BAKU

If you’re looking for quality sashimi and nigiri BAKU is it! My favorite is the rosemary otoro and salmon belly nigiri! My friends and I always enjoy our time there. The service is friendly and knowledgeable. They also always have new sakes available which makes our experience unique every time! Highly recommended for anyone seeking a memorable culinary adventure!

Our party of six had the best time last night. We enjoyed toro toast, pork belly, calamari, sashimi, sushi rolls, a tomahawk, mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, and the duck breast. Everything was absolutely stellar and we paired it all with 3 different bottles of sake that were all different and deliciously unique in their own ways. Service from Nicole was the cherry on top of a beautiful experience. Love the vibes upstairs too, so different for Charlotte, the decor actually has soul.

I was here for dinner Wednesday. And order my usual dish, which is half dozen of the sea urchin on a spoon. 2 of the California sea urchin that I have tried wasn't good so I called the waitress to return and order the other one from Japan. Manager came over and asked me to try another one that flew in from California last night and I tried the fresh one and it was still bad. It was so bad. We could not even continue dinner. We were there 6 o'clock left before 7. It totally ruined my pallet therfore, I cannot continue dinner and i suffer from serious stomachache the next days. Couldn't go to work for 2days due to diarrhea. All I had on Wednesday was the receipt attached. Not only I was sick from bad sea urchin and found out double charged including the bad urchin that I returned. $485 for an appetizers? I sent 3 emails without any response and calls and manager never got back to me. With this kind of money you will think to get fresh fish and service but not in BAKU for sure. Don't waste your money here!!

Not for vegeterians

Food quality has decreased along with price increases. I ordered the sushi and sashimi for two, and there were multiple quality issues; this was disappointing given the price-point of $95. It also took me 40 minutes to receive my meal and I didn’t even order appetisers. Rice quality: The sushi rice was bad, too much rice vinegar and the rice grains were overworked. This shouldn’t happen at a Japanese restaurant, let alone a restaurant with these prices. Fish quality: I ate here a couple times in the summer and fall, and the fish has taken a decline since then. I wouldn’t describe any of the fish as very “high quality” this time. The salmon came from a saku block that had dried out a little, and the sashimi cuts were from the very end of a loin, why was that even used for sashimi? The akami was standard run of the mill akami, none of the tuna was particularly high grade. The waitress said there was o-toro on my plate, but I think it was just chu-toro. I prefer chu-toro, but still it was just “okay”. I also had a scale in my mouth at the end of my meal. The fish was more on the “it’s edible” than the “wow great!” side. I know I shouldn’t expect fish graded for omakase, but at $95, quality needs to come up. The sashimi plate also increase to $72. I have no issue spending a lot for sushi/sashimi, but only if it warrants the price. Maybe this was just an off night, but I don’t think I’ll be coming back. 1 star for the rice/fish issues (rice was unacceptable, fish was not good enough for price), 2 stars for service because I waited 40 minutes after I ordered to receive just the entrée, waitstaff was nice though. 3-4 stars for ambience.

Great food! Knowledgeable and considerate staff! Great atmosphere (a little dark, tough for old eyes to read menu)

Such a great time here. My boyfriend and I were out celebrating my birthday and we just wanted to go somewhere new and this was rated really well so we wanted to try it out. We are so happy we picked here. The ambience of the place was great and we also had an amazing server, Chris (maybe Chase I’m bad with names). He was really great at explaining everything and answering all of our questions and just had great energy. I’ve been in Charlotte for almost 2 years and this is really the only place I’ve gotten good service at. The food was amazing. I have not found any sushi comparable to this. I did see another review talking about how long it took for the food to come out, but it’s explained by our server the time that it takes for these dishes. Us personally, everything came in a quick manner. The only thing I wish was different is that we either had a bigger table or one in a less high traffic area but overall a great experience

Visited Baku on Valentine’s Day. The food was very good. It was flavorful and enjoyable. We loved the tapas menu. Alexis was the manager that evening and Giavanna was our waitress. They were both fantastic! Alexis ensured that we got a seat to dine-in and our host, though three months on the job, was knowledgeable about the menu and made great suggestions. They both were extremely pleasant. The atmosphere is amazing! The restaurant looks small from the outside but spacious inside and is trendy. Parking: The parking lot is small.

The perfect place for special occasions. We have gone here for our last two anniversaries and have been amazed with the delicious food they bring to the table! Baku is truly an incredible experience!