Kurama Japanese Seafood & Steak House Sushi Bar

So, my fiancé and I are pretty much regulars here, not for the hibachi, but the little sushi area. I’ve never left here with anything less than good, usually awesome food.
The items offered in the sushi area are largely based in standard Japanese fair. They have lots of different things that are really, really tasty (as a small sample, the filet mignon tataki, the spicy tuna sashimi salad, the takoyaki). The sushi and sashimi we’ve had were all great. The rice here happens to have a bit more of a vinegary kick compared to the other major Japanese places in the Triangle (e.g. Waraji, Sono, Basan), which I personally prefer. The donburi are all excellent values; they come with soup and salad, and usually enough food so that I have to take it home. The ramen’s good, and my fiancé really enjoys the soft shell crab, saying it’s his favorite of all he’s ever had. You can also order off menu if you have a request for a specific Japanese dish, as I’ve seen people do.
As other reviews have mentioned, you can just let the chef decide for you via omakase. I’ve never been disappointed. You’ll get some items off menu sometimes.
This place is really great, but the available area is tiny, so keep that in mind. You might also find the teppanyaki/​occasional birthday songs a little jarring, but for us, it’s worth it. It’s a fantastic place.

Good food for a reasonable price. I wouldn’t make this a date night stop, however it’s a good place for quick meal with family or friends. Early bird specials usually end around 8, take advantage.

Been coming here for years… The food is good but the service is usually very very slow during prime times

Positives– The food is good and you get a large portion. The staff is usually very friendly.
Negatives– The service can be really slow. Don’t be in a rush when dining in.

This place is far more than a hibachi place. The sushi bar was the hidden gem. Its sushi chef knows how to make real sushi.
The chirashi don was the best in Durham. So many kinds of fish.
For sushi, I recommend tamago. It was very sweet and juicy.
Takoyaki was not on the menu, but on a blackboard next to sushi bar. Very authentic flavor.
You can probably order things not on the menu, as I saw the sushi chef using a torch on some sushi.
Update:
Agedashi tofu was the best tofu dish ever. It had a thin crispy skin but the inside was still soft. A very traditional Japanese appetizer.

Hibachi was okay. I’ve seen better skill level (in terms of actually preparing the food) and have tasted far better food. Interior decoration is very loud and vibrant — a bit kitsch. Good place to hang out with friends though.

The sushi is overpriced and just OK. For $ 30, we received 8 pieces of sashimi and 8 pieces of a quarter-​diameter tuna roll. The quality was fine, but not exceptional. I say buy your own slab of salmon sashimi for $ 20 and prepare at home for better quality and better value.
Service was friendly, but a little bit slow, especially since there were only two tables for sushi.
A guy came out and started banging on a drum, very loudly, for two minutes. Either that, or Hurricane Joaquin made an indoor guest appearance. It was not pleasant.
I heard the hibachi/​tepanyaki is better value but I haven’t tried it.

I call this place the real kurama to distinguish the one on Franklin street in chapel hill. Let me just say even though the one in Durham is a bit more pricey, it is worth it considering how much food you get and the quality is excellent. I always get the chicken katsu don and it comes with miso soup and a salad. Sometimes I get the spicy tuna salad as an appetizer. That stuff is off da hoooook. Only thing I have to complain is the price and whenever I leave the bathroom, the door slams so quickly.

SAVE KURAMA! this is one of the best and most authentic sushi joints in the triangle area — but every time I come here it’s empty. I guess that’s good for me because it gives the chef time to put what is clearly a TON of effort into the food (most beautiful and unique vegetable tempura I’ve had!) but I’m always worried Kurama is going to close and then I won’t have a place to get fresh authentic sushi.

This review only speaks for the sushi counter. This is one of few places in the Triangle where you can enjoy sushi from a Japanese-​speaking «itamae,» or sushi-​chef as it is commonly known. I brought my friend from Kyoto and we both enjoyed our dinner. If authenticity is important to you, this place takes second place behind only Waraji (in my experiences so far, although I’ve not been to Yamazushi yet).

A lot of my friends recommend this restaurant (including Japanese people), but I never had a chance to visit it.
However, one day I really wanted to have a good bowl of ramen, and oh boy I didn’t have good options around here. So I decided to try Kurama’s udon.
I sat in the regular table next to sushi bar (note that there’re only 2 reg tables). From the menu, I saw that they have ramen, so I chose that. They’re really accommodating when I asked to change the pork into beef! I also ordered takoyaki, tempura, and edamame.
First, the ramen was sooo good, the best in the area! They used soy based broth, I think it might be the same with their udon broth, and it was rich in flavor but also light and delicious. The toppings are boiled egg, bamboo shoot, and beef. The noodle was yummy, the overall portion was pretty big. I like that they gave me chili powder to add some spice in to my bowl! The only thing that I would change from my ramen was the boiled egg. It was overcooked for a ramen, but it was tolerable considering Kurama is not a ramen restaurant.
The tempura was really good also! Perfect level of tender and crispy. The tempura sauce really compliment the dish perfectly.
The takoyaki, was not the best I’ve ever had, but considering it was the first takoyaki I can found in months, I was pretty happy about it! If you have never try takoyaki before, it’s absolutely a must try!
The service was great, all the waiters, chefs, and staffs were really nice. Overall, the ramen and tempura remind me of Marugame Udon restaurant from Japan!
I will definitely go back to try the hibachi and sushi (I heard that their sushi are the best in town!). I kinda hope that they will open other restaurant (like in downtown) that serve regular Japanese food (no hibachi), so that there are more reg tables.

I tried Kurama for the first time and order their Hibachi Steak and Chicken lunch special for takeout. I do not recommend takeout from here if you have any kind of time crunch. When I placed the order they said it would be ready in 20 minutes and went to pick it up in 30, then had to wit for 20 minutes in the restaurant. I assumed that they had the ability to cook to-​go dishes in their kitchen, but I was wrong. Apparently they waited for a party to sit down at a table and cooked my meal along with theirs. Had I known that, would’ve just ate there and enjoyed the show.
On the plus side, I enjoyed the food. Pretty standard hibachi fare, but not as salty as other places I’ve been to in the area (Kanki, Ai Fuji).
As I waited I had some time to take in the décor of the place, there’s a lot going on there and really made me curious what used to be in that location before Kurama. When you walk in it kinda looks like a museum because there are a few display cases. To the right there is a the hibachi section with the table-​side grills. Ahead is the sushi-​bar. On the immediate right is the regular that has an old school bar feel. There there is a big couch and i’m not sure what the purpose of that area is, but it looks like it would’ve been a cool spot to hang out in the early 90’s. The décor is outdated and doesn’t make sense, but I kinda liked it.
Next time I will defintely eat in.

We got the dinner for two: shrimp, chicken, steak, zucchini, onions, and rice… Another good meal! Plenty of food, but we always seem to get the same messy cook… food gets thrown everywhere, but the amount of food makes of for it…

Jose (the Chef) is the show of this house. You go to this place if you want to have a different (good!) experience. It’s not only about food, but interaction with other people and watching the show they make while cooking your food.
The food itself is well cooked, nothing too fancy but some good flavors indeed.
For sure I would recommend people going there.

omg… still and again. sit at sushi bar. tell/​ask sushi chef «feed me»… he will start giving you a wonderful variety of foods and will not stop until you tell him so be careful!!! it’s our new go-​to place. absolutely fabulous sushi!!!

Amazing food! Had the sushi chef make us something he thought we’d like. He came thru with a spicy Tuna Sashimi salad, Beef Tataki, Tofu Dashi, and Grilled fish cheeks. Delish!

Thoroughly enjoy going to Kurama’s each and every time! Kurama’s is my family’s all time favorite restaurant! Food is always good, and the portions are amazingly big! The entire wait staff is AWESOME!!! The bartender is absolutely the best in the South!

I am reviewing only the sushi bar, so if you are looking for a hibachi review, look on…
My husband and I have recently moved to Durham, and have tried a number of sushi restaurants, hoping to find one to replace our fave spot in Tampa. Sadly, the ones we have tried have been very run-​of-​the-​mill. Not bad, but not tasty enough to warrant a return visit.
I didn’t have high hopes for Kurama, I didn’t know before arriving that it was predominantly a hibachi (I call it choppy choppy) restaurant. The sushi bar is small, and a little bit awkwardly situated in the restaurant.
I have to say that the rolls were excellent. The fish was very fresh. I know it’s probably snobby of me to say, but when I heard the chef speaking Japanese with a customer, I realized that this was a little above the level of Sake Bomb or Sushi Love kind of places. I have had some fishy eel other places but theirs was perfect. The rolls are a little smaller (which I like, don’t like trying to cram a huge wad of rice and toppings into my mouth each bite), and don’t have as much sauce and stuff on top of them, which I also appreciate.
It’s a little more expensive than the places that do BOGO, but so far my experience with that (they don’t do that in Tampa, so it was a new concept for me) was that the quality of the sushi made that not as terrific a deal as it could be.
I can’t wait to go back and try some different rolls!

This place is weird. The front of the restaurant is a really good sushi bar, complete with Asian chefs wearing happi coats. The rest of Kurama is reserved for awfully loud, and tacky Western-​style teppanyaki shows. Obviously, teppanyaki isn’t my thing, so I’ll get back to the sushi.
In a land where nasty BOGO sushi places are king, Kurama’s sushi bar is a great escape! The sushi at Kurama is super fresh and simple (read-​no American rolls). I’m convinced it’s the BEST sushi in the triangle.

I’ve only been to Kurama for the hibachi, and thus that’s all I can really comment on (without being a liar). However, I have partaken in their hibachi numerous times, so that has to count for something. Right?
In any case, I’ve never really been blown away by an experience here. The staff is friendly, the food is good, and the hibachi chefs are at least somewhat entertaining. However, nothing really stands out or goes above and beyond.
As for the hibachi options, you’ve got your chicken, vegetables, shrimp, steak, filet mignon, and other options that combine two or more of the above. Each hibachi order also comes with a salad (the ginger dressing is killer and that’s coming from someone who typically fears all things ginger), miso soup, appetizer hibachi shrimp, and tons of rice. I typically go with the chicken hibachi entrée, and always leave satisfied (albeit not super impressed). Portions are very large, and I’m also usually the only one that finishes their allotted food at the table (yup, I’m a pig).
The hibachi chefs perform the typical sorcery, tomfoolery, and shenanigans that you would expect. Think shrimp tails in your face or down your blouse (if you’re a lady), volcanic onion towers, gag ketchup bottles, tossing shrimp tails in their hats, and essentially playing fancy drums with their cookware. All in all, it’s pretty entertaining.
They also boast a full bar if you choose to partake. Beer options are your generic domestics, a few imports, and some Japanese options like Sapporo.
All in all, Kurama’s is a decent spot to enjoy some hibachi (aka «food theatrics») with a group of friends. Their other menu offerings may also be solid, but again I cannot speak to any of that…