Had a good dinner here today. It was late in the evening and we got the opportunity to have a chat with the owner. A young entrepreneur taking a chance opening a restaurant in cottage Grove. Great to hear where he comes from, where he gets his tuna, etc etc. It's a family own business and everyone there chips in. Food was good. Definitely can improve to make it stella. The tuna was fresh and the proportion of fish to rice is excellent. Just a bite of rice with plenty of meat. The shrimp tempura was also fresh. The vegetables were chunky and fried just right, not over cooked. The batter for the agedashi Tofu, tempura and soft shell crab was crispy and piping hot when served. Careful with that. If the batter could be lighter and still crispy, it will be fantastic. Ask for some togarashi to go with the agedashi Tofu. It makes that dish very pleasant - soft tofu covered with crispy batter and just a touch of spice. Overall a good meal and I would recommend Yako Sushi. read more

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This little house had a great lunch sushi special. The miso soup was one of the largest servings I'd seen in years. The presentation of the rolls was great. I tried two new rolls and enjoyed them both. The servers had limited English but it didn't cause any issues as our order was accurate. Parking was simple but they do reside on a divided lane road. Nearby intereseions make for easy u-turns as needed from either direction. read more

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This small, unassuming sushi restaurant is right across the street from the Pinney Library branch. They have a private parking lot with several spots. They have a large menu of sushi and non sushi items. I enjoy their lunch menu specials and the variety of combinations they have made for their own sushi. The staff is friendly and very modest about their English abilities, but they speak English clearly and are very considerate. They are usually rocking some anime music in the background which just adds to the ambiance of the place. Haven't had a bad dish there yet! read more

Yako Sushi House - Lunch special two rolls- spicy crab and alaskan - Sushi Bars Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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We came on a Saturday afternoon and they do a lunch special which is always a win. It's a seat yourself kind of place and the nicest staff. We started with the pork gyoza and it was great and I loved the sauce with it. With the lunch special it comes with soup or salad so I got the miso soup and it was a large bowl and super hot. For the lunch special I got the 3 rolls and each roll comes with 6 maki so you will be full. I only ate about 1/3 of my rolls but they were great. I got the California roll, sweet potato, and peanut avocado roll. It was funny because since we didn't eat everything they thought we didn't like it fully but we loved it. The guy was nice enough and even said if you have any problems let me know but we throughly enjoyed it we just didn't have the stomachs to eat everything. They just have great customer service. Everything was great and came out quickly. I would recommend to anyone in town especially for the lunch special. read more

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Kind of a hidden spot on Cottage Grove Rd easy to miss but has a cozy vibe once you find it. The sushi was decent, but I actually liked the poke bowl more; it tasted fresher and had great flavor balance. The biggest downside was the wait, it took about half an hour just to order and nearly another hour for the food to come out. It seemed like they were really short-staffed, so hopefully that improves, because the food itself was solid. read more

Yako Sushi House - Roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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My go-to sushi place in Wisconsin. They have great happy hour specials before 3 pm. The sushi rolls and summer rolls are yummy. I also like their bowls. My fave is sweet potato roll + shrimp tempura roll. My wife loves their tempura sampler. read more

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Fresh, delicious food. The deluxe sushi combo was outstanding! Reasonable prices. Friendly service.

This place exceeded our expectations by a landslide! The service was wonderful and the food was more so. For two specialty rolls and an appetizer we spent less than $40, which is hard to come by nowadays! We absolutely will be coming back again. read more

Yako Sushi House - 15. Gold Armor Roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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Did a carry-out order of 3 rolls: Salmon katsu, Philadelphia, and Sex on the Beach roll. I am a salmon fiend, but I find a lot of places favor tuna (which is fine!), but this place did not disappoint on salmon options. Had a hard time choosing! They had some specialty sushi offerings that felt unique and unlike anything I had heard of or tried before. Plan to dine in sometime and update my review! read more

Yako Sushi House - 3 sushi rolls to-go - Sushi Bars Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

I always go to a restaurant at least 2 times before I post a review. I have been here two times and both times this place has been a disappointment. The food does not taste fresh and leaves me a greasy after taste that last for hours. They appear to have good old reviews but maybe the quality have change recently. There are many other good sushi places in the city, I will stay away from this one for sure. read more

Really great, affordable sushi. Clean interior, nice ambience, very friendly service. We went at ~5pm on a Saturday evening and had to wait about an hour for our food since it seems they had a huge influx of to-go orders. We didn't mind too much since we didn't have anywhere to be afterward, but a bit surprising considering we went quite early. Food itself was pretty solid considering the price we paid ($64 for 4 special rolls and 2 classic rolls). My favorites were the polar bear roll and the badger roll-- p fresh fish, great rice to filling ratio. I didn't really like the salmon lover and the spicy scallop, but that might just be my subjective opinion (also I'm somewhat intolerant of sriracha which is unfortunate for casual sushi places lol). Overall, would totally come here again for the tasty sushi and cheap pricetag but would likely order takeout, so I can wait at home haha read more

Yako Sushi House - 4 special rolls - salmon lover, badger, polar bear, dancing eel 2 classic rolls - yellowtail scallion, spicy scallop - Sushi Bars Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Recently, we ordered takeout from Yako, and the sushi was amazing! We got two trays with a variety of different rolls, and every single one was delicious. Highly recommend if you're craving sushi! read more

It was a great place for sushi. I would definitely go back. I love the choices. The waiter was passive aggressive by asking me several time if I wanted a fork after eating with chopsticks for years. I found it comical. Sushi was flavorful. read more

Great sushi! Loved the rolls. Had the fire island roll, peanut avocado roll, and sushi deluxe. We will be back. read more

Service was good; food was good; very nice place; but too expensive compared to other likekind restaurants.

Tucked away just outside of the downtown area of Madison, you might miss it driving by. I found this restaurant to be a good choice for some sushi. I always admire a restaurant where you can tell is a small family run business, and it felt warm, friendly, and inviting when I stepped in. I ordered salad, clear soup, and a crazy tuna roll. The ginger dressing on the house salad was great! Everything was fresh which is hard to accomplish in a place like Madison, this coming from someone who is used to eating seafood near the coasts. My only criticism (and I'm being picky) of the rolls was the tuna was cut a little thick from what I typically like, but everything else was great and I left completely satisfied. I would recommend this to anyone nearby looking for sushi! read more

Very good sushi. Nice and fresh. This place is always busy with takeout orders but there is a seating area for those who miss dining out. read more

Yako Sushi House - Soy paper wrapped avocado and traditional shrimp tempura rolls. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

I was thoroughly impressed with this place. Doesn't look like much from the outside, and the inside hasn't been decorated to the nines, but the food was excellent. It's again more proof that some of the best restaurants in this city are small family run joints that are more concerned about serving the best food they possibly can than concentrating solely on the bottom line. We went for a weekend lunch and it was quiet. It was nice for an antisocial introvert such as me. However, I was told the dinner crowd is much larger, which was a bit hard to believe with the small interior. So, since we were pretty much the only customers, service was speedy, and we even got a show as the staff was tossing out an old cooler and had to maneuver it through the front door to get it out of the building. Since it was my first visit, I decided to leave it up to the chef and just ordered what was basically a small omakase platter with spicy tuna rolls. Frankly, I could do without the spicy tuna rolls and would rather be able to select my own roll, but I understand, they're cheap and popular. The sushi was all nigiri with a variety of fish. It was all excellent, fresh and tender enough to practically melt in my mouth. That sounds like hyperbole, but it isn't. It was that good. And even better, the portion of rice wasn't overwhelming as to distract from the fish and showed me the chef actually took pride in what was being served. My only niggling complaints are what seems to be a heavy focus on maki rolls. But maki tends to be more popular, so it's not a big deal. It would also be nice to be able to have an adult beverage, but again, I understand because alcohol permits can be a pain to deal with. Otherwise, I do plan on coming back as this place serves the best sushi I've so far experienced anywhere on the East Side. read more

I've driven past a few times and decided to go in today for lunch. I was pleasantly surprised, great sushi and service. I have friends that live in the area so I plan on going back soon. I highly recommend it. read more

Yako Sushi House - Salmon Skin Roll, yellowtail, escolar, octopus, scallops and my favorite, Unagi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Best sushi I've had in Madison, up to this point. Ordered some creative maki, which was enjoyable.

This place was a good find. They have a lunch special that gives you three orders of rolls which are six pieces each. The service was great and the people are friendly. The ambulances casual and comfortable. If you are in the area I would recommend them. read more

Yako Sushi House - Sushi Bars Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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The sushi was decidedly underwhelming, with the freshness of the fish appearing questionable. Many of the rolls were overwhelmed by an excessive use of mayonnaise-based sauces, which masked the delicate flavors one expects from quality sushi. read more

Great family owned little sushi spot. Seats about 30 people. Came here for a quick lunch with my wife as we were passing through Madison on our way to Minneapolis. Yelp! always steers us to a hidden gem, and once again, the app delivered. My wife ordered the lunch special which was like 3 rolls plus miso soup or salad for around $14. She got a cucumber salmon roll, a spicy crab roll and a spicy tuna roll. The miso soup was delicious - much better than average. The rolls were all fresh and very tasty. I ordered the Polar Bear special maki. It featured fresh salmon, crab and avocado topped with a white tuna that had been slightly charred and a sriracha mayo sauce. It was fantastic - melted in your mouth. We also ordered, and split, the Yako Salad. This was the surprise of the afternoon. Mango, cucumber, crab and avocado shouldn't ever be assembled in the same bowl, but I'm telling you these flavors mysteriously all blended together perfectly, and each bite was better than the last. The service was on point. The place was quaint and intimate. The value was spot-on, and the flavors were all delicious. read more

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After finding out we were getting a new sushi restaurant on the east side we couldn't wait to try it. The restaurant is quaint inside with 10 or so tables for seating and room to wait for takeout. We were welcomed in by the owner and taken to a table. Their menu is quite expansive and we had trouble narrowing down our choices! We started with miso soup. It was quite a generous portion that over all tasted very typical of most good sushi restaurants. Then we followed that with 6 rolls (I'm going to try to remember them all): 2 Yellowtail with Scallion, Philadelphia, Amazing, Empire Lobster, and Madison. They were all simply fantastic. We stopped in on a Sunday night and we joked with the owner "We'll see you tomorrow" but they are closed Monday so she responded "we'll see you Tuesday". Can't wait for Tuesday! read more

Yako Sushi House - Generous Portion of Miso Soup - Sushi Bars Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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Most fresh japanese seafood! Best one in town. Ordered from Japan! The owner ordered the best sea food from Japan. Love it! Highest quality! read more

Yako Sushi House - Sushi Bars Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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New owners. Great quality. My 10 year old and I split the boat. Chefs choice. All was great except-oddly enough-the salmon was a little "off". Not off like bad but off like "fatty"er than we would like. Otherwise great! read more

I will definitely be going back, we ordered 5 rolls, 3 apps and tea. Everything was delicious and fresh. The salad was the first app that came out, this salad was the best ginger dressing salad I have had anywhere. Without having eaten anything else, I knew I would be coming back just for the salad already. The smoked tuna, takoyaki squid balls and calamari are also delicious. The wait for our sushi rolls was longer due to a high volume of to go party trays orders for the holiday. However, the owner apologized and gave us 2 free rolls on the house. read more

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A friend and I were craving sushi tonight and were searching around the Madison area for a new place to try. We decided to try Yako and are so happy we did, it will definitely be our new go to and we immediately made sure to tell all our friends and family about it. The sushi was amazing - it was fresh with large portions and the pieces of fish were almost as big as the role itself! We were told it was a family owned business and I think the love they put into it shows in both the food, service, and overall cozy ambiance it had. I cannot recommend it enough and I already look forward to going back! If I could give it more stars I would! read more

Yako Sushi House - (Bottom to top) rainbow roll, Mt. Fuji roll, golden tiger roll, Yako roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Customer service is awesome really nice probably my best sushi experience in Wisconsin so far

A delightful surprise. Fresh Vibrant sushi, tastefully put together and served. A simple sushi house run by mother and son. My friend and I often go for sushi often. We were very happy with our signature rolls and the Yako salad. The owner apologized for the slow service. His wife just had a baby and mother and son are running the operation on their own. The food was delicious, and a little extra wait time for something that good could easily be overlooked. We have already made plans to return in the near future. read more

Their food is incredible and their staff is just as amazing. Cozy and clean environment with a peaceful atmosphere.

Super fresh sushi. Nice selection of rolls fresh fish (trend these days with other sushi places seems to be mostly spicy tuna and tempura shrimp). Super friendly service. Highly recommend! A+ read more

Food was fresh and very good. It was the first time I had tried Spicy Kani salad and I loved it! read more

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Freshest sushi we've found in Madison in two years, since moving from and being spoiled by a place with a huge Japanese population. Fresh ingredients. Flawless presentation. Comfy seating. Wonderful service. I got the Jaguars roll. Thank you! read more

Yako Sushi House - Jaguars Roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

This is my absolute go-to sushi restaurant in Madison. The actual restaurant itself is nothing extravagant, but who cares. The sushi is absolutely phenomenal- delicious and fresh. The prices of the rolls are also very reasonable. The employees are extremely nice. I highly recommend this place to anyone looking for sushi in Madison. read more

Very friendly staff. Food was amazing, especially the Empire Lobster Roll, outstanding!!! Cute little place, we will be back!

Very relaxed atmosphere, friendly staff and wonderful sushi. Yako is one of my favorite restaurants on Madisons east side. Dont forget to order one of their bubble teas! read more

Miso soup was amazing. The homemade dressing for the salad was amazing, and every roll we had was amazing (salmon katsu and shrimp tempura especially). Best sushi I've had in Madison. read more

This is the BEST sushi we've found in Madison. The fish is super fresh, and the owners are SO nice and attentive. Food is 10/10 and service is a 10/10 read more

I ordered last-minute sushi platters from Yako sushi house. I'm not from town, I wasn't sure what to order for a dinner party. They helped me with the decision-making and supplied me with more than I expected. The company loved it, great quality, great price. Highly recommend this place. read more