Jacknife — Restaurant in Madison

We have been to so many sushi spots in Madison looking for something high quality and consistently good. We have little ones, so we usually go out for lunch dates. We also try not to take our kids to fancy restaurants so that limits us a bit. I’m so glad we finally tried Jacknife! Everything was delicious and packaged so nicely for takeout. RED is our favorite fancy date night sushi spot, but we very rarely get to go there. I didn’t realize this place was owned by RED until after we ate there today, but that explains why it was so high quality. I loved the roll selection in the two roll lunch box, the fun corner for kids was an AMAZING bonus. I will come back here any time I want day time sushi from now on. And now that I know this is here I feel emboldened to get sushi more often! I should note that we are really picky about our sushi. My spouse lived in Japan for several years so if it’s not fresh and clean we have problems. This was perfect. We both had salmon/avocado and yellowtail/avocado. Bonus for having...

My family and I got one of the lunch combos plus their teriyaki chicken appetizer. The chicken was dark meat, which we prefer but I'd like to call that out since a lot of folks don't. It's very tender, not necessarily juicy but the sauce was great too. Weirdly my family still like the dish from Sarku Japan (yes it's from a mall vendor). The tuna poke bowl was great! The amount is perfect for a single person. My wife and I and one of kids (4yr) shared it. We were surprised by the red turnip (?) in it. Very good. We also got the eel roll as part of the combo. The presentation was good but the eel was very fishy and boney. Passable but not recommended. The "wasabi" was pretty weak, even weaker than some grocery store bought no-name ones. A little disappointing. The store itself is very nicely put together. The bathrooms are very clean. Note they use one of the blow dryers not paper towel. And the door opens inwards so you have to use your hands to...

5 stars for fast/casual sushi (best I've had in town at this price point); 4 stars if comparing to a nicer sushi restaurant (which means it still holds its own!)

I've tried several roll options, all of which have been delicious. I wish there were some more adventurous/exploratory options, but everything I've tried has been good-to-great regardless.

Service has always been quick. Online orders are typically ready in 15-30 minutes, and I like the ability to pick up the order via the contactless doors. Parking is easy, too, if you're going in and out. Ample street parking available on side streets, too, if you're looking to dine in.

My one critique is that the veggie dumplings are truly god awful. Worst thing I've ever tasted. Put one in my mouth an immediately spit it out. I don't know what they did to those,...