Unfortunately, kind of mediocre. The service was good, and it was easy to get seated on a Wednesday night, but the food didn't live up to my expectations. I had the Matsu Temake Set. It included five hand rolls for $28. My favorite was the Yellowtail. The nori got pretty soggy on all of the hand rolls- it wasn't crispy at all. Maybe the nori would've been more fresh if we were seated at the bar. The Spicy Salmon Crispy Rice wasn't bad. I would've preferred a little more crunch to the rice but the dish had nice flavor. I think the bar area of the restaurant is really cute, but the rest of the seating is lackluster. The patio area outside looked nice, but the inside kind of reminded me of a dungeon, with cardboard covering all the windows by the tables. read more

Love finding this reasonably priced and super fresh, proper hand roll spot! It's very easy to just keep ordering more and more of them They're presented in traditional fashion one at a time to everyone at your table, so nori is always crunchy and rice warm. We started with the salmon crispy rice (fresh slices of salmon on top w a bit of what tasted like chili crisp), excellent. Then had the negi toro, albacore, crab and Wagyu hand rolls; crab and albacore were especially yummy (the Wagyu is delish but $16 for four tiny wafers of beef is maybe not worth it in the end). Hot kettles of green and brown rice tea were a lovely accompaniment, esp on a rainy day. Definitely will return when on the LES. Just one caveat: if you're planning on going late, call beforehand to ask when they're closing. Hours on the website (and here on Yelp) are out of date (they say midnight for many days but they often stop serving at 10, in my experience). read more

Douska - Wagyu temaki - Sushi Bars Near Me - New York, New York

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Passed this place all the time, it looks unassuming from the outside. Never expected a nice hand roll/sushi spot inside! Overall great experience! Comparable to other handroll places in the city. Got seated quickly and the handrolls kept coming. I'd come back again! read more

Douska - Crunchy Tuna Roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - New York, New York

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TLDR: 4/5 Cute and intimate spot. Cute for a date or catch up with friends. A little bit on the pricey side but the fish was fresh and the service was great and very attentive. New Year, New York, first 2022 review! Seafood brings good luck to the start of the year so I thought why not have some sushi! COVID: 5/5 So I actually went earlier in January when it was still peak of the omicron wave. They were allowing us to still dine in. Vaccinations were checked and they gave us a sanitizing towel once we sat down. The first time that's ever happened to me even though I went to the bathroom once I was seated I really appreciated it. The place is small so you can't really be 6 ft apart if you dine in but you can sit at the bar. All the staff had on masks. No reservations for a Friday at 6:30pm but because it is small so keep that in mind regardless. We got lucky and the place just happened to be fairly empty. Food: 4/5 They specialize in handrolls. It is a Sugarfish style in which you order the amount you want and they serve it as a course. So 5 hand rolls: 5 courses. These aren't your regular sushi style hand rolls. They are smaller, a lot smaller. So small in fact that once I was done with my course I could definitely have more. Perhaps i'm just use to a more american style version of sushi consumption (if you can call it that). The fish was fresh! And it was very tasty so it was worth it. Service: 5/5 Super nice, very accomodating and helpful. They were always one step ahead. Vibes: 5/5 Again its small, but it is really cute. I would definitely come again if I had another dime to spend :) read more

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The service was awesome! The hand rolls were just fine - my favorite was the spicy salmon. It is also quite veggie friendly with lots of veggie options for hand rolls as well. For some reason the entire restaurant was super humid? When it was cold out? I think that threw me off a bit. Not awful but not amazing read more

Douska is my go to for casual but elevated sushi. It's a neighborhood gem that I find myself frequenting option. They recently added a new set with 5 premium rolls. I also always get the truffle shishito peppers and cucumber salad. You cannot skip these two. read more

Douska - Yuzu yellowtail - Sushi Bars Near Me - New York, New York

My bf and I had this place on our list for awhile! We decided to come here on a double date a few weeks ago and catch up w some friends. I would suggest trying to make rsvp, when we arrived there were empty tables, but reserved for people. They luckily squeezed us in without a rsvp. We all got the douska set. They were out of crispy oyster and replaced it with eel. I loved all the handrolls but they felt small- none of us were full, not even content yet! The Uni, Ikura and wagyu beef hand rolls were so good. My bf and I decided to get another douzo set and my friends got two special rolls. Overall was good! But we ended up still getting more food after. Might be better for a light lunch! read more

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The restaurant isn't large but it was not busy and we were able to be seated immediately when we walked in. The food was good for the price and filling. read more

Douska - Sushi Bars Near Me - New York, New York

I have been coming to this place regularly since it was open a few years ago and when all the handrolls and sushi were made by the original Japanese chef owner. This is my personal comfort go-to place for handrolls that border on traditional and fusion (some seared offerings, wagyu etc) without being overly Americanized. Imho this place is better than Kazunori and lots of other handroll bars for sure. While I do miss the standard of the original chef, these days the standard varies depending on which chef is making your food. However the ingredients are usually fresh and proportion of rice to fish feel balanced. It is a lot more crowded than it was (glad they are doing well!) but service is always attentive and prompt. tl;dr 3.5/5. Not as good as it was once when it first opened, but still remains in my list of go-to/fail safe restaurants I frequent. read more

Douska - Sushi Bars Near Me - New York, New York

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Food was delicious and not too expensive if you pick a handful of smaller menu items. Got 3 hand rolled sushi rolls and mochi for 20$. Atmosphere was relaxing, water was free, very nice restrooms. read more

Douska - Seared Salmon hand Roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - New York, New York

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I dined here once before but this time I got the Temaki platter set and absolutely loved it. Yes, the quality of fish is not as fancy as other omakase spots but the portion you get was well worth the price to me. It came with a large bowl of rice, miso soup and many seaweed pieces. Overall I just enjoy the idea of creating my own handrolls. My group also got the hojicha ice cream as a dessert because it was my friends birthday and it was yummy! I would definitely come back again if I'm craving DIY handrolls. read more

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We looked this place up on yelp and had high hopes for this restaurant. Ultimately we left feeling like we would not want to return. The quality of the fish was nothing special and for the price, I would've expected something fresher. The uni was also bitter and tasted old. Some of my sister's hand rolls were very oily and came out of the hand roll, leaving orange stains. The bathroom also had no soap and it's a shared employee/customer restroom. For the price, you're better off going to kazunori. read more

My friends have been raving about Douska for the last year. To my chagrin, I had been walking past this place twice a month on my way to Double Chicken Please, Sauce, and Joey Bats during the pandemic. Finally found a great day to walk in with my boyfriend conveniently one week after KazuNori Santa Monica was fresh in my head. My partner and I both ordered the Douska 5 roll set and chased that by sharing a Hokkaido scallop roll, negi toro roll, and crab meat roll. In direct comparison and to steal a term from my dear friend, Kazu rolls taste cleaner. Don't get me wrong, Douska is equally as delicious but Kazu may have that leg up on the comp. Very excited for my next visit as multiple friends suggest ordering the Douzo instead. Hopefully this time there will be bar seating. read more

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Very cute and colorful interior. Great relaxed vibe - they even have a little zen garden in the restroom lol The food was decent Temaki Platter is very aesthetically appealing. Comes on an adorable platter with Assorted sashimi, bowl of rice, nori seaweed sheets, and bowl of miso soup. Self assembling sushi hand rolls are fun. They even gave you a brush to brush the soy sauce read more

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Food was amazing! The ambiance is chill. We got seated right away and were able to carry out conversations extremely comfortably while enjoying the food! Highly recommended! read more

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- overall rating: 3.5 - underwhelming experience - though everything seemed fresh none of the handrolls were particularly memorable/stand out and several were overpowered by the accompanying sauce - ordered the douska set as well as a few ala cart handrolls - the streamline of roll making was impressive - we got a bottle of the makiri sake and one of kikusui perfect snow sake, both were fine but wouldn't say either added anything to the meal, wouldn't order again read more

The handrolls here are pretty darn good and prices very reasonable. Service was friendly and it was straight forward to order. Out of all the rolls we tried our favorites were the negi toro, salmon, and scallop. The negi toro was very fresh and they brushed it with a light layer of soy sauce which perfected it. The salmon was delicious and had a nice layer of crisp scallions. I also love that the seaweed was incredibly crispy. I would definitely come back again and try their other rolls. read more

Douska - Seared Salmon Roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - New York, New York

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Great spot for temaki and handrolled sushi, albeit on the pricey side. Came here on a Friday night at 630pm for a reservation of 2 outdoors. Both my friend and I ordered the $35 set that comes with six handrolls (Douzo). The handroll order went from yellowtail, crab, red snapper, tuna (negi-toro), scallops, and shrimp tempura. Handrolls were fantastic. Fish was very fresh and tasty. The nori and rice that came with each roll was also fantastically made. Personal favorites were the yellowtail, scallops, and tuna! Yellowtail was delicious and loved the scallion garnish that came with it. The Scallops had a spicy mayo sauce on it and was quite interesting. Tuna was also hard to beat, they used a fattier cut of the tuna for this roll and that turned out pretty well. The crab, red snapper, and shrimp tempura weren't as memorable, but overall were fine as individual courses. Wasn't too sure of the crab since it was heavy on the mayo, and the shrimp tempura seemed quite average and nothing too unique about it. Service was great, so no complaints here. Outdoor setup had many tables and was quite warm and sheltered from the elements. *I'd also give 5 stars to their bathroom. Japanese restaurants have some of the fanciest and nicest bathrooms out there. Just sayin' read more

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Delicious food. Loved the crispy rice sushi! Good service - our server was super attentive to our needs especially with a gluten free guest. It was a cute place, quiet and serene. Highly recommended. read more

We went on a Friday night around 7 without a reso and were seated quickly at the bar. Plum sake - we tried two different types and they were both nicely chilled, sweet, and easy to drink. No salmon no life roll - this was surprisingly really delicious! The salmon is marinated in a very fresh and flavorful sauce. We were big fans. We went with the Matsu hand roll set - all yummy! Fish tasted fresh, rice was warm, and I liked the scallions inside. It was overall a great dinner and we were pretty full. read more

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Nice, clean and Great place. Excellent service. Perfect food. I'm definitely going back again.

Huge fan of this place! Temaki set was so filling and so much fun. We also got the Sasa set - favorite pieces were albacore, crispy tuna and wagyu We also loved the crispy rice and the truffle dip for the shishito peppers was delicious Will definitely be back read more

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In a city full of hand roll spots, Douska is stiff competition. This might be the best hand roll I've had in the city so far. Each roll is a study in contrasts - warm rice and cold fish, wrapped up in crispy nori. The courses are well timed, with each roll made right before serving so they don't end up lukewarm by the time they get to your table. I got the douzo while my boyfriend opted for the ume. Highlights were the scallop and the red snapper. The scallop was cut into sizeable chunks (not chopped into oblivion) and lightly dressed, enough to add creaminess without overwhelming the natural sweetness of the scallop , and little rice puffs added textural contrast - by far my favorite of the meal and I was sad to finish it off. I expected the red snapper to be the most boring since raw snapper tends to be more for the texture than the flavor, but the addition of shiso and a swipe of what may have been ume(?) made this a surprise hit. From the ume set, my boyfriend said the crispy tuna was his favorite. For an extra treat, pop into the bathroom to see a secret garden and a nice Toto bidet read more

I'm all about hand rolls these days, and Douska hit the spot. I ordered the Douzo ($35 for 6 hand rolls) hand roll set while my husband got the Matsu ($28 for 5 hand rolls). There were some overlap but my thoughts on the Douzo set: + Yellowtail: This was my favorite of the set. The yellowtail had great flavor and was paired with scallions. This is the only one from the set I would reorder a la carte. + Crab Meat: I was most excited about this because the blue crab hand roll at Sugarfish is my favorite, but the Douska one was a little heavier on the pepper than I prefer. - Snapper: Probably my least favorite of the set. This was paired with shiso and salt. + Negi Toro: Negi toro is a staple but I found this to be not as flavorful as the yellowtail. - Hokkaido Scallop: I was disappointed that the scallops were overwhelmed by a spicy mayo sauce. + Shrimp Tempura: Can't go wrong with the shrimp tempura and eel sauce combo. We also ordered: + Stay Strong ($18): This special roll with salmon and takuwan (pickled radish) in a soy wrapper and topped with ikura was my favorite! Would definitely reorder. - California Uni Hand Roll ($12): Was not as impressed as I was hoping to be. Next time I'll try the Hokkaido Uni ($18). Overall, we loved the interior, liked the food, and thought the pricing of the sets were fair. Although not every roll was a home run for us, we are excited to return and explore more of the menu. (And major bonus points for being able to easily call and make a reservation.) read more

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The place is decently priced. I had a omakase and another misa hand roll set. And my friend had the Douska and dousa set. The omakase fishes were decent. Scallops were fresh. The uni on the other hand was a bit bitter and had a bad aftertaste. Not fresh enough. The hand roll uni was better than the omakase uni base on flavor and aftertaste. The wagyu piece was not torched enough. Only had a bit of the torch taste and the bottom half of it was just soppy wet. The salmon cerviche was pretty good. Miso soup not salty at all. Good flavor. The wagyu hand roll was done well. Overall an okay place. read more

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Douska's hand rolls for the price are always incredible, and the space is bright, airy, and pleasant. Their sets are very affordable as are their many crispy rice options. I'm always so surprised that they're never packed because they are SO good. That said, service could be improved. read more

Douska - Salmon Crispy Rice with Salmon - Sushi Bars Near Me - New York, New York

Came here for a quick dinner before a show and I was so blown away. Everything we had was so tasty and fresh and we all left happy and full with not big a dent in our wallets. Service was friendly and attentive and I will definitely be coming back to try more dishes! read more

Delicious! Quick and friendly! Not too heavily sauced and fresh! Must visit this joint! read more

Douska - Sushi Bars Near Me - New York, New York

Super fresh fish. I was surprised by how delicious this place was for the price. Their prices are super reasonable and I love that you can sit at the counter while they make everything in front of you. I've already been back twice! read more

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Warm and friendly service, terrible food. The sushi, and even the rolls here are inauthentic as it gets. Truffle dish was definitely not fresh truffle, seems like it was all for show- i'd almost just prefer a pungent truffle oil to make up for the lack of flavor. It was so oily and sweet it completely overshadowed the fish itself. Given the price point, they were all messily done and the spicy tuna had a strange smell to it- even casual poke bowl spots have better spicy tuna than Douska....this is probably the worst experience i've ever had in terms of food. Could not finish. read more

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This place was overall really good! I didn't like it as much as Nami Nori, but it was a lot easier to get a seat here, so it definitely gets points for that! I got the douzo set, and everything included was really good! However, the seaweed was not crispy at all on any of the rolls, and I was still pretty hungry after eating the entire set. The fish in each roll, however, was pretty good quality! I especially liked the negi toro, and my a la carte order of ikura uni. I'm not sure I would choose this place over nami nori, but I wouldn't mind coming back here with friends! read more

Douska - Ikura Uni - Sushi Bars Near Me - New York, New York

The sushi was not that I excepted not variety The service is good and fast It's too expensive read more

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The place is very cute and nicely decorated. The service is okay nothing exceptional. They food is very average. Their hand rolls are probably the most disappointing of the things I tried but their crispy rice is good. read more

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Douska is my favorite Lower East side fresh sushi roll spot - never fails. The service is great and fast, the rolls always delicious. Try the Shishito peppers. Best I've ever had and always compare back to these. This sounds crazy but I love the bathroom experience too. It's all a very calming escape from the loudness and chaos of the outside. read more

For the price is indeed pretty good. We had the Omakase, would love to come back for the Handrolls. Ankimo Handroll (added order) was one of my fav! read more

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Visited this place recently and enjoyed the salmon skin sushi. I will definitely return because it's affordable and variety. The service was decent, yet this place is small and crowded most evenings. Yet I recommend try this sushi spot if you're in Delancey area. read more

Wow my review for this spot is so long overdue that it changed its name from Douzo to Hi Douzo! (*EDIT: they changed their name again? lmao it seems to be called Douska, currently) And I have to say, it fully lived up to the perfect 5-star hype. I'd eaten here over a month ago on a Tuesday night around 6:30pm, just slightly before the dinner rush. We were seated immediately and had spectacular service. My boyfriend opted for the build-your-own hand rolls (Temaki Platter, $40) and even added a side of rice towards the end since he probably overstuffed his first several hand rolls with rice, whoops. The platter also came with a side of ceviche which was a nice touch! I'm still not sure if this platter is meant for sharing between 2 people, but I feel like we could've done it if we wanted to, while maybe adding another few rolls a la carte on the side. Nonetheless he very much enjoyed it on his own, and totally overate which is ironic at these types of omakase restaurants because they're typically (and notoriously) known for leaving you still hungry. I went with the classic omakase style Douzo set ($35). Every roll was SO fresh and delicious, made with high quality ingredients. My favorites were the negi toro and the Hokkaido scallop. The lady that was assembling my rolls was incredibly warm and sweet, adding to the experience as a whole. She happily handed me each of my rolls while explaining what they were. Around my 2nd or 3rd roll, she handed me a salmon one. I was slightly confused because I didn't remember seeing salmon listed under my set, but went along with it because I thought maybe I'd misread it. After finishing it and receiving the next roll, she told me that the salmon was her mistake, but to enjoy that "free extra roll." I was stoked!! And so grateful, but either way (free additional roll or not) DEF worth the price. Total bill with tax + tip came out to be just under $100 for 2 people. Love the vibes too - omakase always feels classier but this spot also feels super casual at the same time. Chill yet still romantic. Great date spot and I can't wait to come back! read more

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Popped in here for dinner with some friends on a Saturday night while waiting to get in at Attaboy and had a great meal (we were also able to sit at the bar right away). I had the Ume combo (yellow tail, salmon, crunchy tuna) as well as a crab meat and eel hand roll - eel was my favorite. Great bathroom, too - shout-out to that heated toilet seat. Kazunori is still my fave but this is up there. Way chiller vibe, too. 4.5 stars. read more

Douska - Sushi Bars Near Me - New York, New York

Douska - walked past this place a dozen times and finally came in this Monday. Arrived a little before 7, which was the perfect time because more and more people came in as we ate our dinner. We chose to sit at the bar, partially because we love seeing how the food is made. This place is very casual, albeit you still have Manhattan prices to contend with. We got the Matsu - 5 handrolls, and substituted the crab for eel/scallop. I really enjoyed how tasty each one is. Some had more vinegar content than others, perhaps to keep the fish fresh tasting. The scallions were a good addition. It looks so simple but packs a lot of flavor. We were still a little hungry so we ordered a salmon crispy rice roll. I wasn't too big of a fan but my partner enjoyed it more. Prior to coming, I saw a mixed review of comments about wait times. After observing in my little corner, these are incredibly hardworking staff. It would make the hostess life easier if there was one additional floor staff to assist since she was managing two areas at once but then someone would likely complain how the food isn't made quicker. Come before 6:30 and you'd probably be fine. read more

This is a new sushi place that is a welcomed addition to the neighborhood. It's set up like a bar similar to Kazunori, but you can actually make a reservation! They have different order sets for different amount of hand rolls. The prices are actually more expensive than Kazunori's. Six hand rolls at Kazunori for 29 dollars including tip while at Douzo, you can get 6 for 35 dollars, not including tip. I ended up getting the 65 dollars omakase so I can't really say if the hand rolls are comparable or better, but I did try the crunch tuna hand roll, which was pretty good. The omakase for 65 dollars came with miso soup that had cauliflower, which was not typical, but a wonderful healthy addition to the soup. It also came with a silken tofu that was pretty decent. I have not done a lot of omakase before, but the friends I went with were impressed with the quality for the price. They all agreed that this was at least a 4/5 experience and would come again. read more

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