Maki Yaki

Came in to Making Yaki for a quick lunch as it was just across the steet from my work agency’s office. The restaurant is nothing great and will not «WOW» once you enter. Its a very small restaurant with 4 dining tables and single chair seatings a long their walls.
MENU: Its a traditional Japanese cuisine serving the usual specialty rolls, teriyaki plates, bento boxes, and small finger food appetizers.
Service: There was only one waiter, however more than one server would be overkill since its such a small restaurant. The guy waiter which I dont know his name was very nice, he would check on everyone frequently to be sure out needs were met. Good kid!
Food: ordered a heart attack roll which has avocado, spicy tuna, cream cheese, jalapeño, cucumber, and eel sauce, and deep fried. I love tempura fried sushi, so I also got tempura California roll. Sushi was very good, not the best I ever had but it was satisfactory to any sushi enthusiast.
My overall experience was good, spent no more 30 minutes to have a good sushi meal. I’d come back again for a quick lunch for sushi. I rated 3 stars due to the fact that the restaurant is just average and plain.

I can’t believe someone wrote that their «Chicken always is very hard to eat, feels like low quality and old» and yet gave this place two stars. I’m sad to even give them one. The «salmon salad» should have been called «Chunks of food» because it was ice berg lettuce chunks with really old deep-​fried salmon leftover pieces. OK, maybe there was a little skin attached to the pieces. Someone should tell them that breading and frying meat does not hide the terrible quality or age. They breaded the pork in the pork rice bowl, and also failed to mention that on their menu. Sigh. Not cheap either, for all this old stuff.

cute ‘lil place to come if you just want simple sushi. They don’t have drinks or anything; but it’s deff. a place I’ll come back to for a quick ‘lil lunch. fast service and great fish quality!

I ate at this place many times, food is ok there. Chicken always is very hard to eat, feels like law quality and old. Service are mean, I’ve had hair in my food and exchange it to something else, and they’ve charged me for extra sause I asked, which shows how they don’t care about their customers at all. Will not come back there again!

I ordered spicy tuna roll and udong ! It was great taste !! And very friendly :)
Also, they did what i want to.
I dont live in south pasadena but i will go there when i stop by s. Pasadena. Nice price with good taste! Awsome!!!

Just OK would be the way that I would describe Maki Yaki. I have tried the chicken and beef teriyaki which is not extraordinary but tasted all right.
I happen to be a huge teriyaki enthusiast however, so my standards might be higher than most, since I come from the teriyaki capitol of the U.S., Seattle.
Not bad for a quick slightly healthier fast food option. Still in search of any teriyaki establishment in SoCal that comes anywhere close to Seattle standards though.

Food is great. Service is slow! But they have a lot good deals.

I work in south pasadena and found this place on Unilocal.ive been coming here for lunch since its so close to work and convenient. NEVER AGAIN WILL I VISIT THIS PLACE! the manager is beyond rude. i place a phone call and the manager has the nerve to let me know that they do not take phone orders to go! what age are they living in. their shushi is mediocre and i will NEVER come back here again. Continue with those policies and see how long you last!

Decent sushi place in the shadow of a Bristol Farms.
Huge selection of rolls. I could’ve gone less sauce on my heart attack roll, but it was still tasty.
Wish they had a bathroom, had to go across to Bristol Farms… a bit of an inconvenice, but whatever.

If you want to eat sushi and don’t want to spend too much money, this is the place, it’s clean, good service and best part is you can call ahead for your order, so it will be ready when you get there :-)

I’m surprised to see the low rating by fellow Unilocalers for this place. Granted, it’s not a 5-​star fine dinning restaurant, but…
Hungry and in a hurry I pulled into the Bristol Farms business strip in search for something yummy for not a lot of money. Driving slowly I snagged a parking spot directly in front of the eatery. From my car I couldn’t help but notice their massive menu hanging above their counter beyond the glass front window. First thing that popped into to my mind was that it must be a fast food joint, which lead me to walk up to the counter to place my order. The friendly lady at the counter asked us (my son and me) to take a seat. «Okay.»
They have the usual fare that you would expect at most sushi places: bento plates, sushi, teriyaki bowls/​plates, tempura and udon noodles. I ordered the Udon soup with shrimp tempura & side of 4-​sushi pieces. The soup was deliciously flavorful with just the right amount of soup for noodles. Had I not answered my phone to jabber with my momma I would have probably taken a bite of crispy tempura rather than soggy tempura. The sushi pieces were sadly small. And they served me a tiny side of ginger. :(I may be brown but I love, love pickled ginger! On a bright note, the fish (2-​salmon, 2-​tuna) was fresh and tender.
My son had the chicken & beef teriyaki combo plate. His salad was drenched in dressing. {Note to self: always order salad dressing on the side.} The chicken was dry but the beef was tender — both had too much teriyaki sauce for his taste. Overall it was okay.
I would definitely return to this place!

Food is ok. Service is slow, if you order take out plan ahead. I had to wait approximately 45 minutes!!!

I’m not really sure what all the other Unilocalers were expecting from this place, but I think it does exactly what I want in a convenient sushi place.
They serve fresh reasonably priced rolls for a decent price. They are not pretending to be a chi chi sushi bar. They are polite and friendly and most importantly I get to eat tastey sushi in the comfort of my own home.
I have only lived in south Pasadena for 4 months, but I’ve eaten here at least once every month.
If I was going out for sushi to dine in, it wouldn’t be my first choice. But on a no cook kind of night, its a sure stop on my way home.

The food is fast food quality.

Maki Yaki shares real estate with Bristol Farm located on Fair Oaks, within yards of the 110 freeway; I’ve known of its existence, but never really felt inclined to stop by until last night.
Maki Yaki has a combination of rolls, bowls, and even kalbi. I ordered the unagi don. I asked for salad instead of rice to which she replied there would be a $ 1 extra for the replacement. Not the best policy.
I sat down at a small table outside. It was nice. A young guy brought my unagi don to the table. He was quite friendly.

this maki yaki is not good, just plain NOT GOOD.
there are other maki yakis out there and they run this business waaaay better.
first off, if i can’t see you make the sushi, you are not making my sushi for me, second, everything looks NOTHING like the pictures on the menu. I rather to to the one in montebello because the portions are WAAAAY bigger and you can see them make the sushi. i don’t know why this place is still open…

Let me just say that I love this place. It’s not the most creative, but the fish is fresh and that’s important. You can spend more in other places and still not get fresh fish. I’ve been going here since before the recession hit, and the portions have gotten smaller, but I was never able to finish everything before. It’s cheap and filling. I love spicy food, so I’m glad that when I order something spicy here, it’s really spicy. And when I call, they remember me and my order.
For the other reviewer who mentioned the «sheet» — it’s a curtain and didn’t seem dirty at all. They’ve got an A rating, and that’s enough for me.

I ran in for lunch, hoping to get a decent and quick bite to eat. I got what I wanted. I ordered the beef teriyaki and got a rather large plate of beef teriyaki over a bed of rice and lots of salad with a nice dressing, plus a small bowl of soup.
The customer service was very good.
All in all, I’ll go back.

Maki Yaki, you disappointed me.
Atmosphere: like a fast food joint. Similar to an L&L. Simple décor; blank walls, giant menu up front.
Food: less than jake… I just ordered the CA roll to be safe. It was kind of bland. It could use some more vinegar and a crabby mayo would be nice instead of just plain imit. crab. They’re also stingy on wasabi.
Service: Great! Wow, is this how they keep their customer? Guy @ the counter was super friendly to me; he reassured he’d be right with me twice, even though i didn’t mind waiting. He’s a smiley guy and had a good attitude toward all his customers in the joint. Very down to earth. He promised that my order would be made very quickly, and followed thru. Hooray :)
I probably won’t be back cuz I don’t like the food, but give that guy a promotion!

I stopped in here a few days ago. I had gotten caught in a time warp at the starbucks (Eef that place) next lot over, and had to be in class at the dance studio. In less than 30 minutes. I realized that I was starving, my hands shaking with low blood sugar and high caffeine. I was afraid I wouldn’t make it through my class.
Maki Yaki was the half way point between caffeine soaked corporate stupor and the studio.
First let me say: The food tasted okay. It was fast, and they are so nice in there. I mean realllly friendly.
I ordered a spicy tuna and a california hand roll. The spicy tuna was very spicy –almost unbearable. My bladder began throwing a coffee tantrum, and I was obliged when I asked to use the bathroom. That’s when things got ugly… U-​G-​L-​Y
I had to walk through the kitchen… it looked unsanitary to say the least. The «chefs» looked like 15 year olds… I felt like I was walking through a frat house.
The bathroom… lets just say that had I not been about to piss myself, I would not have used it! Oh yeah, and when I washed my hands, guess what? You guessed it! No Soap! All those pubescent boys making raw food with bathroom hands!
I’m a down ass bitch, so I ate all my stuff anyway. Albeit, with visions of scurrying roaches, and the friendly Little frat boy with his weenie in one hand and my spicy tuna roll in the other.
I went off to teach my class with an uneasy quiver in my stomach.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
***shudder***