yasuke japanese sushi

absolute best sushi in the valley. first off, i'll begin by clarifying that i am a well traveled gentleman is his early 30's who has enjoyed cuisines from various parts of the world and sushi is no exception. being in the valley, i don't expect much from any of the hispanic owned asian restaurants. kumori is the "hype" around here for those who think they know what japanese food is. and honestly i didn't anticipate much better results from this quaint little dive tucked back in a plaza off the road. well i was beautifully mistaken. my waiter was exceptional. the salad i wanted wasn't on the menu but he arranged for one to be made that was better than what i had initially desired. the miso soup was good. hard to mess that up though. now, the sushi roll i ordered was by far one of the best i've encountered throughout my years of exploring the manymany different style sushi chefs. the spicy yusake was full of flavor, with nice crunch, very fresh fish and rolled perfect. nothing was overdone or prepared in a manner that's desperate for approval. each ingredient was a fair portion that remained consistent throughout the roll. in other words, my last bite was as delicious as the first. i could continue to add in about the atmosphere being relaxing, the complimentary mini appetizers that were served and the soft music, etc. but just go try it yourself and you'll be pleasantly surprised, i assure you. if i could change anything it would be that i didn't find it sooner and that their location is a bit off the beaten path. yet perhaps that keeps it humble and will encourage a long life of appreciating each customer and every dish served. 5+ stars all the way, can't wait to visit again!

a hidden gem. i am very new to the area and japanese food is the love of my life so i was excited to try this place out. first off, the food is absolutely delicious and i have not tried a single thing i didn't love. there is plenty of chicken, beef, and vegetarian options for people that are not into sushi or sashimi. the restaurant is warmly lit and there is always soft and relaxing music playing, which gives the whole place a romantic or secluded dinning experience (no screaming children. yay!). the staff was very, very attentive and very kind. they came to check on me often but not so much that it was bothersome, i feel like they definitely went the extra mile to make sure my dining experience was pleasant. i don't know how often this happens but the times that i have been there they are always giving a little something extra. little appetizers and this last time i got a little glass of watermelon water near the end of dinner, it was so charming (and yummy). i think it has something to do with what they have on hand that day, whatever it is, its such a nice little surprise. overall, i feel like this place goes out of it's way to provide a nice quite place to enjoy some really good japanese food, i would definitely recommend it.

this is primarily a review of the sushi.

i've eaten sushi at a lot of places in a lot of locations. the valley has never really had an authentic sushi scene ever since i acquired the sushi taste and has also never really had a good grasp as to what sushi really is, or what it really should be. delicious fish, or other creatures from the sea, seasoned with a brush of soy sauce on top of vinegared sushi rice.

sure most sushi places in the valley serve nigiri and sashimi, but it's always the same variety of fish served at the same temperature and quality. there is no preparation of the fish they serve, no attention to flavor or tenderness or texture or color. after the fish arrives vacuum frozen (which is complete fine), it is then thawed, and then cut to serve.

yasuke is no different.

it's the same style of sushi you can find at every single sushi bar in the valley. cold fish on top of (sometimes) cold rice. there has been an occasion where the rice was actually at proper temperature and i could really taste great flavor in the sushi, which was a pleasant surprise.

other than that, it's your standard sushi place. they have your standard favorite sushi rolls that everyone tends to like and i am no different. a good rainbow roll is something i love to indulge in. but here in the valley i'm always in search of the type of sushi that melts in your mouth and leaves you hanging your head in disbelief as to what is going on and i have yet to find such an experience.

however, it's what's off the menu that keeps me coming to this place. up until a few months ago i was under the impression that i had to venture outside of the valley to find one particular delicacy that i am in love with, and that is uni (or sea urchin). not only that, but finding a place that serves fatty cuts of fish is also rare.

the two off menu items that i've tried is the uni and what looks to be chutoro, which is a medium fatty tuna. while the chutoro was a decent piece of fish, it also lacked that attention to detail that i previously mentioned, but i'm still a sucker for toro cuts so i made the best of it.

the prize winner here, though, was the uni. the quality of the uni was sublime and looked/tasted like santa barbara sea urchin with the golden brown color and a sweet flavor. it lacked a sprinkle of soy sauce for season but even without it was a perfect experience.

it's an above average sushi place due to some of the off menu items, but not something that delivers a religious experience.

by far the best sushi in mcallen. exquisite food, place, service and environment. this is the only sushi restaurant i recommend in town. excellent!!!

very attentive service and fantastic sushi. there are some restaurants you go to and just fall in love immediately. i can't tell you how welcome i felt as i walked through the doors of yasuke. every single member on the wait staff was friendly and has huge smiles on their faces. the atmosphere was so laid back and relaxed. i only tired one roll- the tropical roll which was crab, avocado topped with salmon and spicy mayo. excellent choice! i will be back soon.

i am visiting the valley, for business. what an amazing surprise to find this little jewel located across from my hotel. i searched zomato for an outstanding restaurant in the area, and it was outside my door. the sushi was good but they serve it with with 4, tasting of tiny japanese/korean salads, that were all very tasty. my sushi was fresh and served at proper temp. the service was outstanding!!!! i wasn't waited on by just "my waiter", but by any one of the staff that walked by and saw i needed something. i no sooner sat down an empty glass, than it was filled. i am a big service person. i appreciate when a person or business goes out of its way to make me comfortable. this place did just that! thank you yasuke, for an awesome experience!

i did not have a good experience. sushi was not fresh. i asked them to take it back, they did, but after they insisted the salmon sushi was suppose to be pail in color, falling apart and just an appearance of food poisoning written all over it. my sushi plate was of salmon and tuna only, that's what i like. tuna was also discolored on the edges. after seeing that, i didn't feel like eating the yasuke roll. spent 35$$ and only had one bite of the roll. the roll didn't look bad, but after seeing the sushi meat, i was scared. left hungry and disappointed. i don't know when these other reviews went. but i recommend stay away!

last year, we went to japan and visited the cities of osaka, koyasan, kyoto, hakone, and tokyo. we had an amazing experience then and had many delicious experiences with many kinds of dishes and since being back in the us, we've tried many a japanese restaurant. with that background in mind, the atmosphere in yasuke was reminiscent of many of the locally-owned establishments that we visited and really made the visit we had to make to mcallen (due to a family emergency) a sort of tribute to our anniversary of our japan trip. in the first place, the server (irene? - not to be rude, but the name did not seem to fit the pretty asian girl that served us) gave an excellent recommendation for sake (and no, it was not the most expensive). then my husband's order of katsudon was very close to the presentation (and taste!) of what we had in koya-san (after a trip to the temples). while i waited for my own dish - a ramen bowl - i noticed the condiment basket and was (pleasantly!) surprised to find a bottle of s&b nanami togarashi (a chili powder & sesame seed blend) in there. when my ramen bowl came, i was not all that surprised to find noodles that one would buy in the ninety-eight cent bag packet at your local grocery store, but the noodle is not what makes ramen special! the broth in this ramen made the whole bowl (pork, kamaboko!, egg, etc) the best approximation to the ramen i had in the back alleys of tokyo. we did not expect to find this level of japanese cuisine in texas, much less the rgv, so we were absolutely delighted (and floored) to find this place literally next door to our hotel! we will be eating here again next time we're down here - we even bought a pair of salmon onigiri to bring back to the hotel for midnight snacks. i'm just sad that they don't offer breakfast for us to indulge in before we leave tomorrow morning.

thank you for making our japan trip anniversary absolutely special!

tasty bibimbap. try the bibimbap. really really tasty.

very clean tasting sushi. sweet flavored fish. great service. found my new sushi spot in the 956.

expensive. i am not a fan of sushi. this was all for my partner and a friend. tried a handful of rolls. i recall eel and avocado and the tempura rolls. it was alright, but for 90$ i would rather have had a good steak.

best sushi/japanese food in the rgv, hands down. been here several times and everything ive tried has been great

good sushi, fried rice and miso soup. gyoza was o. k. a little too greasy. easy walk from the airport.

good sushi, attractive restaurant. good sushi and japanese and korean food at a reasonable price. very attentive staff. they have an actual sushi bar.