Yuraku Japanese Restaurant

Alright it totally lives up to the hype. We arrived at 1120 and waited about 20 min to be seated. It’s no joke – this place is totally a favorite and obvious why. The sushi buffet provides a great variety of specialty rolls and nigiri as well as other options for those who aren’t sushi lovers. The restaurant is small, as is the buffet, but packed with options! Best sushi i’ve come across in the MoCo area.

I may have been setup for disappointment, with such a high overall rating, but this might be one of the worst sushi lunch buffets in the area, and here’s why:
Variety: 3 stars
Visual Presentation: 2 stars
Quality: 2 stars
Cleanliness: 1.5 stars
Price: initial perceived value– 4 stars, after eating there– 2 stars
I may have had high hopes that were reinforced by the fact that there was a crowd for 1 o’clock lunch, but I came out of the establishment in bewilderment… That place was pretty gross! Health inspectors definitely should take a look at the buffet line and the back kitchen… I don’t see myself coming back in the future. Even if the dinner service is drastically different, lunch left a negative lingering impression.

I think I’m jumping into the Yuraku fan bandwagon! I wasn’t a fan of their lunch buffet in the past, but their dinner menu is great! The sushi rolls are huge and the quality of the fish is really fresh. Their menu is neverending (two menu books!) and they have creative sushi rolls. My friend and I ordered the Spice Girl roll (shrimp, crab, avocado, and cream cheese), Gone with the Wind roll (tuna, salmon, eel, avocado, tempera flakes, and cucumber wrapped in soy paper), Seven Color Rainbow roll (crab, avocado, cucumber, salmon, tuna, white, tuna, yellowtail, snapper, shrimp), and Salmon Sashimi Appetizer. Plus, two miso soups. Definitely way more than we can eat!
The restaurant is small and I’ve heard there’s always a long wait. Luckily, there weren’t any issues when we went on a Tuesday night. Service is so-​so, which is typical of most Asian restaurants.

This place is an OG restaurant in Germantown. Been around forever. Usually packed.
The rolls are slightly larger than most places. Not complaining.
A def must try.

If you live in this area. You know this place is the go to place for sushi. That’s why it’s so packed all the time and the waits are crazy.
They don’t take reservations and you won’t get seated till all your party is there.
The service at Yuraku is amazing. They are quick and kind. My girlfriend and I got so many complimentary dishes just dining here.
The sashimi, nigiri and sushi rolls are bomb. All the fish is fresh and delicious. You can tell the chefs actually care about the quality of their food and service.
I definitely recommend you to come to get your sushi fix here!

I’ve visited Yuraku several times while visting family in Maryland — it always amazes me how busy the place is! The first time I went, I waited for 30 minutes; the second time, the wait was almost an hour. A very small place, but it’s clear that they have loyal customers and a large following of people who love their food.
Both times I visited, my family and I ordered the large sushi/​sashimi boats. Like many traditional Japanese restaurants, the servers brought out a myriad of appetizers/​small plates before our main course arrived; in total, there were probably 15 – 20 small dishes that came out before our sashimi — essentially a meal in itself! When the sashimi arrived, I was very pleased by the meal. The fish was extremely fresh and diverse in selection, while the rolls were flavorful and generous in portion. We always concluded the meal with a small bowl of chawanmushi, a Japanese egg custard.
Overall, though the space is tight and you may need to linger for a while before being seated, the food is well worth the wait. While my opinion is limited to the sashimi, sushi and rolls, there are many other options available on the menu. I’ll be sure to visit Yuraku again and try some other dishes the next time I head up north.

Obsessed with sushi place and been going for years. Best sushi and variety of rolls. Some go to for me are: Tuna fiesta salad, salmon ninja roll; spicy salmon rolls; salmon belly; punk roll; flower roll. Staff and sushi chefs are so accommodating and so friendly.
One note to keep in mind you will have a wait on the weekends or evening. No reservations are taken. I’ve waited an hour before because it’s worth it.

What a gem! This is not your «fru fru» sushi joint, it’s all about the fresh sushi. We came for the all you can eat lunch buffet on Saturday (~$ 14 pp) and it was spot on! I’m usually not a fan of sushi buffets bc places always skimps out on the quantity and quality of the fish — but not here!
If you’re coming for the lunch buffet, make sure you come early to grab parking and be prepared to wait in the long line! Service is not the greatest, but I honestly don’t mind for the food you’re getting.
There’s a variety of nigiris here, but if you’re a salmon lover like me, this place is the jackpot! There’s also a ton of specialty rolls on the buffet but none are tagged, so you don’t really know what you’re eating. Aside from the sushi, there’s pretty good tempura, varieties of salads and Korean fare!
Tip– bring cash! There’s a discount if you pay in cash versus credit ;)

The choices are pretty good, but everything kinda tastes the same. The service and amount of sushi was pretty good, but again, it all tasted like the same thing.

Outstanding sushi spot, the rolls are endless (literally for lunch buffet). Also try the crab and cream cheese wontons! Delicious creamy goodness and fried to perfection — finished with sweet red chili sauce. They offer sushi by the boatload for parties as well which is awesome. Definitely one of the best sushi places in Moco!

Have been coming here for a very very long time and it has never disappointed. And when I say a long time I mean almost 20 years. It’s by far the best sushi place in the DMV
The lunch buffet sushi portions are the size of dinner entrees at other places. And the selection is just phenomenal. Dinner always starts out with the grilled salmon fish head, egg custard and miso soup. And by the time you are done, the lovely order of entrees arrive and you and your party are in sushi heaven

Hate writing this because yuraku is crowded enough. Simply the best sushi in the area. In addition they have a terrific and very crowded lunch buffet.
If you go, make a reservation.

As much as it pains me to say this, I think Yuraku is suffering a bit from how much we all love their sushi.
The lunch buffet is not for the faint of heart, especially if you walk in a little later in the service. People start to panic around 2:15 PM, clamoring to be seated before 3 when the restaurant shuts down and hoping there is still enough sushi left to make the wait worth it. Everyone silently pities the unsuspecting newbies who don’t know to write their names on the waiting list, but nobody speaks up because those people won’t be competing with you in the buffet line once inside the restaurant…
Then when you’re finally seated, when you’ve navigated the buffet line (particularly the spot where people can cut you off right before the bucket of sushi tongs) and you are about to triumphantly enjoy your first hard-​won bite, a server appears to drop your check. A not-​so-​subtle indication that they’d like you to hurry the f#%& up, and they have 2 different prices depending on whether you want to pay with cash or credit.
Generally, I hope they start taking reservations.

One of the best sushi places I’ve been to! M’s family loves this place. If you love fresh raw fish then this place is for you!
I’ve tried their chirasi don, which comes with a TON of sashimi on top of well-​marinated white rice. Not just tuna and salmon but also other types of fish whose names I don’t know. Squid, too!
Sashimi salad is also great — portion is huge so both times the whole family shared one. Lots of salmon and tuna pieces. The gochujang sauce that comes with it isn’t too spicy/​yummy.
Ask for a fried fish head if you aren’t grossed by the idea of it! It’s free with an order of sushi boat but only if you ask for it.

This review is based on the restaurant’s lunch buffet. I was very excited to come here after seeing all of the great reviews and hearing how good it is in person from people that I know. I came here with a party of 4 on a Wednesday. It was packed but we only had to wait less than 5 minutes in order for them to clear the table for us.
The buffet is in a small section in the back of the restaurant. It was really compact and you can’t really stand side by side with other people due to the lack of space. One of the main turn offs that I had with the lunch buffet was that nothing had any labels or signs on what the dish is or what the meat is in each dish, this also includes the sushi. How do I know that I am not eating something that is against my religion? There was a picture on their wall that depicted various sushi and their names. However, most of the sushi that were depicted were not even served at the buffet. In addition, the tongs that you use to pick up the sushi were being reused over and over by other people and were dropped into a bucket of ice. I tried to look for the cleanest utensil but most if not all had gunk on them. I truly was skeptical of the cleanliness of this restaurant. Aside from the sushi, there were fried rice, noodles, beef, chicken, and other entrées (Again, I wish I could tell you the names of the food but there were no labels). The food was okay at best, nothing spectacular. I question however, how long the food were standing in the open because the mozorella sticks were not fresh as if it were made the day previously. The cheese was hard and cold.
We were seated at the middle table with other parties that were right next to us on both sides. There was no privacy what so ever and it was very squished we could not even put our used plates anywhere. One of my cousin and I had stomach aches later that day and I knew it couldn’t have been from anywhere else because that lunch buffet was my only meal that I had before I got a stomach ache. I also could not believe that you had to pay extra if you were to use a debit or credit card. I did not have cash on me, so I had to pay almost $ 16 for a mediocre buffet. This place is the first restaurant that I had ever had this experience.
Overall, it is a cheap option for a sushi buffet, especially when you pay with cash. However, if you are not okay with not knowing what you are eating and eating mediocre food then I would not recommend this place for lunch buffet. Please note that I have not eaten here for dinner, which may be a better experience than their lunch buffet.

Yuraku. I’ve only been here once for the sushi buffet, but never before for the sashimi boat, so my review today is mostly about that. We walked in around 3:30pm on a Saturday, and the place was busy, but not as crazy as during buffet hours. Right as we walked in, the lady informed me and my Korean friend that lunch buffet hours were over, which we said was fine. Our party of four sat down, and ordered the shrimp tempura appetizer and 48 pcs sashimi boat, which were fresh and delicious. The tempura had a nice crispy crust and the sashimi was sliced perfectly, not too thin or thick. We were also given around 5 side dishes of different types of fish as well as fried salmon head, which was nicely seasoned.
The only reason 1 gave 4 stars is because of the spotty service today. The waitress didn’t refill our tea promptly, there were not enough chopsticks on the table after the dishes arrived at the table, and the waitress didn’t check up on us until we called her over about needing anything. Hopefully they can up their game a little bit more next time.

My friend and I went to Yuraku one afternoon for the lunch buffet. Being ½ Japanese, I can say with confidence that the owners/​cooks are NOT Japanese. The fish on the sushi was sliced razor thin and was sinewy, and the rolls were hastily put together. Yes, it’s a buffet, so I shouldn’t expect much.
The other food items were just okay– several were definitely not Japanese (bulgogi, for example). The tonkastu was dry, and the miso soup watery and flavorless.
In short: it’s a great place to go if you’re hungry and want to stuff yourself.
Tip: If you pay cash, it costs $ 2 less!

Oh. Man. Only if it was closer to my house…
I’ve been to quite a few sushi restaurants, even worked at one as well. I love sushi and this place has your back!
I’ve only been here for the lunch buffet several times but that’s all I need to come here for to know that I love this place. For a buffet that price, the quality is phenomenal. Every day is different but Salmon and eel nigiri, always fresh. They have plenty of sides of soups salads and tempura. Fresh rolls are constantly brought in and the buffet lines are super simple to follow.
The staff isn’t the most friendliest but its not their fault. The restaurant is super popular.
If you like sushi, and you know quality sushi, you will come to yuraku. It can get busy so get here early but I have yet to find a sushi buffet of this value.
Thank You Yuraku for bringing good sushi to my life.

When I called Yuraku Japanese Restaurant, they said they don’t accept call ahead reservations but it was nice enough to estimate the wait time. While waiting for a table in the small lobby, I bumped into some familiar faces.
This is the first time I’ve been to a Japanese Restaurant in which the waitresses were dressed in black floral Yukata’s that show some leg. The hostess sat us at a really small table, almost elbow to elbow with the next table. The menu featured appetizers, sushi and sashimi, teriyaki, noodles, and specialty rolls. It was bit overwhelming for us — too many choices to pick from. After ordering, our waitress brought us vegetables (cucumber, carrot, and celery medley) to dip into a creamy Japanese style coleslaw.
For drinks, we got hot tea — it was so hot that we had to wait to drink it. For dinner, we shared two rolls and sashimi regular. For the rolls we picked Shrimp Tempura Roll and Gone With The Wind Roll. Of the two rolls, I enjoyed the Shrimp Tempura Roll more. I liked how the entire roll was warm and crunchy. The Sashimi Dinner featured the chef’s selection of 17 pieces of raw fish such as fatty tuna med, blue fin tuna, white tuna, salmon, arctic char, yellowtail, mackerel, squid, white tuna, flounder, surf clam, scallop, and red snapper. My boyfriend liked the surf clam and squid. I liked how some of the sashimi was seared or charred. The sashimi was served on a fish shaped wooden boat and came with edamame (soybeans), house salad with ginger dressing, and miso soup. Because the rolls were bigger than expected, we over ordered. Because we asked for boxes, they assumed we wanted the check without asking if we wanted dessert. We ended our meal with green tea mochi, which came in two piece. I felt like it should have thawed a little longer. It was as hard as a rock when I tried to eat it.

This place has the best sushi I have ever eaten! It is so good!
Came here with a friend who grew up coming here for sushi. He recommended that we get the «boat», a combination of sushi, sashimi and rolls. If you have a group, definitely get this. We had three people and were very full afterwards, but finished every last piece. Really this is the first time I have had sushi and enjoyed every piece they gave me. The rolls were stuffed full of goodness and the sashimi was so fresh and tender, you couldn’t get enough. Coming from DC, this restaurant was out of the way, but I would have gone a lot farther for the best sushi ever!
The atmosphere is great, large and spacious and filled with the wonderful aroma of fresh sushi. The servers were friendly and even brought us a tempura battered cod dish, on the house. It was excellent! It melted like butter in your mouth. They bring you complimentary salmon and an egg dish at the beginning of your meal, we also ordered fried dumplings with crab meat and regular dumplings, all delicious. Surprisingly this sushi restaurant is run by Koreans, we appreciated the extra complimentary small dishes (egg, salmon), reminiscent of bon chon. This place knows what its doing and the sushi is beyond comparison. If you haven’t tried it yet, I would make the trip and give it a try.
We also saw several patrons getting the birthday treatment. For an extra $ 5 they could pose with a Japanese umbrella and their bowl of green tea ice cream and have their picture taken via polaroid camera. A nice little memento for a great birthday celebration.