Waraji Japanese Restaurant

Out of the whole ""Waraji"" experience I expected great food, great service, and a well kept environment. So...... of course ..... they had it all. But most of all I liked waiting at the front for 45 min to an hour. Why did I like it you say? Because the hosts that Waraji are the BEST in town. They are well mannered and always there for a great conversation. Ever since the first time I went in, they have yet to forget my name, Mr. Witicker! There is a nice young boy that works there that always looks sharp. He always keeps a smile on his face even when it's busy, because he knows that the people that wait for the sushi are going to get the best damn sushi ever made!!! The best days to eat are the days when the two top notch hosts are working. I will like to keep their names anonymous so I will call them Thunder and Lightening. When Thunder and Lightening are working they are quick and fast at getting people seated. They can't do much about a 45 min wait, but when people pop out of their seats, they are on it like thunder and lightening. These two names suit the well mannered boys very well. Obviously if your going into a restaurant with a parking lot full of cars, and a restaurant with seats already filled, lets be reasonable people... your going to have to wait for food even when you get seated. If your too lazy to wait for food, why even go out and eat, cook at home. Quit complaining about a bad experience, and food smelling fishy.. To be honest.. I didn't know fish could have a fishy smell to it. Other than that, the hosts are unique and one of their kind. People complain about how long the wait is, well it's not their fault. They were just hired, from the best out there, to take reservations, write down the names on the waitlist, and take to go orders. They seem the busiest out of everyone. Whenever i get a to go order I always leave a phat tip for them. I mean lets not be cheap, they are actually serving us, as we are in a seat.THUNDER! more

I have tried sushi all over Raleigh and sadly I have to group Waraji with the worst sushi restaurants of Raleigh. I ordered green tea, the Waraji roll, and ton katsu. You can't really mess up green tea, but my problem was with the poor service. It was hardly ever refilled. I naturally ordered the Waraji roll because it was the restaurant roll after all and I was extremely disappointed. The roll was cut into 4 pieces and was way too big. each piece had to be eaten in at least 3 bites and I wasn't able to taste the roll's flavor in its entirety. The tempura soft shell crab in the roll was obviously fried for a little too long. I tore off a part of the leg and found it to be HOLLOW. An obvious sign that it was not fresh and most likely frozen. My main course was a traditional Japanese dish called ton katsu and I was disappointed again. I took one bite and I was done. There was too much sauce and made the entire dish very soggy and unappetizing. I sat at the sushi bar and the head sushi chef, who I think is the owner, saw that I was unsatisfied and tried to remedy the situatiion by offering me free ice cream. It was a nice, but weak gesture. Free, cheap ice cream does not make up for a terrible dinner. To top it off, the waitress did not speak very good English (if at all) and my dining experience at Waraji was very bland. A lot of people say that Mura and Waraji are rivals, but Waraji doesn't stand a fighting chance! Cons: long wait, inadequate wait staff, sushi not fresh more

This is by far the *best* sushi place in all of triangle that I have tried - The wait time is horrendous but it speaks volumes for the quality of their food. It is Japanese owned so the style is truly Japanese. Also it's a family and very loyal people who work for them. The food is truly delicious, so if you are going for great fresh sushi this is the place. Not sure if it was my lucky day or the norm, the sashimi portion was very generous and that is hard to see. :)! Pros: Great freshest sushi Cons: wait time more

This restaurant consistently gets great reviews and yet I consistently have poor experiences here...Yet I keep coming back out of wishful thinking....The service is always horrible and I swear the same waitstaff has been there for years...Recently went back in hopes of having a good experience...At 9pm on a weekday with a half empty restaurant it took an hour and half to get our food...The sushi always tastes fishy and not fresh...It seems to take a miracle to get service or-gasp-refills! The atmosphere is lacking-lots of bright light-not at all romantic or cozy...I just still don't get why it's got such a high rating....Am I missing something? Go to Mura instead and have a truly enjoyable meal... Pros: Parking? Cons: Food, service, atmosphere, value more

One of the better sushi restaurants I have sampled in the Triangle. The Saturday half price sushi special is tempting, too. The only annoying thing is that they refuse to split the bill, so diners are left to haggle among themselves.\r \r Though Waraji is a Japanese restaurant, I have to say that the Thai noodles are also fantastic. more

We have been going here for many years. We have always had good service and fresh sushi as well as other foods on the menu that our kids (and others with us) have enjoyed. It's not the cheapest in town, but we're talking about good quality fish here. Yes - it is very busy on Friday and Sat nights. Normally there is a line of 10+groups by the time they open at 5:30 so you should expect to wait for the fresh sushi. They do take reservations. Middle of the week is much less busy and the service is wonderful. They are kid friendly and go out of their way to help kids decide what to try. The wait staff knows all about the dishes so you can ask anything about them and get an accurate answer. If you are in a rush and need a sushi fix- they have excellent take out and they will tell you how long it will be for the take out. Pros: Wonderful sushi more

I was excited to try Waraji after hearing about it from friends, but my experience was very dissapointing. After waiting half an hour for a table, I then had to wait 40 minutes for my food to arrive. All that my table ordered was three sushi rolls. This was in the middle of the week too, not even on a weekend where I could understand a long wait. After waiting over an hour to eat, I was famished and anxious to try the creatively described rolls. To my dissapointment, the fish was not fresh. The slimy texture and lack of flavor showed a lack of freshness, and I left wishing I had gone to one of the better sushi restaurants in the area, like Sushi Blues Cafe, Wild Ginger, or Wasabi. Pros: I couldn't see any pros Cons: Long wait, bad sushi more

Sushi bar etiquette is out the door here. I usually will wait extra to get a seat at the sushi bar knowing that they will piece meal my food so I can get a rhythem to my dinning experiece. Not Here! I wait extra for the bar about an hour, get to the bar, order my sushi and get my appetizers from the kitchen. 20 minutes later still not one piece of sushi. 40 minutes later no sushi. They finally give me my whole entire order 1 hour later at the sushi bar! Why even wait for the sushi bar? Should just get take out so you dont have to wait so long. And you can tell the waiters are uncomfortable with the situation and the long lull between appetizer and meal. Granted this place can buy good fish but the dinning experiece is poor! Then when I suggested they should try to multitask and give the bar people some food a little at a time, I then got this Samurai attitude that I was challenging them to a duel or something. Terrible customer service! I am on the hunt for a new sushi place to eat. Eventually if they want to get things going they will have to either hire more chefs or start learning how to multitask. Pros: Awesome fish! Cons: Bad customer service and to long of a wait and poor sushi bar experience. more

Waraji is one of the best sushi places in town. The food is good, and it's consistently good. I've never had bad service there either. I wish it was open on Sundays too. more

The sushi at this place is the best I've found around Raleigh. Always fresh and delicious, and reasonably priced! Just thinking about it makes me want to order a spider roll. YUMMY! Pros: Great Food and good price Cons: small dinning area, without reservations on a Friday night you may wait for more than an hour. more

Love this place, just can't get enough. however, unless you are REALLY hungry, I would stay away from the Shamu roll. Don't get me wrong, it is awesome but it will be the only thing you enjoy the entire time you are there. So be sure to be hungry if you order it. Of course, if you order a salad (with ginger dressing) and miso soup to begin with you will have that to enjoy besides the too huge shamu roll...hense the title? :)\r \r This place is great and I don't know if I would ever get tired of going there. I should buy stock in the place!! Pros: Sushi Cons: Service can be slow because of the popularity of the place...but hang on..! more

The food is always good. This is the place I finally made me satisfied.The some Japaneses restaurant which was own by korean people and they are fake.But Masa's sushi is always good like I have one in Japan. If you had a bad service there before, why don't you ask for Mama-san to be your waitress.\r She is always nice and friendly. more

I was very disappointed in the rolls that I got here... They tasted VERY fishy, and I couldn't even eat them.... I think I will find another place to try sushi once again with The Triangle Singles Dining Out Group (Meetup)... \r \r Some liked what they got, while others didn't... I think it depends on what kind of sushi/rolls you got... I won't be coming back here anytime soon... Pros: Centrally located for everyone, service, parking Cons: Food, Prices more

We love to go here with friends...not expensive, wonderfully extensive menu, fun atmosphere. I'm not big on sushi, but it doesn't matter because there's so much here other than sushi to eat...and my husband says it's awesome sushi too. The sake is great, it's in an easy location to get to. Very low-key. Just the way we like it. more

Hands down...we love Waraji for its super sushi and wonderful Japanese authentic fare....After trying almost all the sushi bars in a drivable distance (and we don't mind driving) we still come back to Waraji...Downsides are that there is a wait on weekends and it doesn't have the upscale, urban chic atmosphere of some of the newer sushi bars...BUT...Waraji has stuck to its roots of delivering good sushi and Japanese food in a warm, lively atmosphere that you see in the ""japantowns"" of bigger cities...You'll see families, couples, and a fair number of Japanese customers also....We haven't tried too much out of the kitchen in the way of cooked food....A friend of ours had the Nabeyaki Udon and really enjoyed it....They try to get all your food out at the same time, but sometimes sushi may come out after cooked food if the sushi bar is very busy. That can be a bit of a downer when dining as a group...Still a great bet for sushi and Japanese food....... Pros: tasty japanese food Cons: wait on weekends... more

The food was fine, but the service was horrible and we will never be back because of that. It was one issue after an other with our server. The worst of it was she was rude! It wasn't just mistakes and forgetting everything, she was full of attitude. There is no reason for us to revisit Waraji when there are lots of other wonderful Japanese restaurants in Raleigh. Pros: Sat promptly Cons: Rude service, food took long. more

I see some negative reviews on here for this restaurant and it's disapointing to me.This is without a doubt the BEST SUSHI BAR IN THE US.I have had sushi everywhere in the US and most of Asia.Masa makes his created SUSHI ROLLS that are amazing.Try the shawnee roll and the scallop roll.The Sushi is soo fresh it is still moving(JUST KIDDING).I think some of these people don't realize the level of dining that this establishment brings.I would expect to wait at a great restaurant wouldn't you? The only place that compares to this one is Takahache in Manhattan.You have to try his speciality rolls he creates as they are incredible.Trust me and run to this place you will not regret it.\r Joseph C. Sydow II Pros: Freshness, Selection, Creativity Cons: Parking, Location more

I have eaten sushi all over the world and this place is the best, hands down. Best sushi, big portions, fresh and great service and people. Simply the best! more

Still love Waraji for sushi and Japanese cuisine. We have had sushi in NY, LA, and Japan and always love the selection and specialty rolls (some not even on the menu...ask...)that Waraji offers. Overall, service is good, but you can wait for sushi on a busy night. Grab some appetizers from the kitchen to start while your sushi is being prepared. Location OK...relatively easy to get to from 40 and 70.......In a strip mall so not much else around after dinner.......Love the sushi and sashimi!! Pros: sushi, sashimi, gyoza Cons: parking more

This is a fantastic restaurant. Those who have complained do not understand that sushi takes time to make. . .each is individually created. . .it's the perfect time to have some conversation and appetizers. If you want fast food sushi, this is not the place. Service is consistantly good and my husband loves that the non sushi food is delicious. If you go during the weekday it's faster. . .but if you go on a weekend take some patience with you. It's worth the wait. Pros: Fresh Sushi, Great non sushi food, Nice waitresses Cons: Popular, Slow on weekend night more