw the placed order, so customer had to wait an additional 20 minutes. This is likely a pervasive problem. read more

I'm super sorry that this place that used to be our favorite has really been disappointing our last few visits. At first we thought it was just an occasional off night. Tonight is the worst. We ordered take out on Yelp & went in but they hadn't started it when my husband got there 30 minutes later. He waited, they did half & then let that sit & get cold while he waited 20 more minutes for the rest of the order. My salmon is cold & the portion is tiny, half of what it used to be. Quality is not what it used to be. Bummer. read more

Been here the last two times I was in Southern California for work. The place has great cleanliness practices and an excellent outdoor dining space. The couple times I've been here have been great experiences, the service is fantastic and accommodating, and everything from the sushi, to the salads, and fried rice is absolutely fantastic. The garlic edamame is a great shareable app and very savory. I really enjoyed the sushi rolls we ordered, they were fresh and the rice was perfect. The house special fried rice stole the show this last visit, but I don't recall us leaving a single thing left on the table. Will most definitely return. read more

My bf and I loooove Warii sushi! Every time we go, the sushi is fresh and delicious and we leave pleasantly stuffed! We always pick a roll on the top 10 from the board at the sushi bar and we have never been disappointed. Check them out! read more

Waraii Sushi - Sushi combo B - 5 pc sushi (chef choice) and 1 secial roll (pick from list on menu) This is the Rainbow roll. YUM! - Japanese Near Me - Oceanside, California

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This place was not very good. Got the lunch special and the soup was ok. The salad was gross it hasn't a mayo and crab dressing. The sushi itself just was not very good. I think Albertsons sushi was better. read more

I've been going here for a few years now and I've never been disappointed. They have a vast menu but if you don't know what to order I'd look at their favorites that they have posted bc they're on that list for a reason! Soooo good. The staff is very friendly and consistent. It does get busy in the evening around dinner time so If you plan to dine in keep that in mind. Everything is very clean, bright and lively. read more

Really disappointed. We've had a few mishaps with Waraii when we've ordered online but tonight was by far the worst. Our meals dining in have always been great but there's been consistency issues when ordering delivery. We're still your paying customers, easily spending $70-$80 per visit, if you're not going to treat us with the same care we won't be ordering take-out OR dining in anymore. Ultimately, I had to go out and get myself dinner elsewhere. The whole point of ordering in was to have a relaxing night at home, not for me. read more

Waraii Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Oceanside, California

Ordered through Grub Hub. Food showed up without chopsticks, napkins, or soy sauce. Fish quality was good. The rills were a bit small, but the fish portions were good. The miso soup was really delicious, not salty like some. The salad was also good. The dressing seemed freshly made. It's tough to rate against Hooked on Sushi. read more