Sono Japanese Restaurant

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stanaka

Joined 4 years ago

Great sushi restaurant. I dine at Sono probably few times a month for the past year or so and have had great experience most of the time. I do recommend going in smaller groups. I once took 12~14 people and the service was slow and the food took longer then normal even with a reservation. The service can be a little rushed sometimes but never really had problem with the food. So go in smaller groups and you'll be fine. I also like the fact that they don't rush me even on a busy weekend nights after I finish my meal.

Nigiri and sashimi is in my opinion the best in town. The only other places I eat nigiri sushi and sashimi in town are Waraji and An but still prefer Sono because of their variety and freshness. Take advanctage of their combos such as their chef's choice dish, it's a steal for the sushi they give you. You get 7 or 8 super fresh nigiri sushi and a special roll for like 25 bucks. Their omakase meal is a must try as well, a bargain for 35~40 bucks

As far as rolls are concerned, they are creative and unique. The screaming o roll is a must try and the diablo roll is addictive as bojangles. The variety is amazing, and the picture menu is very helpful when choosing.

The kitchen menu is great as well. I love their udon noodles with the little clams, one of the best in town right along with sushi tsunes udon. Their fire cracker shrimp appetizer is like a crack and the hand made gyozas is like no other. The gyoza has some kind of saffron sauce so it's not authentic but still delicious. I also tried their pork shank entree and it was superb. I've had lamb shank before at a greek restaurant but never a pork shank. The flavor of the fuji apple and miso was amazing, probably my new favorite entree at Sono.

Overall a great restaurant. Above average even compared with the popular ones I've dined at big cities. I definitely recommend this place to my friends and Japanese colleages. Just try to avoid their peak hours and large groups and you'll be fine.

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CarsonSarah

Joined 4 years ago

A+ in all categories. Service, atmosphere, food quality, food presentation, and service all A+. They use the highest quality ingredients and spare nothing in preparation. They also have a great selection of the less common tane, such as sea urchin. When sitting at the sushi bar the expertise is obvious. The chefs are very friendly, which makes for a great experience. We live an hour outside Raleigh and we will travel there just to dine at Sono.

Of the 300 or so Sushi bars that I have dined at in this hemisphere over the last 20 years, Sono is memorable. For a fusion style restaurant, it does not get any better than this.

Try the Sono roll or any of the seared rolls as a starter.

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mkathrynp

Joined 5 years ago

Tasty sushi in a cool atmosphere. My boyfriend went on a date here for the first time recently. It was awesome!! The sushi was great--of the Raleigh sushi places I would rate it right up there with Waraji. The hostess was really friendly, and our waiter was extremely helpful in helping us decide which rolls to get. The service was outstanding! My only complaint was that the sake decanters (we had a small and a large) were pretty small for the price. This is a great place for a date!!

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johndonavan123

Joined 6 years ago

Great Sushi. I have eaten here around 10 times and can say the food is great. Very fresh tasting and they do a good job on presentation. My experience with service is mixed so we usually sit at the bar or sushi bar and it has still taken a long time to get drinks on certain nights..

Overall, Highly recommend Sono

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4isenuff

Joined 4 years ago

A MUST IF YOU LIKE JAPANESE/SUSHI!!. I didn't expect much when I went for the first time; i work across street and it took me a year to go in. But once I did, I am hooked. I have been back one other time for take out and WOW! I plan on going at least 1x a week now. The food is very, very good and the amount you get is plentiful. Go.

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bevyc

Joined 4 years ago

Great service and sushi. The sushi was very good and martini too! We had a great seat by the window on Fayetteville street - stayed cool - but felt like we were out on the street. Good times and good food

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droberts9

Joined 5 years ago

My top choice for sushi in the Triangle. Before I order sushi, I will inspect the tuna first through the glass case at the sushi bar. I look for good color, grain and freshness. Sono Restaurant consistently excels in sushi quality in all these catagories. There sushi is always very fresh and served correctly including temperature and presentation. I have ordered several dinner meals there and each time have left fully satisfied and happy. I will definitely continue to return. They respond to comments on these pages which is a good sign someone in the kitchen is concerned about customer feedback.

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samahl

Joined 4 years ago

Awesome experience.. I heard from someone that this place has a five course meal for 35 bucks on Mondays and that it was pretty good. So I decided to drive thirty minutes from Durham with my girl and her parents to give it a try. Honestly, I was expecting little tiny dishes to come out but I was wrong. We had a full size salad with house dressing which was very good. Then came a scallop appetizer that was amazing!! And they were HUGE. I was semi full after the salad and the appetizers. Next came our sushi rolls, which you can choose from their menu. I had the g spot roll and my girl and her mother got the screaming o roll having heard so much about it. The rolls were phenominal and also FULL size. Next came the filet steak and shrimp which was perfectly cooked and delicious with some kind of red wine sauce. Finally the dessert came and it was some kinda of custard with fresh fruits. It was so good. We were so full it was rediculous. But we managed to eat it all, even my girls mother ate everything, and she is tiny and normally doesn't eat that much. We left with a big smile and decided to make the trip atleast once a month. I just hope the special doesn't end soon. We will definitely be back. Keep the specials running, PLEASE!

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arod74

Joined 4 years ago

My new favorite sushi restaurant. I just moved in to one of the new condos here in downtown from north raleigh and was excited to find that there is a sushi restaurant walking distance away. I've visited 3 times so far and I was very pleased with the service and the quality of their food. My wife and I ordered the yellow tail with jalapenos and the tuna tataki on our first visit and it's a regular order everytime we go. We then had several orders of sushi that the chefs recommended and couple of rolls. The sushi was delicious, fresh, and well made. The rolls that we had was screaming o, g spot, and tuna ecstasy. They had awkward names but were very good. The tuna ecstasy reminded me of mary roll from waraji(which is another favorite restaurant of mine), but little spicier. Their desserts are pretty good too, not very big in size but presented well. Overall a very good japanese restaurant. Only two downside would be the it gets really really loud on weekends(lots of obnoxious drunks sitting way too close) and their lack of traditional hot food. I enjoy udon noodles very much but they didn't have it. I mentioned it to one of the chefs and they told me they will try to put it in the next menu so we'll see. I've not had their kitchen food yet but probably will try it sometime this week. I'm just so grateful we have such a great collection of restaurants in walking distance. Sono, Fins, and Mint are all wonderful restaurants and it's really great to have them all near by. Thanks for making my dining life a heaven.

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jjhopkins47

Joined 4 years ago

Good sushi restaurant with lots of variety. I moved here from cali few months ago and I am a sushi junky. I live and work in downtown so I dine here frequently. One of few sushi joints in town worth going to and I've tried most of them in the triangle. Not as good as some one the places in cal but definitely one of the top in this area. Their entrees are good too but their rolls and sashimi are the stars. The special rolls are unique and tasty but sometimes has too much sauce. The sashimi is excellent. They actually have several fresh fish most of the time. I don't mind frozen fish in rolls but can't stand it when it comes to sashimi. The best thing to do if you enjoy good sashimi like me is to ask one of the sushi chefs. They've always been honest and let me know what is especially good and it's been working out good so far. Service is on and off. I've not had terrible service but it does get little "rushed" especially on the weekends. I had couple of big parties their and I have to say that it's best to avoid having big groups there. I had trouble with all the food not comming out at the same time and waiting long periods of time for drinks. But overall it's a great little sushi joint.