My daughter and I would like to thank your amazing staff - Jun & Aaron - for the kindness on Wednesday. They went out of their way to help us with our flat tire, in the August heat. We are so grateful for the care they gave to make sure the car was safe. Bravo and we can't wait to come dine with you and hopefully see you again. Kindness for the win! read more

Great start to loving Japanese dishes! My husband and I made a 7:45 pm reservation on a Saturday, and sat in the main dining room. Little light tapers stood in the middle of the table. Not too bright nor dim. Our waiter, Dylan, really treated us well. Before we ordered anything, Dylan gave us each a very, warm terry-cloth wash cloth for our face and hands. Nice touch. We just had water to drink, but that's okay. My husband's entree was very spicy! We began with the Shrimp & Vegetable Tempura. The shrimp was quite fresh, and the flavor gave a great mouthful of taste and some oiliness (but, not dripping). Flavor! Also, we ordered Negimaki, which are grilled beef-wrapped scallions with teriyaki sauce. One bite is the way to eat those. Love the chopsticks, too. We were each served Miso Soup and two small salads (with ginger dressing). Sure did like that (the soup had good flavor, but was a bit salty for our tastes.) My entree was Teriyaki. I am not familiar with a lot of Japanese dishes, but I do know this flavor. I ordered the Steak. This came with stir fried vegetables with a good flavor of cabbage. I liked those. White rice completed my dish. My husband ordered the Spicy Seafood Udon. This proved to be more spicy than it appeared. This dish included vegetables, udon noodles, shrimp, hokkaido scallops, squid, green mussels, in a savory & spicy garlic butter sauce. We had food leftover, so we got some containers and packed them for home. We will come back here, and perhaps eat outside (sure, the view is of a parking lot), but the high tables and the torchieres give it a nice atmosphere - perhaps as the weather turns cooler, we will enjoy being outside. We spent over $100 without alcohol. Prepare for that, but, it's worth the drive and it's worth your time and money. read more

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I've been to Waraji once before a while back but went back for lunch today. We got there right at 12 when they opened and had a reservation in advance. I will start off by saying that I am giving this place two stars because of the poor service. We ordered the following items: - Miso Soup - Suimono Soup - Spiral Ecstasy Roll - Regular Sashimi (16 pieces) We got our roll and sashimi but never got our soup even though we saw multiple orders of soup coming out. We were almost done with our food and then the Suimono soup came out. We had to flag down our server multiple times since he never bothered to check in with us. We had to ask multiple times for simple things like napkins and ginger. We finally got our check and told our server that we never got the Miso Soup and sent the other back since we didn't to gave soup after our meal was done. We paid and left. The food was delicious. This was one of the best rolls Ive had. The sashimi platter was also good. We realized after getting home that our platter was supposed to come with 16 pieces of Sashimi and they only gave us 12. I will go back to eat there but they definitely need to improve their service!! read more

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We celebrated my husband's birthday at Waraji last night and he was absolutely in Heaven. He raved about the sushi as did our friends that we went with. They all said it was the best sushi they've ever had. I was super impressed by the expansive drink menu. I ordered a nice red blend and plan to order a Sake flight next time. I loved the atmosphere and didn't realize it was so big inside. Our server was super nice and helpful when ordering. I ordered the teriyaki chicken without onions and our server was so awesome that she let me know that the ginger dressing on my salad contained onions. She wanted to make sure I didn't have an allergy. How amazing?! The chicken teriyaki and the veggies it was served with were absolutely AMAZING! Seriously, IDK what they did to those veggies but this may have been the best meal I've ever had! They gave my husband a scoop of mango icecream with a candle in it for his birthday. Love that! We are looking forward to our next visit to Waraji. read more

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Great food, we had the Regular Sashimi which was supposed to come with 16 pieces and only served with 12. Service was slow and we never got our entire order. A solid sushi spot and they are always busy, even as soon as they open, not sure why they were off their game so much read more

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I loved my experience at Waraji! They offered plenty of reservation slots on Open Table and we were seated right away. The ambiance is great and the food was amazing and very fresh! I highly recommend the Scary Jerry and Holy Moly rolls (pictured) and my drink (Sakura Bloom) was sooo good! Pricy restaurant but I would return! read more

Waraji Japanese Restaurant - From left to right: Scary Jerry, Holy Moly, Salmon Avocado, Spicy Salmon - Japanese Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

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Lovely place that feels very intimate and personal. Been a few times now and the food is wonderful each time we go. Tempura and sushi are excellent. Incredibly fresh and beautiful presentation each time. The sushi chefs are truly the stars of this place! It is usually very busy so honestly servers can sometimes be hit or miss thus we prefer to sit at the bar when we go. It is worth it. You also must have a reservation if you want to sit at a table for dinner. A favorite that we will come back to again and again! read more

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Loved the sushi & kitchen food was amazing! Our server Emily was very attentive. The ambience was quite romantic

Best sushi I have ever had! The service was above and beyond. I love the different seating areas and the set up of the restaurant! I highly recommend making a reservation. read more

Waraji Japanese Restaurant - Specialty sushi rolls - Japanese Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

The sushi here is not only incredible but so is the service! We had a great experience with our waiter named Joseph! He made dinner a very enjoyable experience, and I highly recommend eating here for amazing sushi and service! read more

Great service, fresh sushi and amazing vibes! There's so many roll options that sounded great that I almost couldn't choose but the crazy tuna roll was a great choice! So so yummy! read more

Waraji Japanese Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

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After a snafu regarding reservations, we were able to sit at the sushi bar. In from out of town. Experience was awesome. Did a Sake flight. Rolls were fresh and portions large. It's no wonder the place was packed. Thoroughly enjoyed it read more

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Authentic. A little loud. A lot of fun! No frills sushi, just excellent sushi! Great place for a group of friends who love sushi and are looking for a place to grab dinner and enjoy good company over sake, sushi and a lively ambiance. Excellent quality fish, ever time. read more

I went here last Monday after picking my friend up from the airport, and I had high hopes because I heard from another friend that they have really good sushi. My friend that I went with is highly allergic to shrimp and we told the waiter that several times while we placed an order. We ordered the "I don't know roll" which is an off menu special where you can ask the sushi chef to surprise you with a custom roll. We decided to order this because most of the roles that sounded good on the menu did contain shrimp We once again clarified that this roll cannot have shrimp because my friend is highly allergic. When the waiter came to our table and brought the I don't know roll he once again confirmed that it had no shrimp in it so I was curious what was in it and I said and I asked he said he was going to ask the sushi chef so when he walked away from the table, I picked up the roll and looked at it to see what kind of fish was inside and lo and behold It had shrimp!!!! I immediately told my friend to put her bike down and do not to eat it because it does in fact contain shrimp, even though we confirmed and they confirmed several times that she has an allergy and she would not be served shrimp. We told the server and he was very apologetic and he even confirmed that he told the chef to make sure not to include it so it was definitely not the servers fault but this is still an egregious error and if my friend had eaten it and I had not looked at the roll she could have ended up in the hospital. The manager was somewhat nice about it, but in my opinion, they should have comped our entire meal for how absolutely terrible this mistake was. The sushi was pretty good after all, but I will not be returning because they do not take allergies nearly serious enough. read more

I'd been craving sushi, something unfussy yet exceptional and wanted to take my husband somewhere new. Waraji, a beloved neighborhood institution, felt like the obvious choice. Knowing how quickly their tables disappear, I checked for reservations on the drive over, fully expecting disappointment. Instead, a small miracle: an open table. I booked it before the screen could change its mind. Upon arrival, the host greeted us with the gentle chaos that only a true local favorite can produce. Our table wasn't quite ready "just waiting on a few folks to wrap up" so we lingered near the entryway, watching the ebb and flow of diners. A brief mix-up had us nearly escorted to a table before being pulled back, but within minutes we were seated, no worse for the detour. Our spot was perfect: a front-row view of the sushi bar, where chefs moved with the quiet intensity of people who know their craft is being watched and appreciated. The restaurant hummed around us servers weaving between tables, the soft clatter of plates, the low murmur of regulars who clearly consider this their second home. Our server, whose name I wish I'd caught, was a standout. Attentive without hovering, candid about the kitchen running a bit behind, and consistently thoughtful with updates. His honesty made the experience feel more intimate, more human. Cocktails arrived first, followed by a parade of sushi and small plates. Everything was fresh, balanced, and deeply satisfying, the kind of meal that doesn't need theatrics to make an impression. read more

Food is delicious. Check your receipt to make sure you're not overcharged and if ordering "take out" that your complete order is there. Ambiance is fabulous! read more

We came here on a Monday night around 8:30 pm. It was very crowded, but they had seating for us right away. The menu is nice in terms of options and I loved the pricing of some of the sushi dinner options. Very filling meal with 9 pieces of sashimi and a small roll for only $37. The issue was 1. The wait for our food. It took nearly 40 minutes to get our food. 2. The quality of the sushi. It wasn't bad or sour as some other reviews indicated, but it wasn't nearly as fresh and tasty as other places. I will chalk that up to the price point. For $37, I guess it's not bad. read more

Last came here about 20 years ago, and it was far better than we remembered it to be. Plenty of seats on a Sunday evening for dinner, and the service was great. The restaurant has nice bar/lounge seating area and the dining area is very nice too. The miso soup was clean and very flavorful, with not too much of any single ingredient. Classic Japanese restaurant salad, nothing special there, but the dressing was good. Ordered classic Japanese entrees, Tonkatsu and Tempura. The portions were substantial and the food excellent. The mix of items in the Tempura really good, plenty of shrimp and veggies (I'd trade the sweet potatoes for more carrot/onion mixture). The Tonkatsu was good, maybe a bit salty but the Tonkatsu sauce cut through that nicely. Overall a good meal and it's easy to see how Waraji's fidelity to the cuisine and attention to detail have kept the restaurant going for over 20 years. Plenty of parking and outside tables are available. read more

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Made reservations here to celebrate my son's birthday. The restaurant was busy on a Saturday night but we were seated in a cozy area near the bar. Our waiter was attentive and quickly brought us water. Son's girlfriend ordered the Empress gin cocktail which was beautiful and tasty. Son and girlfriend both ordered the Teishoku dinner set which featured vegetable tempura, soup, salad, a sushi roll and a main dish of teriyaki chicken. It was an impressive number of courses. Husband and I split the sushi for two -- also impressive! It was a nice selection of nigiri and rolls -- all delicious. At the end the waiter brought out a delicious lemon sorbet with blueberries for my son's birthday. It was such a step above the traditional slab of cake a lot of restaurants offer. We all had a taste and it was delicious -- tart with fresh blueberries. Overall it was a great celebration experience. read more

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Went to Waraji for a little girls' night sushi dinner with my friend and it was amazing! We started with a sake flight that was hand-delivered by the bartender, who shared the story and theme behind each pour such a cool and thoughtful touch.   We tried three different sushi rolls, both of their soups, and the shrimp dumplings and wow, every single thing was phenomenal. The quality and flavor were outstanding.   It was a bit quiet inside, but the staff was wonderful and made sure everything I ordered was safe given my tree nut allergy, which I really appreciated.   Highly recommend this spot for sushi lovers, I'll definitely be going back! read more

Waraji Japanese Restaurant - Sake flight - Japanese Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

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We went here for a Valentine's Day dinner and what a lovely experience! The service and ambiance were impeccable. We ordered gyoza (10/10) and a few sushi rolls. We are big salmon roll fans, which there weren't any (that we saw!) on the menu. So we ordered a few different ones! Unfortunately, I didn't love most of them. My husband liked the Mary's Roll though! read more

Waraji Japanese Restaurant - Mass Exodus Roll, Shrimp Tempura Roll, Fire Dragon, Mary's Roll - Japanese Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

BLUF: Easily the best, if not one of the best, Japanese restaurants nearby. 5-stars Quality: Every dish ordered was well prepared and extremely delicious by Asian expectations. The foods were very fresh and well treated. +1 star Service: Our waitress was very attentive, but not over bearing. Food came quickly for busy hour, and we felt it was great timing. +1 Star Portions: Portions were reasonable and the right mix between bowl size, plated portions, and decorations. +1 star Cleanliness: As always, I always visit the bathrooms to visually check. I also visually check the seafood in the sushi bar fridges. Everything seemed to be well maintained, clean, and the tables did not have a sticky film when touching them with your arm. +1 star Overall: A nice set up, with lots of people, non-Japanese music, but great food. You can't go wrong. +1 star read more

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I don't know what happened to all of the pictures i took of the food, but it wasn't a great experience. Joel didn't care for his food (shown). My roll was made wrong (2 missing ingredients so they took it back) and the nigiri tasted sour, so they removed it from our tab. The bill was still $85 and the best thing was the tempura veggies. We were looking forward to lunch here, but unfortunately it was a miss. read more

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We were behind the wall. Poor service. Had to go to the Sushi station twice and ask for our waitress, Will not go back.

Great service. We ordered ten rolls and appetizers. The food was great. The place was a little loud. read more

Waraji Japanese Restaurant - Saki flight - Japanese Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

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If you want the best-tasting, FRESHEST sushi in NC, come here!! Eddie was our server and was wonderful. He offered great recommendations and everything was so fresh. Kudos to Eddie for making this a great place to celebrate my bday :) Will be back! read more

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Damn good. We are so full! Brian provided us attentive and helpful service. Not only was he crafting drinks for the whole restaurant but was also serving food and drinks to the bar area guests and tables. He made suggestions based on our preferred tastes including drinks and sushi rolls! He also suggested we try the fresh wasabi (amazing taste). The fried rice was delicious and I enjoyed the dabs of sauce on the sides so we got hints of it with each bite - so deliciously intentional. No surprise they have many awards and recognition for their food. We will see you next time we are in town. Thanks again Brian & Waraji chefs! read more

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This restaurant was the best restaurant in Raleigh. I and my family loved their sushi and sashimi. We've been visiting this restaurant at least twice a week. It closes to where I'm working. However, I've been so disappointed, their quality has been down badly, especially salmon. Their salmon has been smelt so bad, stinky and old. My daughters are salmon lovers, they're all disappointed. My youngest daughter was nausea after had tried their salmon sashimi. We hope they're improving their quality asap. If not, we probably would not come anymore. Hopefully, this message helps them to improve and get back their quality like before. read more

The food was mostly good but the service was problematic. We waited an uncomfortably long time for anyone to come to our table & the server, though friendly, was unable to keep on top of his responsibilities, including forgetting to place our extra to-go order. It was not a $260 experience, though we paid that. read more

Have been here a couple of times and have enjoyed both times! Sushi is absolutely on point. For appetizer we ordered the pork belly sliders and WOW. Fantastic dish with the perfect blend of flavors and textures. HIGHLY recommend. Mocktails also delicious. Will definitely keep going back! read more

It was our first time here & don't know why we haven't been in this restaurant as we have lived in the Triangle for over 10 years moving from the Bay Area. This is quite a gem. It's a real deal Japanese restaurant. Sushi is so fresh and delicious!! We tried the A5 Wagyu, which really melts in your mouth. We had some of their special rolls & Toro. What we had are all excellent. Cocktail is a thumbs up! Our server was Dylan(if I can remember right) - he was great! Overall, we had a nice first time visit at Waraji and definitely this wouldn't be our last. read more

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an upscale cozy restaurant without the price. loved the atmosphere and the vibe. servers and host were very friendly and the food was exceptional. they definitely have A LOT of items to choose from. i could've ordered everything from the menu! this may be my new go to sushi joint in raleigh. would definitely come again and try the other items on the menu. i recommend making reservations in advance and "dressing up" just a little. i'd say nice casual. read more

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Great food and service. I really like their lunch specials and I highly recommend going then as it a great deal with a lot of variety. Really love their match creme brulee. read more

Waraji Japanese Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

Gluten-free options that are definitely worth the change of scenery from the normal neighborhood sushi spots. I have so much appreciation for restaurants that have gluten-free menus, especially sushi spots. read more

Excellent service, really great sushi. It was a little loud, but not too bad, and very busy. The ebi shumai is a must-order, along with the chili crisp edemame. read more

The sweet dragon roll and salmon teriyaki was great. My server, Dylan, was very attentive. This was my first time here and I'll definitely be back! read more

Waraji Japanese Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

Being from Raleigh, I can't believe this is the first time we've eaten here. We came for dinner on a Tuesday night around 6pm and was able to get a table with no reservation. We were suprised with how big the inside was. I love that they had tatami tables, which i have never seen in a restaurant here before. Our server, Celeste, was great. We ordered the vegetable and seafood tempura dinner entree and una-tama-don which has eel (i've never seen this on a menu in the area, so i had to get it)! we also ordered some sushi rolls, which weren't pictured. Anyway, our meals came out pretty fast and our server was great with checking in. our meals came with miso soup and a side salad to start. we were super impressed by the tempura. the size was HUGE and definitely could've been a serving for 2 people. The tempura was tasty and came with a dipping sauce and rice. The una-tama-don was my favorite meal that i've had in a long time. It was so delicious and love that it was all cooked with a some egg . It also came with vegetables in the dish. This portion was huge. we left with a lot of leftovers! the menu itself was also impressive. If you enjoy japanese cuisine, there is so much to choose from! we definitely will be back bc there was still so many other dishes we wanted to try. My husband ordered a yuzu margarita, it was on the stronger side for me, but husband enjoyed it! read more

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TLDR: Excellent option for a date or fancy occasion. Waraji is a little pricy, but worth it for the high quality, delicious food. Highly recommend the Una-Ja, Katsudon, and Matcha IPA (who knew matcha IPA would taste so good??) We also enjoyed some chilled nigori and hot sake (50% off on Wednesdays!) We parked near the front and were greeted at the hostess stand. We did not have a reservation, but were seated quickly since we dined late. The hostess gave us a choice to dine in the room to the left (lively, louder, upbeat atmosphere) or the quieter, peaceful atmosphere on the right. We chose the room to the right. I believe our waiter's name was Joseph. Joseph was enthusiastic, helpful, and attentive. A few of us ordered entrees, while the rest shared several small plates. We enjoyed all of the items ordered. I particularly liked the Una-Ja. Overall, we had a great experience and recommend this restaurant to others! read more

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After nearly 5 years and dozens of Japanese restaurants later, we have finally found our spot! This place is worthy of all of the awards they have won. We visited Wednesday night after my son's graduation with our family of 6. The hostess who ended up being our server was great! Another host did come by and mentioned they were closing in 30 minutes, which wasn't very welcoming, but fortunately, we never saw him again. We ordered the squid and gyoza for apps and they were great. Never had squid served that way, but it was delicious. We ordered 10 sushi rolls and the sashimi platter. It was amazing! The sashimi was heavenly! It was a perfect amount of food for our group. We even got 2 desserts. We asked the server if that would be fine, since we were previously told about the time, but they had multiple other tables being served. The matcha crème brûlée and the yuzu tiramisu were incredible! My only complaint is we wanted more. The dining room is split in two. Nothing overly fancy, but cozy and authentic. Our server was outstanding! From start to finish she was always available and kept my sweet tea full. After tax and a fat tip our tab came to $360. Well worth it! I feel like revisiting tonight. read more

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Best in the USA ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION was epic. Dassai Junmso 23 Daiginjo sake was served in chilled glassware and was absolutely delicious ! Shrimp tempura appetizer was crispy and hot. Miso Soup was complimentary Sunomono Mixed was fresh Seaweed and Cucumber that was complimented by 5 different seafood items Beef teriyaki dinner was tender steak and was easily two helpings to enjoy. Ebi - Shrimp Ika - Squid Yako - Octopus Unagi - Eel A5 Wagu - Japanese Steak Uni - Sea Urchin Quail Egg All Nigeria was extremely fresh and rice Highliy recommend this skillful presentation and cheerfully served by Emily Q. You'd better try this restaurant because it is epic read more

Waraji Japanese Restaurant - Sake of the high order of gustatory delight - Japanese Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

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