Waraji Japanese Restaurant

Everytime I eat at Waraji I try something new. Today was a new roll. Someone recommended an off the menu item called Scary Jerry,apparently a guy named Jerry created this roll which has a little bit of everything in it. The flavor was spicy(but you can get it mild), delicate, and Big! On top of all the great flavors, if you check out the dinner menu you can practically get miso or salad with most orders, even the sushi! Overall the staff is great, the food delicious, and the time, a delight! Pros: Friendly Faces more

I've been living in the triangle for several years now and I must say if you want to eat sushi and Waraji is within an acceptable distance for you, you should be eating here. Their fish is always tops, the rice is flavored properly and the beer is cold. I usually sit at the sushi bar so I can watch the action and get recommendations from the sushi chef. If you are not doing that you are missing out on whatever the house is hiding away for the best customers. \r \r One word of warning. Waraji is popular especially on the weekends. If you want to eat here on the weekends go early or expect to wait a long time. Pros: Good food and service that is consistantly good Cons: Hard to get into on the weekends more

Most people tend to rate the food as the best sushi in the triangle. That may have been the case in past years but I think Waraji quality in both food and sevice had dropped from my last experience. \r \r I was there for a birthday party with 12 guests. Right after being seated we were informed that they do not split checks for parties of more than 5. Apparently, they will add a certain percentage of the check if they are forced to split the check. Our main server was rude, which makes the automatic 18 percent added gratuity for our party, money poorly spent. Don't get me wrong, I totally understand the automatic gratuity which is standard at many resturants, and we would have increased the gratuity had our server actually been more pleasant.\r \r The food took an extremely long time to arrive, with no updates from our server. It took over an hour to finally get our food. One guest ordered Terriyaki, the other 11 ordered sushi.\r \r Waraji's food is seasoned well, and their sushi has a little bit of a spicy bite, which does set it apart from other resturants in the area. Overall the food itself was above average in quality, but a step below Wasabi in Cary for freshness, texture, and taste. \r \r This was the second birthday party I have attended at Waraji and I'd have to say, that I don't think I'll go to another after this experience. I also doubt that the any one else in our party will be having any celebration or casually dine at this establishent. \r \r Waraji has received many awards as well as positive reviews, but I think they've let their accolades go to their head. I doubt, I'll comeback to see if they ever get their act together. Pros: Food Cons: Service, order turn around time, reservation and check spliting policy more

it's a bit expensive, but that's something you would pay for a sushi restaurant like that. they've got a really good sushi, if you go during lunch time, the price isn't that bad either! Pros: Good sushi Cons: a bit expensive more

A lot of you guys say the Sushi here is great. But I have to say that it is not that great, its just average. It is impressive because the pieces of Nigiri and Sashimi are huge, but this is because it is not the best grade of fish. Just like when you go to the fish market, one day you may get lucky and be served very good Salmon or Yellowtail, such as what heppened to me once, only to return and find the quality to be very inconsistent. The place has good ambiance but gets too crowded and noisy to the point that the staff looses control and can't keep up. I have never liked the appetizers or side orders at Waraji which are more chinese in flavor. Bottomline is, if you want consistently good Sushi/Sashimi/Japanese food, go to Kashin in Cary. Pros: nice decor, good ambience, good sushi Cons: inconsistent sushi quality, average food/appetizers, unappetizing carpet more

I have been a long time fan (enthusiast) of Waraji, for a smallish city like Raleigh this is THE place for sushi and a selection of traditional Japanese dishes. The place is usually clean and cozy but busy on weekends. They have a good menu, friendly service and chefs with personality and genuine care about their work. Now onto the important stuff... Fish, Chef Masa buys good fish. Period. The rolls/dishes are usually consistent and prepared fresh with care. Presentation is good and if they are not too busy expect outstanding care at the bar. They have a good range of Japanese sakes a Tatami room for larger parties and lots of repeat customers. I believe they have plans to open another location which should cut down some on the wait times and hopefully improve some on the consistency, the true test for any good place when it gets busy and popular. Pros: Quality no compromise ingredients Cons: Busy, sometimes too busy to keep the dining experience up more

My family and I have been eating at Waraji for 3 years and have always had a great expereicne until tonight. We arrived at 7:15 on a Tuesday night and had to wait 15 minutes to be seated. We were happy to wait since the food is always worth it! We were seated at 7:30, ordered our drinks and filled out our sushi paper to give to the waitress when she came back to bring the drinks. Our food did not arrive at our table until 8:45!!! We waited 1 hour and 15 minutes for 5 rolls of sushi. People that had come in 15 minutes after us had eaten, paid and left before we got our food. The waitress apoligized and said that it was coming in a few minutes time and time again. I finally offered to pay for the wine and appetizer so we could leave to go somewhere else. They were nice enough to bring us a free salad and ice cream for my two year old son....On the way out the waitress told us from now on when we arrive that we should fill out our sushi order while we are waiting for our table so we do not have to wait an hour and a half. I am sorry to tell her that in all the times I have eaten at Waraji that this was the first time that we have ever had to wait this long and we did not order in any other manor than we had tonight. It is going to be a long time if ever before I can go back to a place that I have been eating once a week for years. more

In my opinion, Waraji is the best sushi in Raleigh - hands down. I have tried several other restaurants but I am always disappointed. The fish is Waraji is very fresh and there is lots of it in and on the rolls. The wait can be long but I think it's worhwhile and it is fun if you're there with friends. Just go down the shopping center to the Mexican restaurant and have a beer while you wait. The staff is super friendly and are ready with suggestions. As many have said before, the Scary Jerry is the best. Pros: Sushi, staff Cons: no bar more

I LOVE sushi! Can't get enough of it! Waraji is my favorite of all of the sushi restaurants on Raleigh. We always try to get there as soon as they open at 5:30 during the week. That's the only way you can avoid the crowd, unless you've made reservations. There are many rolls and varieties of sushi to choose from. Some of the rolls are just MASSIVE! You may think $11 is a lot for a sushi roll, but when it comes out, you are like...Wow! I ordered too much! We've always had a pleasant experience at Waraji and continue to go back for special occasions or special treats to ourselves. It's a bit on the pricey side, so we do try to only go on special occasions. I'd definitely recommend going! The fish is extremely fresh!\r \r If you go for lunch, sit at the sushi bar. You'll get your sushi quicker and the sushi chefs are pretty cool. You'll also get to see the fish right in front of you and see how fresh it is. Definitely good quality of fish! Try it! You'll like it! Pros: Great sushi! Very fresh! Cons: Pricey more

I went to Waraji with two other people once. I am glad that the conversation flowed, because the food was very slow in coming. Boy, howdy, it was good though! Every single thing on our tray was divine. The only thing that wasn't Delicious (note the capital ""D"") was a tofu appetizer that my vegetarian sister got. I would go back, but only if I have good company to pass the time with. more

I love sushi and japanese food. I've been to almost every single japanese restaurant in the triangle. Waraji is your best and safest bet. The service can be sketchy sometimes but not often. They have good quality sushi and food that are almost always very consistant. Probably the only place I recommend at any given time. There are other places in town that are great...but not always. To me consistant good quality food is the most important thing in a restaurant. Especially sushi restaurants. Pros: Good consistant quality food and service at a reasonable price. Cons: Nothing really. Maybe the wait on food and service at busy hours. more

I reviewed waraji first time and gave it a good rating....I said food was good and consistant..but what happened?...Next couple of times I went in was very disappointing. Service was bad..the server was rude and sushi fish quality was not great at all.. I recommended this place to alot of people...but it seemed I made a mistake.. I'll be honest...I enjoyed it the first time...but consistancy is definitely not there. They might have had a bad day but I will tell you that I did not finish my food. I really really hope next time will be whole lot better. Otherwise my recommendation is worth nothing. One of the best in country?..Lets not BS too much now...It's ok...but definitely not all that.....I'm not the one to not ever go back to a restaurant because of bad experiences...I always give it a few more tries...I hope it gets better so that I can re-review this place. Pros: Good food once in a while....definitely not worth all the hype. Cons: Service, food inconsistancy, too much hype. more

Waraji's sushi sushimi is SO FRESH and DELICIOUS. The presentation is beautiful and the sushi bar is comfortable to sit at if you are eating by yourself or try one of the low tables if your with a group!! I recommend the SCARY JERRY roll.... \r \r Amazing sushi and friendly waitstaff that remember your name and often times your usual order. They serve soup and salad before bringing your sushi, so its a little added bonus!!\r \r Would be a fun place for a date if youre comfortable shoving huge sushi rolls into your mouth! Pros: FABULOUS SUSHI!!!!! Cons: a little pricey, but definitely worth it for the amazing food and service! more

love it, a gem in raleigh. if you like sushi, theres no better place in the area than waraji for quality sushi, and ive tried them all. Pros: excellent sushi Cons: sometimes a wait, but thats the mark of a great restaurant, and worth it. more

I've eaten at many sushi places around the triangle, and I'd have to say that Waraji is the best!\r Most of the servers are very nice and have been working there for a long time! The sushi chefs are great to talk to! You should try a DD Special or a Scary Jerry! They aren't on the sushi menu, but if you ask the sushi chef, he'll make it for you! It is owned by a Japanese man by the name of Masa. \r They get a sushi shipment every Monday, the fish is very fresh! I'm not sure what these people say when they say that the fish is ""smelly."" The green tea is delicious, tastes like the green tea from Japan! The hosts are so friendly!! They are quick to clean tables when very busy and are fun to talk to! They usually over-estimate the wait time by 30 minutes just so they don't get any complaints so if you sit tight, you'll usually get sat a lot quicker then expected.\r Only thing I could complain about is the wait on food, the wait to be sat, and the restaurant should be bigger. They are planning to open up another sushi restaurant downtown! \r But the sushi is definitely worth the wait! The tatami rooms are very fun, it's kid friendly. I suggest you make a reservation on weekdays. Unless you want to sit at the sushi bar. On weekends they only take reservations of 6 or more, which stinks.\r They offer take-out, a lot of people complain about the wait, but they said that they put the order in when they receive it and it comes out the same printer as the ones the servers order the sushi on. The girls that do take out are very sweet. One leaves little notes on the receipts and the other is very kind on the phone and always is eager to help you if you need any! You get free soups or salad if for every 10 dollars or something. Their eZpoints system is great! You should asked to be signed up if you go there a lot Pros: Fresh fish, service, great location, great sushi and friendly staff!! Cons: wait on food, and size of restaurant. more

Let me first say that the folks @ Waraji do an excellent job serving good sushi in a place where most palates are unsophisticated. Most restaurants go for extra profit by lowering the grade of materials used.\r While comparing this fine Raleigh establishment to Shimizu or Araki in Tokyo is completely irrelevant in context of ""sushi"", Waraji is ok even when compared to places like Sushi of Gari in NYC. \r Long story short - GREAT JOB guys!\r \r Now for details on sushi....\r Rice is done correctly @ Waraji despite many restaurants getting it wrong in the Triangle. \r Many restaurants use low grade California rice. Next time when you are at Waraji, look @ the rice. The grains are milky white, and they are uniform. Seasoning is important as well. Most restaurants use\r ""sushi powder"". It's hard to make good sushi rice with vinegar, salt, and sometimes, sugar, since\r it's hard to get real rice vinegar in the US. The rice @ Waraji is balanced and nothing sticks out. It's a\r good vehicle for ""neta"" or topping.\r Fish: tuna comes from a distributor who has access to higher grade Atlantic bluefin tuna (port of entry=boston). There is only 1 other place in the Triangle who is doing business with this distributor. There's nothing wrong with other types of tuna - if they are handled properly...but with great regret, i must inform \r everyone that 99% of ""sushi grade"" tuna in the US is quite simply ""way below par"" by Japanese standards.\r Good job Waraji, for serving us this lower margin (therefore higher cost performance to us!) product.\r they usually have several varieties of ""white fish"" - my favorites at Waraji are ""hirame"" (halibut?) and rockfish. Other staples, such as squid and mackerel are average. Sea urchin comes from either Canada\r or West Coast. No grade ""B"" bagged sea urchin here...(as opposed to other places). Also, the premium items cycle a lot quicker here (Japanese customers and well educated Americans eat here) resulting in always fresh stock... Pros: One of the best sushi venues in the Triangle Cons: Kids on the sushi counter more

Excellent Sushi. If you like spicy/sweet Ask Chef David to make you a ScaryJerry roll! Thes guys are good. more

Waited 70 mins for food to arrive, another 15 mins to pay my bill. At the end, had to get up and find a manager/owner (Kenji Tomashiro) to ask him to please process my CC so I can leave. Overheard a waitress talking about someone leaving w/o paying the bill; not surprising at all, I was very close to doing the same.\r The food was OK, but not the best sushi in the area though. Talked to the owner, but he did not really care. Pros: OK sushi Cons: not worth the wait more

Waraji is well-known for great service and great food. The staff there are one-of-a-kind seeing that they take the time to get to know their customers on a personal level. Always with a smile on their face and more than willing to make your waraji experience, the best there could be. The hosts and hostesses are just lovely and very polite. The wait can be a little tiring but it is expected. Waraji has had number one ratings numerous amount of times so it is not a surprise that it can become packed very quickly. Some may say that the wait for the food takes a while, but that too is expected if the restaurant is packed. I'm sure that the staff do what they can to get the food out in a timely fashion (even if it can take awhile). If people complain about waiting for their food, then I'm sure Harris Teeter is open to them to buy ready-to-go sushi. I love the restaurant and the people there! The sushi is great and so are the chefs! I would definitely recommend Waraji to anyone and everyone! Pros: great food, great atmosphere, FANTASTIC service more

I've heard from a few people that this is the best sushi in the area. That might be true, I can't really comment on that. Being a vegetarian, my options were pretty limited - much moreso than at Sushi Blues and ShabaShabu. There was nothing the least bit creative on the menu as far as vegetarian items are concerned, but that's not really the problem - I've long gotten over the fact that some restaurants don't cater to my diet. What really bothered me about Waraji was the wait. I'm not talking about the long line to get in (I'm sure that's frustrating, but I went with five friends and we made reservations so we were at least seated promptly). We placed our orders and then began the wait. We went through a round of drinks and then another. Then we had another. I had to wonder if they weren't just hoping we would get enough alcohol in us to forget that we actually placed an order. It was a good hour and a half before we got our food. It was probably the most ridiculous wait I've ever had for a meal. To make matters worse, the waitress had absolutely no sympathy and as much as told us, ""yeah, it happens all the time, what are you going to do?"" And I guess she didn't need to care because, with our party of six, her tip was already secured on the bill. I noticed at least one other group in our vicinity who were visibly upset by the delay and I have another friend who told me that he and his wife once left the restaurant without getting their food because the wait was so long. I guess the sushi really must be the best in the area if so many people are willing to endure such terrible service (and it was on a Wednesday night, to boot - I'd hate to show up on a weekend!). Next time I want ""the best sushi around"" I'll hop a plane to Japan - it'll be quicker. Pros: great place for fasting Cons: incredibly long wait for food, indifferent waitstaff more