Raku – It’s Japanese II

I ordered delivery frequently and they were always much faster than estimated – even in bad weather. The food was consistently delicious, and delivery guy courteous. The salmon bento box is a lot of food, but excellent after a long day.

Best neighborhood sushi spot on uws that won’t hit you with sushi gari/​yasaka type prices.
Get the spicy tuna pizza. Horrible name; amazing dish.

I went with the majority vote and ordered the Pork Gyoza and the Niku Udon. Guaranteed the best Japanese food I’ve ever had and you will have.
The Gyoza (Pork Dumplings) were outstanding. The dough was so fresh and the pork inside was extremely tasty. The sauce that it’s served with, I could have drank it. Super salty and savory.
The Niku Udon was EXACTLY what my taste buds we’re craving. The noodles are as fresh as you can get. I’ve had many soups like this before in different restaurants and the pork is dry and fatty. At Raku the pork was moist and quality meat, and the broth was salty and savory perfection.
My friend ordered the Shrimp Tempura Udon (forgot what he ordered and had to text him. He remembered almost a week later and said «it was worth remembering»).He said the shrimp was cooked well, the noodles were extremely fresh, and the broth was great-​I tried the broth and it was a lot milder in saltiness but was still extremely tasty.
Tip: The restaurant is the size of a studio apartment and cash only. So hit an ATM and email
to be put on the wait list. I made my reservation at 7:30pm on a weekday and was able to get a table a few minutes after my desired reservation time.

Friendly staff, we had a really cute and funny waiter! A nice, welcoming restaurant and superb, price worthy sushi! Good quality fish.

Beware if you’re not a fan of mayonnaise on your sushi. They put it on a lot of their rolls when it’s not listed as an ingredient. They don’t care if your not happy with that and won’t replace any items.

Great service and sushi! the atmosphere is casual friendly. There are booths and they are comfortable. Waiters understand your orders. I’ve been here twice with my family (3) we had sushi boat for 2 it was great both times!

I am quite picky about everything — especially sushi. I’ve been here a few times now. It’s always amazing. Quiet little spot, very low key, not fancy. The quality of the sushi and sashimi is fresh and the service is impeccable. Go here if you are in the area. Also not expensive as far as good quality goes! Enjoy!

Best sushi place on the UWS! I’ve ordered delivery, pick-​up, and even dined in once because this restaurant is so damn cute.
You’re not going to find anywhere better for the quality and price. Yes it may be true Raku once in awhile falls to a B or grade pending but you can look past this. I’ve never found anything wrong with their food!
Speaking of food, you can’t go wrong with any of the speciality rolls. Tricolor wasabi, Shrek roll, 76^th st roll, angry blue crab. all delish! Also as others have said their ramen stacks up against any other ramen house in the city and they have a diesel pork bun!
Don’t forget you get a free Cali roll if you spend at least $ 35!

OK place, not bad, nothing especially good.

Every Christmas I travel from Canada for this little sushi shop, the sushi here is expertly executed and is easily my basis of comparison for other sushi shops everywhere. «I know this place in NYC that can do 10x better sushi for HALF of what I just paid».
I just finished my Christmas sushi supper here at Raku and it is so sad be cause it it the longest point in the year until I can eat here again next year.

unexpectedly EXCELLENT fried rice
I ordered delivery at 3pm on a wednesday. arrived in less than 15 minutes.
The Japanese fried rice was outstanding. puts almost all chinese restaurants to shame.
A perfect balance throughout and reminiscent of some thai fried rice. plenty of egg, bits of pepper, zucchini, carrots, onions, scallions, and tender pork (not the neon pink stuff you get at every chinese place).
The Gyoza (pork dumplings) were great. wrapped in a delicate thin dough, not like the thick stuff many places use. it was perfectly pan-​seared with a nice crispness on each side.

I order from this place for delivery a lot and it’s so good! They have really yummy ramen and the sushi is always tasty and fresh. Not to mention delivery is fast! If you need a go-​to sushi spot on the UWS, I would recommend them.

So sad I only just discovered this place. The food is fantastic and the atmosphere is wonderfully authentic

Delicious, fresh sushi, and great atmosphere with friendly employees. I highly recommend this location if you’re on the UWS.

Hole in the wall sushi place.
Never a line, I feel it’s good quality for the price. Lunch specials or just have a sushi roll at the bar

Raku is by far my favorite Japanese restaurant in my neighborhood. The quality is pretty consistent, and price are reasonable for its taste. I only ordered from here when I want noodles and roll, which was my favorite meal combination back in Japan. My favorite is negitoro roll, spicy tuna roll, umeshiso roll, natto roll, uni roll with spicy miso ramen.

Raku makes some of the best sushi I’ve ever had. My friend and I stopped here for a dinner before going to a concert at the Beacon. Seated immediately without a reservation. Ambiance is casual, cute, and dimly lit. I’d recommend for friend dates.
We ordered the spicy tuna poppers, fried calamari, the millionaire roll, and the spicy tuna sandwich roll. Loved every bite. Service was quick and friendly too. We were in and out in under an hour. Nooo complaints here! Big recommend for Raku!

Would come back. Came with the family after a day at the Museum of Nat. History.
No frills, good japanese.

Had lunch here today with my bf. chicken teriyaki bento box and the roll I forgot the name of, but it was #29 of their specialty rolls. Food was definitely enough to feed the bf and I! Chicken teriyaki was okay, gyoza was delicious! I also had the salmon avocado roll in my bento box which was really yummy and tasted fresh! The roll we had consisted of spicy crunchy salmon, shrimp tempura, and avocado wrapped in yellow seaweed paper. The roll was very large is super yummy! Melted in my mouth 8-​) bento boxes come with ice cream, so we shared a scoop of green tea ice cream to finish it off!
The bento box was $ 19.50 and the roll was $ 13, so far about $ 35 with tax, meal wasn’t too expensive (especially for the amount of food).

Malgré les bons avis, je né trouve pas ce Japonais particulièrement bon. Pas très bien servi, rien d’exceptionnel, quelques odeurs désagréables remontent des WC. Bof.

Great prices and great quality. I walked in after a running class and the establishment had a range of customers from people in business attire, neighborhood locals, a couple and someone celebrating with friends.
The wait staff is quick friendly and the food was delicious. I had the spicy miso ramen.
I would definitely not hesitate to come back.