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Categories: Japanese, Sushi Bars [Edit]
Neighborhood: SouthwestMon-Thu. 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Mon-Thu. 5:00 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Fri. 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Fri. 5:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Sat. 4:30 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Sun. 5:00 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
"Our very favorite sushi place in the Denver area. So many great rolls. I love the drum roll with asparagus and lemon zest(granted, not…" read more »
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The hype is true. Sushi Den is some seriously delicious sushi.
(short review, but that's all that needs to be said)
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I've eaten here about 3 or 4 times over the past couple of years. While I have never been significantly disappointed and they have excellent quality fish, I can honestly say that they are WAY too expensive for what they serve, and every time my husband and I have come in they've done something to tick us off.
I will give Sushi Den credit for really getting me into good sushi, not using octopus that is full of preservatives, making their own eel sauce and always having Kohada (my favorite fish for nigiri). These are things that no other restaurant I've been to can do. The service is excellent: No matter how busy they are, my drink is always full and plates are cleared efficiently. The wait for rolls and nigiri and sashimi is never too long. I think the amount of rice they use for nigiri is perfect: It never overpowers the fish. I've balanced between sushi and plates from the hot kitchen and both are very good. I can say that overall eating there is a good experience.
However: Last night my husband and I ate there and were blown away by the price for the experience. We're not the type to fill up on rolls. We and had maybe 20 pieces of nigiri between the two of us, veggie tempura, and one Asahi. $90 before tip. WOAH! The food was good, but not $90 + tip worth of good. We did get some slightly specialized fish like seared Toro, Kohada and Aji, but come on. We weren't ordering needlefish or barracuda or wagyu beef. The $23 chef's selection of 6 pieces of nigiri + hand roll that my husband ordered was painfully commonplace: Bigeye tuna, chu toro, yellowtail, salmon, snapper, spicy scallop, tuna hand roll. Preposterous.
The other thing we've witnessed twice is the kitchen pulling and using frozen tuna. One night we got there a bit late, close to closing, and the sushi chefs began pulling bags frozen tuna out and laying them in the neta cases for the next day. Customers should NEVER see things like that in a place like Sushi Den. Another time, during lunch, my husband ordered tuna that was still frozen. The chef said they had run out and had to pull more from the back in a hurry. For a restaurant of its clout and reputation, running out of tuna isn't something you would expect.
I may eat here again, but am overall ready to move on to discovering what other good sushi Denver has to offer. Hopefully with a bit more padding in my wallet when I leave.
I am glad that people have enjoyed themselves here, but have to admit I am a total hater. I seriously question 5280 and anyone else who herald this palce as THE SUSHI restaurant of Denver.
Big menu, very roll centric. This makes me question the freshness of the product. And question the product you def should. I got rip roaring sick after eating here. and I thought I had a stomach of steel.
Never coming back.
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Yes, it is true, the Sushi Den rocks. Yes, it is true, the Sushi Den is expensive. But, it is worth it. It's a splurge for me, maybe once a year I'll go here, but man...when I do, I'm in sushi heaven!
The fish is so fresh, it literally melts in your mouth. I wish I could afford to go here more often!
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Been back a couple more times and they have truly knocked the cover off the ball! Sit at the bar for Omakase and just let them do their thing. Still gets pretty crowded and isn't as casual as I like but the quality and freshness of the fish is top shelf and chefs definitely know their stuff. Great sake selection and guy behind the bar knew his sake as well.
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Left Coast seal of approval!
OK - so we get kind of spoiled by good sushi in SoCal so I was also a…
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fuckin best in denver :)
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Over the years I have never understood why this place gets good ratings. There are way better 'land locked' Denver sushi restaurants in town. If you like being in a trendy, shallow with pretentious service restaurant... this is the place for you.
Sushi
Rolls have to much rice not allot if fish
Sashimi way over priced
Not a large menu and if you try to order a custom roll or dish the wait staff will look at you like you are an alien.
Service
Snotty
Wine menu is terrible.
Crappy parking and valet stinks.
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Nothing more needs to be said that hasn't been said already. Not just great sushi for Denver, it's great sushi for anywhere. Oh, and go ahead and spring for the toro, it's one of the greatest things that I've ever tasted in my life.
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I thought this place was ok. It might be from hearing all of the hype about it before actually going to eat there. I finally went in and had dinner. We had a reservation so waiting for a seat wasn't a problem at all. The service was good. It was crowded and seemed like the place to eat on a Friday night. The sushi rolls were ok. They definitely weren't the best I've had but they were pretty good.
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Perfect fresh sushi everytime. Freshest fish anywhere. Among the best sushi in the country.
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Considering that Denver is pretty much land locked, I was hesitant to believe that delicious sushi would exist in the area. How I was wrong... Sushi Den was AMAZING! My boyfriend and I enjoyed the sushi so much that I still crave it. We ordered the 5 cheaper things on the menu and our bill was still almost $60, which is decent. The environment was very trendy and hip.
The only thing that prevents me from giving the restaurant a 5 star rating is that the service was slow. Our waiter kept on passing us when we needed something. Also, we showed up at 10 pm and still had to wait 15 minutes until we got a table even though there were plenty of open tables, the hostesses just kept on chatting amongst themselves. Rude.
Anyway, the food is great! If you have some money to dish out, go for it!
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I used to work in a Japanese restaurant right out of college and got seriously addicted. One of the few of the world's cuisines where you can pig out and not feel too bad about it health wise. Sushi - sashimi - now we're talking high taste and low fat.
Sushi Den is the best there is in Denver IMO. Yes, it is always crowded and it's better when someone else is paying. But, the fish is absolutely flawless as it should be since the owner has it flown in directly from the Tokyo fish market. I just sit at the sushi bar and put myself in the chefs' hands. Start with the sashimi - toro if you can afford it and whatever else the chef recommends. Move on to rice. I love all the nigiri even some of the veggie ones (eggplant is terrific). You can blow through $50 or more in a heartbeat though. Be sure to ask for some of the fresh grated wasabi. It bears no resemblance to the powdered stuff. I honestly have never eaten anything but the fish here although I'm told the food from the kitchen is good as well.
Can't get in? Walk across the street to Izakaya Den - same owner - same great fish - same prices (darn it) - less crowded and you can make a reservation.
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I personally liked Sushi den. The sushi was well made, and my Duck Udon noodles were delicious (with real pieces of duck!). However, the wait time was incredibly long. My friends and I must have waited for about 20-25 minutes at the very least for our dishes. I don't know why it took so long for them to bring the dishes (which came separetly at different times for a party of 7 people). Alright... I don't like to complain about service since the decor was so nice and modern, but I think that is an important part of service. If the food was gonna take such a long time, either the management should had given us a heads up or sent complimentary appetizers.
The sushi pieces were a bit expensive for the quality, and the happy hour prices arent that great. Holy how... $2.5 per piece? my dad went to sushi school and I know what expensiv sushi is supposed to taste like. anyway...
Don't be fooled by the exterior decor, which looks like a closed down restaurant. I wouldnt had known there was a running restaurant inside had it not been for this ladie who walked into the door. Yeah. I guess it is sort of a hole in the wall, of sorts.
Yeah... I have a lot more to talk about, but I am tired and have food coma. goonigh (time: 3:11 PM)
i'll preface this with i really like denver. but it's a larger testimony to the lackluster restaurant situation in denver that this place is regarded as the finest sushi in town. which, in my experience it is.
there's a lot of roll emphasis on the menu here, which is ok. it's clearly a scene and it's good for that. but the hipper than thou tone that they strike covers for acceptable quality sushi and downright abysmal service. now the sashimi was good, certainly better than the "sushi boat" sushi you'll get in west coast strip malls, but don't go out of your way for it.
i was recently at sushi den with some friends later in the evening and while the scene was definitely active, it took multiple attempts to get our order in and when we placed the second round order they botched that again so badly that the sushi chefs had already cleaned up.
i'll bump them an additional star for doing the right thing and atoning for their sins with 3 creme brulee and a fist full of spoons, gratis. but i would have rather had the second round of sushi. particularly given that the brulee is a bit on the runny side.
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I was impressed to read (Dinning Out Guide Denver) that the kampachi for Sushi Den is flown in daily from Japan where it is handpicked at the Nagahama fish market on Kyushu Island.
The sushi was very good, but I was kind of surprised at the menu. There were no original rolls, or anything that would make sushi den's menu unique. I sat at the bar for dinner and was able to order my favorite roll (spicy salmon) to my liking and I was very pleased with it. For being a landlocked sushi restaurant it does not get much better.
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came here with a few coworkers so i was able to try quite a few items on the menu..
appetizers
- unfortunately they were out of the grilled kama..
- garlic calamari- it was quite good but unfortunately i would have liked a stronger garlic taste
- diver scallops- came with 4 scallops. very delicious on top of spinach and potatoes; probably my favorite appetizer
- beef carpaccio- never had this at a japanese restaurant but it was interesting tasting. it was pretty good, the meat is thinly sliced and slightly raw so it was an easy dish to share
- shrimp and vegetable tempura - not too big fan of tempura, it was average tasting.. can't really go wrong with it.. probably wouldnt have ordered it at a fancy restaurant b/c its pretty cheap but coworkers wanted it. it was decent
entrees
- i got the chirashi- this was quite big and with quite the assortment of sashimi. i like this better than the other sashimi platters b/c you get more than just sashimi. you also get egg, tabico, fish roe, amongst other things. and in case the raw fish doesn't fill you up, you have the rice to fill you.
rolls
- kobe beef roll- i wasnt too amazed by it. the beef was just okay. ive definitely had better kobe beef. i guess im just not a fan of meat (as opposed to seafood) in my rolls. also another thing that annoyed me is that the roll was falling apart. the seaweed was not holding the rice and the meat together. thats a bit annoying esp when youre at an expensive restaurant and you're paying them extra to do a good job!
- yellowtail with jalapenos- this was definitely an interesting combination but definitely worth a try. it was pretty good. i would order this again next time.
- tuna firecracker- just okay. nothing too special about it, dont think i would order it again
we got some other rolls from the specials' menu but forgot what they were now..
dessert
- pear creme brulee- the BEST dessert there. the creme brulee is soooo good but with bits of pear inside makes it even better, EAT THIS!
- banana tempura- fired banana with a side of chocolate served with a scoop of green tea ice cream. very good. the fried banana was cooked well and the combination is great
- tempura ice cream- this was interesting. it is a tempura ball with ice cream inside. somehow they make it without the ice cream melting. good but i still would prefer the banana tempura
- tiramisu- a bit too sweet for my liking. and you can get it better elsewhere, so i wouldnt suggest it unless you really like tiramisu' there are definitely better dessert items on the menu
overall, the food was good but not the best. i think it was a bit pricey, although the sashimi did taste quite fresh. we went on a monday night and the restaurant was still quite packed. they have a pretty extensive alcohol/wine menu if you want to get drinks. the staff is very friendly and attentive and is very helpful if you have any questions.
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Moving to Denver from Washington, D.C., we had had some trouble finding a good place for sushi. We were very pleased to find Sushi Den. We only had rolls (spicy tuna, firecracker, shrimp tempura), but they were all very good and much better than ones at other places like Hapa. We were able to walk in a get a table at 6pm on a Sat. night, but after that, it looked like you would have to wait as the place was packed.
On a side note, it was my wife's birthday, and friends from D.C. called Sushi Den and had sake delivered to our table. The staff tracked us down in the full restaurant by a picture our friends emailed to them. On a busy Saturday night, the staff going out of their way to help with the surprise was greatly appreciated.
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I can't believe Ive never visited this place before, but it is THE BOMB. Great fish going on here. I have always heard of it, but never visited. I had a sushi platter ($16) which was a bit pricey for lunch, but well worth it. Everything down to the octopus was perfection. Youd never guess that you were hundreds of miles from the ocean cause the food is that great. The chef admited that they fly their fish in daily from japan. Thats pretty cool. Oh and the staff are all friendly. The place puts a lot of attention to detail which is cool. Go there and eat up!
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Everyone and their Mom kept telling me about Sushi Den and how they have the best Sushi in Denver. So I became very curious and finally had a great oppurtunity to try it out on my 30th Birthday with some close friends.
I was amazed! The restaurant was so busy when I walked in for a weekday. Good thing I made a reservation.
The decor was beautiful and the staff was friendly. The food was delicious!!! My friend took the lead in ordering everything from edamame, miso soup, sushi rolls, tempura rolls, nigiri, exotic fish etc. We shared family style and that was the best part!!!
I had such a great time and will always remember that day. I think Sushi Den is a treat, so I hope to go again for a special occasion.
I highly recommend this place.
Sushi Den is a nice place for what it is. Located on the popular Pearl St near DU, it can get rather busy at times, inducing parking horrors, long waits, and a noisy environment. The staff is friendly and the service is somewhat prompt. The sushi is good, but a little pricey and not top of it's class in the city. There is outdoor seating, which is quiet lovely on a nice day.
If your looking for a fancier spot for a date or other occasion, Sushi Den is the choice for you. If your just after sushi and prefer something low key, look elsewhere.
Beautiful place.... delicious and super fresh sushi!
Everything was perfect!
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I know everyone raves about sushi den, but I am not a fan. The sushi selection is very limited for a place that supposedly specializes in sushi and is WAY overpriced. I won't ever be coming back to this one as I have found much better places to get my sushi on in Denver!
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Full disclosure, I just moved here from Seattle last fall and I have very high sushi expectations. That said, I've been waiting to have sushi in Denver until I could get to the Sushi Den because I've heard from multiple sources that it's the best sushi in Denver. If that's the case, I may need to wait until my next trip to Seattle to have sushi again...
Sushi Den has a nice environment and attentive wait staff. Their sushi menu was expensive ($4.50 for 25 edamame pods and $16 for a rainbow roll- not on the menu, but available at special request), and honestly not that original. The cuts of fish were thinner and there was more rice than I'm used to. The fish seemed fresh, but both my husband and I suffered from GI issues afterward. Overall, I'd give this place a "meh" and shrug.
I'd go back to Sushi Den, but only with someone who really wanted to go.
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Decent Japanese although I think the restaurant is a bit too trendy. Whatever happened to good old mom and pops Japanese restaurants in Denver? Parking stinks. Sushi is good. I tried miso chicken at lunch and it tasted like American food with an Asian twist. I would not order this dish again. Tempura udon is average.
The food was good!
I found Sushi Den on yelp and it was the first place we ate at once we arrived in Denver, just in time for last call.
We ordered the miso soup, garlic calamari, miso black cod, kobe beef roll, cali roll, house roll and the strawberry shortcake!! We ate it all!!!
I am Japanese, so naturally pretty picky when it comes to rice. Sushi Den got it right!!
You gotta go!
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Sushi Den has historically been my go to place for sushi in Denver. I went there again last week and will most likely not be going back. Sushi was...meh...this time around. The Kobe Beef roll was terrible. All of the fish did not have the usual freshness I am accustomed to with Sushi Den. The service was pretty much nonexistent and that is the main reason I will not return. Once we finished eating, we waited at the table a total of 25 minutes for our tab and change. That is really unacceptable to me for a restaurant in this price range.
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OK, minus one star for not having Mochi. Tiramasu and banana cream pie? Ca'mon it's a japanese joint. I love their fish specials. Giant clam, needle fish, sardines, amberjack belly, baby octopus. Yum! And the kobe beef rolls! Of course we snuck in sunday at 5PM so we only had to wait in line 3 deep. The service was very good.
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I have friends from all over the country (Seattle, Chicago, LA, etc) who insist on going back here… Read more »
Overpriced, had to wait for over an hour for a table, sushi was subpar at best.
Will not return.
What's the big deal about this place?
Really, the sushi is only "ok", the waitstaff was less than stellar and the atmosphere wasn't that enjoyable either. I'm lead to believe that people just like this place because it's trendy and in Wash Park. Out of the 4 of us that dined we didn't see any other reason why people might like it.
1 star for simply being open
1 star for my diet coke---it was A. OK!
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Trendy, overpriced sushi bar that you go to simply 'be seen'.
I'll take a hole in the wall sushi joint any day over this place.
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Very fresh sushi. Reasonably priced drinks. Great. Pricey, but worth it.
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I was in Denver for a work conference so we went over on Saturday night for dinner. Like others have said, it was very busy and crowded and waited around 50 minutes for a table. Which to me is on par for most formal places if you don't call ahead, so it was acceptable. We did find the front bartender a bit snobbish.
Dinner was superb. We ordered a special appetizer on the menu which was called "crispy tuna", which had a nice crunch to it and was layered with some other items. I also requested a bar salad which is usually served to those that sit at the sushi bar. Being a fan of cucumbers I wanted to try it. Very good. Then for sushi rolls we ordered their spicy tuna (poki), baked yellow, lobster tempura, firecracker and CA roll to round out the number for us both. I have to admit the CA roll, which was an afterthought to order, was phenomenal. We love spicey tuna but found it a bit above average. The other rolls were all excellent. The banana tempura for desert was good but I was a bit disappointed to be honest. It wasn't enough however to take away from the rest of our dining experience. The waitstaff we had that evening were very attentive for how busy they were.
Highly recommend stopping in if you are a sushi fan.
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I love the Sushi Den. I get teased about this because it is such a popular place but I cant help it. They have a jalapeno sashimi that I dream about.
We cant really afford to eat here so it is a twice a year treat when my fiancees mom treats us for birthdays. I have never had something here that I didn't love. My fiancees mom doesn't like sushi and she always finds some amazing dish that she loves.
I don't really care about how americanized or Japanese the place looks, tastes, feels etc... All I know is that it is the place to go to get some great food.
I like to finish off my dinner with ginger ice cream. Mmmm....
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I'm from California and I'm used to fabulous sushi. I have been impressed with a couple of places in Boulder but not "wowed". Last Saturday I was going out on a date and I really wanted Sushi. Trouble was, my date was not necessarily a fan of raw fish. Wanting to convince him that Sushi is indeed delicious, I looked around and read all the fabulous reviews here for Sushi Den.
The wait was long, but nothing that a couple of glasses at their bar couldn't make go by quickly. About 40 minutes later we were seated in the back dining area and promptly greeted by our friendly and knowledgeable server. We chatted with her for a few minutes, listened to her suggestions, ordered a couple of those and then some favorites. It was fresh and fabulous and my date is now a fan. The miso soup was also tasty. Some places it's just too salty, but they got it just right.
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For all the reviews under 4 stars, are we dining at the same place ?! Sushi Den is the Best in Co, IMO. Everything here that we have had is amazing and fresh ! yes, the wait and price can definitely deter the avid sushi connoisseur, but for those who understand the quality of fish they use here, its worth every cent ! Some things we ALWAYS get, jalapeno sashimi is a must, and the yellowtail collar is sooooo good !
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Every time I go to Sushi Den, I never feel like there's anything Japanese about it. The decor and the staff are both very Americanized. Regardless, this is a fun place to go out for sushi on a date or with friends i.e. the vibe makes me feel cool even though I'm a geek! The sushi is not the best I've had, but it's pretty darn good. They got your standard items like California Roll, Spicy Tuna Roll, and Spider Roll, but also some exotic Japanese fish like...eh, sorry, can't spell them. I've tried their entrees, like the Crispy Duck and Seared Ahi Tuna, but they were not worth the $24 nor the boredom associated with it. Stick to the sushi and you'll have a fabulous experience sans boredom.
1 star off: blah entrees
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This place probably deserves five stars, but it's a bit too big/crowded for my personal preferences actually. Almost 10 chefs behind the bar! I prefer a more one-on-on experience with sushi and the chef, but that said, it was GREAT sushi.
I was sat in front of Za-san and he treated me very well. I think I had the best piece of sushi I ever had here... buri toro. Za-san dressed with some special nigiri shoyu and I had some hon-wasabi along with it and it was nothing short of heaven. The ankimo here was also simply amazing. So tender and such a gentle flavor that went so well with both the sweet miso sauce or ponzu.
The sayori was fantastic. Lots of fresh fish selections from Japan. The madai was spot on also.
I really want to give this place five stars, but the size and popularity just puts me off a bit. I hope I get to go back again one day, that will probably force me to upgrade the rating.
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Okay, so this is the best place for sushi I've tried thus far and I give it a 3 which is much better than other places I have tried in Colorado. It was busy, but we got there early so we didn't have to wait. We got the avocado and eel roll, spicy tuna, yellow tail, and some jalapeno roll. All of them were okay. Everything here lacked the little bit of extra natural flavor that I am used to. But yes, this place is pretty good for a trendy place. I will be back here again
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My bro lives in Denver and always raves about this place so the last time I was in town we came here for dinner after a day of shredding and drinking at Copper. Not sure if it's true but my older sibling claims that the owner's brother lives in Japan and personally picks out the fish and then ships it direct to Denver. If that's the case, then it's probably fresher than most of the sushi you eat in cities that are way closer to the ocean. I wouldn't say this is better than most of the places around LA/San Francisco but it's pretty darn close. You'd never know by the quality of the fish that you were 1,000 miles from the nearest ocean. We got a bunch of rolls and sashimi and I was very satisfied. The ambiance is also pretty cool and reminds me a lot of the best sushi places in California (low lighting, dark woods, lots of black fabrics, yadda yadda yadda). I highly recommend this place if you're in Denver and looking to get your Yellowfin on.
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Sushi Den...Hummm???
The Atmosphere---Terrific! (good date place)
The Sushi---Incredible!
The Service---Good (with as busy as they get)
The Prices---Moderate to pricey but worth it!
Parking sucks...
I will definitely go there again, even if Ii have to walk a distance!---lol
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happy hours
Neighborhood: Lodo
New Happy Hour & New Specials
Neighborhood: Southwest
Neighborhood: Southwest
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Northwest
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Southwest
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Southwest
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Southeast
Category: Japanese
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