03/28/07

Best meal on the eastside

by sas1014

I have searched far and wide on the eastside for a restaurant that really delivers great japanese food at reasonable prices. NARA is IT! I am in love with their food and their service.

• Pros: THE EATS
• Cons: NONE

09/08/06

Horrible Sushi...

by mr_v

Ok people. I want to first say that if you are going to be making sushi, please stop flooding the fake crab meat with Mayo. I dont know how many places I have been here in the Washington area that does this and it is really repulsive.

Their food portions? They were okay. Not generous at all, but they were not miniature. Their prices are decent, but they should be considering how low their standards are and the serving size of actual fish you do get.

I see people posting that they have been to Japan and this place has sushi that is just as good. Are you kidding me? If what youre saying is true then I never want to go to Japan, because from your point of view, the food is just as bad.

Now lets move onto their service. They were nice and very polite. It took about an hour to get us our food, from the time we placed our order. There were 3 of us. We ordered 2 sushi dishes containing about 4 rolls total. If it couldnt get any worse because we were waiting so long, they brought our food to the wrong table, and didnt realize it; we had to tell the waitress that it was ours. At least we got a half apology.

This is a small place. Maybe 12-16 tables total. When we got there it was full, and we had to wait a few minutes to get our table. By the time our food was there, it was pretty empty. According to one of their employees, they were 8 orders behind.

Overall, I think this is a completely unacceptable way to run a restaurant, and I will never be returning there again.

• Pros: Decent prices
• Cons: To many to list.

09/04/06

I continue to come back..

by pikake21

Paul and Angie have created a wonderful restaurant out in Redmond. I remember going to Nara as a young girl, and learning to love sushi because of them. They were always in such great spirits, which only added to the fact that their fish and preparation is fabulous. I will continue to visit when I am in the area, as those are some of the first memories of well prepared sashimi and sushi.

• Pros: Angie & Paul, sushi

06/07/06

maybe it used to be good....

by luvvvfood

Went there for lunch. I had read the sushi was good. I had the 5 piece/california roll sushi lunch ($12.95) 3 of the 5 pieces of sushi looked and smelled old. We also tried the chicken teriyaki. Whole pieces of breasts sat atop sauted cabbage. The teriyaki sauce was bland. I believe it was $8. Last we had the Udon noodles with a side of tempura. The tempura was good. It did not come with tempura sauce. The udon was not as flavorful as Kikuya. I have been going to Kikuya for the Bento Box Special at lunch. It's $8 and comes with rice, salad, sushi a changing meat dish and a bowl of udon noodles. I will continue to go there. Just had to try Nara to see if I was missing something. I should have left when I went in and there was immediate seating.

• Pros: immediate seating

04/05/06

One bad experience ruins it...

by availableusername

Frozen katsuo. Usually I wouldn't mind, but I heard the chefs discussing the piece before slicing it up for me. At least one of them knew, and they served it anyway. I have been visiting Nara about once per week for the past 8 months, am recognized when I sit at the bar, etc., and I'm very put off by this experience. Some honesty to a very discerning customer would have been appreciated. I would have gladly ordered something else, but instead, I paid $6.50 for chunks of ice.

• Pros: Usually decent
• Cons: Extremely expensive

01/14/06

Underwhelmed - but didn't hate it

by bjones2

Spicy Tuna - good, but wrapper was a little chewy

Hamachi - so so, could be better

Chicken Teriyaki - not good, dry and tasteless

Beef Bowl - very good

12/20/05

Fantastic sushi, Paul is the best!!!

by tastyinseattle

Words can't describe how wonderful the food and master chef Paul are at Nara. I'll start off by saying that his expertise is what adds the most value, by being able to take a good cut of Salmon toro or Hamachi toro, and creating huge slices of mouth watering pieces that melt in your mouth. I've brought folks who say "I don't like sashimi, it tastes to fishy" and having them try any fish, and walk away saying "wow, that didn't taste like fish" because there is so much crappy sushi out there.

My favorites: salmon toro, supo, hamachi toro, tako, bluefin.

• Pros: freshness of fish, bluefin toro

10/06/05

Sushi w/o the frills

by jcc52

Nara is the best deal for sushi. You can be satiated for under $30. Paul the owner is also the lead sushi chef so everything raw has to pass his standards. It is a mom and pop joint,if you want a more Japanese Nobu experience then double the tab and go to Nishinos

02/19/05

Sushi in Nara is great!

by psong

Food in Nara, especially sushi is very good. They use the freshest fishes, including toro. And the staff is very friendly.

• Pros: Taste, atmosphere

05/30/04

Great Food!!

by wallacejordan

Nara is a place you can go to relax and enjoy a good meal. The sushi is ALWAYS fresh and the kitchen food is always prepared with a quality touch. Definatly stop by Nara!!! It is the one true Japanese Restaurant that has been in Redmond since 1984, if that does not tell you something, then nothing can.

• Pros: Great Food, Nice Service, Fun Experiance
• Cons: Sometimes busy