O-Ku is probably my favorite restaurant I've been to since moving to Charlotte 5 months ago!
We were told the wait would be 45 minutes so my friend and I waited at the bar. It was a bit crowded but the atmosphere was great, and the beer I got (Sapporo) was delicious and went great with my sushi later! I was having such a great time I didn't keep track of time but it definitely didn't seem like 45 minutes before we were seated. They still gave us a free appetizer to "apologize for our wait" though!
Sit at the sushi bar if possible! This is where we were seated and it was the best location in the restaurant. We were on the far end so we watched all the sushi and appetizers line up on the bar as they came out of the kitchen--they all looked delicious! We asked the waiters questions about the dishes we saw a few times and they were very kind and knowledgeable.
The food itself was amazing! The free appetizer they gave us was the whitefish crudo, and we ordered south end shrimp as well. I would highly recommend both! I also ordered two rolls. I loved the lemon salmon roll. I worked at a sushi restaurant for 3 years in college so I've had more than my fair share of sushi and it was both delicious and unique enough to impress me. I also got the potato roll. The fried potato flavor was delicious but definitely overwhelming and I couldn't taste too much of the other flavors. It was still good and would be a great choice for a tentative new sushi eater. With the appetizers two rolls was too much for me to finish and they boxed my leftovers up nicely with extra soy sauce, ginger and wasabi. I think two rolls or an appetizer and a roll would be a filling meal for most!
Overall the ambiance, service and best of all food was great! I'll definitely be coming again.