A.A. Yawa Sushi

A lot of time has passed since eating food from here. Take out was the name of the game, and I was on a tear with the stuff, akin to Russell Westbrook against a mediocre PG from a bottom barrel team from the Eastern Conference. Circa Summer 2013, before the end of July (I’d say end of June-​ish)… I needed study fuel.
Not one to lose momentum by venturing outside the confines of my study space at NYLS, I quickly commissioned the help of Seamless®. What was open on a Sunday? What place had sushi? What was fast? What was cheap? I certainly found out the hard way that (quality) cheap food options that delivered in TriBeCa were few and far between. Ultimately I ended up settling for this place. Lunch special roll deals in this city are usually a bargain, and this joint was no different. Two rolls of your choice w/​miso soup on the side for under/​around $ 10?! Why the hell not… and throw in an order of vegetarian gyoza while you’re at it.
Sushi was serviceable: spicy tuna crunch and a shrimp tempura roll were had. Not the kind of stuff to knock one’s socks off, but I finished up; avocado was overripe in the shrimp tempura roll… that I do remember, but I understand trying to add a depth of texture to the sushi, if anything more crispiness is needed though (rice is soft enough as it is). The gyoza suffered from being a tad mealy on the inside as well; if you’re gonna have super soft fillings, the gyoza skin best be crispy.
Adequate study fuel, and I ended up passing the big test without any malicious side effects from this joint. You’re okay as it stands.

I came here with a friend after work because it was local and convenient. I ordered the maki lunch special, and got a yellowtail jalapeño roll and a rock shrimp roll. My friend got a chicken teriyaki bento box. The food was mediocre at best. The rolls were tiny! The rock shrimp didn’t really seem that fresh either. My friend didn’t even finish his chicken teriyaki because it was lukewarm. Would not come here again in a million years.

Passed by it a couple of weeks ago and saw a «C» grade. I kind of want to be sick. This is sushi– you can’t be too careful. Never more, never more.

I’ve only had delivery from these guys.
The last two deliveries took 54 minutes to arrive, and I live about eight blocks away.
Also, the receptionist (woman who takes the orders) speaks very little English. She seems nice and hardworking, but, at times, the language barrier is very difficult.
The sushi is okay. Not good. Not bad. I would never go to the restaurant just to have it. I ordered from them because I have their menu. But I won’t anymore, because it takes too long to be delivered.
They need a receptionist/​order taker who speaks English. Delivery needs to be faster.

The person taking phone orders does not communicate well in English and then blames you for their inability.

I was ordering from a hotel. I googled the hotel address and put that in. They called me to yell at me that the address wasn’t right. Then when the delivery person arrived, he started yelling at me «THIS IS NOT THE ADDRESS, THIS IS!!!» I said «Sorry!» and he just kept yelling at me. It was really annoying.
½ the miso soup was spilled over the rest of the food, and the ½ that wasn’t was luke warm at best. I ended up not having it. They didn’t give any soy sauce for the sushi, and the wasabi shumai was basically green shumai. It wasn’t spicy AT ALL. How’s that for yelling? I wouldn’t order from there again, purely out of principle. The sushi was descent, though, for what it was.

Good lunch special prices. I was at a work training and we had a half hour for lunch so we just chose this place based upon convenience. The service was kind of well, rushed, and the server didn’t want to stand at the table long enough to answer any questions, let alone dare allow us to request a substitution. But honestly, it’s a tiny spot, good for lunch if you’re in that area… that has like no restaurants, or at least I’ve never really found too many great ones. Miso soup was good, beef teriyaki was standard, nothing fantastic but not bad either.

Now known as Akimoto Sushi. Absolutely horrible experience. My fiancé and I ordered 3 rolls and and some edamame. About halfway through the meal I ate something that tasted disgusting — most likely very old fish. Several hours later, I woke up in a sweat and had horrible food poisoning for about 36 hours. Unfortunately, my fiancé also confirmed it was from our food as she had to leave work after about a half hour the next day as she began vomiting as well. We called to notify them of their fish and they told us point blank «Everyone knows that Sushi is dangerous to eat». This is literally what she told us. WOW. Then she offered a discount for a future order. LOL.
Never again and will be telling all my friends that live in the neighborhood to stay away. You should too, unless you want a date with the porcelain throne.

Been going here for years for lunch and I’ve never been disappointed. I get the lunch sushi special with a seaweed salad and its always been fresh and very filling. The waitstaff is quick and friendly. For the price for a lunchtime sushi spot, this place is great and I like it so much better than Sun Café down the street.

Had to downgrade two stars because these guys don’t speak English and are unable to find my building somehow. I work at one of the tallest most unavoidable buildings in the Financial district, right near Fulton St. and some how these delivery men cannot seem to get here on time or sometimes not at all.
I have ordered from them and other places in the area and compared average delivery times and Yawa is definitely dead last. Sometimes the same guy comes here over and over again, speaks two words of English and acts like this is the first time he has been to the building in his life. I want to give this place a chance as the food is good but the non-​existent delivery is making it impossible. It is also somewhat over-​priced.
This will probably be my last day ordering from here. I’ve had enough.
Once again a disclaimer: I’ve never had sushi from this place, only the entrees. If it weren’t for the terrible delivery men I would give it 4 stars again.

Bad sushi. Horrible service. food Is cheap. You get what you pay for *shrugs shoulder *

I went here for lunch because I had a training around the corner. My salmon roll had a BONE in the salmon! I should have asked for a discount but I never want to return there again. The service is not good and they couldn’t even split the bill between cash and credit card. I will never come back here again.

Got there hungry after class, the hostess were chatting with the sushi men on the back and didn’t even to look to my face, I sit by myself close to the door and waited forever to her pick up my order. I paid $ 8.50 for lunch special (2 Philadelphia rolls) BUT they charged me a dollar extra because I asked for eel sauce ! Definitely, not coming back.

This place does not have good sushi but their lunch specials are cheap, I guess you get what you pay for. I ordered lunch from seamless, and while it arrived in a timely fashion of about 30 mins. The sushi rolls were the smallest that I’ve EVER seen.
I ordered three rolls and I felt like I only ate two. The crunchy spicy shirmp and salmon were not that good ether. meh. I also had the crunchy spicy tuna which was decent.
Over all I WILL not be ordering from this place again. I’m still Hungryyyy!

Came here for lunch while I was down town for jury duty. They have a good lunch special like most sushi places. Soup or salad and 2 rolls for ~$ 8. The miso soup was pretty good, just your standard miso. The rolls were average sized. I had the eel cucumber and the shrimp avocado. They were both pretty standard as well. I was satisfied after the meal. The service was super fast so if you’re in a hurry, this is the place to go. I wouldn’t go out of my way to revisit, but if I am ever in the area and need a quick bite, I would probably stop back in.

Great little place where a couple of bucks go a long way. Yes, it’s small — so what?! There are only a handful of places one could get good food and eat-​in in lower Manhattan & if you’re familiar with the area, you’ll know it’ll be packed for lunch (1−2PM) so if you place on dining in, get there a couple of minutes early! Anyway, on to the real review…
I haven’t had anything I didn’t like yet. The rolls are perfectly made and are just the right size. The teriyaki specials are also great (for $ 8, you get soup, salad and a bento box with 6 rolls, rice and your choice of tofu, chicken, beef, shrimp or salmon in teriyaki sauce) and definitely filling!
The servers are attentive & will accommodate their customers. The décor is simple and warm, creating a comfortable atmosphere. If you’re ever in the area for lunch and are craving Japanese food, this is your go-​to spot.

I wasn’t expecting sushi nirvana but how this place has an above average rating is astounding. The delivery process was efficient (great site + fast delivery) but the accolades stop there. For close to $ 35 we had two tiny rolls and a seaweed salad, but despite our hunger we couldn’t the minuscule meal because the rolls were inedible.
The tuna lover roll smelled and tasty fishy and the other roll which promised crunch was limp and soggy. The only saving grace was the seaweed salad, but since there were like two tablespoons worth, it was more frustrating to have on the plate than not!
Do yourself a favor and just go somewhere else if you’re craving sushi, it can’t possibly be worse.

I’m convinced that the quality of affordable Japanese restaurants in Lower Manhattan is ordinary. I’ve been to several and the food just seems run of the mill. The same could be said about A.A. Yawa Sushi. This place is so small that when I opened the door, I almost walked right into two diners sitting in a tiny table and could have joined their party. There are more small tables and maybe 2 or 3 larger ones that seat up to 4 people. There is one small counter and I spied two sushi chefs. I placed my order for takeout and then I left. The lady told me 10 minutes so I ran out to do some errands.
When I came back, some of the diners had gone so there was a little empty space so I could take some photos of the wall. The walls have rocks embedded into it forming a design and coverage of the wall. It was nice to look at. Chairs and tables are a dark stained wood. There is also a wall of these rocks outside and next to it a wall of mahjong tiles.
I had the lunch special which was 2 rolls and either a choice of miso soup or salad. I had the salad and chose the rock shrimp roll and the California roll. The sushi was on the bland side. I didn’t taste anything special not good or bad. Salad had leaf lettuce, 1 grape tomato and some various bits of purple cabbage slivers and carrot slivers and a cucumber slice or two. The salad dressing didn’t really have too much taste. I tasted a little sweetness and no other bold flavors. I couldn’t taste the ginger in it and dressing could be a bit gloppy.
Elusive Japanese restaurant with standout food where are you?

Scene: Sushi craving
Enter:
| Yawa Sushi
Assessment: ⁴⁄₅ stars on
, 1 rating with 3 stars on Unilocal
Decision: Take one for the team and give it a try
Order placed: Age Tofu ($ 5), Sashimi Lunch Bento ($ 9.50; includes entrée, miso soup, salad, shumai, rice, and California Roll)
My taste buds: Disappointed
Conclusion: Save your money and try one of the many other sushi places in the area.
Breakdown of food
Age Tofu: Unremarkable, but satisfactory
Entrée of Sashimi: The tuna was a bit mushy and I was hesitant to bite into the white fish. The best of the three was definitely the salmon since it was a fairly thicker two pieces and was fattier than the other two fish.
Miso Soup: Okay. Nothing special. I mean… it’s miso soup!
Salad: The typical dressing was thick, even for my taste. Plus, on the delivery route, it had mixed with the non-​drained liquid of the ginger to create a funky new flavor.
Shumai: Super salty. I’ve had better from the frozen section of American supermarkets.
Rice: It’s rice. Do you really want me to break it down? This grain…
California Roll: Okay. Again, unremarkable. (Seriously! I ate 10 minutes ago and can’t remember it!)

We were staying across the street from this place in TriBeCa, so we gave it a try for an early dinner. The interior décor is simple (Japanese style!) and pleasant & the waitperson was understated and nice.
We had beef teriyaki, California Roll, and saki, plus green tea. The teriyaki and saki were fine, but not great, and the Cal Roll was fresh & delicious.
This place has only been open for 8 months and is doing a fine job. It’s a solid 3 stars, but just doesn’t quite make it to 4, I’m afraid.