Asuka Asian Bistro and Sushi Bar — Restaurant in Wake Forest

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Updating 02/18/2025

Asuka used to be a beloved neighborhood spot, but unfortunately, success has changed their priorities. For years, my wife and I have celebrated our kids’ birthdays here, ordering their largest sushi boats and enjoying wonderful experiences. However, this year was different, and it left us truly disheartened. It was a stark reminder of how some businesses forget the community that helped them grow.

We stopped by to arrange a Friday night dinner for eight people to celebrate our son’s 13th birthday. We expected to spend a significant amount—multiple sushi boats, drinks, a full celebration. To ensure there were no issues, we even offered to pay a deposit or prepay in full. Instead of appreciation or even a courteous conversation, we were met with unexpected hostility.

Sean (not sure if we are spelling his name correctly, as he did not provide his personal business card) introduced himself as the general manager. From the start, his demeanor made us feel unwelcome. When we explained our request, he flatly stated that they do not take reservations. We were surprised—this wasn’t an unreasonable ask for a party of eight, especially given our long-standing loyalty to the restaurant.

Having traveled extensively, we have booked reservations at countless restaurants of various calibers. This level of poor hospitality is simply unprecedented in a neighborhood establishment or any restaurant that deems itself of quality. We understand it’s a private business, and they can set their own policies. However, we had hoped for a human-to-human conversation—at the very least, a chance to explain our case. If the owners still refused to make a reservation, we would have completely understood. But not even having the opportunity to escalate our request beyond the person who introduced himself as the general manager was incredibly disappointing.

When we asked Sean to contact the owners, our intention was simple: to give them the opportunity to correct the situation and ensure they were aware that we would be updating our Google review based on our experience. He disappeared into the back for several minutes, only to return with a shocking response: “The owners said to leave.”

At that point, we were stunned. We calmly asked how we could contact them ourselves, hoping for direct communication. Instead, Sean escalated things even further—he threatened to call the police. Let that sink in: a loyal customer, simply asking to speak with the owners, was met with a police threat. Not only does this suggest they no longer value the community that helped them grow, but it also seems they have become so busy and successful that they don’t even care how their business is represented on Google.

We left that day feeling incredibly disappointed. The unfortunate reality? Asuka has become too busy for its own good. The focus is no longer on the dining experience but on turning tables as quickly as possible. They have lost sight of the loyal customers who supported them from the beginning.

For those who have been longtime patrons, be aware: this is no longer the same welcoming neighborhood restaurant it once was. The sushi remains decent, but the staff is average at best, with noticeable turnover and inadequate training. Service has declined significantly, and the attitude toward customers is disheartening.

Thankfully, we found another restaurant in Wake Forest that happily took our eight-person reservation—no deposit required, just genuine hospitality. That contrast spoke volumes.

We won’t be returning to Asuka, and we encourage others to reconsider as well. Hopefully, this review serves as a wake-up call for the owners. Businesses should remember: the same community that builds them up can also choose...

This used to be a restaurant for my family to go to but after I had brought my friend onto this place, I will never return the first time when we came in at like 920 something and made us stand at the front door until 930 and then said that they couldn’t seat us and said “technically we cannot seat you” and I was like well if you wanna get technical, we got here 10 minutes ago( I did not mind ordering to go. I just wanted to sit down somewhere) even told them that we were sorry I just wanted to sit down and I didn’t let that deter me from coming back, The next time I arrive 7ish me and my friend ordered food, and I State to the waitress that she does have an allergy! We get the food and she starts eating and it starts making her sick so obviously there is some cross contamination, so we ask if we can swap the contaminated food,The waitress states that since we ordered it, we have to have it and pay for it which was completely fine. We just wanted to swap the food for a different one as it had made my friend sick. she said that they had close the grill and will not be remaking anything but you have to pay for it because you ordered it. So, even though we barely ate our food, we paid, and went to the restroom where the waitress followed us and badgered us for not liking the place. Me and my friend both thought that was strange so we don’t come back for like five months. When we returned, we were expecting them be different and for all of us to start all over with a fresh slate as I loved their food, and have been coming here, most of my life. i wanted to give them one final chance. And this time we were treated awful, we came at 5:30. the waitress was rude and treated us like how dare we come in here and eat. She always had a snappy come back to anything we asked when we were just being genuine and trying to be polite we can sense that the, air was thick intentions were high, as most of the waitresses were staring at us, and making faces and whispering about us behind the desk, regardless, we said the food was great, kept up a happy face, we were model customers. And still continued to treat us poorly. I will miss this place, but it will never...

First I would like to say this review on strictly on the new spicy ramen soup not Asuka in general. The restaurant itself is 5 stars. We have been there 15-20 times and always have exceptional service and up until last night food has also always been delicious. Our go to meal there is the spicy noodle set with a redneck roll. Alway amazing! Last time we were in our server told us the spicy noodles were going to become a lunch only item and they were replacing it at dinner with a new ramen soup but would still have a spicy version. So last night we went and we saw the spicy noodle was gone from the dinner menu, so we ordered the new ramen spicy with steak. We were told it is not going to be the same as the spicy noodles which is fine. I love ramen in general so no big deal. The ramen came out and it had absolutely no flavor. The broth was flavorless, the noodles, the steak, all of it no flavor at all. Had a slight kick to the broth but didn’t taste like it had anything else not even salt. We were shocked. I also couldn’t believe how even the steak tasted like it didn’t have an ounce of seasoning. I am upset with myself because when the manager came by we didn’t have the heart to tell him we did not like it, but our server could tell because we barely ate any of it. She brought us to-go bowls and we said we were going to take it home and try adding a few things to it to see if that helped. Sadly, I added some seasonings and sriracha to it today and while the broth is more bearable everything else was still so bland. So not sure if yesterday was just not the best batch and we should have just told the manager last night but hoping this review makes it to the right person. We will still be back because we love other items on the menu but do not recommend...