Okome House — Restaurant in Raleigh

TLDR: This is not an all you can eat restaurant. It's a fascist bait and switch.

They set 20-minute time limits between orders so that they can control you like a child who can't be trusted. The bleach blonde host playing on her cell phone did not explain this. nor did the male server. Both were informed that I had never been here before.

My table sent in a round of appetizers so that those would start being prepared because we drove one hour JUST to eat here so we were hungry and did not want to wait even longer while each one of us went through the menu to picking out sushi rolls. Then, after 10 minutes or so had passed, we had some rolls to order, but their tablet would not allow us to place the order until their predetermined time limit had passed, ANOTHER 10 minutes.

Using a human server to take the orders would have allowed us to place a second order after appetizers, but the tablet forces us to wait even though no food has been served either. Just force your customers to starve while everyone goes through the menu.

Its a thoughtless design for people who are new to the restaurant and have a group of people waiting to eat while a new person is exploring the menu for the first time.

This wanna be high tech hip sushi hole in the wall of a dark parking lot back corner is sure to die a slow, sad death as customers are grossly disappointed when they realize how controlling this place is and how much better every other option in Raleigh is. They don't even have sake, and the sushi doesn't even look like very good quality. Salmon is supposed to be pink, not tan, and yellowtail isn't supposed to be gray. And they charge 50 cent to 1 whole dollar for each individual piece of sushi left on your plate, including the rice if you dont eat the rice for the nigiri but they don't offer sashimi.. that's just a money racket scam. This place is trash. Go to Rock N Roll unless you like letting someone else controll when you can...

I was pretty excited that a decent AYCE sushi place opened up closer than Mr. Tokyo, but unfortunately, I still think Mr. Tokyo's sushi is better. For this review, I'll focus on comparing AYCE sushi places.

This is not buffet style. At Okome, you order through an iPad, and your server brings the food to your table, made fresh as you order. I love the freedom to order at my own pace with the iPad, but I feel it causes servers to check in less often. This can leave customers waiting to get their attention for things that can’t be handled through the iPad, which takes away from the more attentive service you'd expect at a full-service restaurant. The food was brought out quickly and the servers were nice.

I opted for the dinner menu during lunch because many of the sushi options I wanted were only available on the dinner menu. The dinner option needs to be unlocked by your server during lunch hours.

They've only been open since August, so I expect the quality hasn't gone down much. The freshness of the raw fish at Otome was better than most AYCE sushi spots and even surpasses some à la carte places I've tried in NC, though that isn't saying much. But not as fresh as Mr. Tokyo. Still, they are definitely a step above QSushi... for now.

The fish at Otome was sliced thin, which resulted in a higher rice-to-fish ratio than I expected. It felt like there wasn’t enough fish to complement the rice properly, which affected the overall balance of the nigiri. I also wish they would heat up the eel before serving it.

I liked this place overall and I'm glad it opened, but I wish they’d make a few minor adjustments to make it truly outstanding. Maybe even open up another location in...

We had heard about this place from a friend and saw it online. So we wanted to try, especially since we love sushi. It reminded me slightly of Rock n Roll, without the conveyor belt, and just like there, it honestly wasn’t our favorite. We tried 6 of the apps, and they were just ok. I was not impressed, and they lacked flavor. I ordered the sashimi app, and again, not much flavor. I also had to ask the server for ginger/wasabi (which was pre-prepared and left much to be desired as it had been sitting in the fridge awhile).

We got two sushi rolls, the rainbow and the Angel fish, which had shrimp tempura in it. The spicy mayo on the Angel fish had no flavor, and the fried shrimp was just not good—my daughter couldn’t eat it. I finished it just to save the “extra fee” they charge for leftovers. The rainbow roll was ok, nothing special (definitely needed the soy and wasabi). We ordered one order of hibachi with shrimp, steak, and chicken just to try it; again, no flavor. Maybe they avoid salt, pepper and other spices? I’m not sure. It was edible, but not something I’d eat again.

The cost was $25/person. With 6 apps (at 2 pieces per app), 2 rolls, and an individual plate of hibachi, I’m not sure the price plus a 20% tip was worth it in the end. But it was a good experience to try it out and decent service. For the price, I’d rather go to one of the sushi restaurants in Raleigh or Korean hot pot, however, where I know the taste is good.

I do wish them the best, and maybe my palette is just different compared to others to the point I prefer more...