I attempted to contact the restaurant via email directly but no direct contact info provided on…read moretheir website, so I am posting here. Summary: it litterally left a bad taste in my. Off Uni which I saved for the last taste, first pieces stunk of ammonia, replacements were just bitter and off as well. These were suppose to be chef choice and he chose to serve off uni which could have easily been deteced with a sniff test. The salmon roe was also soft, runny, tasteless and off color. The remainder of the shashimi was OK but lacked the freshness one would expect for the price. Also the platter was so cluttered I could not identify what was what. Labels would be helpful. First time visit, first impressions are importent. Not the best experience I am giving an 1 star rating to draw attention for their managment and maybe fair warning to customers. I visited Raku on Thursday April 30 @7:30, Restaurant was about 3/4 full. A bit tight seasting as other's had described. Elbow to elbow almost. Typically noisy as resturantes are these days. 1. When we walked in, the receptionist / greeter had no uniform or ID badge so a bit confusing and no reception desk. Not the most welcoming hospitality. 2. Wait staff sort of dissappeared mid service or was just unattentive, they were right around the corner at the wait station. I dropped a chopstick on the floor and needed a repacement. I could not get eye contact so I had to get up and request a replacement after a few minutes. The two of us order the TOKU JO SASHIMI - (38) Chef's Choice ~ White or Multigrain Rice - $110. 3. The shashim was served an a single platter which was a bit crowded and lacked the artistry or elegance a $110 platter of shashimi shoud be presented. Many of the pieces were cut too large and chunky. I appreciate the generosity of the protions but they could / should have been sliced in half. Most of the fish tasted OK but lacked the brightness you expect from fresh cut shashimi. Maybe these platters are pre-prepared and storred in the cooler until needed. The rice served in bowls with the platter was extreemly bland to me. No flavor at all and a bit over cooked. 4. We ordeed the corn meal coated calamari as appetizer. This was adequate but lacked seasoniong and included a some what bland ambigious dipping sauce. Maybe garlic aioli. This was compped in compensation for the off uni in the sushi platter. Probabaly not going back regardless as I am not local.

I'm updating my review now. I went to this Raku several times for lunch and dinner more than…read moredecade. It's convenient location while you're in Bethesda Row area. Raku is an Asian fusion restaurant and have some verity of Asians menus that's nice things about here. Their popular coconuts curry noodles soup is from Thai or Vietnamese coconuts curry, and not as spicy as authentic Thai or Vietnamese ones so It's easy to eat. You can choose from 3 type of noodles and different soup - curry or simple broth. It's probably better choice here than their sushi for my preference. If we just want Sushi in near Bethesda area, Sushiko in Chavy Chase is good. When we crave for Authentic sushi we just go to authentic Japanese restaurants ( some Michelin stars "Sushi Taro" in DC ) that is truly authentic quality. I also go to other one for sushi ( "Love Sushi Makoto" in DC ) I know that's not even comparable category as those restaurants offers authentic real foods by Japanese owner and chef, and ingredients are real from Japan. I know It's not fair to compare to Asian fusion restaurant like Raku or typical local sushi places that other Asian or American own the place. Raku is very reasonably priced as it should be for actual ingredients. Price stays reasonable that makes this place a popular spot too. I have to be honest their miso soup tastes no real authentic favor to me. But Raku is definitely better choice of quality foods overall compare to other Asian restaurants in Bethesda. Sushi chefs and waitresses are asian and none of them are Japanese and that is ok as most of Sushi chefs and Sushi restaurants in USA the workers are not Japanese anyways. It is actually hard to find Sushi restaurants that owned by Japanese with real Japanese chefs and waitresses and staff in USA. They sometimes says welcome "irasshai" in some Japanese greeting ( that's only used in restaurant setting ) with their wrong accent that is cute to me:) Bethesda is a cute little town and Bethesda row is just like a corner cute village with surrounded by basic restaurants and cafes, normal shops, nothing luxury really, but safer and quiet, clean little town. Neighbors enjoy to go out to restaurants including this Raku as easy to access from near suburbs housing area, so my friends does and walking distance from their houses. This restaurant set small tables very close to next seat and there's very small bar that space is limited, that's as why it's always filled up and crowded. It's uncomfortable and no privacy, I wish they make space between next seats. Except winter, they offer outside seats and dog friendly that's a bonus for dog lovers.

First thing's first: I'm not a fan of Korean BBQ per se. I don't see the logic of going to a…read morerestaurant to pay for the privilege of cooking. However, sometimes you gotta get out. Kanpai is in a prime place along Rockville Pike, but depending on when you go you may find easy parking. (If you're not bothered about where to park, ignore what I just said.) Out front there's something that looks like a tuk-tuk or rickshaw. Tbh, don't know if it's theirs or the business next door. The restaurant itself is clean and elegant. Also, not as loud as some Korean BBQs (thinking of KPOT off of Randolph Rd), which is important if you don't like being overwhelmed by everyone else's noise. That is one big '+' in Kanpai's favor. The waiter was cool and very helpful. Because of him I now know what the thin meat slices are meant for (which is for the soup), before then I had no clue. The food itself is good. Like, why wouldn't it be? I actually prefer the shabu-shabu (soup), makes me wish I knew how to do that myself so I wouldn't have to go out as much. Yes, the grill meats were great, as was the kimchi. These places are not cheap, but it was enjoyable while I was there. If you're not in a rush you can go a few doors down afterward to an import store selling everything from K-chips to puzzle-kits. So I would say...take your time. But don't warm your seats for more than 90 minutes, as Korean BBQs tend to kick people out (nicely, nicely) if one overstays. P.S. I'm sure they have some great drinks there, but even if I wanted to I couldn't loiter. That's what Bethesda is for. (Or at least how it used to be.)

This is a place you need to come to hungry! I had a great time here with friends a few weeks ago…read more We were able to get some drinks from the happy hour menu right before it ended. Our server, Kelley, was great. She explained how everything works here. The buffet is pretty extensive and you can get full from that alone. They have an option to just do the buffet (during lunch hours). There is a good selection of meats. there's a robot here that brings stuff to the table - pretty cool. We were stuffed! It's a bit pricey but was worth it. I would visit again.

Pro: moderate size parking lot, clean interior, friendly staff,…read more Con: none. Was looking for a restaurant to try in the Rockville area so, I was sifting through google and happen to find this restaurant. The parking lot is shared by many restaurants but it moderate size so no issue finding a parking space. Upon entering on a Monday at noon time for lunch we were seated fairly quickly. The interior was very clean and modern with nice music playing in the background. We decided to skip the appetizers and instead ordered three entrees which were the boat noodle soup, chicken pad thai, and the crab fried rice. For the boat noodle it had medium spice but don't let that fool you. The first sip of broth had me coughing and birth was flavorful. The pad Thai had a good flavor but the best pad Thai will always be at mi lay cay in Wheaton. Crab fried rice had good portion size and flavor also good. All in all, had a good experience here and would recommend anyone to come and try this place. Will be back in the future to try the different variety of dishes.

I enjoyed Over My Dead Body (fried tilapia) and how it also comes with veggies and a bowl of rice…read more They also deep fry some of the rice which makes you think there's extra fish fillets in there. The Little Hanoi was interesting. I didn't enjoy it much. The Laotian papaya salad was good, but it was overly salty and saucy. I came on a Friday (a day before the holiday) and they didn't have AC, so it was hot inside. The ambiance is also pretty dimmed and mostly using natural lighting. It is a pretty busy restaurant I'd say for being in the corner/back of the shopping center.

A solo sushi stop made my day, With happy hour prices hard…read moreto top, I'd say. Two tasty rolls for six bucks each, A deal that's well within my reach. Friendly staff, Wi-Fi, no extra sauce fee-- It's the little things that win over me.

Keep in mind my review is based on very limited information. I had only one sushi roll, but it was…read moregreat. There were a lot of great sounding rolls on the menu but I only had one so I could go check out the Baked Bear ice cream sandwich place after!

For the price I suspect it's gotten along by location and proximity to walkable offices. The food…read morewas not impressive, nor was it cheap. There's a older menu outside that had fun options like ostrich on them: this is not the case when you go in. When I went there was just one person working the back, kinda felt bad for him working the back and doing point of sale, alongside an older guy who was handling delivery. But that shouldn't mean you should feel obligated to get mediocre food. Still on the hunt for a cheap and good Chinese food establishment!

I mistakenly ordered the curry laksa from this location and because the flavor was completely…read moredifferent than the DC location it prompted me to check the order. In comparison to the DC location the food was not as spiced as it is in DC. This is one of my absolute fav dishes and I'm disappointed in my mistake. This does not taste authentic to me and lacks flavor. Or maybe I ordered too late and I got the leftover soup or it was quickly made but it does not have any flavor The tofu was spongy and watery. Tasted awful. I believe because I ordered so late I got the scraps and I don't like it

Tried the AYCE dim sum brunch. The price has went up to $32 for adults and $16 for kids 5-12. There…read moreis no parking lot so you can park at the Waverly Parking Lot. There's only free parking on Sundays. Most of the dim sum we selected were delicious such as the triple layer doupi, Beijing duck bao, mini Lion's head, pork soup dumpling, and beef wide noodle, for entrees and lava walnut bao, baked egg yolk lava bun, and mini rice ball in wine broth for dessert. The pork soup dumplings were full of soup. The desserts, roast pork pastry, and pork shu mai were hot and freshly cooked. For soup, I liked the pork ribs and lotus soup better than the fish ball soup which was bland. I've had better cucumber salads, stir fried green beans, steamed pork ribs, and sesame noodles. The honey riblets are good if you like very sweet ribs. There were a lot of servers coming constantly asking if you want to order more. There is a forced 18% gratuity for tip if you choose to have the AYCE. I liked how the portion sizes were small so you can try a variety of dishes.

I've been to a bunch of Peter Chang offshoots lately in wildly different locations, but this may be…read morethe last one for a while because it didn't really hit for me. The location here is near the metro, but seems out of place in a building without other restaurants kind of hidden below the street level. They seemed to acknowledge everyone other than me who was there for takeout, but I finally got mine. I tried a fried rice and was irritated that there was a no egg option but not a no broccoli option (not a Chinese vegetable mind you), which left me with little more than a colored rice to pick through. The tofu with hot peppers hit a nice heat but not the best rendition of this dish I've had in terms of flavor complexity. The best thing I got was a dan dan noodle dish with some vicious sauce and little tofu bites. Overall though, scant portions for the money, and not quite the experience I was hoping for.

Stopped in after attending another dc event and loved Raku so much! Even at about 8pm on a weekday…read morethe place is packed and glad I had a reservation before hand. I had the harasu and red dragon roll and first I want to say that another yelper ordered the same thing and it came out looking the same way. It's those details and consistency that show they pay attention. Our server was great and kept the water coming. Sushi restaraunts can always be a hit or miss too for vegetarians but I can say my wife and daughter was pleased with the selection here. I look forward to coming back and visiting when im in this part of town.

What a delicious makunouchi bento and shrimp dumplings I had! I met up with a friend for lunch and…read moreit wasn't too crowded there. Free validated parking also available if parked in the garage. The service was quick and fuss-free. Every items I got to taste was absolutely delicious. I just wish the rice portion wasn't so huge or had an option for me to swap it with salad. Wouldn't mind revisiting again in the future.

This restaurant has been on my radar for some time. The food and service were good. The restaurant…read moreis a little on the loud side between the music on the background and catters among people. Decorations is on a classy side. The prices varies. We started with a few cocktails and couple starters. Sesame Balls were perfectly fried and delicious. The Shuimai was good as well. We ended up with 3 dry Chili dishes: chicken, cauliflower, and tofu. All same flavor but different at the same time. The tofu was soft inside with a nice crispy outer coating. Both chicken and cauliflower were tasty as well. Then there is the chicken with cashew nuts. I liked this one more than I thought I would. Good flavor. Lastly, wow. The Spicy Sour Fish Filet. It came in a HUGE bowl. A little spicy, a little sourness, fish, noodle... what is there not to like. Overall, a good experience.

The food flavors range from Sichuan to other local dishes popular in China, like roasted duck from…read moreBeijing , Yangzhou fried rice from Yangzhou, mainly the Sichuan food. The location is good and restaurant environments are wonderful, limited parking space nearby.