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    National's Cafe

    3.9 (134 reviews)
    ModerateJapanese, Sushi Bars
    Closed Closed

    National's Cafe Photos

    NATIONAL'S CAFE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - National's Cafe

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    Reviews With Photos

    Yellow tail. Tuns Eel
    Lori S.

    Another trip and another great experience. Had an al a carte lunch with the hubby.. Hot sake 4 eel and the big river roll 2 eel and 2 yellowtail 2 tuna Everest roll Big rivroll oll Hot sake just because you have too. The portions are just perfect. This place is always busy. We have not gone in there once without it being busy. But that's a great thing. Ordered take out Christmas Eve and it was standing room only. But still had good food and great service even picking up. The place is little, I think 6 tables and 4 bar stools. Buy don't let that deter you from giving them a try. Adding a few new pics

    Anna S.

    Great lunch place close to my work. Quick service and yummy rolls. San Francisco roll and Carol hand roll were yummy!

    Raven B.

    The sushi was good, service could of been better. Overall I was expecting more variety and better service

    Rolls!!!!
    Albie E.

    First I wanted to say I didn't get to take many pictures of my experience here. With that said, here's my review on National's cafe! I was invited by my friend to go and have sushi at this restaurant. Having dinner at this pace, was pretty dang good! There were three of us in the group and each selected a few rolls to share. We also ordered about 3 bottles of sake to accompany our long dinner! I will say, the rolls came out and each bite tasted amazing! Fresh, flavourful and very reasonably priced! The rolls tasted fresh and not "fishy" if that makes sense! I did take a pic of the one plate where all the rolls came out. I will apologise as I do not remember which specific rolls we ordered but I do recommend if you're visiting Carson City to give this spot a try! Service was amazing, we were very well attended to by everyone and always service with a smile! Price is super reasonable as sushi could be very expensive. There's a free public parking lot with plenty of space to park.

    Sushi burrito
    PJ D.

    Although I heard about National's Sushi from friends, I hadn't been there to eat. I always went to Capital City Sushi but they sold out and the new owners made it a very high end restaurant. So, I called a friend and said let's go try National's sushi for all you can eat lunch. I think the price was very reasonable, $26 with a large assortment of appetizers, rolls, hand rolls, and other things plus dessert. I tried the mussels appetizer which had six deliciously spiced mussels that didn't disappoint. I'm used to having the Lili role so I asked them if they had something like that they said yes it's called the Carol roll and I can tell you it was fabulous... the tempura shrimp was perfectly cooked in the crab on top with the sauce was just as good, if not better than other sushi places. From my next roll, I had the California roll, which did not disappoint and although I was coming to the end of my sushi feast I asked the Chef if he could make me a bagel roll, that's what I called it because it's made with smoked salmon, cream cheese, green onion inside out rice. Since I was getting full, I asked him if he could make it smaller for me and it was perfect. I had a hot cup of tea with it, and although I was looking forward to the green tea ice cream, I had no room left. There were things that I wanted to try on the appetizers like their eggrolls, their miso soup, and a few other things but I wanted to enjoy my rolls so I didn't indulge next time I go back I will have the things I didn't try this time. For those of you who do not eat raw fish such as me they have plenty of options and there's sushi rolls and other choices. If you're not a sushi person, they have special lunch menu where you can get a teriyaki bowl or a few other things. It's not a fancy place, it's a mama papa business, but the service is excellent, and the people are exceptionally friendly and it was very clean .We sat at the counter so that we could talk to them and watch them make sushi which is always fun. I guess you would call this your basic sushi restaurant that happens to be a cut above average, I definitely will recommend this and I will go back again. Just so you know, they have an à la carte menu. If you're not an all you can eat person, and their prices are very reasonable. Give them a try and tell them PJ sent you Ps would have taken photos of the dynamite roll but ate it too quick

    Honestly best place in town! Family own! Great service! And most of all amazing food! Above expectations always!
    Dalila B.

    Best place in town! Family owned! Great service and most of all amazing food! Always going above expectations!

    Chef's choice at National Cafe!
    Wes F.

    Antonio - I asked him to hit me with all you can eat, chef's choice. He nailed it!!!!! Looking forward to our next visit!!

    Yellow Tail
    Nick S.

    This is my updated review. In the past 2 months we visited the old Kim Lee Sushi now Capital City Sushi and Kei Sushi. Other than Nationals Restaurant other Carson Sushi restaurants are not worth patronizing or reviewing. Nationals Sushi totally blows the competition away. We will not return to Kei or Capital City. My pictures capture the care, artistry, quality and portion sizes.

    Lupita sushi burrito to go

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    1 month ago

    Not fancy! Service and quality are great. Best in Carson and beyond. Love the halo-poppers!

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    4 months ago

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    11 months ago

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    1 year ago

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    1 month ago

    The food is good. The chicken in my Bento box was over cooked. It was expensive. The service was slow.

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    1 year ago

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    1 year ago

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    9 months ago

    Great sushi, service is slow and the ambiance is tacky. Food is above average for the price.

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    11 months ago

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    11 months ago

    Teriyaki chicken yay! I like their water and sprite. Their miso soup is also good, but that's it.

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    3 years ago

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    1 year ago

    Everything was great! Service food ambience went a little bit after 2:00. I suggest all my friends and family go try it out!

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    7 months ago

    amazing food and people have been coming for years love this place no other sushi place competes or ever will !!!!

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    1 year ago

    I have been going to Nationals since they opened many years ago, love the food. I would give them 10 stars if I could

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Amazing service I love the little sushi boats the food 10000000/10 had some great bonding with my mom

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    3 years ago

    A family owned business with delicious sushi! I always get especially excited to eat their egg rolls.

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    6 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    4 years ago

    Not my version of quality sushi . But the chefs were very nice and accommodating. I am used to Las Vegas AYCE

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    6 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Hands down best sushi around. Fresh fish, great service and the price for all you can eat is super reasonable.

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    9 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Very heavy on rice, chintzy with fish. 1st and last for us. Rice was 1/2 inch thick around rolls. Poor value.

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    7 years ago

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    Page 1 of 4

    Ask the Community - National's Cafe

    Where did they go?

    They moved to a NEW location by Cracker Box on HWY 50E ~ 444 E. William Street, Ste. 6, across from Smith's Grocery Store.

    Just drove by and their building is empty! Did they close for good or move? This is our favorite place!

    They moved to a NEW location by Cracker Box on HWY 50E ~ 444 E. William Street, Ste. 6, across from Smith's Grocery Store.

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

    Review Highlights - National's Cafe

    I visited this sushi stop about a year ago, and still dream of the delicious Nevada Roll.

    Mentioned in 5 reviews

    Read more highlights

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    Our office decided to try something new for lunch. We ordered online, it was super easy and even…read moregot a 10% off coupon. Pick up was a breeze, and the food was delicious, and beautiful. I will absolutelygo again.

    I've been to Oishi Sushi twice now, and while the food is decent, both visits had…read moreservice/atmosphere issues that made it hard to enjoy my meal. On a previous visit, I was seated in the back of the restaurant, which I was fine with at first, until I realized that's also where staff eat. One employee sat down near me on his break and was loudly eating with his mouth open, shoveling food in with his chopsticks right in my line of sight. It was uncomfortable and honestly pretty gross, to the point that I asked to move tables. On my most recent visit, the service was again disappointing. After my drink was dropped off, my server basically disappeared -- no check‑ins, no options offered, and it took a long time to get anyone's attention for simple things like refills or the check, even though it wasn't that busy. The sushi itself is fine and the prices are reasonable, but between being seated next to an employee loudly eating his break meal and the consistently inattentive service, it's hard to relax and feel like a valued customer. With other sushi options in the area, I'd rather go somewhere that feels a bit more professional and attentive.

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    Smoke Door - Lake Tahoe Saryo

    4.4(73 reviews)
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    I had a really great experience at Smoke Door. I called around dinner time without a reservation,…read morebut the woman on the phone was super accommodating, which I really appreciated. It was my first time there, and my server Jamie was really friendly and helpful. He walked me through the menu, and I ended up going with à la carte so I could try a few things. The wagyu was delicious and cooked perfectly, and the cauliflower was amazing too. The Toyosu fish was really refreshing. I also thought it was really cool that they source fish from Japan every couple of days. That definitely shows the level of quality they're going for. I'll definitely be back, and next time I want to try the full course. The restaurant itself is beautiful overall. Only small thing for me was that it got a little smoky at times, and the wine tasted slightly old, although my server confirmed the bottle had been opened recently. It honestly may have just been the wine I chose. Still a great experience overall.

    I genuinely do not understand how this place has such high ratings, and is well acclaimed by…read moremagazines and newspapers. We spent around $700 for two people and it was one of the most disappointing dining experiences we've had -- not just in Tahoe, but anywhere near this price point. The food was wildly inconsistent. Several dishes were overly salty to the point where it completely overpowered everything else. Others were just forgettable (like the beet salad). For a tasting menu that's supposed to be carefully curated, it felt sloppy and poorly thought out. On top of that, the portions were tiny -- even by fine dining standards -- and we left still hungry, which is pretty unacceptable given what we paid. For example the fish was probably a 3-4 oz portion. Many of the dishes were the same size as the a la carte menu, but for the tasting were meant to be shared for 2 adults. That means you are paying 400 dollars for dishes that can be bought for 40 bucks on the menu. The exact same size.... What is going on.... Service was just as frustrating. It wasn't outright rude, but it was disorganized and careless in ways that really matter. We ordered an extra dish and no one bothered to tell us it was already included in the tasting menu -- so we ended up paying extra for something redundant. That's a basic failure and honestly felt borderline deceptive. Drink service was slow, and mis-timed. What really pushed it over the edge: my wife is pregnant, and instead of putting any real thought into substituting a raw fish/uni course, they gave her a duplicate of another dish already being served, and was a dish that we extra ordered. No creativity, no effort -- just the easiest possible workaround. For a restaurant trying to position itself as high-end, that's inexcusable. This place charges like a top-tier dining experience but delivers something far below that level. It feels like they're relying on hype and location rather than execution. Save your money. There are far better places in Tahoe (and beyond) that actually justify the price. Would not return.

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    4.0(61 reviews)
    2.7 mi
    $$

    3 stars and going down. I'm sorry to say this. Laura picked…read moreup the slack tho when the line Chef brought out our hamachi cama and simply handed it to us. We said what No rice? No eggs? Laura fixed it up real nice. We appreciated that. But it's not the same place. The turn over is so fast. We get good chefs and they are gone in a couple months. Truly Fandango, listen up! Pay your people more! Or give them the respect they deserve! They could stay and really get a following. You used to have this with Martin, and with Bri and DJ. Any more...Just an over priced only so so sushi bar. We won't be back for months. There will be a new crew when we do come back. I've reviewed this spot so many times. As you can see. I'm very disappointed now. We did have an observance that we've not seen at ANY sushi bar. Even this one in recent history. The trays of fish are normally covered in plastic wrap to keep the fish from drying out or absorbing the flavors from each other. Every case had At least one uncovered tray or tray where the plastic wrap was not replaced. In the past the chef would remove the fish needed then rewrap. Even the scallop sat in a bowl with no covering in it. And it's not like they were too busy to do this. Cody stood there gazing out at the casino. Started talking with staff instead of taking the few seconds it takes to cover the fish.

    Unique menu options with a flair for originality. This was exactly what we were looking for after…read morehaving the same or similar rolls everywhere we go. Dinner service is short and seating is limited so be prepared to get on a waitlist but the food and service is worth it!! With Shishen Sushi outside the Italian restaurant you can't miss it, staff greets you and the hostess is to the left of entrance of that restaurant and will be sure to let you know about how long next available seating is for waitlist. Once our seats were ready, we were warmly greeted with our sushi setup, handed. Wasabi, ginger, and water. Our drink order was taken and asked for our appetizer order, we chose Don won, cucumber salad and miso soup to start along with spicy upside-down shrimp...alll were delicious ~ the star was the Don won nachos...YOU MUST TRY THESE!! Our main sushi rolls were delicious & flavorful, we had the Red Dragon, Avalanche and Hula each had their own unique flavors and the sushi chef WOW'D us each time thanks Rhett for a delicious meal and a great conversation!!

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    National's Cafe - japanese - Updated May 2026

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