I'm sorry to write this, but we did not like the place nor our dinner at all :( First of all, I appreciate the cleanliness in the restaurant, which was not there. Since we parked in the back, we had to use the back door to get in and that entrance definitely needs some cleaning/painting/something done. The interior seemed kinda awkward to me. I'm not sure if it was the stage (?) or the placement of tables...Now the food - I ordered salmon teriyaki with mashed potatoes (rice came with it, too) and snap peas and Philadelphia roll. Well, salmon looked and tasted good. Mashed potatoes were the size of about 2 tablespoon. The rice was dry. The sushi was definitely pre-made, not fresh and dry. Â My husband also ordered Philadelphia roll and Chicken and Shrimp box. He did not finish it because he didn't like it for similar reasons....The "best" part started after we were done with dinner in about 1 hour when both of us started to have stomach cramps, pain, etc. It got worse as the night progressed. When I went to sleep, I felt extremely nauseous, I had chills and slept pretty bad. Even as I write this (2 days later), both of us are still not feeling 100%. If I could recommend something to the Duo management - please, make sure that the back door is presentable and the entrance is clean and make sure that the food is cooked and handled properly. I'm sorry, but in my opinion, it's just not the best idea to mix these two things - an attempt to have a nice restaurant and a fun bar at the same time. Pick one and do it right.
Review Source:Bought a Living Social voucher to eat here. Nothing on the voucher about being limited to certain days. Get seated by oddly distracted waitress, put voucher on table. Restaurant nearly empty at 7 on Sat. night. Â Waitress looks at us and says, "I just want to tell you our manager told us yesterday we can't honor these on Fri or Sat nights." I asked to speak to the manager. He came over and said we couldn't use voucher. I said, "there is nothing on the voucher or in the fine print about Fri and Sat nights. You can't change the terms after people buy the voucher." He said sorry, he wouldn't honor it but would offer us a free drink. I said we were leaving if he didn't honor the voucher, but he just shrugged. So we left. Be warned if you bought one of those vouchers. Contacted Living Social, and they gave us a credit toward future purchase.
Review Source:Visited this place over the summer during the August track season. They were having a jockey event later in the evening so we had to sit on the upper level. That's okay and all but they didn't seem to notice or care that my aging mother would have a hard time getting up the flight of stairs and there was no alternate route. The event was not scheduled to start for another 2-3 hours so why not allow us to sit down on the street level? oh well, bless my mom because she made it! This place is not handicap-friendly or elder-friendly at all.
As for the food, Iam SO glad to see a Japanese place try yet again to make a go of it in Saratoga. However, they need some feedback on the food.
The shrimp tempura was not tempura - it was panko. and we got 6 of them. The miso soup is very weak and needs more powder in there, folks.
Good vegetables in the bento box.
Gyoza that comes with the bento boxes are yucky, frozen, and not worth it.
Bad brown rice - not thoroughly cooked
2 people for dinner, $43 +tip, no drinks. This is not a bad total, during track season. However I'm used to bay area prices. My mom was somewhat surprised about the cost but only because the food was so poor. Better quality food in the bento boxes, with a bit more on the plate would have justified the price no problem.
Stopped here for lunch on the way to VT. Â Read alot of great reviews and the bf loves sushi. Â Also saw the great lunch specials! Â We each ordered off the lunch specials. Â The bento box is 13.00 and you get soup or salad, a choice of appetizer, choice of roll and choice off a teryaki meat. Â The salad was good. Â At first the dressing was a little odd but then grew on me and I couldnt get enough. Â The lettuce was fresh and the dressing had to be homemade. Â It was a ginger dressing. Â Chose the tuna and scallion roll as roll choice and chicken teryaki as main course. Â And the beef yakatori for the appetizer. Â All delicious. Â And a ton of food for 13.00. Â Also came with rice. Â The teryaki flavor was really good. Â It was the same sauce on the yakatori so next time would try a different appetizer. Â All great and a bang for the buck! Â Bf had the 3 roll lunch special with salad for 11.00. Â He had the spicy tuna roll which was the best one I have had. Â Should have gotten that instead of the seared tuna and scallion. Â He also had a couple of other salmon ones. Â don't care for salmon so didnt try but he was very pleased. Â For dessert had the fried banana with red bean ice cream(which was blue but tasted alot like vanilla) really good and ordred an irish coffee. Â didnt expect much in a japanese place and rethought my ordering however it was delicious!! Â We will stop here again if passing through!
Review Source:If you can get over the tacky decor and bleach smell (hey, at least it's clean), then Duo is the best Japanese restaurant in Saratoga and perhaps the capital region. Their specialty rolls are so creative and delicious, they rival some of the best Japanese restaurants in Manhattan. Here are some things to order:
- All of the specialty rolls I've had are amazing. My favorites are Autumn of New York, Red Bull, Sex on The Beach, and Out of Control.
- House salad actually is nice, good-quality mesclun greens with delicious ginger dressing
- Love that they have organic chicken, definitely sets them apart.
- Wash it all down with a pint of Kirin!
- I do wish they had Tamago on the menu, which is one of my favorite sushi ingredients
Great service and consistently great, fresh food make Duo a must-eat spot in Saratoga for Sushi enthusiasts.
Say goodbye to Sushi Thai! Seriously, don't go there.
As a Los Angeles resident, I eat a lot of Sushi. Duo offers very creative, fresh and sometimes odd sushi creations. Many of their specialty rolls are centered around non-fish ingredients (crab, shrimp and lobster), but all are very tasty. My favorites were the Angry Dragon (shrimp tempura and avocado roll, topped by spicy king crab) and the Paradise roll, which I believe was lobster, crab and banana. Yeah, I said banana. Service is always great, and they have good lunch specials.
If you need a sushi fix, make your way here. It's a little off the main area, but well worth the trip.
Probably the best restaurant in Saratoga, if you like sushi and authentic Asian cuisine.
The atmosphere is very dark and mellow. Â A great place to relax and have a drink. Â The service from the wait staff is outstanding, the food is quickly prepared, and the selection is amazing.
For the sushi and sashimi lover this place is a treasure. Â They have numerous custom rolls with interesting ingredients and things that are unique to this area.
All this fresh food makes the place a little pricey, but it is well worth it for the quality.
As an additional bonus they deliver and offer carryout service as well.
I've driven by Duo a few times and was finally drawn in by the many rave reviews here on yelp.
First - if you park in the lot in the back, go around the front of the restaurant on the RIGHT side of the building - not the left. The dumpster and an unwieldy rock garden are on the left side of the building. Avoid. (BTW - it's the right side of the building if you're in the parking lot facing the road - just so there's no confusion).
We went on a week night and saw that they have happy hour from 5-7 every week day. They have outside seating and a few of the tables were occupied (we got there around 6:30). The food happy hour specials are done at 6:30 but it seems that the drink specials continue until 7, perhaps?.
We stuck with green tea and water (I know, boring....), but they had a very nice selection of cocktails and sake. Â We sat inside which, as other reviews stated, is very modern and trendy looking. Lots of lights in the walls, along the bar and general funkiness. Definitely trying to be a NYC-kind of "hot spot" in 'toga. Â It was still light out (ahh...long summer days..), so the inside was not as dramatic as it probably is in the dark.
The service is EXTREMELY attentive - the water and tea glasses were constantly filled. I put my napkin on my own lap, however, my friend had the pleasure of having it placed on her lap for her. I forgot to warn her....oops.
The warm towels at the beginning of the meal are also a plus. Love that.
OK..the food:
We started with one of the signature rolls - we tried to stay away from anything that was fried or with mayo (that was tough) - but we modified the Out of Control Roll- got the spicy sauce on the side. Decent but a little bland without the sauce.
We also shared:
Salmon avocado roll: (ordered it without cucumber) - very good. The seaweed was not chewy and this simple roll was great. Avocado perfectly ripe and salmon was good quality.
Had the Aquarium Sushi - 12 pieces of assorted sushi which included Salmon, Fluke, Striped Bass, Tuna and one piece of shrimp. Interestingly, there wasn't any yellowtail, white tuna, octopus...etc. Mostly disappointed about the yellowtail. The fish was fresh but the rice is way too sweet. Unfortunately, that's typical at most "americanized" sushi joints.
Only one other complaint - some of the fish was a bit warm - which is a bit of a turnoff.
I would probably go back with a group of people next time and partake in some of the adult beverage choices. There are also some very large speakers around and the music can be loud at times. They also have a fairly extensive cooked food menu that sounds interesting.
Interestingly, I've been here numerous times, but have never had one of their bentos, so I can't speak for that. I can say I do love to eat here. The sashimi is well-prepared and the rolls aren't too shabby either, though sushi isn't my thing. I like my raw fish unadulterated.
Many of the entrees tend to be quite chinese-influenced. The Hong Kong style roasted duck is lovely. Well-roasted, crispy goodness. But even the other entrees, that are quite a fare of asian-western fusion, are well-done. I think they do their best in this area.
The appetisers are an interesting instance. The crispy duck used to be a sublime crispiness but it no longer is. I found out the last time I was there that the chef has changed so it might be a different style of cooking perhaps. I do miss the crisp in the quack though. The shabu-shabu is technically not shabu-shabu, so if one has perhaps had cravings for it, don't expect that to satisfy said craving. The gyoza is done well, and the soft-shell crab is a favourite of mine too, though I'm not sure if that's changed as well since the change in chef. It might have slightly. I still think that's a strong app though.
I don't tend to partake in desserts but they have Japanese desserts here! Mochi craving satisfied! Gooo Duo! I love mochi. :)
So it was our first trip here and we are glad we stopped. We have passed by this place for a year now saying oh we should go there some time! Â It was amazing! I don't hand out 5 stars easily but this place earned it.
 It's a little odd at first as you enter from the rear of the building and walk through an empty banquet room. Once you get up front it's an amazing modern decor.
 The menu offers a wide variety of options  from it fusion offering. With a wide variety of Asian appetizers an soups, entrees and sushi offerings.
 We ordered seaweed salad, miso soup,and edamame for our apps while we thumbed through all our options for our main course. The edamame came out first in a portion equal to the most other places doubling! Wong or waiter then reappeared with the largest portion of Seaweed salad I have ever scene! It actually made me wonder if there was any left in the ocean after this portion.
 We then proceed to give Wong the rest of our order. For the Mrs. A Salmon Teriyaki Bento Box and for me the Paradise Roll and Angry Dragon Roll. You will not believe me but this was as close to master piece sushi as you can get. The chef culinary ninja skills are impressive. The combination of the paradise roll and the angry dragon roll dancing on my taste buds was a yen and yang experience. The Bento Box my wife had was devoured in its entirety which was no small feat.
 I'm glad we finally stopped in I'm only mad we didn't go here sooner.
I want to preface by saying this review is based on takeout not dine-in experience. After a very disappointing visit to Phila Fusion, I was hoping this would be Saratoga's saving grace to sushi. Well, it was average. We ordered Rock Shrimp Tempura, Autumn of NY, Sunset Blvd, Alaskan roll, & Seaweed Salad. Sadly, I was most impressed by the seaweed salad but only because of the generous portion. As for the heart of the meal, the sushi, it was just OK. I can't say that any of the rolls were noteworthy, but if sushi is a MUST while you're in the area, this might be your best bet.
Review Source:Really nice decor and friendly staff. Â Quick service. Â But it's all about the food: Â It was really good and fresh. Â Exactly what you want from a sushi/japanese restaurant. Â
I am a bit of a sushi snob (ie. see my other reviews) and I have recently made a switch to a vegan diet. Â The rolls were nicely presented with just the right amount of rice (little) and more veggies (lots). Â My friend, who is not a vegan, said that their fish was really fresh and tasted great.
Will recommend over most places in Saratoga Springs (ie. 2 places on Phila street).
Great restaurant. Â Casual yet very clean and elegant. Â
EXCELLENT service and hospitality.
I went with the peppered tuna (seared) and a Bendo box for a simple dinner and everything was great. Â I'd definitely go back.
My only "complaint" is the cost of a simple glass of wine. Â $9? Â Really? Â I get the fact that it's summer in a tourist town but let's knock that down a couple of bucks eh?
Awesome Find!
I am so glad to finally have a great sushi place so close to my house!
So I parked in the back of the restaurant and took the back staircase entrance not knowing where this narrow staircase would take us..... The stairs led to  a empty dining room with no one in sight. After walking a ways and going down some steps it opened up into a bigger space with employees finally. It was very swank inside, modern club scene vibe happening. A hostess seated us immediately and a waitress came over just as quick.
Started out with some cold unfiltered sake and a crisp duck appetizer.
Sake was the best I have tasted, I am a unfiltered sake fan for sure now! The crisp duck was on a bed of matchstick cut cucumbers with a hoisin sauce. Yummy Yummy.
There menu is a mix of Japanese, French and Italian fusion. My girlfriend and I stuck with sushi for our meal (nigiri pieces and rolls). The fish was top quality, fresh and skillfully prepared. A lot of sushi places in the area tend to make the sushi rice too sweet and drown it with sauces, but this is not the case here. Duo focuses on the freshness of the fish and it literally melts in your mouth. The service is excellent as well. The staff pays a lot of attention to their guests which I love I want to be taken care of and pampered when I dine out. My sake glass was always full, our needs catered to and the empty plates cleared in a timely manner.
I cant wait to go back and try out more of their menu.
Very surprised with Duo as there has been a string of so-so restaurants in this location. Duo is great.
Saratoga has been overwhelmed with Japanese restaurants in recent years and Duo is at or right near the top. Attentive service, great food, and nice bar area have made it a great place for lunch, dinner or cocktails.
I took my two sons kicking there last night as I was tired of Friendly's fare. They told their mom later that it was "amazing" which says a lot coming from a 9 and 11 year old who could live on nuggets and fries.
I think Duo is the BEST restaurant in Saratoga Springs,NY. My second visit to the restaurant was last night June 1, 2011. Once again the food and the service was AMAZING!!!!!!! I had the King's steak and it was to die for. My daughter and my husband had steak and lobster and once again simply amazing!! This restaurant is so beautiful and the style is very upscale! ....There is nothing like this in Saratoga Springs! The prices are great, the staff is fabulous! They attend to your every need! I met the owner and the General Mgr. and they were both wonderful people!! I highly recommend this restaurant to everyone. I can not say enough GREAT things about this place. Please make this a regular place to eat!!
Review Source:I ate here last time and was underwhelmed by the freshness of the sushi. Â It was no better than lesser places and caused me to stop going here. Â I don't need a $25 sashimi that isn't brilliant. Â When it was, I went and when it wasn't stopped. I have lowered my rating to *** and have mixed feelings about more than 2.5* given the pricing.
Clearly, the most unexpected result in Saratoga. Â I read the other reviews here on Yelp and frankly didn't expect great results. Â I was completely wrong.
This is a first rate sushi restaurant out of the mold of Paris cool. The floors are blackish large block tile. Â The booths black. Â The music big beat dance cool.
But the food is absolutely fresh, well prepared and served with a little too much flare. Â The service is to my taste too formal and a little too insistent. I have had two meals here and both times the food was excellent. Â The last time I moved tables to sit adjacent to a table of friends of mine and brought my napkin along. Â I picked up the folded napkin on the plate in front of where I moved and put it across the table from me. Â A waiter picked it up, opened it up and actually put it on my lap. Â Really? Â I thanked him and handed it back to him. Â He again put it on my lap. Â I told him that I already had a napkin and he was so full of himself that he told me to keep it that I might need two. Â I handed it to him and he repeated himself. I had to tell him to take it away. Â That's over the top. There's a little of this going on with the staff about everything. Â Overt formality without manners.
I'm sure that when the restaurant is more established and is full, that the staff won't have the time to be self taken. Â I'm probably right.
Everything about the food deserves a rave. Â I observed the ice cream lollypop desert at my friends table and it looked great and they described it as great.
In all, this is a must visit sushi bar for the Capitol region. Â Finally a truly first rate place to eat. Â
I only hope they change the music to slightly more laid back and do same with the wait staff.
I went at a slow time (on a Sunday) for an early dinner. Â I found Duo to be excellent. Â First, I think $28 foir surf and turf (fiullet Mignon and a lobster tail) in Saratoga generally is very reasonable, but even more so with a place that has such a nice atmosphere. Â It is modern, and they have done an excellent jo decorating. Â It isnt a place for a quiet dinner though as there is modern music. Â The food was perfectly cooked, and the chef/owner Wilfred personally came out inroduced himself, and wanted feedback on the food (I thought it was excellent). Â I agree the outside of the building is not as appealing as inside, but I thought the food and service were very good. Â Has a nice lounge and bar as you enter.
Review Source:I guess Duo's name means it is two things at once, a lounge AND a restaurant. I'll leave it to Nick P to cover the lounge part and I will talk about the food, actually the lunch since I am not about to pay $26 for an 8 ounce "King of Steaks" at dinner.
The ambience of a restaurant usually doesn't affect me one way or another, but Duo does a number of things that seem designed to disorient the consumer, pardon the pun. The website and walls are full of images of this young Caucasian woman contorting herself in vaguely tantric poses in front of what looks like a ring of fire. WTF? And the back wall of the restaurant is lined with big pictures of Buddhas that look south Asian. The Indian theme continues with the hypnotic background music, which reminds me of the scene in Jungle Book when Mowgli is lured away by Ka the Python. And they have these pulsating blue neon lights as you climb the stairs from the lounge to the restaurant that make you feel like a contestant on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?"
The menu says it is "modern" Japanese but I'm not sure how that differs from food at a hundred other Japanese spots. On my first visit I got the three roll lunch special for $11, a real bargain considering the rolls are $5-7 each a la carte and you also get soup or salad and tea with the lunch. Ah, the soup: the lemongrass chicken hot & sour soup was one of the most beautiful looking and tasting things I have experienced in may a day.
On my first visit I had the crispy salmon roll, the spicy tuna roll and the yellowtail scallion roll. The first two were ok, hard to mess up since the kitchen just makes up a bunch of filling then slathers it on. The yellowtail was less good. The fish tasted frozen and the nori wrap was stingy, not extending all the way around the roll. All in all, just fine for the price but hardly sushi mastery.
I really couldn't figure out whether I liked the restaurant or not, so I went back for the bento box at $13. I had the shrimp tempura/chicken skewer/California roll combination again with the lemongrass chicken soup. This time the soup was nothing special; the flavors were muddy and the soup oversalted. The ingredients in the bento box were all fine and nicely presented, but none exceeded the A-OK level. Music this time was techno with a driving beat that made me want to leap out of my seat and take a road trip.
Went on opening night with some friends. I was greeted with a free drink token at the door and  met everybody in the back. I had some sushi that was fresh and delicious.
The decor is modern and hip. They've done a a great job remodeling and it felt clean and spacious.
The location is not great for Saratoga and M2 and I walked from town on a cold night and that was a bitch. It's kind of out in the sticks on south Broadway and and you have to be going there and nowhere else.
I love techno music, and they had a dj and go-go  dancers. One of who was really good and my thoughts still are still gyrating with the rhythm she displayed.
The dj was way too loud. The downstairs has the feel of a cool martini lounge, but the music made it a dance club. It was actually painful near the speakers. I think the dj was new and I got the feeling he had spent sleepless nights dreaming about how cool he would be if he was a dj and then rubbing one out.
A round of 5 drinks was $52. That's pretty steep and I'll pay if for a really good time but you have to deliver. In their favor they gave everybody a free drink on opening night so we really got rounds for that.
Duo has potential. it's hip and the staff were great and that go-go dancer (Erin) was enough to make anything awesome. But it need to work out some of the kinks and not try too hard.
I can see them earning more stars and I'll be back to find out.
Modern? Yep! Japanese? Yep! Techno? Huh?
My platonic man buddy and I went there around 8 o'clock before the grand opening and we were definitely surprised. It was mood lit and had decent techno music (Deadmau5 to drop a name) pulsating in the background w/ accompanying green rave lights. Don't get me wrong: the place oozes with luxury. The bar is well lit (think ultra lounge) with one small television (small being a plus), the atrium is lined by black and red dominoes, and the back room is a traditional dining room with dark wood floors and classy seating. The manager, with bling in ear and a snappy vest, said that the lower lounge area would be the dance area while the upper, larger room remain the dining area. Regardless, I'm excited that it even has the promise of some up to date house/techno tunes.
Seated by the window, Miguel (note: not Japanese) came out, greeted us with a little bow, and handed out hot towels to wipe down our filthy man hands and face. Nice touch. The menu is fairly expansive with all sorts of while rolls for you to try $8 - $20. Whatever we got it was delicious, about 8 inches long (insert appropriate joke here), and presented well. The maki box entree provided another three stacks of sushi, 8 pieces in each stack, about half dollar size. In short, + coffee and a nice hot bottle of sake, it ran the two of us around $60. It may not be authentic but it does have flavor and that matters more to me. We also got a free crab rangoon wanton thing for starter's; I don't expect that to continue but for an amuse bouche it was tasty.
Service was decent but not speedy. We didn't feel rushed at all. Conversation was pleasant with the waiter who I think was less than enthused to give up his Brooklyn lifestyle for the adult play land of Saratoga. He did drop our order for creme brulee amidst a coffee switchup but it wasn't worth the trouble to correct him. One gripe: they use these fancy, curvy coffee cups. Kudos for trying to be mindful about design but they are clumsy and hard to use. If you're left handed, hope the handle doesn't blow your mind like an M.C. Escher drawing.
Good food, medium pricing, and a youthful mood (mainly) is what pushes this to four starts for me. I have no idea how consistent it is or if the promise of dancin' will be made true but a first good impression none the less.
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