A guide to the best sushi bars and restaurants in the Triangle
Beloved for artfulness and creativity, Triangle sushi bars are some of the region’s most beloved restaurants, ranging from casual and funky to the top tier of fine dining.
The two favorite sushi bars among readers of The News & Observer embody that range.
Waraji is one of Raleigh’s oldest and most beloved sushi restaurants, while Cowfish, a Charlotte brand that expanded to the Triangle several years ago, shows off sushi’s modern accessibility, serving inventive rolls of tuna and shrimp alongside burgers and fries.
That inventiveness won out, with Cowfish crowned the Triangle’s favorite sushi bar.
The Cowfish menu reads like two restaurants in one, with dozens of sushi options right next to burgers and fries.
“We’ve fudged some boundaries and it’s hard to deny we’ve pushed some lines and taken a little different approach, but one thing we do hold very seriously is the quality of the fish and rice we serve,” co-founder Alan Springate said.
The Cowfish menu is half burger bar, half sushi bar, but does very little to blend the two. You won’t find a smashburger topped with thinly sliced tuna, though you can order The All-American Bacon Double Cheeseburgooshi, which has the elements of a cheeseburger served as a sushi roll.
Waraji has a loyal following of diners and fans in northwest Raleigh since its original chef and founder Masa Tsujimura opened its doors in 1997.
In opening his own sushi bar, Masa said he was often teaching diners about the cuisine for the first time. Today, though sushi is everywhere, he said there’s a gulf between great and passable sushi. It starts, he said, with perfect rice that’s not pressed too firmly together, needing an airiness to allow the grains to spread out in the mouth.
“If the rice is too hard you’re not tasting anything,” Masa said. “Once it’s airy, it falls apart and mixes with the fish, that’s how you taste it.”
16 of the Triangle’s best sushi bars
Akami Sushi Bar
1561 E. Williams St., Apex. 919-267-6368 or akamisushibar.com
Very quickly Akami has become the hottest spot in the Triangle’s sushi scene. Situated in an old Subway sandwich shop within an Apex gas station, Akami is an unassuming sushi bar, to say the least. But the quality of Akami is undisputed, drawing sushi fans from more than an hour away to sit at its counter and visit for dinner for special omakase nights.
City Market Sushi
315 Blake St., Raleigh. 919-322-1987 or citymarketsushi.net
Beloved and intimate, this City Market spot is only open for dinner and serves as a popular setting for after-work meet-ups and dates. City Market Sushi is more elegant and understated than some local sushi bars. This is a spot for those who crave the classics.
The Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar
4208 Six Forks Road, Suite 100, Raleigh. 919-784-0400 or thecowfish.com
Tradition be damned, Cowfish does two things that don’t have anything to do with one another: burgers and sushi. And it’s one of the most popular restaurants around. On the sushi side, the flavors and textures are big and bold, with many rolls sprinkled with tempura flake or roe.
Kai Sushi
7713 Lead Mine Road, Suite 11, Raleigh. 919-870-4923 or kaisushisakebar.com
The culinary offerings at the Greystone Village Shopping Center make the case for it being the foodiest strip mall in Raleigh. Kai Sushi helps build on that cred, offering a tasteful, elegant dining room where the menu has space to shine. Celebrating its 10th year, Kai shows off precise knife cuts and a command of flavor.
M Sushi
311 Holland St., Durham. 919-908-9266 or m-restaurants.com
4 Fenton Main St., Suite 120, Cary. 919-729-5662
M Sushi, the restaurant that launched a small empire, is chef Michael Lee’s flagship spot and one of the Triangle’s destinations for high quality sushi. The original Durham location is largely a long sushi counter, where chefs serve rolls as they’re made. Last year, Lee expanded M Sushi to Cary’s Fenton development with a new, larger restaurant serving an expanded menu but with the same beloved flavors.
O-Ku Sushi
411 W. Hargett St., Raleigh. 919-792-3777 or o-kusushi.com
One of the major downtown Raleigh restaurant openings of the last few years, O-Ku is the Charleston, SC-based sushi brand of Indigo Hospitality Group. Located in the Dillon, O-Ku is the Triangle’s largest sushi restaurant, giving a giant stage to one of the most popular cuisines. The menu is heavy on luxury bites, including lobster nigiri and prized, fatty o-toro.
Oiso Sushi
1305 NW Maynard Road, Cary. 919-655-5133 or oisosushi.com
This popular Korean restaurant in Cary serves an adventurous sushi menu, as well as one of the most unique dishes in the genre: the sushi tower. Oiso offers specialty rolls like deep fried lobster, sweet and savory dishes like spicy crab and mango and many variations of crunch.
Rockin Rolls
9650 Strickland Road, Suite 101, Raleigh. 919-803-7926 or rockinrollssushi.com
This popular spot brought the phenomenon of the conveyor belt sushi bar to the Triangle. Plates of already cut and prepared rolls pass by diners, who snatch them off the moving conveyor and onto their table. But don’t sneer at the unconventional. Rockin Rolls still offers high quality bites and the invitation to try something new within arms’ reach.
Sono Sushi
319 Fayetteville St., Suite 101, Raleigh. 919-521-5328 or sonoraleigh.com
Located in the heart of downtown Raleigh, Sono has been one of the Triangle’s top sushi spots for more than a decade. Its rolls are elegant and creative, and the menu features as many new combinations as it does refined classics. There’s always the option to let the chefs choose your nigiri, or try decadent rolls like baked crab and cream cheese.
Sushi Blues Cafe
301 Glenwood Ave., Raleigh. 919-664-8061 or sushibluescafe.com
Set in the heart of Glenwood South, Sushi Blues is all about the experience. The dining room is bright and strung with lights, with neon and portraits of blues greats on the wall. The main draw for Sushi Blues, though, is a wildly popular BOGO policy on its house rolls. You love to see it.
Sushi Love
2812 Erwin Road, Suite 204, Durham. 919-309-2401 or sushilovedurham.com
There’s a lot of love and endless creativity packed into this small Durham sushi bar. Situated near Duke’s West Campus, Sushi Love can do the classics, but is best known for pushing the boundaries of sushi creations with dozens of experimental rolls, including one with Flaming Hot Cheetos and a baked California Roll topped with scallops.
Sushi Mon
3800 Glenwood Ave., Suite 100, Raleigh. 919-803-1000 or sushimonraleigh.com
Since 2018, Sushi Mon has emerged as one of the Triangle’s highest quality sushi bars. During COVID, Sushi Mon moved to a new location, but fans barely batted an eye, finding it now in a North Raleigh office park. The rolls at Sushi Mon play with tradition and larger dining trends, such as tuna with truffle or shrimp tempura with serrano peppers.
Sushi Nine
3812 Western Blvd., Raleigh. 919-615-3100 or sushinine.com
Nearly a decade old, Sushi Nine is a survivor of a restaurant that remains in the top tier of Triangle sushi bars. Seven years ago the wildly popular restaurant near NC State closed after in a fire and took two years to reopen. Now it has returned to its former glory, serving vibrant, flavorful rolls in a sprawling dining room and on its prized patio.
Sushi O Bistro
222 Glenwood Ave., Suite 113, Raleigh. 919-838-8868 or sushioraleighnc.com
Nearly a decade an a half old, Sushi O has become a fixture in Raleigh’s Glenwood South District as a spot for consistently excellent sushi before a night out. There are dozens of specialty rolls playing with flavors and textures and even the boundaries of sushi, like pork dumpling roll topped with shrimp, crab and eel, as well as all the traditional rolls.
Sushioki
4900 N.C. 55, Suite 510, Durham. 919-405-7121 or sushioki.com/
Certainly not the most traditional take on sushi, this popular RTP spot puts all its love for sushi in a burrito. You’ll find all the familiar rolls, flavors and fish from classic sushi menus, but here they’re wrapped up in toasted nori and parchment paper.
Waraji Japanese Restaurant
5910-147 Duraleigh Road, Raleigh. 919-783-1883 or warajijapaneserestaurant.com
One of the Triangle’s oldest and most respected sushi restaurants, Waraji is now in a new era following the retirement of longtime owner and chef Masatoshi Tsujimura, who sold the business in 2022. Chef Masa still appears behind the counter and diners continue to revere Waraji as one of the highest examples of sushi artistry in Raleigh.
