Gari

Gari’s is as good as it gets, as far as I’m concerned. Real, fresh, creative and delicious. Staff are really friendly. If you’re looking for great sushi or just a good dinner, I highly recommend.

This is the local place to grab sushi. I’ve only gotten take out from here on Sunday for «Maki Madness». At a price of only $ 4.75 it’s worth it! It is a great opportunity to try out rolls you wouldn’t normally buy. I would definitely recommend you take a taste.

Solid lunch special! For $ 7.50 I had the tofu teriyaki lunch that came with miso soup. The soup had a ton of flavor and the tofu teriyaki bento came with a yummy salad, rice, pan fried tofu and an orange. The tofu had a nice texture and the sauce was extra tasty. Great service, presentation, and price! I will be back and am excited to try all the sushi!

Tried this for lunch one weekday unexpectedly when the place I planned to meet two friends was closed. We three were well pleased. I had a delicious stir-​fry pork noodles; my companions enjoyed their tempura soba noodles and bento box lunch. Nothing «blew us away,» but definitely satisfactory. Service was prompt and pleasant, if not overly warm. I’m rarely in Needham, but would return and would recommend it.

Did not really enjoy myself at this restaurant. The promotions offered were confusing and ended up being a real mess when we tried to pay. The food itself was was not noteworthy either.

Horrible!!! Went there for the first time for takeout. I was told 30 minutes wait for two rolls of sushi. The girl that took my order was super rude. I didn’t want to wait so I had it delivered. After I paid for the food with my credit card, which was definitely over priced, I asked if they can add extra ginger and wasabi. I was told they need to void my transaction because they had to add extra for the wasabi and ginger. I’ve ate at many Japanese restaurants throughout the US and Japan and not once was I charged extra for wasabi and ginger. Let alone the sushi was not even good. Definitely not fresh and took over an hour to get delivered. Never will I come back… Very disappointing !!!

This place is great! They have a lot of special rolls that I really enjoyed and their spicy tuna roll is fantastic. Would definitely recommend.

Super friendly staff. i typically do their lunch specials during the week and take out on the weekend. Their rolls are super creative. Try to black pearl, golden eye and volcano rolls. They are to die for.
If you do not like Sushi the Tempura Udon soup is also excellent.
Of all the Sushi places in the Needham area Gari is probably the best. The fish always seems fresh and they have a great selection.

I would pay a bit more and go somewhere else. The california maki was fishy! All the rolls smelled like the oil they deep fry everything in. The order was 20 minutes late. It was a pretty bad experience. There is a Gari in Brookline and it’s so much better.

Very stingy portion for sashimi lunch special and was only average quality. Smallest pieces of fish I’ve ever seen around Boston. More parsley in the box than fish! Won’t go back and don’t recommend.

Downgrading my rating. Slammed? Short on delivery drivers? Fine. But if your customers’ food is going to be an hour late, you should call and let them know, or you shouldn’t mislead them when they call to ask what’s going on.

So, three years later I’m writing a much-​needed update to my original review. I say «much-​needed», because indeed my opinion of Gari has changed completely. Indeed, the main sticking point about my original review — the delivery and customer service, has been overhauled. After eating there in 2013 at the request of a few friends, the food was actually pretty good. So, I started ordering again, this time through Grubhub (in order to have insurance for my payment, in the event a repeat scenario happened). Thankfully, my food arrived on-​time (earlier than I expected, even, but my expectations weren’t exactly too high either). For delivery sushi, it was surprisingly fresh, and the portions well-​sized.
This review update won’t cover any specific dish or drink, because since that one better experience, I’ve ordered from Gari innumerable times — from their hot food to their cold food. While slightly pricier than other options in the area that I could order from, it was well-​worth it. I’ve also since got to meet, work with (on town project), and know the owner of the restaurant, and on occasion she writes a note on my order sheet sending me her greetings, and personally greeting me when she sees me in the restaurant.
Overall, I think Gari has gotten a lot better since my last experience, and I can comfortably say that it’s one of the staples for sushi in the area, along with Oga’s on Route 9. The interior décor is dim but not dark, in the typical modern Japanese look you would expect, with a rather impressive bar and cocktail selection. I’ve only tried a handful of their cocktails, but the few I had were amazing and refreshing.
I strongly recommend anyone who loves good, fresh sushi to come here. I will have to advise against ordering their rolls, but if you’re actually here to eat proper sushi and sashimi, why are you ordering rolls?

One of these days, I’m going to go on a crusade against overpriced sub-​par Japanese restaurants. It’s really getting out of hand.
First things first: Gari is your standard overpriced Japanese nonsense. Add a twist of thoroughly ridiculous rolls and somehow underwhelming sashimi, garnish with bland ramen, and you’ve got yourself another money-​making Japanese restaurant. The slightly grimy plates and the bitter tea does it no favors. Truth be told, Gari is the first Japanese restaurant at which I’ve been disappointed in the tea.
Surely you can do better?
At least the Kimchi fried rice portion was generous. (Kimchi fried rice? In a Japanese restaurant?! Perish the thought.)

Five stars for my local sushi joint, Gari. Their sushi is consistently fresh and tasty. The ambiance inside looks nice, however I’ve only had take-​out. My favorite rolls so far are the Double Spicy Tuna and Crazy Maki.
After dinner you can walk to Abbott’s for custard 2 blocks away.
You can park in the lot in the back.

We live in Needham — but will go anywhere if food/​service is not good. We come here with kids/​without kids (¹²⁄₁₄ yr olds) 1x-​2x a week. The Snow white rolls of tuna and rice is outstanding. Service always great and consistent.
The bar is small but a great place to go for a bite/​beer and watch the news or a game.

Gari has some interesting Rolls and great lunch specials.
I have only been here for lunch but every time it was good. The sushi is always fresh and the staff is always friendly and efficient.
If you want a quick bite of Sushi in Needham I recommend Gari.

I found Gari through Foodler and have only had their take-​out [approximately 3 or 4 times].
The only comment I can make about service is in regards to today when I went in to pick up my order during lunch (²⁄₂₅ @ 1:15PM). The hostess would not look at me because her eyes were glued to her cell phone. Even after I caught her attention, she seemed lost in whatever was on her screen. I gave her my name and told her I wanted to pick up, she grabbed the dining menu, realized what I said, glanced at the phone she put down, picked up my order, picked up her phone [and did whatever with it], asked me to sign [eyes still on her phone]. I tried handing back the receipt, but her attention was permanently elsewhere.
I don’t care if your employee is on their phone and tucks it away when talking to me… but to blatantly be texting/​playing a game/​surfing the web, etc. is very rude.
I think there is another hostess that works lunch and she is usually really nice. I could be wrong though — they all sort of look the same to me.
As for the food, it’s OK. The makis have a bit too much rice and there seems to always be patches of skin left on the fish. I really enjoyed the lobster wontons the first time I ordered from here, but the second time the stuffing tasted old and the wonton wrapper was stale/​had a bad taste (bad oil? old wontons?).
Reasons why I continue to come here:
— Short driving distance from work (less than 3.0 mi) and it is never busy there during lunch
— The food isn’t terrible
— Food is ready quickly (I can order via Foodler and leave right after to pick up and it has always been ready)

I’ve eaten here a number of times, and have never been too impressed with this place.
Sushi is all about simplicity and presentation. This place doesn’t do either. Instead, they go for the typical «innovative» sushi variety that is actually quite banal: «let’s throw some mayo and mango and avocado together with either salmon or tuna. Then we’ll add one scallop option for good measure.»
Call me when you are relevant.
Come here on Sundays for good deals. It’s usually completely empty here.

Rating: 4.5
Honestly this is some of the best sushi I’ve ever had. The sushi is cheap so you can buy plenty without worrying about the paycheck. It’s a great restaurant for sushi, but I wouldn’t come here for only other Japanese foods. Foods like noodles and rice aren’t what you’d expect and they are very pricey.

Reservations are encouraged especially F, S, S — A busy night you need to have a reservation, especially bringing a party of four or more. I find the service and food very consistent and they catered very well to my 6 & 7 year old. We had a great time this past Friday.