Yuraku - Germantown, MD

The bf and I were in Germantown to pick up my younger cousin, so we stopped by this popular sushi joint - Yuraku. Sorry I forgot to take a pic of the sign, but envision a plain, red sign in an old shopping center...the interior is much nicer. There is plenty of parking in the front lot. The closest metro is Shady Grove on the red line.

I've been a few times before for their famous lunch buffet. It's around $13 a person, and offer a wide selection of special rolls and other buffet items.

It's a small place that gets packed very easily. When I used to work in Gaithersburg, my coworkers and I used to leave the office at 10:30am to get a table. The bf and I even came with a reservation on a weekend evening and ended up leaving because it was taking forever.

I like sushi places that give you free miso soup, yummy.

They also gave us japchae (Korean noodles), caesar salad, and apple salad.

So the menu has a HUGEEEEE selection of special rolls (close to 80). They cheaper than I've seen anywhere else, which contributes to their popularity. Other than their sushi, they offer noodles, tempura, grilled meats, and other typical Japanese items.

2 large boys and myself split only 4 rolls because they were MASSIVE. The photo doesn't show how much food you're getting for the price. Each of those pieces were two bites full.

Double Spicy Tuna Roll (Spicy tuna, tempura flake rolled and topped with more spicy tuna) for $7.95 - I'm not a pro when it comes to spicy foods, so this packed more of a punch than I wanted. It was also too mushy.

Crazy Horse (Chopped tuna, salmon, white tuna, yellow tail, red snapper, crabmeat, mayo, cucumber, avocado, masago, scallion) for $8.95 - I've realized that I'm not a fan of the chopped fish all blended together. You couldn't taste any of the ingredients.

Dr. Zhivago (Salmon, avocado, cucumber, crab, masago) for $5.75 - This was my favorite because salmon and avocado is an amazing combination.

Soft Rock & Roll (Fresh water eel, avocado, cucumber) for $6.50 - Unfortunately there was almost no eel in the roll.

I have many friends that are die hard fans of this place (and are going to think I'm insane). I think it's a great "bang for your buck", however I'm not impressed by the creations or the quality. The roll flavors are one-noted even with a good amount of ingredients. The pieces are made too big and don't feel delicate when eaten. I felt the same way when I tried their buffet but thought it would be different ordering off the menu...it wasn't.

19773 Frederick Rd
Germantown, MD 20876
(301) 515-7448
www.yuraku.com