Nara Japanese

Good, fast, kind! What more can you ask for?This is a cute little restaurant, but don't let the small exterior deter you! The service has been on point the last 5 times I've been. They are always on top of it, and the food comes out so fast!! Speaking of the food, delicious. I've tried a variety of bowls, soups, and their salad. All have been top tier! This is a great small town Japanese place to go with the family!

Hands down the best Japanese in Hickory. Very fairly priced and the portions are well sized.

The food is amazing!! I love the fact that they have bottles of shrimp sauce because I love to drown my food in it haha. I normally get the steak and chicken combination plate and my steak is always cooked perfect! The service is outstanding every time i go here I am made to feel at home even with pregnancy hormones haha.I tried there sushi and it is also amazing. The dining area could be updated but besides that I bring my family here all the time and never one complaint! Keep up the good work!

The absolute worst sushi I have ever seen. Literally was served rotten fish. Then only given a partial refund. It also did not help that the restaurant was 90 degree's inside. Avoid like the plague!!!!

A friend who is a player on the Lenoir-Rhyne Soccer team recommended this spot as it's frequented by the team and they enjoy it. I checked out reviews ahead of time and was a tad skeptical. First let me address the smelly bathroom-yes, the women's room had an unpleasant odor, however I noted this is an older building and it looks as if they've done all they can do outside of ripping up plumbing to aleviate this-they stay on top of cleaning floors and have air fresheners all around. I saw this as trying to do what they could with this situation. As long as you're not eating dinner in the bathroom, I think you'll be good.I was informed the Soccer team enjoys they teriyaki bowls, so I ordered one for my guest and one for my child. The food was cooked fresh and there was so much of it. If you're an average person who is not burning a million calories playing soccer, you'll have some to take home. I am gluten intolerant, so I opted for the sushi. Like an old lady, I brought my own gluten free soy sauce (and check to make sure that was ok), however they do have some available in packets there if you forget yours. The sushi was very fresh and delish, I had a few rolls that kinda fell apart, but it didn't stop the enjoyment of the dish.Last, we were waited on by Josh and he is nothing short of amazing. He made sure we had what we needed and was great at offering suggestions and generally all around fantastic at checking on us. He also kept our cups full and got us to-go cups on the way out the door. This man is the epitome of fabulous customer service and frankly give the guy a raise, or a medal, or both because there needs to be more people like him!While Nara might not be everyone's cup of tea, it certainly hit the spot on this occasion and is worth a try especially if you've got hungry athletes to feed.

Nara has been here at this location for years and years. I remember growing up eating here, and nothing has changed... EXCEPT for the prices of course. The ONLY thing I've eaten from here in all of these years has been the hibachi chicken plate and the chicken teriyaki plate, both which are amazing and some of the best in Catawba county! I also enjoy Fuji in Conover and Sakura on Springs rd, all 3 including Nara are similar. I don't care for any other Japanese take out restaurants in the area. So if you're craving Japanese, those are my 3 go to's depending on what area I'm in at the time. Nara has a drive thru, and you don't have to call ahead. Food is done fairly quickly. The only bad thing about this restaurant is the parking lot- it can be kind of tricky leaving the parking lot and pulling back onto 127. Lastly, I do believe they have sushi which I would love to try when I'm back in North Carolina, because sushi is my weakness!

I remember Nara's when I was growing up to be the best Japanese restaurant that there was, and somewhere I always insisted on going. I had incredibly fond memories of the delicious teriyaki chicken, the amazing sweet carrots and the crisp, fresh broccoli. I don't know if it's changed or if I've just tried a few other restaurants since then, but it's not quite the same. As far as chicken teriyaki goes, Nagano's is better. Hands down. And Sarku Japan in the mall is even better. So go to one of those instead. As far as sushi, it's incredible. Seriously. As a kid, I was far too stubborn to eat any sort of raw fish, but as an avid sushi lover in my adult years, I had to opt for it and I'm glad I did. The sushi at Nara's is fantastic and certainly something you should go for. Overall, it's great sushi and just okay Japanese food and maybe that's all it needs to be.

I have to say driving by I was not interested in stopping in but I am a sushi nut and my husband loves hibachi so we gave in since there is no sushi places around . We walked in super surprised . Clean and a bunch of people. The prices were great and the food was very good!!! I can only assume they used msg like a lot of food like that but I only say that because it doesn't settle with me well . That would have to be the only bad thing I can say about them. I will definitely go back and I'm so happy we found a reasonably priced sushi/Japanese place! If you have been searching for good food at a good price... give it a shot!!!

Nice location and nice ambiance the fish in the sushi was fresh and good quality but the rice was too sticky.

Called ahead to order food and had to wait behind people ordering at the window. What's the point of ordering ahead if it just means my food sits by the window getting cold while other people order onsite in line in front of me? Follow Donte's example and make people order ahead if they are in the drive thru! or at least have those that don't call ahead move or have a separate line. On top of the complete inefficiency of the window- they are not taking COVID concerns seriously. The person ahead of us paid with cash; the girl at the window then handled our credit card, handed us a pen and asked us to sign our receipt all the while wearing the same gloves. When we said something her response was "we already handled your food, so what's the difference?" Wow! Great response from during a pandemic. If they think all of this is a joke that's fine, but they won't have our business. Thanks for letting us know your employees don't take sanitation seriously.