O-Ku — Restaurant in Raleigh

STILL FANTASTIC! 6/6/2025 FOOD Is consistently delicious. Dont just go for sushi. There are so many other non sushi items that are sure to please. What makes this place special is the staff. We are by no means "regulars". We manage to get there around 3-4 times/year. Yet, many of the staff greet us as if they've known us for years. They surprised us with a special dessert for our anniversary. We celebrated it with them last year, but had not mentioned it this year whatsoever, since we we were about a week late. WE barely remember our anniversary, we surely dont expect a restaurant to go to such lengths for us. As usual, one of our favorite servers, Eric treated us so well, as well as the FOH manager, Ariel wishing us a wonderful anniversary. Its possible to find a restaurant with good food. It is truly special when they are also able to provide such excellent service. We remain true fans!

UPDATE from previous post. If we could give this place 10 stars, we'd gladly do so. They are doing everything right, food & service, consistently. We chose to celebrate our anniversary dinner there. From the moment we arrived, til we left, they made us feel so special. The intimate booth was welcoming & made special by a card (signed by staff) and flowers on the table. Special "treats" were presented by Emily, FOH mgr. They were selected based on our food preferences from previous visits. WHO does that??? Impressive. Every dish came out perfectly, fresh ingredients, flawless seasonings. Zach our server was attentive & kind. He had big shoes to fill as Austin, our fave server from previous visits was off that evening. As we were prepared to leave, they presented us with a bouquet of flowers to take home. They are doing everything RIGHT! If ur looking for a place with impeccable service and excellent dishes, this is ur spot!

Our new fave spot! Our 2nd time here. We wanted to see if it was going to be good as the 1st time.... It sure was & more! We started off with shishito peppers, octopus, & wings to share. The octopus was exceptional! So tender & the sauce was a perfect accompaniment. Our 2nd time ordering the wings because they were soooo good! We ordered the Dillon roll to share. Delish! Husband ordered the hamachi kama (yellowtail collar) which was presented in a most unique way....deboned and served alongside roasted veggies and came with a tableside cast iron skillet over flame to sear as you like. I ordered the yellowtail belly nigiri, which is my favorite. Perfection. The sushi rice was prepared perfectly. Yes, Im very picky about my rice. When I was a little surprised to learn they serve sashimi as two pieces, but nigiri as one piece, our server provided us with a sample of the yellowtail carpaccio which was also very tasty. Finally, we opted for the ice cream mochi (an uninspired choice, on our part), but were curious about the okinawan donut holes with miso caramel. To our surprise, they brought a sample for us to try. Our server, Sengh (sp?) was fantastic. She was very attentive & almost had a sixth sense of what we might need next, without being obtrusive. Finally, Erica, the manager stopped by to graciously convince my husband to try sashimi (he's not a big fan). From the welcoming host, to our server, and the manager, we found them all to be so warm & welcoming. It is so refreshing to to find a place with such great food & service in one place. Our new favorite place! ♥️ P.S. We'll b...

Last week, we went to this restaurant to celebrate my wife’s birthday, and it turned out to be a pretty nice experience overall.

Let’s start from the moment we walked in — the atmosphere was great, really beautiful spot. I also appreciated how attentive the hostess was. We originally had a high-top table booked, but since we had our six-year-old daughter with us, they offered to move us to a regular table, which was thoughtful. The only issue was that the new table they gave us was right by the passage to the patio, so there was a strong draft every time the servers walked by. At first, my wife and daughter were freezing, and when we switched seats, it was me getting the breeze. So, points for caring about comfort, but minus one for seating us in such a windy spot. Honestly, it was warmer outside than it was sitting there in that draft — I think the high-top would’ve actually been better.

Service-wise, our waiter was polite and friendly. One thing that really stood out — after they brought us water, they came back with a tray of cucumber, lime, and lemon slices for the water. I’ve never seen that before, and I loved it. It’s such a small touch, but really classy — other restaurants should totally copy that.

Now about the food. My wife ordered the nigiri set, and since it was her birthday, they brought out some complimentary shrimp tempura, which was really good. For our daughter, we got chicken wings and a couple of rolls — the Tsunami Roll and the Rainbow Roll. I ordered a Donburi bowl.

The donburi was solid — tasty and well done, but nothing mind-blowing. A good 5/10 for what it was. My wife, though, said the nigiri were some of the best she’s ever had — super fresh and flavorful. The rolls, on the other hand, were disappointing. They had way too much rice, so you couldn’t really taste the fish or the other ingredients — just a mouthful of rice every time.

The chicken wings were amazing — crispy, juicy, and perfectly seasoned. Our daughter devoured five out of six, which never happens, so that says it all. The shrimp tempura was also excellent — light, crispy, and full of flavor.

As for drinks, I ordered a Mexican Old Fashioned, which is half bourbon, half tequila. I explained to the waiter exactly how it’s made so he could tell the bartender, but when the check came, I noticed the cocktail was $7.50 more than the regular one. Turns out they charged me for the extra tequila, even though the total amount of alcohol was the same as a regular Old Fashioned — that didn’t sit well with me. My wife had another cocktail (don’t remember the name), but she said it had too much ice and not enough actual drink.

So overall, I’d rate the food and drinks 3/5 — the nigiri, wings, donburi, and shrimp were great, but the drinks and rolls missed the mark. The service gets 4/5, and the atmosphere is a solid 5/5.

We’ll definitely come back — at least for the nigiri, wings, and donburi, because those...

We had dinner Saturday night at O-Ku, the establishment and decor is really nice and hip. The music is loud but fun. The hostesses were nice but not overly friendly and not inviting. Our waiter was mediocre- again not very friendly but he was attentive. His recommendations of dishes were always the most expensive items on the menu. We started with the BBQ Buns and dumplings. The buns on the pork were really odd (not like Korean soft buns). They seems to be extra toasted and SUPER greasy, the pulled pork was okay little dry and lacked flavor- it was not tender and juicy pulled pork. I think a dipping sauce for this appetizer would have saved this dish. The dumplings were good and the chili dipping sauce was good too. We ate a few rolls as well Tuna crunchy role- which was fine, Kurama roll - which was good but it had an odd like Smokey taste (not sure what from). We had another roll too that I can’t recall name that was fine. None of the rolls were amazing, I’ve had better in more authentic restaurants. The desserts were the most disappointing thing- we got the molten cake and the strawberries and cream dessert. The molten cake was and tasted as if someone took it out of a box and microwaved it- Trader Joe’s has better ones that they make (not joking). The Strawberries and Cream - was terrible, I couldn’t even eat it. It looked like it was filled with a fake cream w strawberry jelly in it sandwiched between mini COLD (like frozen) pancakes (the description on menu did not say this at all)- no where on this dessert dish were their fresh strawberries. Overall the decor and vibe is great but the food doesn’t match the price- staff is not the friendliest or inviting and the desserts are not freshly made at all. I do not recommend this establishment. I gave it two stars for the decor and vibe and for the staff behind the bar making the sushi- they were fun to watch and seemed to be the friendliest out of the entire restaurant. Loved how nice they were to each other and the way they danced when good songs came on....