OVERVIEW: We love living in escalon but sometimes it's a pain to go to riverbank, Modesto, or oakdale to get a variety of take out. We chose Makara Japanese Bistro because of the convenience of being closer to home. Those with toddlers can appreciate this. To our surprise, it was excellent. FOOD: We ordered Crab Ragoon, the Makara roll, and the Katsu bento. All 3 items had excellent flavor, texture, temperature, and portion. The Katsu was SO crunchy and juicy! SERVICE: Family owned. Very friendly. They appreciate your business, don't rush you and are open to socializing. We noticed a handful of tables that consisted of regulars. PRICE and Portion: very reasonable. You get nice portion for what you pay. We forgot to take pictures because it was so good, but we plan on coming back soon! read more

The food was just alright but the customer service was not very good at all. I really felt like they were waiting for me to leave the moment I arrived. When they asked me which sauce I preferred, both the counter workers noticeably sighed when I went to place a phone call to my wife for clarification. Additionally, they gave me a very little serving of sauce. The other sauces they gave me before I arrived were larger. Won't be returning. read more

Food was good when I went. I ordered potstickers n egg rolls for appetizer, those were really good. The rice was pretty good too. And the employees were nice n business was clean! read more

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Another first! I don't just give out 5 ! But I have to here. You know "Don't judge the book by its cover "! This is one of those places. The waitress was very sweet and took our order pretty quick. Then everything came out! OMG. The Hot Lips were Delicious! Then the rolls came out! Off the hook delicious! Special Giant, wow! Yummy. Then the salmon dynamite roll, you have to try it yourself! Delicious! Thank you for everything! Yes! I highly recommend this place to anyone who is looking for some great sushi! read more

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The food was excellent! You might drive right past it on highway 120 but it is worth a stop.

Best sushi in the 209! They don't hold back on the sauce. Everyone is so sweet and it's so clean!

Great sushi. They are very nice and do an amazing job. Large menu and I haven't had a meal I wasn't happy with.

We decided to come here because we used to go to their Salida location and we loved it! We were sad they closed down their Salida location but happy that they have a location in Oakdale. We were in town and decided to check it out. They have lots of booths and tables. We sat in a booth and the server was very friendly and quick. The rolls were as we remember fresh, delicious and a great size. They have a variety and their own twist to traditional rolls. We can't wait to come back when we are in town! read more

Makara Japanese Bistro - Salmon baked roll, OMG roll and the lobster roll. So delicious! - Sushi Bars Near Me - Escalon, California

Amazing service and delicious food!!! We had the Cowboy roll, the Super Spicy roll and the Golden gate. All so good. We were served with lots of care, the place is on the smaller side but with all the great hospitality you wouldn't know. Try it out !!!! read more

Makara Japanese Bistro - Beautiful service ... All our rolls were amazing .... Golden Gate, Cowboy, and Super Spicy Roll. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Escalon, California

What a great addition to our Town. We have been here 15-20 times, food and service are great! The owners are onsite and truly care. We really enjoy going in. Oakdale's loss is Escalon's gain!! Go Cougars!!!! read more

Just discovered this little spot in Escalon! What a treat to have a sushi place In our little town. Small inside. A few tables to dine in. Seem to focus more on take out. Food was good, maybe a little on greasy side. Friendly service. Will definitely go back! read more

Worst service ever, we were told 35 minute wait & ended up being over 2 hours. They are very rude & don't care about customer service.

They are back in business in Escalon...Very small location the food is great as always... Go early if you want to dine in. The owners are wonderful as always read more

Makara Japanese Bistro - Spider Roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Escalon, California

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Great food and service. We are excited they have moved to Escalon. The calamari and katsu are delicious read more

Makara Japanese Bistro - Makara is now in Escalon. I just noticed online that they are open We are so excited - Sushi Bars Near Me - Escalon, California

Craving satisfied and I didn't even have to leave town!! I for the most part do NOT like fish... But I tried it at Osaka in modesto 10+ years ago and I really liked the Las Vegas(salmon) and Cali (crab) roll.. but I HATE modesto and have been craving sushi for the last year LOL so I caved and decided to try this place. Knowing if it's bad I'll never eat sushi again...thank God I was satisfied I ordered the Philadelphia roll to mock the Las Vegas roll from Osaka and they did good! Not as much flavor but it was deff. Close enough Everything was yummy I even saved some for lunch the day after and it was still good. I shocked myself eating it day 2 but it was good and I couldn't just throw away my left overs. So if your debating this place try it!! read more

Makara Japanese Bistro - Broccoli ans carrot tempura and Crunchy Philadelphia roll with unagi sauce. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Escalon, California

The Ricky role is the best. The spicy edamame is really good too Really good waiters and the best sushi chefs read more

We usually order take-out here and it is always just as fresh and amazing as it would be dine in. Prices are reasonable and you don't have to leave town for great sushi. read more

Makara Japanese Bistro - Oakdale Roll, MAKARA Roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Escalon, California

Amazing all around Great food Great prices and a business that has thrived to maintain theyre awesomeness read more

Always great people, wonderful rolls. Special Giant roll and Makara roll are my husband's and I's favorites. We get it at least once a month. read more

Food was AMAZING (I recommend the spicy eel roll) but the service was a bit on the long side. read more

Makara Japanese Bistro - Spicy eel rolll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Escalon, California

1st time here. I was surprised that there was a good sushi restaurant in Escalon. The prices are pretty standard for a roll around $17. The rolls were big and different. 1 with cream cheese and pieces of Mango. Very good. read more

So amazingly good! Just had the most relaxing and tasty meal. The sushi was fresh, the beer-ice cold, and the service quick and friendly. Love going to Makara's! read more

Ive been coming here since they had a location in salida. Theyve always had great service and great food. I prefer this restaurant over all locations in modesto. All other places are hit n miss at times of the day and its been very consistent here. This is the place worth every penny. Family owned is what i like about it as well read more

Makara Japanese Bistro - Jalapeno roll and catapillar roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Escalon, California

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This is NOT the place for you if you are impatient, starving, or hangry. The service is really slow. Placing an order is pretty fast, but waiting for your food feels like forever. Expect at least 35-45 minutes of wait time eventhough the restaurant isn't busy. The rolls: we got the special spicy roll and the jalapeno roll. These rolls were pretty big! I thought the special spicy roll had too much going on that it wasn't special. The jalapeno roll tasted way better. Honestly, these 2 rolls could've fed 3 people. One of my party ordered Chirashi (raw slices of fish) and her order came out last. It didn't make sense because nothing really had to be cooked. I think improvements could be made in regards to getting the food out quicker and all at once. Out of kindness, my party waited for each other's meals to be brought out before we started digging in. There was 5-7 minute gaps in between and no communication from our server as to when the rest of the food were coming out. I would give this place 3.5 stars, but not quite a 4. read more

Makara Japanese Bistro - Special spicy roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Escalon, California

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Makara used to be in Oakdale and we loved it then. They lost their lease and opened in Escalon. I'm so glad they are still close by and although the place in Escalon is tiny it does not matter to us as we love picking up for takeout. I have known the family since the boys were small and work their way up and now in college. Food is freaking amazing! Best Japanese food for miles!! Their Chicken Teriyaki Bento box is so big and you are full when you are done. Amazing food! The downside is they do not DoorDash or Uber Eats. This would make things much easier but it's ok. As long as i can still get their food I'm happy!!! read more

We live in Jamestown and we have no good Chinese or Sushi anywhere around here. We used to go to Doke sushi in Murphy's but the quality has gone down. We didn't want to travel too far we gave Makara a try. The food was 4 stars. Service 3 stars. That annoying phone -5 stars. It seams this is a popular take out sushi spot. It's an okay place to sit and eat. If they did something about the ambience and had real servers this place would be great. It was one lady that got phone call after phone call after phone! It ruined the experience. Other than that the sushi was good, not amazing but good read more

Delicious! We got the mother & son, Shrimp roll, & the OMG roll. Highly recommend all of them. Tastes very fresh.

Great food, great service. Excited to have them in our town. Standard pricing Will definitely be making it back read more

This place was amazing unfortunately they closed down, still the food was good, the service was amazing, the ambiance was amazing.

Good food. Nice small and cozy place. They have a very friendly and attentive staff. We got the California roll and the crunchy California roll. Both were delicious. read more

They took over from another restaurant. Then they cut the portions and of course doubled the prices woohoo excellent!!! it's still just a dive and the watered down deep fried green beans were awful read more

Very small seating area, not really a restaurant setting per se, more like a taqueria quality place to sit and eat. Definitely not a "date night" setting. Only one bathroom which is way in the back of the kitchen. (Kitchen was reasonably clean). Interesting they have people walk thru the kitchen and food prep to use the restroom and back again. Food had good flavor. If you're thinking "Friday night dining experience" you'll be disappointed, if you're thinking take-out of just stop and grab a "quick bite to eat" then its ok. No bar, so non-alcoholic beverages only. Staff is nice, and did a decent job of attending to tables. They were highly focused on take-out orders which seems to be their priority. read more

Well if you're looking for sushi, they have some. I really appreciate they replaced the seaweed with an alternative. Otherwise the flavors seemed one dimensional. I'm sure if you read what's in the rolls, you'll the the reason. Change up the flavor please. Good portions for the price. read more

I love this little sushi place here in Oakdale. The people are always nice & the sushi is made fresh to order. The price is a little high but in my opinion worth it. read more

It's good if you want sushi and don't feel like driving out of Oakdale. We like the In and Out roll and the Sunset roll.

Restaurant is closed permanently. Showed up for lunch last weekend and there was a sign hung on the door that they are closed for good.

I work in Ripon and my co worker and I decided to give this place a try because they were so close... welp fast forward here I am with food poisoning. read more

Excellent food and great service....we're so lucky to have them in Escalon!!!! Can't wait to go back!

I've been to many sushi places and I got to admit, this place has one of the best sushi places I had with a great price. Dinner combo came with a lot of food, California rolls, salad, rice amd two additional choices. Loved it! read more

Makara Japanese Bistro - California rolls, Teriyaki chicken, Tuna Roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Escalon, California

Great Sushi love it. My friend an two young grandchildren will be sad to hear they are closed for now. Little girls 7 an11 years began loving sushi at Makaras read more