Waraji Japanese Restaurant

Reviews 6

KA

Katelyn Moore

When we came in, it was ok at first. The host said the wait was about 20 minutes for a table. About 5 minutes later, he came from the back to let us know the manager reminded him of a reservation and our wait would be longer. (In hindsight, I dont think there was a reservation because why wasnt it noted at the host stand?) While we were waiting, one of the waitresses walked by and smirked and rolled her eyes at me/us. We wait around for another 20 minutes and 3 tables opened at once. The host seated us with menus. Several employees walked by during the next 10 minutes, and no one said one word to us. We had no greeting, no water, no anything. Finally, I asked my girlfriend if she wants to leave, and were both angry and annoyed at this point. We both get up and I asked someone for the manager. Turns out, the person I asked was the manager. I let her know about our wait, lack of greetings, and no water or drinks orders taken because at this point the other 2 parties that were seated at the same time as us already had drinks and orders put in. The manager tells me she was walking out with our waters right as I asked to see her. I told her in so many words the customer service was unacceptable. She then goes on in a condescending tone with a smirk on her face, "Well what do you want me to do about it now?" I told her I was telling her for the future so other customers dont experience what we did, and I told her maybe she needs to retrain her employees to greet people at the least to let them know someone will be with them shortly. She never apologized at any point. When we first walked in, we noticed that most of the customers were white, and we were the only black people there. It seems like they want to keep it that way.

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Christine Woods

I dont know how Waraji has any negative reviews. My boyfriend and I went there for the first time last Sunday, and the experience was incredible. We had no wait time for a table, our waiter was very informative and pleasant, and knew when to let us search over the menu and when to come ask if we needed anything. The sushi was hands down THE BEST food I have ever had the pleasure of putting in my mouth. Seriously, excellent quality! Even the salad and miso soup was incredible. A couple of things that first time diners should know are, this is an outstanding place that serves outstanding food, you are not going to get buy one get one rolls at this place, and you will not be paying fast food prices for the quality of fish they are serving. Its traditional Japanese, so be willing to try some things even if you cant pronounce them. Some people have complained about the wait time on their sushi/food, reality check people, making sushi is an art, I would much rather the Sushi Chef take an hour to prepare my rolls, then 10 minutes and it not be as great. Its also a very small place, so even a couple people being served sushi can make it take longer. I have a feeling that almost all of the negative reviews are people that did not want to pay the price Warajis food deserves, or have no idea what good, quality fish tastes like.Needless to say, I will be a regular at Waraji now!

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Christina Harrell

My fiancé and I ate here a week or so ago and were very disappointed, especially since weve heard that its the best sushi in Raleigh. The food was actually good, but our service was absolutely terrible. Our server, Qing, was not helpful at all, she placed the wrong order for me and never checked on us to see how everything was so it was never corrected, she ordered us more wrong food and when it came to the table we refused it, then she came back and tried to give it to us and we told her we didnt order it, and then she was angrily complaining to coworkers about us and directly looking at us like it was our fault, which made us pretty uncomfortable. The only other time she came back to the table was when she came to drop off the bill, and she had charged me for two glasses of wine instead of one, then brought us back someone elses check with their credit card.....it took us over thirty minutes just to leave because of all of this and she never even apologized or was friendly about any of it. As someone whos worked in the restaurant industry, I can understand if someone is busy and has an off night, but it seemed from watching her that she was giving great service to her other tables. I hope for the restaurants sake that this doesnt happen often.

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John Lowrey

Waraji is awesome! There are so many sushi options in the Raleigh/Triangle area. People around here seem to love the gimmick of buy-one-get-one-free rolls. Waraji is not that kind of place, and the sushi is of much higher quality because of it. I would consider myself a regular here, and Ive tried pretty much every other sushi place in town. If you want some really fresh fish, go here. If you want deep fried rolls with countless sauces, go elsewhere. Waraji is way more authentic than that. I like the Ebi Sunomono (sp?) appetizer. It consists of finely julienned cucumber (almost shredded) in a light vinegar sauce with ebi shrimp. Its so good that Im usually tempted drink the leftover sauce at the end (The server caught me doing it one time and said she does that too.) The Hurricane Roll is my all-time favorite! I love barbeque eel and cream cheese (yes, I know, kind of Americanized), but the luscious salmon on top of the roll is what really wins me over. It is superb! Also, the mochi ice cream is always a great way to end the meal. The staff there is very friendly. A lot of them are Japanese, which is a good sign. I dont have really anything negative to say about Waraji. Its not the cheapest place in town, but it is well worth the price.

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Roma Sushyk

So about 2 hours ago my wife and I we decided to try best sushi in Raleigh, it was 20 minutes prior closing may be that is why our experience just got 1 star. But I think you should treat your clients the same weather its a first one or the last one... 1. Sushi were not even close to best sushi in Raleigh. Ive had a feeling that they were made by someone why just watched sushi tutorial on youtube. 2. We,ve had 4 of those specialties rolls. Peaces were very uneven, nori was wrapped very unprofessional, like the guy was texting while rolling sushi. 3. Dont get me wrong, I can eat big sushi, because you supposed to eat them in one bite, but 5-6 inches in diameter and 2 inches thick is way over the line. 4. The fish wasnt fresh, shrimp shells are all over, ive had rice noodles in my roll. Disgusting. So Im on the toilet right after weve dined, writing this review!!! STILL THE BEST SUSHI PLACE IN RALEIGH IS AJISAI JAPANESE FUSION!!!!!!

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Karen Sirucek

I was there today for lunch, my waitress although friendly when she approached me, paid little attention. Came to my table only twice and one of them was to drop the bill. Maybe my expectations were to high based on the reviews Ive read, but I disliked the food as well. I ordered mackerel and was so greassy, my mouth felt like I had swallowed oil. Yuck. I have been to Japan and even married a Japanese culinary chef, so I guess my expectations were just to high, but that does not make the service OK, she should have at least came to my table one more than once and not to drop off the check but to refill my drink or something. When she saw that I had not ate the fish, I explained to her why, she never offered to replace it or anything. Thank goodness I had ordered soup with it, otherwise I would have left hungry. I dont think Ill go back, I guess asking for something or anything to what they serve in Japan is just too much.

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