Located near a few residential areas of my school, I went to this place once when I was a student, but I did not come back often because I found the food to be so expensive, since I was only getting $60 per week at that time. I am actually wealthier now compared to how much I was making several years ago, so I would have more opportunities to visit. For my second visit, my family and I decided to come here to get some Japanese and dishes. I got two sushi rolls, a Crispy Spicy Tuna Maki and a Kani Katsu Maki, which has crab meat and it was covered in Katsu sauce. The Crispy Spicy Tuna was just decently good, loved the crispiness of the sushi, but the flavor of the tuna was just decent, needed some soy sauce for flavoring. The wasabi provided was a little strong, but also made the sushi tastier. The Gari that was provided was also decent. As for the Kani Katsu Maki, I also thought it was a decent dish, the sauce gave the sushi a good flavor, but I think the crab meat may have just a mediocre taste it I just ate it without the rice and the sauce. I thought the rice used for the sushi was fairly fresh. As for other dishes, I had some Beef Bulgolgi, I liked the Korean barbecue flavor of the beef, and I thought they were generous with the beef portions, but if the beef was not marinated, I think the beef would have been extremely mediocre. I think if they used thicker beef slices, like sirloin, it would have been an amazingly good dish. Shrimp tempura was decently good, had a good crispiness on the outside. The Korean "banchan", or side dishes were just satisfactory, not really amazing. I also had a Chicken Fried Rice dish, and it was also decently good, had some good spice in the flavor, and the chicken was a little juicy. One great advantage is that this place is open until 2 AM, so it's not a bad choice after a night out in the city. Service was just decent. Servers were always checking to see if we have enough water and they were fairly nice. The interior was okay, has a very modern contemporary and somewhat Asian feel. Overall, this is not a bad choice to get some decent sushi or Korean dishes. This is definitely not the best Japanese/Korean restaurant I have been to in Boston, but it's a good choice to get some sushi or Korean food at midnight and the service has been pleasant so far. read more

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I was here for a quick dinner with the family. The service and food were excellent. The botan shrimps sushi was super yummy! read more

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My whole order was stale. Google gave it 4.3 stars which was shocking. Yelp on the other hand was 3.5 stars, know that seems more reasonable. Rolls were 5-7 dollars each which is relatively cheap, but still not worth that. The only reason I ordered from them was due to their late hours. read more

A little bit on the pricey side, I wouldn't come here on a normal day just to grab lunch--because honey, I ain't made of money. But I do recommend Alan's Special. It's deep fried salmon sushi, and it takes awhile to prepare, but it is nonetheless worth the wait. My little sister swears by it. Everything else is mediocre. But hey! It closes at 2am on Saturday night. Doesn't card at the door so that my underage friends can eat there too. But at the same time, I can order a drink and everyone is happy. read more

We ordered again for delivery, via grub hub for 3 people. I hit submit on my phone when we were in front of our apartment and no sooner had we gotten upstairs (via elevator) and unpacked a few groceries, our order was downstairs, and everything was correct, fresh, hot and delicious. I was AMAZED. Well worth the steeper price. Our all time favorite so far! read more

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I went to Kayuga on a double date and thought it was interesting that the outside has light up sports logos--I've never seen a sushi place with a sports-bar look before. Many menu items are named after local colleges or areas, making it fun to order. I got the Idaho Maki, which was just a little more expensive than at Fin's. However, I was shocked when it came to see how small it was! Fin's offers the same or better quality sushi in larger portions cheaper (at least for this maki). I'm a small person, so 2 rolls from Fin's would definitely fill me up and many times I only order 1. However, at this place I would easily need 3 rolls to feel somewhat full. No idea how many an average person would have to buy... It was fine sushi, but I think Fin's is a better deal. read more

Today was my first time trying out their food because I've come here occasionally for drinks and sushi, but not so much their hot food. SUSHI: It is very expensive for a few pieces of mediocre sushi. I guess sushi can never really go wrong though so it's not bad. It's good, but it's not the best sushi I've ever had especially since I'm paying a pretty heavy price for it. DRINKS: Kayuga has a pretty wide selection of alcohol drinks to choose from: korean soju and mixed soju like lychee soju, mango soju, wine, beer and sake. Once again, the alcohol is expensive, but it's not bad. The lychee soju was kinda bitter though so I wouldn't recommend that. FOOD: I have the udon with chicken, egg, shrimp tempura and vegetables. The udon was great! It comes in a cute little hotpot looking thing and it def gets you full! The broth was flavorful and the udon was perfectly chewy. It was weird when my tempura started dissolving into my soup so I ate that first. All in all, it was a pretty decent dish, but the chicken was super dry and not tasty. I don't understand how chicken that's been sitting in broth can be dry, but it was definitely very dry. The entire udon dish was $15. Kind of ridiculous for a bowl of noodles in my opinion, but nevertheless, it was a pleasant dish. read more

Kayuga - Chicken egg and shrimp tempera udon - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Nice, convenient Boston University late night spot on Commonwealth Ave. The chicken appetizer and sushi were solid.

Don't do this to yourself. I ordered the salmon avo maki and chicken curry. I enjoyed neither. As you can see the salmon on that one piece of sushi is damn near white, which means it's been left out for way too damn long. For something that's not cooked it's not good. The other five pieces of were warm so I was less hesitant to eat it. The curry plate tasted like day old chicken, and flavorless. I don't even think they used salt on the rice nor the chicken. For great Japanese curry chicken isshindo ramen is the way to go. read more

Kayuga - Salmon Avo Maki - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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So good!!! I'm Korean and I was craving korean food. Ordered galbi tang and beansprouts. The portions were perfect and it came piping hot. Lots of beef chucks and love the free ban chan (I was regretting that I didn't order a side of kimchi, but it turned out that it came free anyway with the meal) Exactly what I wanted read more

Kayuga - Galbi tang, bean sprouts, and the free ban chan and rice. Delivered - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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Honest review: would NOT recommend. The friend wings I got were clearly frozen/microwaved because it was watery inside. The pad Thai was extremely sticky, had a bad spoiled/funky after taste, and the fired rice had extremely rubbery shrimp and chicken that's drier than a desert. Pretty sure it was not cooked today. Not worth the $35 I paid. read more

Kayuga - Pad Thai and shrimp/chicken Fried Rice - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Kayuga is a great restaurant on Com Ave, not only because of the food, but also because the service is amazing. Over the years I made friends with the manager Su, and she was always so kind and hardworking. She is there every night until they close at 2am and she's a super nice lady. She even gave me extra face masks she had when I said I didn't have any, right at the peak of COVID when they were in short supply! All the other staff are also really good and respectful people. The atmosphere inside the restaurant was also great when there was seating, and hope it opens up again soon. Kayuga is one of the best options for late night food when everything else that's good is closed. My recommendation for food: Japanese curry katsu read more

Highly recommend this place. The spicy pork bulgogi is my favorite. The service is fantastic and the staff are so friendly. I will definitely be back soon read more

This place has serviceable fusion junk food. I can't say that I was bowled over by the various types of fried chicken I ordered and the crazy noodles...but why five stars? Their creme brulee was great and even though I ordered delivery, they gave it to me in a ceramic container?! read more

Really good place to get lit if you're into Korean drinking style. Ask for the Korean menu. The yogurt soju is available and they also have different flavors like watermelon, peach, etc. We got a whole bunch of stuff but damn, their corn cheese was the best I've ever had. I'm Korean and I eat a lot of Korean food in NYC and basically anywhere I travel to and this place by far was one of the best corn cheese I've ever had. read more

Kayuga - Kimchi I Kim, yukgaejang, dukboki, corn cheese, fried rice, and free sushi roll b/c my friend used to work there. - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Ridiculous way of checking your I'd that is offensive. They dont believe your age so they take it away and re check it and im 30 read more

Kayuga - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Got take out from here - loaded up with both Japanese and Korean fare. All of it was super tasty, and the women there are great! Please support them and this restaurant during this tough time - they deserve it and you'll love the food. read more

Honestly think this is the most interesting place for Sushi in Boston/Brookline. We've been going since they opened and don't even know how long that's been. We eat in; we order out; we have them cater our parties. Their sushi menu is super innovative. They are always trying new ideas. Their tuna avocado salad is my absolute favorite thing. But...I also love their Korean menu. The flavors are just delish. Plus, the owners Soo and Alan are lovely and turn out some amazing food. Don't miss this restaurant!! read more

I ordered food here through Seamless recently with an expected delivery of 45 minutes. An hour later, I got a call from the driver and he said that he was having trouble finding my address. I asked him where he was, and he started describing buildings on the Boston College campus. We were not at Boston College. We were in Boston. The saddest thing is that we were on the same street as Kayuga. It was just a straight shot about a mile down the road. Given that it would take him a half hour to get back to us and the food had already been in his car for a half hour, I asked him to cancel the order and he agreed. Had it ended there, I may have just forgotten about the experience. Sadly, it didn't. The charge for the order still posted to my credit card. Dealing with Kayuga is a pain and anyone that's tried to deal with Seamless knows how awful that experience is too. Update: Kayuga lied to Seamless and told them that they tried to deliver the food at my apartment and I refused. That's cheeky. Another update: Kayuga is now calling to harass me for the negative review. read more

Ordered some delivery sushi from here a couple of days ago ... BAD MISTAKE. I got sick. Really sick. I'd never eat here again. read more

I don't know why, but everytime I walked by this place, I regarded it with disdain. From the outside, I always felt it looked a little junky, so I was not gung-ho when my friend suggested trying it out the other night. You truly can't judge a book by its cover. The interior is open and light, the service is very friendly, and the overall atmosphere is great for sitting and chatting with friends. The sushi was delicious! Not like, OMG TEH BEST SUSHI EVAAA! But it was really good, tasted fresh and light and yummy. We ordered tea, miso soup, spicy tuna maki, catipillar (eel, avocado, salmon, fish egg) rolls, and "idaho" maki (sweet potato tempura). It was SO good, we were SO full, and it only set us back 14 bucks each (including tax and tip). Then it was on over to the 'Dise with our bellies full of sushi yumminess. Will never look at this place the same way again. read more

Once I ordered successfully from here, but I just had an experience that merits 1-star. I ordered from Foodler and they estimated the food would arrive at 10:45 pm (I ordered at 10 pm). It was a Tuesday night, late, so I'm not sure what happened -- how slammed could they have been? At 11pm, I called Kayuga to check on my order. I was told that the driver had left and was on his way. At 11:20, I called again and was told that the driver was ABOUT to leave. Needless to say, I was pissed. And in my opinion, the situation was handled poorly on their end -- no apology and when I said I had called and been told the driver had left, the woman said someone else, not her, had given me that information. She basically made the excuse that it wasn't her fault so what was my problem. I canceled my order because I didn't want to be eating my dinner at midnight. Very disappointed! read more

I have long been thinking about giving Kayuga a try since it is opened. It is a neighborhood restaurant next to my favorite late night spot, Quan's Kitchen. Tonight, I had a sudden crave for Korean or Japanese after eating Asian fusion cuisne in JP for early dinner. Ambiance here isn't fancy, just plain. I ordered seaweed salad, Age dashi tofu, Kimchee Fried Rice and Green Tea for dinner. I loved them all. Green Tea is good quality and free of charge (some bloody Japanese restaurant charge money for it). Seaweed Salad and Agedashi Tofu are excellent (pass my Japanese standard). I didn'r realize that Miso soup and small size salad are offered along any meal. So I sat alone with my favorite food book surrounded by dishes of food. Kimchee fried rice is one of the best I have ever had. Food here is inexpensive. I used to wonder why this place is a popular late night Japanese restaurant. Inexpensice Pricing and Tasty food draw people here. I made the right choice tonight and ate like PIG. Come in hungry and left here stuffed Good Eat............very good eat Food is served until 1am, bar close at 2am daily. read more

What I learned Friday: I love hot pots! It's like fondue, only slightly healthier, as in a LOT healthier. Brown Sugar was packed, so the bf and I tried this place. I insisted on ordering the hot pots. We got a lamb and a pork combo. The meat comes in very very thin slices, and you cook it in boiling broth at the table! We got one chicken broth and one Thai broth, which was a little spicey and very flavorful. I liked combining the chicken with the Thai. Veggies and noodles for cooking come too. There's dipping sauce and rice. Yum. The service was good, a little disorganized. Ambiance - ok. It's got nothing on Brown Sugar, but it's fine. I've heard bad things about the sushi from friends, but I would definitely return for hot pots. In fact, i'm on a hot pot mission now! In conclusion, Hot Pots = So Fun. read more

I love Kayuga! Everyone is always so friendly, food always comes out great, and the price is very reasonable. After covid, they don't serve sushi anymore but they still have a lot to offer with their other dishes. My personal favorite is the kimchi fried rice. It always always feels good to support a local small business versus a chain! read more

The servers here are like hawks. I don't think my water got past half full during the entire meal. We had about 3 people waiting on us and they were totally on their game. This place is pretty good. I usually head in before a show at the Paradise but I probably wouldn't trek here otherwise. I was not impressed with their spider roll (my favorite), but the other sushi was good (caterpillar, dragon). Their fried green tea ice cream was soooo yummy.. minus the random rainbow colored sprinkles. They just seemed awkward and out of place. But that's just me being a little cray. Minus points for not having one of those velvet curtains to keep out the cold. BRRRR! We were seated towards the back, but could definitely feel the chill every time someone came in. I had to leave my ankle length coat on all night.. and I'm not usually someone who gets cold easily. Also, the bathroom is kind of heinous. Not to mention whenever I come in and sit at the bar, I almost die because of their backless non-stool chairs. read more

Decent food and price, but the service was WAY TOO attentive. Our group conversations were constantly interrupted by the waiter to ask how the food was, or they were promptly taking our plates even with food still in our mouths. At ordering, they were waiting by the side of our table while we were reading the menu. The place was half empty and far from closing time... So we didn't understand why they were doing that. I would give three stars instead of four because of those issues, but I actually liked the food and the drinks were cheap, so four stars it is! read more

Very solid sushi, even though it's very much a college spot. They have a lot of interesting and unique makis. I had the Celtics Maki, which was white tuna with cucumber, avocado, and asparagus (green and white. Get it?), the Fire Dragon Maki, which was shrimp and cucumber with spicy tuna on top, and the Crispy Spicy Tuna Maki, which was basically a Spicy Tuna with tempura flakes. Each one was really tasty. We also tried some of the basics, like the Shrimp Cucumber Roll, and the regular Spicy Tuna. Lots of fish, and it all tasted great. Very good. I will definitely be back. Just know that there are a million BU students that will surround you. read more

I've been a regular to kayuga for awhile now, and I've tried almost everything on their menu. The service is prompt and they always take care of their customers. Some of my favorites on their menu are Haedupbop - raw fillets of fish on top of rice, cucumber, carrot, and lettuce mix with a side of chojang (Korean spicy/vinegary sauce). I love their BU maki - deep fried eel, crab stick, avocado, cucumber, and cream cheese drizzled with spicy mayo and teriyaki sauce. My favorite appetizer is probably their Hotate Hokkaiyaki, definitely a must get. read more

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This place has excellent food with excellent people providing the food. Su is the owner and takes great pride in taking care of her customers. Every time I come here, I feel like home or I'm at my friend's house. It is definitely a central gathering space for friends to eat and drink. Kayuga is a timeless Boston classic that's definitely worth a visit. You will be back after the first visit. Cheers! read more

Kayuga - Soft tofu stew - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

SO GOOD!!! My absolute favorite from this place is the College Maki. I highly recommend it. Everything is so fresh. So convenient that they deliver too! read more

Great comfort food. Expect to be filled up and happy. A good place to come after a depressive episode. Fried Rice is pretty standard, what you would expect, but good portions and conservatively flavored. Deep Fried Baby Octopus - dope - get it. Yookgaejang - really good beef soup with some kind of vegetables I was unfamiliar with. Fernbrake? Satisfying and not something I had tried before. Sukiyaki - Japanese style beef soup served in cast iron pot. For me, this one was very hearty and filling but overly sweet, challenging to finish til the end and not feel a little off. But good for indulgence. read more

I was craving late night sushi around midnight & alot of places around boston close early except ChinaTown but I've been to Chi-town so many times I wanted to find another place. Went to Kayuga, which closes at 2am...it was empty cuz it was late night on a monday but the food was good...Sushi had great presentation...nice ambiance...and all the Sojus are great! I had Lychee Soju & it barely tastes like alcohol but gives u a good buzz. Also, the waiters/waitresses are very nice and polite. I will b back again for more soju! read more

Went here after Flight of the Conchords last weekend. It wasn't as crowded as some of the other restaurants, and I heard they had great sake. And they were open late. SOLD. And in fact, they DID have wonderful sake. The sake itself came in a small container but it went down smooth and was absolutely delicious. The beers were large enough to get the job done, no complaints here. But what is really outstanding about my sake bombing experience at Kayuga was that the staff didn't look down on us for getting outrageously drunk on sake, which is what I've experienced at a lot of other places. THE NERVE. But seriously, the waitresses were really fun. Anyways, they had great vegetable steamed gyoza as well, and everyone around us was having a ball. Loved it, will be back. read more

Is it possible to excel at mediocrity? Now, I dont really mean that as a bad thing - but it seems to be kind of accurate. Kayuga was a good restaurant. I would never avoid it, and would always go if someone wanted to. But I wouldnt necessarily seek it out over some better options. Nothing was bad. Everything was, well, perfectly adequate. The service was pleasant, and the ambience acceptable. The tea was good, the appetizers well made, and the sushi fresh and tasty. All good things. Just nothing extraordinary. And once again, this isnt a bad thing. The prices are very reasonable, the location is accessible and easy to get to (right off the BU North green line stop), and the restaurant is big enough that it isnt over packed (it seems sushi restaurants, more than any other type of cuisine, tend to be small with fewer tables.) So if you are in the area and want good sushi. Check it out. Convenient, affordable and good. If you are seeking the BEST sushi place in Boston, well, you may think it is, you may not. But dont expect it to be anything more than generic.... Which once again, as I have said over and over, isnt a bad thing. read more

The food was mostly ok but nowhere near very good. The spring rolls were surprisingly bad considering how others were not that terrible and that's not what you normally expect to be able to go wrong. read more

I love this place. I honestly do. And do you know why? because they know how to treat their customers. the food is not spectacular, but the service and friendliness that Sue and her staff have is well worth it. And they have good drinks for good prices and they're the only place that i know of that has the korean anju "dry fish". Also the sushi is very good and the jigae as well. read more

I spent all last summer living in Tokyo and Kayuga's food taste extremely close to the real thing, if not dead on. I first noticed it when I tried the yaki soba. As silly as it sounds as soon it entered my mouth I had a taste flash back to eating yaki soba at 5 o'clock in the morning in a Karaoke room in Shibuya. The Chicken tatsu and fried tofu are also amazing. And omg croquettes!? I don't know where else around here you can get croquettes. They also have korean food and soju. Serivice is okay, could be better. And it's a bit pricey. But I def recommend it for casual japanese food lovers. read more

Pros: nice place cons: gross food I live for Japanese food; I grew up on it. So when I saw a Japanese restaurant, I was excited and had to try it out. First thing I notice as I walk in is that the place is pretty empty. It was after usual dinner hours so that was fine. Then, I see tables clumped together and the staff were eating out on the restaurant floor. This is definitely a main land Asian thing and not a Japanese thing. The fact that they weren't Japanese shouldn't matter as long as they can cook. Looking at the menus, I realized they were all over the place. They were offering Japanese, Korean, and Chinese dishes. My thought was, "oh it's one of these places". By this, I mean a restaurant that tries to offer everything under the "Asian" umbrella because they don't cook anything particularly well. Diversity over quality, it seems. We just wanted to taste a few things, so we ordered many small dishes. Surprisingly, their miso soup wasn't too bad. However, everything else was just so gross. Everything was just so soggy and watery, the taste was just "mush". It was so clear that all their food items were frozen and they were just defrosting it. Nothing we ate seemed "fresh" in any sense. Not only are the dishes gross, the amount you get is just so measly. They are clearly trying to come off as a bit "upscale", but you have to have quality food for that. I don't think there's any reason for me to come back here. read more

GROSS!! I wish I had read the negative reviews first. DO NOT eat here if you want to stay healthy. I have had some bad food in my time, but nothing has ever made me as sick as this sushi made me. I think I would rather have my appendix removed again! After 4 hours in the ER to get enough fluid in me to keep from passing out, this turned into the most expensive, crappy meal I have ever had. Reading other reviews I found that this is not the first case of food poisoning! Really! They clearly do not care about the health of their customers or their reputation. read more