we tried omakase by kai for restaurant week and it was fantastic! for appetizers we ordered the shrimp & vegetable tempura mix + shishito peppers. was absolutely mind blowing, so yummy! for our entrees we ordered the chicken hibachi bento and the chefs choice (not pictured due to us not being able to wait to eat it because it looked so good) the speciality roll we ordered was the rolls-royce. arguably the best sushi roll I've had to date in Raleigh. dessert (also not pictured) was the green tea and mango mochi ice cream. mango was not on the set menu but they did offer the flavor. both I would recommend trying. the ambiance was modern and romantic for date night, and our server was great. service was a tad slow which I must imagine was due to restaurant week, that's the only reason I'm rating 4/5 stars. but our server was fantastic and made sure to communicate with us what was going on in the kitchen which we greatly appreciated. we will definitely be adding omakase to our dinner rotation and you should too! read more

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If you are looking for fresh, beautiful Japanese food that tastes as good as it looks, Omakase by Kai is a great choice! Every dish was super fresh and plated like a work of art. We tried the following: Tuna Tartare Crisp: Spicy, finely chopped tuna served over a crispy seaweed cracker, crunchy and packed with flavor! Scallop Carpaccio: scallops topped with salmon roe Beef Sukiyaki: mini hotpot with tender beef slices Fresh Sashimi & Premium Nigiri: Generous cuts of salmon, tuna, and white fish served ice-cold, along with delicate sushi pieces topped with uni (sea urchin). Crème Brûlée: Ended the meal on a sweet dessert Everything tasted clean, rich, and super fresh. A fantastic multi course dining experience with incredible quality! read more

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I have to say the sashimi is as fresh as you can get. They dont taste rough and chewy like been in the fridge for a long time. Omakase Classic is abit expensive but worth every penny. It is quite fresh that we let our kids try out the sashimi. A5 wagyu is also superior. The portion is quite small for the price we paid, but again worth every penny. The ramen is also superior. The broth is spot on and the ramen taste like they make it their own. There is plenty of meat and seafood in the ramen. We also enjoyed the fried oysters and octopus. They are fresh made you can tell. The most disappointment is the sake. No taste and no flavor. I forgot we also order the tuna roll with the ramen and it is awesome. Overall it is quite good except the sake. read more

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Just recently came here for a friend's birthday. Beautiful restaurant inside. The staff however was not very friendly. Not rude but definitely wasn't trying very hard to ensure we had a good first experience. Usually, the waiter/waitress will ask if you've been before or if you're out for a special occasion. Neither question was asked. When we got our sushi the waiter/waitress didn't bother telling us which sushi roll was which, as this being both of our first times, I was quite disappointed by the lack of communication/ customer service. They were also out of Waygu beef and couldn't make the Rolls Royce sushi roll we asked for --which was a huge disappointment. The sushi rolls I got were really good. I wouldn't say they were excellent. The price was slightly lower than other places but still expensive. They did give you a good portion, so I really liked that bc I was full with just 2 rolls! I did really like 1 of my friend's rolls, but the other one had too much fish. I don't think I would come back, just bc with better sushi options + better customer service just right down the road, it wouldn't make sense to come back here and be disappointed again. Not at these prices. I used to LOVE their sister/original restaurant Kai Sushi in Raleigh, It used to be my absolute favorite but their quality went wayyyy down hill!! We haven't been back there in a year bc last time we went it was awful. They also have an outdoor patio but it looks dirty and the chairs are metal so they look really uncomfortable. It definitely needs a makeover bc it's a cute space, it has so much potential. They also don't have Diet Coke, if anyone is wondering. lol but they do have Coke 0 tho. read more

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Simply Excellent! Raleigh finally stepped up their sushi game with this gem! The sushi was super fresh, perfectly presented and reasonably priced. Plus, the service was great! Angie was our server and she took amazing care of us. She was helpful, attentive and so sweet. I can't wait to come back to try their omakase. I have no doubt that it'll be fabulous! read more

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Had lunch date with hubby and mom last minute. We were very satisfied with our lunch. Great fresh fish which is huge points in my book when it comes to sushi. I thought the portion was very good as well. Bulgogi be to was the star of the lunch due to variety of food and flavor was great. The only thing I would make improvement is the sushi rice and the price. We will come again. read more

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Hands down the best omakase experience I've had so far! Our sushi chef was Jun Jun and he was super welcoming and sweet. He described each piece of sushi before placing it down, not to mention the plate was wiped in between each plate to avoid mixed flavor profiles. I think my favorite appetizer was definitely the negitoro on the seaweed chip! As for the sushi, I love uni. This uni was super fresh and tasted like it was just caught from the sea. Then the crab meat handroll was so delicate and tasty. Lastly, I was super surprised to receive a wagyu shabu shabu over an open flame at the end of the meal. The wagyu dipped in the egg yolk was chef's kiss. The ambiance felt authentic and perfect. The staff were attentive and kind. I loved celebrating my birthday here. read more

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Lovely lunch date at Omakase by Kai. My husband had the galbi bento and I tried a few different nigiris. My favorite was the Negi Toro Taco with Uni and Caviar. For dessert, we had mango sorbet and vanilla mochi ice cream. Everything was fresh and delicious and our server was very attentive and nice throughout our dining. Can't wait to go back! read more

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I had a great experience at Omakase by Kai in Seaboard Station for lunch! I ordered the chicken bibimbap, and it was absolutely delicious--fresh ingredients, perfectly seasoned, and beautifully presented. The flavors were well balanced, and the portion size was very satisfying. The iced tea was also excellent! The waiter was wonderful--very welcoming for my first visit and took the time to explain everything and answer all of my questions, which made the experience even better. The atmosphere was warm and inviting, and you can tell a lot of care goes into both the food and service. I'll definitely be back to try more items on the menu. Highly recommend! read more

Omakase By Kai - Chicken Bibimbap - Sushi Bars Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

What a special place! Took my daughter here for her birthday and we experience such impeccable service, top quality sashimi, amazing rice, wine/sake that paired well. It's expensive but worth it. I tried fish I've never had before and it was so fresh, melted in your mouth! read more

Omakase By Kai - Freshest sushi in the area - Sushi Bars Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

We made reservations for lunch at this corner restaurant by the Hyatt seaboard. When i was walked in there were these friendly caring smiles. Our waiter, i think dominic? Bright or out drinks and remembered my husband's name. That was a touch for sure if i didn't know any better, i would think he's the owner. This kind of service is rare nowadays. The food comes out, and it is a beautiful display of the chefs creativity. My husband NEVER likes raw fish, but he ate that hamachi like it was bread! Wonderful place. The decor is warm, sexy, and chic. We hope to come back for dinner read more

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The Omakase premium is was very delicious and a dishes comes with it and you don't have room the dessert .... Highly recommend read more

Omakase By Kai - Sushi Bars Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

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The atmosphere is very nice and the Omakase was worth it. The crème brûlée dessert and the chocolate cake are delicious as well. Great service. read more

Sushi here was absolutely delicious. It's a nice quiet, dark restaurant with a great ambiance. Service was impeccable as well. read more

Omakase By Kai - Sushi Bars Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

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Omakase by Kai is the new sushi kid on the block ... in the Triangle area ... Tucked away on the corner under the Hyatt at Seaboard is Omakase by Kai .. Took the chance went on opening week ... to be exact 2nd day of it being open and something I don't do generally with new restaurants since I know 1st few weeks are filled with things to tweak and work out ... but let's just say ... they nailed it! No issues what's so ever and service was onpoint ! The space is nice and open with warm touches so exactly vibes .. Think of maybe Oku but warmer... So now onto the menu .. don't be intimidated... its not as scary as you think.. it's laid out pretty nicely and you won't be overwhelmed. You have your apps , your drinks, your different sushi entrees, your special house rolls, and of course your different choices of Omakases... Lets face it we are all drawn into the place due to its namesake, so if you are hungry .. very hungry than dive straight to the Omakase, think of this as your 4-6 course sushi oriented meal ... yup that's right folks .. come prepared with your stretchy pants and come hungry ! Cause by the time your 4th-5th course comes out... you want to throw in the towel... lol so if you can't handle it all .. share one Omakase with your favorite person or fellow foodie.. We had ordered the Classic and the sashimi Omakase and man oh man ... each dish that came out with either set was amazing and fresh . Think of the Omakase as chefs choice of tasting for a sushi place and you will get an idea of what is to come .. Everything was freaking amazing ..... Definitely gonna come back and try other dishes and split the Omakase with friends and foodies .. so I will be back ! read more

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Went on Valentines Day with my friend visiting and the service was phenomenal, the fish was UNREAL. I didn't eat sushi for 2 weeks afterwards because I wanted to keep reminiscing on it. Our server, Matt, was super knowledgeable about everything even pairing Sake. It's upscale and can be both quiet and a bit noisier at times but the experience is one I hope to have again! read more

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This is definitely a special occasion restaurant. I have always loved Kai, but this was a next level experience. Everything was fresh, delicious and the service was top-notch. We got the standard Omakase and it was a super impressive meal and well worth the value. Everything was stunning in presentation and taste. Kiddos, Kai! read more

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Coming for lunch on Friday and they have great meals combo. We ordered a roll, nigiri and Galbi Bento which come with both soup and salad. Nigiri was fresh, I personally like my nigiri sliced thinly but it's all good. For the roll it was just okay and the crunch on the roll was too much imo. Karaage was nice and crunchy. Will come back to try their other dishes! read more

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Visited on Saturday and ordered the rainbow roll, screaming tuna, scary Julie, and Totoro special rolls. The screaming tuna, and scary Julie were our favorites. Daniel was attentive and gave us great service. We found the hot sake to be sweet, and the wine selection is good. When we walked in there was a faint smell of the ocean, I took that to mean my meal was about to be good. And it was, we will be back for the omakase. read more

My husband and I love to scoot up to Raleigh from Pinehurst on Saturdays and part of the tradition is to try new restaurants. We've had a couple of "fails" lately and almost talked ourselves out of trying Omakase by Kai - that would have been a tragedy! We came in for lunch and were warmly greeted and seated at a beautiful booth along the window. Our server, Demetric, was warm and charming. After a couple of delicious pieces of nigiri (yellow tail and fatty tuna) we planned on 3 special rolls and had our plan in place. When he checked in we started with the "Scary Julia" and Demetric shared that was one of his top 3. We asked what were the other two and happily he listed the two we already had picked without him knowing: the "Black Tarantula" and the "Screaming Tuna". We also had a wonderfully presented cold sake in a delicately etched glass decanter nestled in a small ice filled box. Everything was delicious but I forgot to take any pictures except for the screaming Julia rolls. Again the presentation was beautiful and tasted incredible. We will be back for the omakase multi-level meal soon! Thank you for such a wonderful experience! read more

Omakase By Kai - Screaming Julia special roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

Omakase has superior sushi, friendly staff and great prices. The atmosphere is very friendly and clean. Have a beautiful outdoor area to sit at chef in front of me directly was very accommodating. I will 100% be back. read more

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Stopped by here randomly one evening and had a great dinner. The spider roll was delicious and the ambiance was warm.

I went to omakase for lunch on a whim but it was one of the best lunches I had in awhile. The ambiance is lovely. The aesthetic is modern and chic but still comfortable, I didn't feel like I needed to be overly dressed up to be there. I opted for a bento box for lunch and it was delicious, a great price for the amount of food I received. The spicy tuna nori taco was the star of the show as well as the "fried" chicken that came with my box. It was so crispy and fresh. The miso soup and salad were also excellent starters. I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of food I received for the lunch special. Service was also great. I'm looking forward to going back again. read more

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Wow! This place is a cut above any other sushi house in Raleigh. This is Chef's second restaurant. First one, Kai, has been successful for more than ten years, so you know he must be doing something right. I treated myself to an awesome combo of wagyu beef, uni, fish roe (and gold leaf) all served taco-style with gim (dried seaweed) as the taco shell. Fantastic! Ask if they have hamachi kama (grilled collar of yellowtail). It's not always available, but if it is----Amazing! Great service. Beautiful space done in warm woods and leathers. Can't wait to go back! read more

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We came here to celebrate my husband's birthday and it did not disappoint. We came for dinner on a saturday night and had reservations, but looked like there was still plenty of seating even if you didn't have reservations. We started with the hamachi jalapeño crispy rice which was absolutely delicious and a great started. I don't typically eat raw sushi, so I got the godzilla roll which was also great. My husband did the sashimi moriawase omakase and he loved everything. All of our food came out in a decent time. All the courses of the meal tasted great. We shared the creme brulee dessert, which had a coffee flavor to it and definitely enjoyed it! Our server was nice and checked on us frequently. We will definitely be back for another special occasion! We were not able to find street parking so we parted in the parking deck across the street and the restaurant validated our ticket for an hour. read more

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Stopped here for lunch with a coworker. It was pretty empty and we were seated immediately, which was nice since we were on a time restriction. We walked from out office but there is a parking garage near by. The ambiance was lovey, quiet and soothing. Our server was great and provided excellent service. The sushi was very delicious but I felt the portion sizes were a bit small for the price. I'd give it another try for dinner. read more

Amazing service, delicious food. Ordered dinner be to box. Great portion with sushi roll, salad, tempura, sashimi and nigiri read more

Omakase By Kai - Dinner bento box - Sushi Bars Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

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Amazing sushi bar. Great service and prices are reasonable. I will definitely go back.

Had a super lovely solo sushi counter experience here. Ambiance is gorgeous and music is chill. Chef Shūshu (my apologies if I'm misspelling!) was SO nice and offered guidance for order-of-eating. My waiter Dustin was very kind and attentive as well. Ordered the sushi bento dinner, the selection of nigiri and sashimi were oooo so yummy. Miso soup is not to be slept on either, really flavorful. Also ordered the lychee saketini which came with the CUTEST little rosette. Love seeing gems like this come to Raleigh. Can't wait to come back! x read more

Omakase By Kai - Sushi bento dinner w screaming tuna roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

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Well-executed omakase (ie chef's choice) experience with quality ingredients and lovely presentation. Made reservations earlier in the day for the same Friday evening, was surprised to get in so easy given a weekend seating (but mid July in Raleigh can be slow). Hopefully they can sustain the omakase business model and cost structure when restaurant season gets busier. My partner and I both had the Omakase Classic ($86), paired with sake and plum wine. It was more food than we expected (in a good way), and we were both satisfyingly full at the end of the meal. Would consider that a very good value. Flavor combinations on the nigiri like the yuzu kosho and yuzu miso were delicious. Only issue with the food was the sashimi course: The individual pieces were cut surprisingly large and would have been easier to eat if sliced into a couple smaller pieces each. The interior of the restaurant is gorgeous and quite spacious with probably a dozen sushi counter seats and more than a dozen tables. I did notice what another review noted as a fleetingly unpleasant odor upon first entering the restaurant. Never noticed it at all after that very brief moment, but was admittedly a bit worried for that to be the first impression - hopefully they can invest in one of those scent systems that high end hotels use in their lobbies. Overall would definitely go back for the same experience! read more

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Miso soup, toro tartare appetizer and salad were 'good' I would say a 'slight step' above the rest. The sushi was a tad bit dry (rainbow roll and TOTORO roll). The fresh wasabi was excellent. My 1 star comes from the service. I hate complaining about service because it will sound like I'm cheap and gives the restaurant reasons to ask me why I didn't bring something to their attention. Here's why: My server came to me with the bill and without hesitation tapped the 20% gratuity on the hand held device that prints up my bill. Once tapped she hands it to me and asks if that's OK. What am I supposed to say? I was in and out of there within 30 minutes. She brought me my food right away, served me well but to blatantly of handling the bill in the fashion she did will keep me from ever going back. It almost felt like a situation of had I said, no it's not OK.. then I would have gotten a rude farewell or questions of why on the spot. I tip and tip well.. but jumping ahead of me will get you no where. In this sense, I won't be a repeat customer! read more

Omakase By Kai - Toro tartare, house salad, miso soup - Sushi Bars Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

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The food was amazing! The sushi, the fish was fresh. The service was great and very attentive. read more

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The service was excellent. I sat at the bar and enjoyed good conversation and felt very comfortable and at ease. Everyone was attentive and friendly. The food was very good. I enjoyed the scallop ceviche. it was not overly flavorful or ceviche like, but I did really like it and would order it again. The salmon crispy rice was lacking. Luckily I had gotten a side of ponzu sauce and siracha aioli at my server's suggestion, which made it very good. The tartare was good but not what I was expecting at all. Overall I think the menus is creative BUT much better descriptions are needed so that people are not guessing. I recommend hiring a menu writer. The sake experience was lovely and overall the vibe was on point. I look forward to going back, but I wouldn't bring business guests there to guess at their meals. read more

Wow, this place is awesome. We will definitely be back we both got an omakase and everything was delicious. So much food too! Come hungry. The service was great, Angie and Marco helped us out with all of our questions. read more

Omakase By Kai - Mochi icecream and the tiramisu brownie - Sushi Bars Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

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We came here for the omakase and were disappointed. Instead of the traditional itamae experience, where the chef serves each piece in sequence, allowing you to savor the progression, they brought out trays. It felt more like a tasting platter than a curated meal. No communication with the chef. The team behind the counter was rushed and chaotic. I felt like the fish was cut too thick, the rice sticky, and the balance was off. For a place called "Omakase," it didn't hit the elevated, chef-led experience you'd expect. Having said that, they did make their own tamago, which is rare in Raleigh. And uni was very fresh. I'd give it another shot but wouldn't order omakase. Rolls and nigiri. read more

Incredible food with the kindest employees! The sake bottles are served in a cool dispenser & you even get to pick your own glass. Our server even gave us samples of the sakes before we chose a bottle. This was some of the best nigiri and sashimi I've had in the US. Priced adequately for the amazing food & service you get. Definitely going back for an omakese set next time. read more

First let me say the Sushi and Sashimi is exquisite! Truly amazing quality and the chef has learned from the best how to slice the fish to deliver tender sweetness raw fish can have. Very high quality. So a friend and I had one of the four types of Omakase. First we were served salad with a sesame ginger dressing and a miso soup. It harkens back to Be Obama in the 1979s with extremely mediocre taste. Honestly they can skip these two dishes and try delivering something more authentic. Perhaps it's to appease the American palate but our palate has become rather sophisticated. So skip these two. The rest of dishes were wonderful and then dessert was just vanilla ice cream, a small Amy of strawberry slices and whipped cream. Dessert could be improved. It was also mediocre. Salad, dessert and mid soup were wasted calories. Next day I was at Oku and it was a level higher. Every bite was exquisite. If this restaurant wants to be a shining star, it needs to up-level the non-main dishes and create some unique options. Just my two cents. We got the $85 version and honestly the quality of the Mai dishes were worth paying $85. So some adjustments and the place will be a great please to eat. Stick with the sushi/sashimi and or main dishes. Skip salad, miso and dessert (if not Japanese or unique). Services was great. We sat at the bar and they have a come fridge with led lights that blind you every time they open it... if sitting there... it's an ugly fridge ... the sort you find in a grocery. So maybe they should move it back into the kitchen and not blind their customers and cause a retinal burn. Enjoy! read more

Best Sushi in Raleigh !Amazing, buttery fish. We got omakase classic that comes with a variety of sushi. The fish was fresh and the service was excellent read more

Omakase By Kai - Sushi Bars Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

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Food was great, drink was okay. Tables are pretty small but still a good date spot in raleigh

restaurant with an incredible atmosphere. Impeccable service and fresh, delicious food. read more

Omakase By Kai - Sushi Bars Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina