Ajiwai Japanese & Korean BBQ in County Durham

We went to this restaurant for the first time today and we are delighted! The size of the dishes is satisfactory, fresh and tasty! The place is clean, the parking lot is close, the service is nice. We ordered takoyaki, kimchi, miso soup, Korean army stew and 2 rice bowls. I can recommend everything to you with a clear conscience.

Not good not awful but certainly not worth the price. I ordered pork and chicken ramen for delivery. The chicken ramen did not come with what I would call chicken broth. This may be their dashi base, but chicken broth unlikely. The pork came with something more standard but was not particularly good. The toppings were lacking. Even the noodles were somehow not good and spaghetti like. Overall you'd expect really good ramen at the price but get a rather substandard experience. I won't repeat the ramen for sure. Came very quickly but that's probably because very little is cooked in house.

My boyfriend and I used to love coming here, but we won’t be going back. The ramen was nothing special; the broth lacked flavour and the chicken and char siu both tasted like they had come out of a freezer packet. Service wasn’t ideal, and for £14 a bowl we definitely felt our expectations had been shattered. With the changes to the menu (e.g. no more bento), we assumed the ownership had changed - unfortunately for the worse.

Had a great experience at this Restaurant, Delicious meals are appetising, delightful, highly pleasant to the taste😘

Beautiful restaurant with a great food , amazing atmosphere and great service . Food is absolutely delicious 100% we will come back again and recommend .

Absolutely loved my experience at Ajiwai！The sushi was incredibly fresh, and the ambiance was inviting. The staff was friendly and attentive, making our visit even more enjoyable. Highly recommend the beef kimchi and their dark dragon rolls. Can’t wait to go back!

The ambience is calm, the service is excellent, food is superb. Great value for food - I enjoyed every food i ordered. The chef and staff are very friendly. The best combined Japanese and Korean Restaurant i ever been ❤️❤️❤️

Dined here last night and had an incredible experience! The food was outstanding, with the beef teppanyaki being a real standout as well as the chicken sushi, (durham chicken I believe it was called). The atmosphere was great, and the staff were courteous and attentive, Five stars all around! I’ll definitely be back in a few weeks time.

I had the poke bowl at Ajiwai, and it was fantastic! The fresh ingredients and vibrant flavors really stood out. The salmon was perfectly marinated, and the toppings added a delightful crunch. A must-try for poke lovers!

Extremely poor service. Was seated, was not asked for a drink order and was ignored AVOID.

Don’t order from here…. I’ve just ordered for a delivery it took 40 minutes to get here and the driver has delivered the wrong food… I then rang the restaurant for them to sort this out and deliver the correct food for me and they basically said it was my fault for not checking the delivery. How can I check the delivery when it’s in a carrier bag. I would expect the driver to get the right delivery. Please don’t waste your time here. They don’t want to help when anything goes wrong and put all the blame on me

The taste is good, the waitress is very enthusiastic, and the environment is okay

Very tasty food and lovely staff

Ramen and Bento are very good. Highly Recommend for lunch or big parties

Best restaurant in Durham by far

I had the pork katsu and tuna sashimi. The portion is ok, both the prices are too high for the quality of the food. The sashimi is not very fresh, which makes the taste a bit fishy. The veg sides for the katsu bento are only beans and seaweed. Could not say it is worth the money. I would rather have some chained sushi store with a lower price and reasonable quality.

The best food and amazing service from minka! Thank you !x

Dropped in for early evening meal for 8. Ordered wide range of Korean and Japanese dishes, all very authentic and served promptly by very friendly staff. Beer and soju were superb also. Wish we could find something similar in our local area. We would be in there every day.

Amazing food and reasonable price. Could be my regular visit since I’m a Durham student here. I’ll come back for other dishes next time🥰

Got call from this number claiming they from 02

The quality of the delivery has severely declined in the past year. The rolls are now half the size and less care has been taken in preparing them. I only get delivery now when there is 50% off as the prices are way too high. Hopefully the quality can be amended in the future.

Tot sashimi meant to be cold but the one I ate was abit warm 🌚

Excellent service and atmosphere. Food delicious and bursting with flavours. Staff very friendly and helpful. Reasonably priced food and drinks. highly recommended and will definitely be calling again. Thanks for a wonderful experience and fabulous selection of food and drinks

Amazing, simply brilliant. Celebrated my daughters 16th birthday here on a quiet Monday night. Had Miso soup, vegetable gyoza and some cucumber rolls to start. Mains were a veggie bento box and several rice pots with belly pork, beef and vegetables. We couldn't finish everything so we ended up boxing some for home. Portions were more than ample, cooked to perfection. Saved money by nipping to the tesco across the road for some beers and paid £1 each for glass hire/corkage. Highly recommended and we will be back soon.

Really enjoyed my meal, they did not charge a service fee which was really refreshing and the food was great quality will be coming again for a a hot pot!

Came here for a date night after being recommended. Can’t fault a thing! The food was phenomenal, probably the best meal out I’ve ever had. Super reasonably priced considering the portion sizes and quality of the dishes

Best Japanese food in the North East - have tried other places and been to Japan so always on the lookout! Friendly owner and team. Been visiting even before the expansion, happy to see them doing so well. Great food always attracts, definitely worth the visit! Thank you

Food delivery is extremely slow…

Awful ramen. They put spagetti on it, and the broth was disgusting

My friends and I went to this place for a gathering and bought two milk teas, it was our first time there. Upon entering, we were greeted by an unfriendly staff member who informed us that outside drinks were not allowed, as stated at the entrance. We understood the policy, but her unwelcoming attitude made the situation uncomfortable. This staff member, who appeared to be the manager, was incredibly rude. I don't believe such behavior is suitable for someone in a service role. The sukiyaki was too sweet for our taste, and considering the high prices combined with poor service, it was a disappointing experience. The main issue was the quality of service, which was unsatisfactory. We won't consider returning.

Its good food. They have the quality ingredients and the equipment to justify thr prices. Very decent Korean/Japanese++ to visit.

Delicious food. Good veggie options.

I will come back 100% il the boomb 10/10 🧨🔥🔥🔥

You need to wait for more than two hours if you order for delivery. And they won’t answer your phone call after two times. The service sucks.

Staff were very helpful and friendly. The food was fabulous with portions more than enough. Definitely going back for more of the same.

Ate two delicious dishes. The Gyoza was fine and had a nice sauce. But the sushi was really great. Have I ever eaten better, yes, but it is absolutely worth 5 stars. She takes care of the sushi and it is of an excellent standard. In addition, you mainly see people of Asian descent in this restaurant, which usually reveals that the food is of excellent quality.

Delicious food, friendly and professional staff, great value for money - especially with the weekday lunch offer! Will definitely be coming back.

get the takoyaki i promise. also the staff are so lovely here (-:

First try of Korean food. Friendly staff and tasty food. No atmosphere and might have been better if guided on what to order (portion size)

Nejlepsze sushi Jakie jadłam do tej pory! Szybko zostaliśmy obsłużeni i czekaliśmy tylko 10 min! Tempura chrupiąca, ryż dobrze zbity i dodatki przepyszne ! Na pewno będę wpadać częściej !

Very authentic Korean and Japanese foods in Durham … Their Volcano Sushi roll is a must try and we loved their Korean Army stew 🥘

Food was scrumptious! Delivery came on time,Shrimp tempura wasn't piping hot but warm enough.I also ordered California rolls and they were soooo good! Definitely ordering again and maybe dining in next time!

4.2 rating on google is entirely misrepresentative of how good this place is. Every dish was amazing and considering the quality, relatively inexpensive. I’m surprised the restaurant isn’t busier. If you are debating whether to come here - definitely do!

An irresponsible and dishonest restaurant. I scheduled the delivery from Uber Eat yesterday for the food to be delivered today during 13:00-13:30. Since the delivery is handled by the restaurant, I called around 13:05 to check with them and the lady in the phone told me the driver has been out for 10min and should arrive shortly. But I didn't receive my food until 13:25 so I called again, the restaurant told me the driver couldn't call me through and has left. I asked the restaurant why didn't the driver leave the food at the reception as I wrote in the note. The lady told me the driver is not allowed to do so (which is not true) as the food may be mis-picked up and they will send the driver back immediately. Seriously? Here are several things: 1. I have been waiting at the reception since 13:10 and nobody has ever turned up. I've used Uber Eat several times and never had the problem with receiving phone call from the driver. If the driver ever tried to deliver the food, how can I not see him/her in the front door? 2. The driver is allowed to leave the food at the reception as there is an option called 'leave at the door' on Uber Eat, and I already added the note asking the food to be left at the reception. 3. Since the last call, I've waited at the reception until 14:10 and no driver or food has ever turned up. 4. The restaurant has already made a mistake trying to deliver food to me yesterday evening after I placed the scheduled order. At the end, my order got cancelled by Uber Eat after an hour long wait as Uber didn't manage to contact the restaurant. This restaurant is wasting my time and ruining my schedule. No apology and no explanation. I simply couldn't work out how this has happened, and why my food has never turned up.

Great food options and good portions, a little on the pricier side but will probably visit again!

No sake which is always a shame Food we had was very nice service was fine Menu was very confusing, couldn’t mix and much what we wanted, rather than what they wanted to serve you So stayed safe had sushi roll which was spot on

Honestly poor service. The food was salty too. The servers were not friendly at all. They kept avoiding us and does not smile at all. Including the cashier was not friendly. I do not recommend. Go to other restaurants. There are many who tastes better and has nice people working.

Chicken Katsu was horrible. Luckily I also ordered sushi and that was pretty good.

Fantastic little place with friendly staff and wonderful food. We did not have a booking on a busy Saturday night but staff managed to seat us quickly. Food arrived fast. Will definitely return.

Good food, nice place to eat, but the delivery service is not great. Food arrives late, expected times change or are incorrect. Sometimes no tracking info is provided. Shame as the food is excellent.

First and last time that I order delivery from this restaurant. We had to throw half of the food. Tasted funny, raw salmon did not tasted fresh. Horrible! Rolls were falling apart and with way too much rice. A complete waste of money!

Good price. Good food. Would try out the bbq next time since it's the only one available in Durham.

Serves Korean bbq, sushi and ramen. The ramen was pretty sub standard. The broth had no depth, toppings were basic.

Great food, great service, great value

terrible experience on uber eats food arriving half an hour late and the restaurant staff didn’t try to help in the phone call and this happened twice.

Small authentic brilliant Japanese and Korean BBQ restaurant. Menu is vast so take time to chose, staff are on hand to answer any queries. Pumpkin croquettes to start were fresh and well balanced in flavour. My house special soba main was incredible in flavour and variation whilst the Korean veg dishes we had were tasty and the experience of cooking them at the table was a lovely twist. This was my first experience of Japanese food and I highly recommend to anyone

This place sells delicious food and the best Korean BBQ

First time here, come for sushi but after seeing menu decided on the BBQ sharing platter. Mixture of Beef, Chicken and Prawns with side options. Approx £25 per head You’ve got your own grill to cook the way you like. Service brilliant explain what they recommend and check in to see how you getting on (without being too intrusive) Would highly recommend

Hidden gem with delicious food and wonderful service by our waitress Catherine. We got Sapporo tonkotsu ramen, bang bang cauliflower, seaweed salad and tuna sashimi. All amazing. We will be back for sure!

Absolutely fantastic, delicious food! Extremely friendly staff and just a lovely atmosphere. One of my favourite places to eat!

Kinda of similar to a Japanese izakaya, serving a mix of Japanese and Korean dishes.

Only tried sushi and starters. The taste was good but nothing exceptional, and I personally felt the rolls were a bit too wide, difficult to eat in one bite.

Excellent food and lovely staff definitely we will come

Small but a nice Japanese restaurant in Durham with an amazing atmosphere ! The food was delicious and the service was great! Not too pricey, definitely good value for money!

There were four of us two adults 2 kids (7 and 13) for eldest birthday as he loves sushi. Initial impressions is it's a nice space very open and clean. Staff were friendly and as wife is a coeliac were very helpful and helping her select dishes that were suitable for her. We had a mix of starters with a sushi platter and two rice and a ramen dishes for mains. Food arrived promptly and was tasty eldest love his sushi but nearly spoiled it by thinking the wasabi was avocado. Overall a great experience we will be back

Ajiwai is probably my favourite restaurant in Durham. The food is always delicious and there's great variety, plus the atmosphere is calm and the staff are always very helpful. I can't stop going back! The 20% off deal is also great, being a student. Definitely try the Bang Bang Cauliflower :)

The food there is alright, the seafood Roman is tasteless and the seafood is really dry. But the very worse is that the service is really bad, While we are ordering, because this is our first time ordering the Japanese food, there is a lot of words that we don’t know, the waitress act really annoyed facially. And while waiting for the order, the orders are really late, and the table that come after we ordered got the order earlier than me.

Authentic!!! And delicious :) perfectly captures the taste of home.

Had the vegetarian raman, it was very nice.

Fresh and delicious, Bang Bang chicken was fantastic! Tables in the restaurant didn't suit it well, I'd recommend doing it out with nice booths

Best sushi in Durham !!!!! Great service and atmosphere

Lovely quaint restaurant, food was delicious and staff were lovely, very accommodating when we asked if we could take the food we didn't finish home. Ramen was so tasty and sushi was delicious. Will definitely be returning! 🤍

Cosy little joint with a friendly atmosphere and excellent service. The food was very very good. Definitely recommend.

Ramen was so good - definitely recommend

Fantastic restaurant offering a mix of japanese and Korean dishes, simplistic yet stylish decor, great service and fantastic food

A hidden gem! Delicious food- especially the sashimi selection! Atmosphere could be a bit more lively however may just be due to the time visited.

Great customer service, very delicious food, reasonable prices, and generous discounts available.

The service at the restaurant was great. Food was also amazing with big portions and they were tasty! Surprised the restaurant wasn’t busier as it surpassed expectations! Will be returning & highly recommend :)

Absolutely brilliant, just ordered takeaway tonight, food is fresh and delicious! Was a little bit late but genuinely apologised and charged much less what original price was. Thank you to all of your staff! going to order again and again. 5star service!!!

Tastes authentic, fresh and great - the best Japanese cuisine you're gonna get in County Durham, at a super affordable price. Would definitely recommend the Takoyaki and Sushi sets if you're after seafood, or the Gyoza with some Ramen for a meatier alternative. Good portion sizes and service, too.

The Dragon Fly roll and gyu teppan are my favourite！Ordered many times：）

There is a fly in my ramen. It really gross me. I will never come here again

Excellent food, fresh and delicious. Well worth a visit!

Last food experience here was tragic, very kind staff

Service was good and food impeccable. Couldn't fault any of the dishes I had, delicious.

Have been a few times and deliver from there. Food is excellent, although sometimes they put a bit too much mayo on the sushi. Everything tastes very fresh and flavourful. Never eaten in, but the interior is spacious and tidy. Quite pricey, but definitely worth a try.

Fantastic service, fantastic Sushi, will recommend to anyone

I live in Darlington, tried this sushi because Durham is also beautiful to see so I walked with my gf over the town centre and then order the takeaway, being sunday there was some free on sundays parking around the centre. I don't regrete it, the rice (on the sushi) was really good and the sushi very well made. I liked the Asaji special roll altought my gf said she could not taste a thing out of it Haha, I enjoyed it, then her favourite was the dragon, Very good, very very good. We had also takoyaki (a bit overpriced if it is not house made) but tasty and a couple of rolls for a roughly a fiver like the alaska. We always spend 50 on sushi (her treat) so I end up satisfied with the evening. The guy at the shop was really nice as well.

Not worth any money I paid, I ordered the eel fired rice but I can't barely find my eel.

Superb for lunch, tea or dinner. Dining in or taking away 👌

It's good quality japanese, little rough around the edges, but the food is what's important 👌

I actually do enjoy going to Ajiwai. I have come to enjoy the food here. The starter's are to die for.

They have a great selection of sushi and their special sushi rolls are well worth a try. The mains are properly balanced in terms of flavour and the use of ingredients seem to be freshly prepared and authentic to the Japanese cuisine. Overall it is a really nice place to extinguish your cravings for Japanese food while in Durham with a good atmosphere and friendly staff.

Tasteless ramen. The only good thing they make is kimchi. This isn't even really a Japanese restaurant. Please ask a Japanese person whether this place is any good. Might as well disregard any reviews on here from some guy named Jack or John.

Ordered on Deliveroo. Quick delivery and nice food.

Went in for the first time today and it was absolutely amazing, staff was wonderful, the atmosphere was great and the food was perfect, service was fast and everything was reasonably priced, cant wait to go back.

Offering the eat out to help out deal. Wanted to try this place for a long time as my children love sushi. We didn't book ahead as we didn't expect to go out for a meal but we were accommodated with great service and friendly staff. The food was great and the kimchi side order was a really generous portion as well as delicious.

Food would have been good but every single piece of sushi was coated so thickly in mayonnaise it was difficult to eat. Very expensive for what it is. Vegetarian choices are minimal and were basically instant noodles with some lettuce. Wouldn't recommend when you have Nudo 5 mins away

Ordered at 7pm, but arrived at 9:30. The staff was very rude. Highly priced with low quality Not Recommend.

The tuna sashimi was frozen in the middle and did not taste fresh. The miso soup and vegetarian gyoza were nice. We'd go back but would not have sashimi or sushi again.