Yosake Downtown Sushi Lounge

Great variety of flavors, loved the spicy stuff! Can't beat the fresh sushi and ingredient combinations. Amazing staff and environment as well. Would recommend a reservation

What happened to this place? It used to be fresh but the last two times we’ve been there has been horrible. Cheap ingredients, the sushi was warm, the soup was cold and greasy, we ordered some noodles that were slimy. If I could give this place a zero I would. They’re living off their old name.

My wife and I had a great time at Yosake! The stairs to enter look killer 😱 but you'll survive 😂 The chicken jalapeño egg rolls were unique and delicious. We tried 3 different specialty rolls... pimp shrimp 🍤, kaiju 🦖, and dracarys 🐲. Each was unique and packed with delicious flavor 💥 If you love sushi, you won't be disappointed!

I’ve been going here for years and years. The Green Machine roll is my absolute favorite and it’s vegetarian. I wanted to say that Ian and Crawford make the sushi bar such a welcoming place to sit! The chefs are all very talented and kind. Service and hospitality like that is what genuinely makes me come back to a restaurant again and again over other choices in downtown Wilmington. Also, the mojitos are really good as well.

This is a very Americanized sushi restaurant. We ordered two spicy tuna rolls, one Philly roll, and the house ginger salad - we were disappointed across the board. The spicy tuna rolls had an odd, flavorless texture that was unappetizing and cucumbers which was odd. The house ginger salad also missed the mark—they put an unusual twist on it with carrot purée in the dressing, the wrong type of lettuce, and unexpected crunchy additions that didn’t work well together. Everything was overpriced at a minimum of $9 a roll.

This place has always been a really good restaurant. And it still is! The appetizers are always crisp and fresh and hot, the sushi is always beautifully displayed and fresh and delicious. The service is on point, always attentive and always friendly!

I’ve given Yosake multiple tries hoping it would get better, but unfortunately it’s been inconsistent for me. Even with a reservation, I’ve had to wait to be seated every time, which takes some of the fun out of dining out. The food is just okay … the sashimi is fresh enough but never memorable, and overall the flavors tend to fall a little flat. It’s not bad, just not great when you consider the number of good spots in Wilmington now. I love the downtown location and ambiance, and service has always been friendly, but I haven’t had a meal here yet that made me want to rush back.

Atmosphere: Cozy and intimate, with a piano bar on the third floor for a relaxed ambiance. The small entrance between buildings adds a touch of mystery and charm. Food: The salmon was delicious, with fresh ingredients and well-prepared dishes. However, one entree was accidentally missed during the ordering process, causing some inconvenience. Service: While the food was excellent, the service could be improved. There was a significant wait time for both dine-in and to-go orders, and the lack of seating for customers waiting to-go was a major inconvenience. Overall: Yosake Downtown Sushi Lounge offers a unique dining experience with its cozy atmosphere and delicious salmon. However, the long wait times and service issues may deter some customers. If you're willing to wait and enjoy a relaxed ambiance, it's definitely worth a visit.

The food was amazing.We ordered from the 5-7 Happy Hour Menu. They had several great options on the menu. We choose the Shrimp ,Tuna roll and edamame.Very delicious! It was my first time going and can't wait to go back and try other menu options.

Went here for a late night bite. Our waitress was very nice, the restaurant has kind of speakeasy vibes because you access it from a stairwell which was cool. The inside had really nice ambiance. The sushi was good and my husband got ramen, the broth was delicious.

Yosake never disappoints! The happy hour menu is unmatched! Excellent service, great ambiance, YUMMY good and plenty of options! Wonderful for a night out with friends OR colleagues. Be mindful of parking details in downtown ILM. Otherwise, enjoy!

Gave it a second shot. 1st issue 3months back left me feeling like "I'm not going there again" was ordering to-go $25-30 total, handed over a $50 and was asked if I needed change... yes of course I do. 2nd chance tonight, ordered 2 rolls and an app at the start of happy hour. Received the same rolls twice and the rice on the sushi unfortunately tasted old. I wasn't checked for food quality or if anything was needed. Highly recommend Nikki's sushi for the service-quality-prices are yosakes happy hour prices but all day

The food was ok; nothing stellar compared to places easier to get a table & easier to park. Tables and bar felt kind of sticky. Getting a table on a Sunday night at 5 was a no-go unless you had a reservation; its not a huge restaurant so limited seating. Tables & everything just felt super cheap IMO. Friends of ours love it here but we were underwhelmed. Parking, like most downtown restaurants is so hit-or-miss we just don't venture downtown much - probably not as much of an issue if you get a spot in a parking garage & walk to your destination.

Downtown but upstairs. YoSakè is above The Husk so don't sit down at the wrong place like I did. I was greeted with a smile and offered table seating, bar seat, or sushi bar seat. I love watching how the rolls are made, my FAV! Here's my three things: 1) Hip scene for ILM downtown and has a solid menu with hot dish and sushi options. 2) Plenty of beers, wine, and Sakè options so if you wanna feel the sush this is your joint. 4oz pour of Joto, and a Salty Turtle sets any dinner right off. 3) Got the seaweed salad (3/5 portion/runny liquid). Gianna's roll, was super good but didn't know from description that it was a fried roll. I watched it all get made and still love the process.

Ambience was absolutely wonderful and the music was great. The food was also wonderful. Now the negatives... bathroom was very dirty and definitely needs renovating and the service was really inattentive. It wasn't that busy but our server definitely seemed stress, so I cut her some slack. I'll be back but hoping for a little elevated service next time.

Yum! We came here with a big group and it did not disappoint! We were promptly sat and greeted with drinks. We started with crab rangoons, spicy cauliflower and dumplings. They were DELICIOUS! The crab Rangoon & cream cheese was perfectly distributed and dumplings were perfectly steamed. The sushi was also delicious. Would definitely come back!

Definitely fancier and pricier than some of the other sushi spots around but amazing food, service, and atmosphere in the perfect downtown location. The restaurant is on the second floor. While most of the menu is obviously sushi they also have lots of street food options, noodles, soup, salad, and a favorites menu ranging from surf and turf and burgers to curry and teriyaki. They also have wine, beer, sake, and specialty cocktails. My favorite time to go is during happy hour which is daily 5-7pm or my personal choice weekends 10pm-12am. If you are looking for local sushi at a cheaper price point in a less busier area I also recommend Yoshi near UNCW.

We came for the Sushi we left with the knowledge that white guys should not make sushi, lol. The rice was gummy, the rolls not so flavorful, it is a great place if you looking for cheap happy hour food and drinks but for adults, "NORI" would be a better option located at the point. I am glad we checked it out but....nothing special here. The youngsters will appreciate the Happy Hour Prices on their Happy Hour menu before going to booze it up and the quality is not horrible, just better in other locations. You can always go upstairs to Tempo 33 to wash it down and listen to music. The Location is Great and the Ambiance is a Party feeling, not for relaxing Dinner situations. Service was amazing with exception to an older server with glasses, she seemed miffed that someone asked her to bring us our edamame which was under cooked and dropped it on the table. So nice to visit, and not to keep coming back to.

Hands down, the best sushi ever. We try to eat here every Friday night. Shelly roll, Fire on the Mountain, and Tomago among our favorites. The short rib appetizer and all soups are divine. The sushi chefs are artists and they are nice, funny, efficient. There's a tip jar on the counter and a gong to ring when a tip goes in. We've noticed a majority of sushi diners don't tip in that jar. Seriously? The chefs deserve these tips. If you can afford to dine out, please tip appropriately.

First time here and enjoying it. Came on a Thursday night and it was packed so I suggest making a reservation if you can. I sat at the sushi bar. They have two bars that people can sit at (sushi bar and alcoholic bar). Both were pretty full. The service is fast though! I ordered the Lodi red blend wine and enjoyed it. The malbec is also good! I got seaweed salad and tom yum soup to start. Both came out within 5 mins and were tasty. Then I got the chefs choice specialty roll - which changes each night and is designed by the sushi chefs. My waitress recommended it and I enjoyed it. It had a lot of things including baked sweet potato, North Carolina crab, and tempura shrimp topped with tuna, avocado, spicy mayo, scallions and black garlic shoyu (which is a type of fancy soy sauce I think). It tasted fresh and I enjoyed the details that went into creating it. The atmosphere is lively yet sultry with a tinge of an eclectic vibe. This place is great for a date night, solo date, or a meetup with a couple/few friends. My waitress, Lena was great! She had wonderful recommendations and checked in the perfect amount of times (not too little and not too much) and was very down to earth. Many employees here were pretty friendly.

Such amazing food for such a good price! My husband and I were shocked. absolutely recommend!

This was my first time here. It is a nice friendly late nite sushi bar (meaning the menu was small but we'll thought out. The prices are very reasonable.

YoSake boasts strong reviews, and on paper, that makes complete sense. The menu is deep and varied, the location is convenient, and the use of local ingredients is commendable. The actual experience of dining here, however, proved to be fairly disappointing. YoSake is located on the second floor of a historic building, accessible by pausing halfway up a long staircase. Inside, the ambiance is half industrial (bricks n ducts), half imitation Japanese (red walls and anime art). While a "fun" atmosphere with space for groups, it's also quite loud, making conversation difficult. Billed as a sushi lounge, YoSake has classic and specialty rolls but also curries, noodle dishes, soups, salads, and more. There are Thai as well as Japanese influences and vegetarian options as well. My wife and I ordered a coconut lemongrass soup, a farmhouse roll (cucumber, sweet potato, avocado, and asparagus with cream cheese), and a crispy salmon (salmon, forbidden rice, scallions, and avocado cream). Our server was friendly, and in light of what followed, very apologetic, but the meal was one mishap or letdown after another. YoSake makes no claim on authenticity, but even faux Asian fusion should be able to do better than a bag of Bigelow in the tea department. The soup (perhaps tellingly not billed as tom kha gai) was salty to the point of inedible (no hyperbole here) and filled with overcooked vegetables to boot. Somehow, my crispy salmon (listed that way on the menu) was interpreted as a crunchy roll with salmon, a mistake that was, thankfully, quickly remedied. That said, the meal wasn't a complete disaster. The farmhouse roll offered a healthy change-of-pace from the traditional Philly, the salmon was cooked well (crispy as advertised without being dry) if a bit understated in the flavor department, and the rice was quite tasty. It's possible that we caught YoSake during an off-night, but the acoustics, miscues, and presence of more reliable options in the area make it unlikely we'll be back during our next Wilmington trip.

This place is an amazing time warp. By that I mean, they have roughly the same tables as Nikki's across the street, but fancier decorations and it seems to step you back in time twenty minutes from when you walked in the door. More staff than Nikki's and yet your food will come out cold, or your sushi will come out warm, all while paying more money for the same dish. You will be met with statements about a 35 minute sushi wait when half the menu involves that and there is an entire half of the restaurant involved in sushi preparations. Over priced. Underserved. There was a time this place rocked. Since then I don't know what happened. Keep trying it and keep getting cold food that's supposed to be hot and warm food that is supposed to be cold.

Yummy sushi tucked away at the top of quite a hike of stairs. We opted for the sushi for me to share, 4 regular rolls which is enough for the two of us. Our app and sushi arrived at the same time which was okay but it's always better when the app comes before so you have a chance to nibble. This is a neat little place with ample seating but they seem to prefer reservations- when we arrived, we were offered bar seating or table seating if we would be done in an hour. I was cool with that but it's really not up to me how long our meal takes to arrive so this was an odd situation. A party was leaving as we came in though so we were seated at a table pretty quickly nonetheless. Service was okay, food was good. We left full and content.

This place is a hidden gem! Walk up the stairs to some exceptionally fresh sushi and sashimi. Great service and cold saki too. Cheesecake dessert was a hit too! Highly recommend.

So my wife and I visited this location on Friday, March 28, 2025, first time visiting here as we are from out of state, but in Wilmington for 6 1/2 weeks living and this place was absolutely horrendous. The food was terrible the service behind the bar. There was two young women. One of them was very nice. The other was very nice. The service was very good impromptu. What a complete turn off when this young woman with somewhat of a tank top type shirt on goes underneath this cabinet and I can see her vaping and blowing the smoke into the cabinet coming back out, not washing your hands or nothing and then handling cups and everything else while she's mixing drinks this is terrible. Gross and I almost want to contact the Department of health and human services for Wilmington and let them know this. I was almost going to take a picture with my phone or a video to show this. We had lettuce wraps and it was terrible. We had a dumpling type soup and that was absolutely terrible and my wife had some sort of sushi roll that she said was maybe a two on a scale of one to five. Absolute complete turn off, watching this young woman again, grabbing her vape stick opening up the cabinet door behind the bar and taking a couple reefs, soffit and blowing the smoke clouds of smoke underneath the cabinet and coming back out without washing her hands and then starts mixing drinks and handling cups of which people are going to put near their mouths.

Came for my son's 17th birthday! Make a reservation. They open at 5. Thai curry ribs disappeared before my eyes. Crab Rangoon is pizza like Music is good, though loud. Atmosphere is loud in general. They do have an elevator They had a GF menu. They had a kids menu We had GF rolls. They were okay. I felt like they were bland. Didn't taste any spicy anything with the tuna. We thought the appetizers were better. Kiddo like his noodles.

On a whim while visiting the area we stopped in for a late lunch. The staff were very friendly and food did not take very long but seemed very fresh. My husband and I both enjoyed our sushi burritos. I was not prepared for the spice level in my food (crustacean sensation) but enjoyed all the food nonetheless. We will definitely go back on our next trip.

The food was spectacular. I love tuna and crab and those were the best crab Rangoon's I've had. I worked at a sushi resteraunt for a few years. My first yelp review. But the service was the worst I've had at a resteraunt. I think our waitress forgot about us. She was also the bartender but we were sat right near the bar. We were there sitting waiting on her for over 30 minutes while she mingled behind the bar. It was disappointing to where it affected our experience. Ambiance was nothing special and none of the servers appeared professional!

A very memorable meal and truly a delicious delight. Ask for Marcus to make drinks at the bar. He has his own special recipes. The food and service are impeccable.

I have waited 6 mo. to try Yosake, and was super excited. After eating here I was disappointed. Here is my official rating out of 5 stars. Atmosphere 4 stars - Service 4 stars - Food 3 stars - Value for your money 2 stars. Overall I would give Yosake 3 stars. The sashimi was 4 stars but the specialty rolls 3 stars at best and that is being very lenient. The specialty rolls were very Americanized and not authentic, and that's what I was hoping to get when I came to Yosake. Yosake is a good place for new sushi goers or folks that want to eat sushi, but don't want to taste the fish. My final rating is 3 stars.

We had a great meal here, we went on a Sunday and it was busy but there wasn't a wait. Our server was great, she answered our questions about a few dishes and was checked in at different times to see if we needed anything. We started with the Crab Rangoon flatbread which was perfect for sharing among the three of us. Yosake has a great variety on their menu, but not overwhelming. Our sushi rolls came out and were beautifully plated. We had a great meal, servings were generous which allowed us to share and taste different sushi rolls. We will be back to this Wilmington favorite of locals and visitors for sushi!

Go to for fresh food, amazing flavors, and good vibes. Always have good service and usually not a hassle to get a table.

Came here with a large group for a late dinner. They had our table set and ready for our reservation. Our waitress was very accommodating and willing to customize my roll when I asked if it was possible. The sushi was delicious, some of the best fresh salmon I've had on a roll. Only negative thing I can comment on is the amount of salt they dumped on my edamame, but the sushi definitely made up for it.

Food was amazing! Generous portions and fun vibes. Our waitress was nice and attentive.

If I could give this place 20 stars, I would. My friend and I were able to get a reservation pretty quickly on a Friday night and were greeted by the NICEST waitress. The restaurant is on the second floor above Husk, and it was gorgeous inside. Very aesthetically pleasing. We both ordered drinks, and I got the Rising Sun, which has Tito's vodka, sake, and raspberry purée (pictured). It tasted like a hard cider (random, but delicious - I had 2 haha). We then ordered two rolls, which aren't pictured here. The restaurant ended up bringing us the wrong rolls (pictured), but they were SO good. Not what I would have naturally chosen, but so glad we got them. Because they did this, they ended up bagging up our original rolls to go and giving us cheesecake on the house. The manager was extremely sweet, and they went over and beyond our expectations. I will definitely come back here again!! My favorite sushi so far in Wilmington.

We had been wanting to try this place, last time we came to Wilmington we couldn't get in, so i made sure to make a reservation in advance. The atmosphere and place was great, loved the inside vibe and decor. The service was ok, we got the basic service and asked for drinks and food promptly, but our server wasn't super friendly or did much for us. The sushi was a little disappointing, it was fresh but lacked flavor, we only tried the sushi, but other plates people got that were not sushi looked good Overall great ambiance but just ok sushi.

Solid sushi and Asian spot downtown! They have taken over the third floor as well so there is a more relaxed area to enjoy drinks and sushi with a lower wait time. Their bar is solid, especially with their specialty drinks and Saki. The food is decent, often large portions. The lo mein is wonderful. The service has not always been wonderful. Pretty hit or miss. A few of the dishes have been entirely too spicy to eat. The only reason I really come here is their happy hour menu. A significant discount on my favorite rolls and apps, no complaints there. At happy hour, 5/5. Anytime else, 3/5 at best. Try it out!

Always great sushi and apps. Tuesday sushi special is a great deal and the best quality sushi around town! Def one of my favorite spots!

So I went on a random Sunday night in the beginning of January because it had great ratings and I had sent some tictoks. I got the chicken and saag rice, which is really delicious but the fiery meat wasn't that good It was a little empty and so there wasn't really an atmosphere to rate, and our server was good, but a little bit too chatty and kept coming by our table to talk to us about random things. but I definitely recommend the food is really good overall and hot sake is always a plus

The food was actually delicious and the ambiance is very nice. It can get a little loud in the room so not a great spot for an intimate dinner. The rolls were delicious; disappointed with the dessert and service.

Amazing!!! I didn't have the sushi, but had the Massaman curry. It may have been the best I have ever had. The chicken was cooked as perfectly as chicken could be cooked. My family also had the spicy beef lo mein........so delish. Environment is nice and entergenic I could eat here every night

Good food, great ambiance, great prices, fun location. Curiously difficult to get hot tea in this town that is actually hot.

Very busy restaurant, service was great. We enjoyed the bao buns and shishito peppers for appetizers. Pork ramen was a miss for 2 in our party, the massaman curry was good.

Excellent experience on a early Saturday dinner. Quaint I guess you'd call it, it's got an entrance through a narrow door off the street and a wide old wooden stairwell up to the 2nd and third floors of that historic old building. Hostess service was friendly and helpful. Our waiter Marcos was efficient and friendly. Food was excellent. I had the Massaman curry with tofu and included side salad. Very tasty. Also we had steamed edamame. It's dusted with some house-made Thai spice instead of typical salt. Yummy and a big bowl. My friend had the 'general' sushi roll which contains tuna and salmon. Lastly between the hours of 5-7 they have a food happy hour so there's like 10-15 items that are half price including the aforementioned sushi and edamame. Living in Raleigh, I'll make the easy drive to Wilmington again for this place.

I like to think of myself a sushi snob. This place is in the top 3 of my Wilmington sushi list. The happy hour menu is an absolute steal! And the sushi itself (Especially the chiefs choice) is balanced perfectly. I don't do fried sushi, I like my sushi rare. But the way they have the textures and flavors interact is A+ I always recommend out of town visitors looking for a good sushi experience to go here. Being downtown as well there's plenty to do afterwards on a weekend night

The atmosphere is fun and it's a lively place! The service was phenomenal. Easy to make reservations and the table for 6 was ready when we got there. It is very loud in there so it's difficult to carry on a conversation. The food though was so disappointing. Other than the edamame and firecracker shrimp, it was just so bland. How are these dishes made with no spice or flavor!? The poke bowl was tiny! It will not fill you up. Seriously, Kale Me Crazy's beat this one easily. The "spicy" curry dish wasn't spicy. At all. They messed up on sushi order that was supposed to be tuna and made it with salmon. The pho - no flavor. It looked pretty but it was tasteless. There are much better places in the area to get this type food.

The food service in ambiance were amazing. It was a busy time of night, but we sat at the a little bar and had a delightful time anyway.

Place was great. A really cool vibe. We went on a Friday night and took a chance because it was still early. Host found us a place at the sushi bar (not common. Make a reservation). Service and food were phenomenal. We had sushi. It was fresh and the flavor combinations were fantastic! Highly recommend.

As someone with a shellfish allergy, sushi places are not my go-to. Yosake was very accommodating for my allergy and has several unique vegetarian rolls (much better than the usual avocado/cucumber at most places)! The green dragon roll was absolutely delicious and I would come back for that roll alone. They also have delicious mojitos. Great spot for a date or a group of friends to grab dinner and drinks. There was no wait when we arrived at 5:15 on a Friday night and we had excellent service as well!

I dined at Yo Sake Japanese sushi restaurant with a friend of mine. We sat at the bar to enjoy happy hour from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.  Good happy hour prices for the food: Spicy crunch tuna roll ($8, regular $14), firecracker shrimp ($7, regular $12), chicken egg rolls, and a Generoll ($8, regular $14). Everything was excellent. I could skip the chicken egg rolls the next time, as they were quite filling.  Also, I would skip the firecracker shrimp. Excellent, but reminded me of bang bang shrimp. I'd rather stick to other sushi items. The happy hour food total was less than our drinks! Really good deal. Will definitely be back here to try some of the other menu items!

We came here for our anniversary dinner and it was a breath of fresh air to have good service and amazing food. It was well lit to the point that it was almost too bright in there, but that to me did not overshadow the experience. We will be back!

Yosake is a great sushi bar in downtown Wilmington. I had the poke bowl and it was delicious, my friend got the spicy general and enjoyed it but said it was not all that spicy. Service was good and the prices were fair! I would recommend this place for sure. They are open till midnight which is great for drunken and late nights when you want something nicer than cookout! I will say, only option to get there is to walk up steps to get inside the restaurant , so not accessible for those with disabilities.

It's a casual spot if you're looking for something good to eat. Definitely recommend.

Yosake is located on the second floor above husk in downtown Wilmington. We ended up arriving right as they opened, and even though we did not have a reservation, they were able, and happy to get our party of four a table. You can tell that they do fill up fast, so if you are going during the evening or a busy weekend, I would make a reservation in advance. They range in various types of asian cuisine. For an appetizer we got the edamame and the Brussel sprouts. The edamame is a hard dish to mess up, and ultimately, our 3 year old devoured most of them before we could eat many. The Brussels were not bad. They were not cooked as much as we normally like, and were a little tough on the inside, but if you got one of the crispy outside pieces it was not too bad. They have various beers and drinks to choose from also, but we opted just for waters since we knew we would be doing a number on our pockets with all the food we were about to get. For an entree, I got the sushi for me. For $26 and 4 rolls, you cannot beat that. It was a Philly roll, spicy tuna (personal favorite), California, and a salmon asparagus roll which was also delicious. My friend got Massaman curry. She said it was okay, nothing to write home about but did not taste horrible. Lastly, my husband and daughter shared the lo main, which was absolutely delicious.

I came by last night around 9:15 for dinner - the place was packed! We were able to grab seats at the sushi bar - we hadn't been seated there before so that was fun and new! Our server was great and attentive as always. We started off with the bao buns and crab Rangoon flatbread and a house salad. All excellent as per usual. For sushi, my husband got the fire on the mountain (one of this faves) and I noticed the "this is how we roll" on the menu for the first time - this is basically a chef's pick. Our chef made a delicious roll stuffed with lobster and mango, and topped with smoked tuna. It was incredible. They also checked back to ask how we liked it which I appreciated. Will obviously be back!