The place is nice and small. There is always a wait to get in, we waited around 30min for us two to get a table (we got there around 5:30, and got sat at 6pm).The workers and our server were super nice, but I feel like a little understaffed in general (for example, there was only one sushi maker when we were there).Food was really good. We came during the happy hour, where the sushi, hand-rolls, sashimi, and nigiri were priced very cheap. But during that time there will be a wait for the sushi to come out since many tables will order it during this time.Atmosphere is nice and cozy, and also very clean.Overall, I recommend this place for good Japanese food, and cheap happy hour sushi. Definitely will come back for sure.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Happy Hour Sushi, Asaka Ramen, Sushi Happy Hour, Hand Roll
Hot Cheetos
My recent visit to Asaka was disappointing on several fronts. Despite the pleasant ambiance, the service left much to be desired. The waitress seemed more engrossed in chatting than attending to customers, leading to delayed orders and low-quality food that lacked authenticity. What truly dismayed me was the evident disappointment from her upon seeing a 13% tip (their tipping amount starting at an unreasonable 20%). She shook heads after she saw the tip amount. It’s disappointing that service professionals react negatively to gratuity. Overall, my experience was unsatisfactory, and I won't be returning. I hope management takes these concerns seriously and works towards improving both the food quality and professionalism of their staff.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
Soleil
I ordered spinach sesame from the appetizer menu, asaka ramen, and asaka rolls. I thought the spinach sesame would come out first since it's an appetizer right, but no. The ramen was out first, and nothing out until my partner finished the ramen! I am hangry at this point for real, both my sesame spinach and my sushi took so long for them to make.Absolutely off about their timings of sequence. Ramen tastes good (luckily) hence the 4stars on this review, but their sushi and nigiri taste mediocre, fish slices on our nigiri was also off proportion (fish way bigger than the rice), meanwhile the sushi roll fell off when we tried to pick it with our chopsticksLast, please kindly inform one of your waitress (asian with glasses) to NOT slam the plate in front of our face. I don't care how busy you are, but slamming plate in front of your customer is wrong!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Asaka Ramen
Chiho Song
Great value for money. But it takes a while
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Y “Five Stars” C
Ramen ????Sushi ??????
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
J C
Great food that's well worth the wait. The tonkatsu ramen and Spider Roll were delicious. If you go during the start of happy hour, be prepared to wait some but it obviously didn't affect my review. :) I'll be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Megan Derwich
We went for happy hour. Amazing deals on huge pieces of fish. The tray we got was gigantic. They did miss a few of our rolls but it was ok in the end.The only reason why I am rating them so low in service was multiple other people's food was delivered to our table. Had to ask multiple times for drinks or rice. But I think the main reason is because they never dropped off the check. We asked multiple times and ended up going to the hostess stand to get it.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Happy Hour Sushi, Takoyaki, Sushi Happy Hour, Sushi Roll, Hand Roll, Yakitori, California Roll, Fish, Sashimi Dinner A
Adriana Aleman
It took us over 2 hours, closer to 2.5, to be seating, waited on, served the food, and the check. It was long stretches of just nothingness, not even eye contact made. Awful service in general, not worth the food.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
Kaitlyn Tran
Food is just alright, but the service was terrible. They have very odd rules regarding reservations (need to “pre-order” sushi via Instagram or Facebook DM) that was not made clear. When we arrived the owner(?) tried to turn us away, saying that since we did not pre-order, we lost our reservation.The waiters were great, the host/owner was not.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 1
Charles W. Clark
Asaka is the only place in Indianapolis with authentic Japanese cuisine, period. The staff is knowledgeable, the kitchen turns out amazing food, and the sushi bar provides beautiful cuts of sushi you can't believe. I take my friends and family as much as I can. A+
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Happy Hour Sushi, Omakase Sushi Dinner, Takoyaki, Miso Soup, Sushi Happy Hour, Tempura Udon, Sushi Roll, Sea Weed Salad, Edamame, Hand Roll, Spicy Miso Ramen, Yakitori, Shoyu Ramen, Kabocha Tempura Roll Chee on a Roll, California Roll, Noodles, Fish, Curry Udon, Sashimi Dinner A, Salmon Sashimi
Waited 90 minutes for a ramen to be served. Left the place after waiting for 90minutes. The place wasn’t even busy. Not going back again.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Shilun Wu
Hands down the best Japanese restaurant in Indiana. I've been coming here for 10+ years and it does not disappoint. You'll probably run into plenty of Japanese people here (perhaps all in Indiana) because their food is so authentic. They seem to be understaffed lately, so service can be slow and there's probably a line to get in. However, it's worth the wait. Remember to hide your valuables in your car, as it's not the safest part of Indy for sure.
We used to love this restaurant. They have amazing food, but their service has really gone downhill in the last few years. It’s gotten so bad that if we’re in the mood for Japanese food, we no longer consider Asaka as the first option because you can never predict whether they’ll accept you in the restaurant or accept your takeout order. There is usually a wait to be seated because they only take reservations for a couple of time slots. When you’re dining in, be ready to also wait (whether it’s to get your first drink order placed or to get your food). For takeout, this is never consistent. You could call one day and place an order without a problem, but then be denied another day and told they are not accepting takeout orders that day because the restaurant is too busy. It is also extremely frustrating how they post so much on social media about their business hurting and urging customers to support them, but they continue to deny customers that want to support them and who have supported them for so many years. I hope they change some of their business practices soon because this inconsistency in service could be their downfall.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 2
Brock Bucher
If you want great sushi, at the expense of the worst service you’ve possibly ever experienced, Asaka is for you. However, if jumping through endless hoops and waiting forever for food sounds like a terrible experience, you’d be right. I’ve loved Asaka’s food before but it’s just not worth the horrific service and requirements to get good sushi I could get anywhere else. Had a party of 10 that wanted to go for a family Christmas dinner. Called and was told that for larger parties, we cant schedule same day of, but it had to be at 5:30 the following day. Oh, and for larger orders, I had to “pre-message” them before our reservation with our explicit order. I thought all those steps were annoying, but the food was good, so I complied, and the next day I messaged them on Instagram with my party’s order. Right when they opened, I called to make sure they got our order. They did… but because I had messaged them at 12:22pm, they couldn’t serve us… because they needed the order BEFORE NOON… a requirement that was never expressed or communicated to me. So my entire Christmas party had to scramble with a new reservation. I and all my other previous Asaka-loving party members will never be back.
The place is nice and small. There is always a wait to get in, we waited around 30min for us two to get a table (we got there around 5:30, and got sat at 6pm).The workers and our server were super nice, but I feel like a little understaffed in general (for example, there was only one sushi maker when we were there).Food was really good. We came during the happy hour, where the sushi, hand-rolls, sashimi, and nigiri were priced very cheap. But during that time there will be a wait for the sushi to come out since many tables will order it during this time.Atmosphere is nice and cozy, and also very clean.Overall, I recommend this place for good Japanese food, and cheap happy hour sushi. Definitely will come back for sure.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Happy Hour Sushi, Asaka Ramen, Sushi Happy Hour, Hand Roll
My recent visit to Asaka was disappointing on several fronts. Despite the pleasant ambiance, the service left much to be desired. The waitress seemed more engrossed in chatting than attending to customers, leading to delayed orders and low-quality food that lacked authenticity. What truly dismayed me was the evident disappointment from her upon seeing a 13% tip (their tipping amount starting at an unreasonable 20%). She shook heads after she saw the tip amount. It’s disappointing that service professionals react negatively to gratuity. Overall, my experience was unsatisfactory, and I won't be returning. I hope management takes these concerns seriously and works towards improving both the food quality and professionalism of their staff.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
I ordered spinach sesame from the appetizer menu, asaka ramen, and asaka rolls. I thought the spinach sesame would come out first since it's an appetizer right, but no. The ramen was out first, and nothing out until my partner finished the ramen! I am hangry at this point for real, both my sesame spinach and my sushi took so long for them to make.Absolutely off about their timings of sequence. Ramen tastes good (luckily) hence the 4stars on this review, but their sushi and nigiri taste mediocre, fish slices on our nigiri was also off proportion (fish way bigger than the rice), meanwhile the sushi roll fell off when we tried to pick it with our chopsticksLast, please kindly inform one of your waitress (asian with glasses) to NOT slam the plate in front of our face. I don't care how busy you are, but slamming plate in front of your customer is wrong!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Asaka Ramen
Great value for money. But it takes a while
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Ramen ????Sushi ??????
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Great food that's well worth the wait. The tonkatsu ramen and Spider Roll were delicious. If you go during the start of happy hour, be prepared to wait some but it obviously didn't affect my review. :) I'll be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We went for happy hour. Amazing deals on huge pieces of fish. The tray we got was gigantic. They did miss a few of our rolls but it was ok in the end.The only reason why I am rating them so low in service was multiple other people's food was delivered to our table. Had to ask multiple times for drinks or rice. But I think the main reason is because they never dropped off the check. We asked multiple times and ended up going to the hostess stand to get it.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Happy Hour Sushi, Takoyaki, Sushi Happy Hour, Sushi Roll, Hand Roll, Yakitori, California Roll, Fish, Sashimi Dinner A
It took us over 2 hours, closer to 2.5, to be seating, waited on, served the food, and the check. It was long stretches of just nothingness, not even eye contact made. Awful service in general, not worth the food.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
Food is just alright, but the service was terrible. They have very odd rules regarding reservations (need to “pre-order” sushi via Instagram or Facebook DM) that was not made clear. When we arrived the owner(?) tried to turn us away, saying that since we did not pre-order, we lost our reservation.The waiters were great, the host/owner was not.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 1
Asaka is the only place in Indianapolis with authentic Japanese cuisine, period. The staff is knowledgeable, the kitchen turns out amazing food, and the sushi bar provides beautiful cuts of sushi you can't believe. I take my friends and family as much as I can. A+
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Happy Hour Sushi, Omakase Sushi Dinner, Takoyaki, Miso Soup, Sushi Happy Hour, Tempura Udon, Sushi Roll, Sea Weed Salad, Edamame, Hand Roll, Spicy Miso Ramen, Yakitori, Shoyu Ramen, Kabocha Tempura Roll Chee on a Roll, California Roll, Noodles, Fish, Curry Udon, Sashimi Dinner A, Salmon Sashimi
Restaurantji Recommends
Waited 90 minutes for a ramen to be served. Left the place after waiting for 90minutes. The place wasn’t even busy. Not going back again.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Hands down the best Japanese restaurant in Indiana. I've been coming here for 10+ years and it does not disappoint. You'll probably run into plenty of Japanese people here (perhaps all in Indiana) because their food is so authentic. They seem to be understaffed lately, so service can be slow and there's probably a line to get in. However, it's worth the wait. Remember to hide your valuables in your car, as it's not the safest part of Indy for sure.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Happy Hour Sushi, Takoyaki, Miso Soup, Sushi Happy Hour, Shoyu Ramen, Fish, Sashimi Dinner A
Best sushi, atmosphere, and servers! I love it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We used to love this restaurant. They have amazing food, but their service has really gone downhill in the last few years. It’s gotten so bad that if we’re in the mood for Japanese food, we no longer consider Asaka as the first option because you can never predict whether they’ll accept you in the restaurant or accept your takeout order. There is usually a wait to be seated because they only take reservations for a couple of time slots. When you’re dining in, be ready to also wait (whether it’s to get your first drink order placed or to get your food). For takeout, this is never consistent. You could call one day and place an order without a problem, but then be denied another day and told they are not accepting takeout orders that day because the restaurant is too busy. It is also extremely frustrating how they post so much on social media about their business hurting and urging customers to support them, but they continue to deny customers that want to support them and who have supported them for so many years. I hope they change some of their business practices soon because this inconsistency in service could be their downfall.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 2
If you want great sushi, at the expense of the worst service you’ve possibly ever experienced, Asaka is for you. However, if jumping through endless hoops and waiting forever for food sounds like a terrible experience, you’d be right. I’ve loved Asaka’s food before but it’s just not worth the horrific service and requirements to get good sushi I could get anywhere else. Had a party of 10 that wanted to go for a family Christmas dinner. Called and was told that for larger parties, we cant schedule same day of, but it had to be at 5:30 the following day. Oh, and for larger orders, I had to “pre-message” them before our reservation with our explicit order. I thought all those steps were annoying, but the food was good, so I complied, and the next day I messaged them on Instagram with my party’s order. Right when they opened, I called to make sure they got our order. They did… but because I had messaged them at 12:22pm, they couldn’t serve us… because they needed the order BEFORE NOON… a requirement that was never expressed or communicated to me. So my entire Christmas party had to scramble with a new reservation. I and all my other previous Asaka-loving party members will never be back.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 5
Service: 1