An import from Palm Springs, this Scandinavian-designed sushi bar in the Melrose District is as cozy as it gets and offers an impressive glowing back bar of Japanese whiskies. Japanese-trained chef Engin Onural turns out clever tuna tataki tacos and florid signature maki rolls such as the Sandfish, which combines spicy tuna, kanikama, and avocado in a roll topped with fried potato threads, spicy aioli, teriyaki sauce, micro greens, green onion, and black truffle zest.

Everybody loves Hana, a central Phoenix stalwart run by sushi chef Lori Hashimoto and her family for over a decade. All the classic sashimi and sushi rolls are here, as well as specialties such as ankimo sliders (marinated monkfish liver set on a lemon slice and topped with sunny side up quail egg, daikon, green onion, and nori) and the Hana Pride (yellowtail, tuna, salmon, krab, albacore, white fish, and pickled burdock root, wrapped in fresh cucumber and dusted with togarashi). This former BYOB now offers Japanese beer and interesting sakes.

Harumi, which recently moved to fancier digs just steps away from its original location, has been a downtown Phoenix sushi staple since 2013; its similarly elegant sibling opened in North Peoria in 2022. Both restaurants are beloved for their affordable lunch specials, signature purple sushi rice, and trios (called “.coms “ at the Peoria store), which are basically flights of your favorite fish in various preparations. The downtown Phoenix location also features hand rolls, the A5 Wagyu beef roll for die-hard carnivores, and the tempura-fried sweet potato roll for vegans.

As much a cocktail bar as a sushi bar, this sister spot to Clever Koi offers a limited (but decidedly fun) sushi menu in a sleek, modern space. Standouts from the sashimi and nigiri section are A5 wagyu, blow-torched salmon belly, and coffee-cured salmon, while the half-dozen sushi rolls are universally creative. It’s a favorite spot for date night, with the hours stretching until midnight on the weekends.

Seating is minimal (four two-tops plus an eating bar) at this tiny sushi shop, where the service is quick and friendly. Everything is designed to be self-serve, from ordering on a tablet to picking up your own beverages and utensils. Customers forego the amenities for high-quality sushi, which is popular as a takeout item. Family-size platters are available as well as nigiri, hand rolls, bowls, and an adorable sushi cake, which requires 24-hour notice.

Leo Nakano (son of longtime sushi scion Hirofumi Nakano) is the talent behind this intimate sushi bar, offering classic nigiri and familiar sushi rolls as well as flown-in-fresh Japanese seafood, found on the chalkboard of daily specials. Here, customers might find aoyagi (surf clam, served live), kinmedai (golden eye snapper), or Hokkaido scallops. Don’t miss raijin — a crunchy, deep-fried rice patty topped with spicy tuna, avocado, jalapeño, and garlic chips — and consider Nakano’s off-the-cuff omakase.

Chef-owner Yusuke Kuroda, the talent behind the wildly popular Origami Ramen Bar, takes diners on a curated omakase journey that includes 13 pieces of premium sushi and temaki priced at $85. Expect fresh fish imported from Japan and Europe, as well as pretty presentations, and a mashup of American, Japanese, and Mexican flavors. From the omakase menu, diners might find yuzu aguachile yellowtail, a dainty rice bowl topped with uni and ikura (pearls of salmon roe), or wagyu beef rolls topped with either caviar or truffle salt. The restaurant also offers traditional a la carte starters and sushi rolls for those who’d rather forgo the splurge.

Admittedly, this rock-walled, retro-cool flashback to the mid-century, where regulars routinely sip Japanese-inflected cocktails and eat dinner at the bar, isn’t a straight-up sushi bar. Instead, it’s an East-meets-West Japanese restaurant presided over by James Beard award-winning chef Nobuo Fukuda. On any given day, the menu offers six-to-seven sophisticated sashimi or crudo options that are so good it’s possible to zero in on just these dishes and leave satisfied. Consider the kelp-cured seabream scattered with cherry blossoms, lightly seared big-eye tuna in roasted beet puree with Pinot Noir reduction, or oysters in tomato water reduction with mascarpone and wasabi oil. The quality of the food is mind-blowing, especially at these reasonable prices.

Although sushi maestro Shinji Kurita left his eponymous ShinBay in late 2023, this lovely, serene space is still an excellent go-to for an all-out omakase splurge, priced at $250 per person. Sushi chef Ken Tanaka (whose resume includes a stint as executive chef at Kaiseki in Japan) runs the show these days, and it is still an orchestrated performance of beautifully composed courses, including a series of otherworldly nigiri. For an even bigger blowout, try a bottle of Junmai Daiginjo (the highest grade of sake) from ShinBay’s noteworthy list.

Austin-based James Beard award winner Tyson Cole serves up meticulously plated sushi at buzzy Uchi — his seventh iteration of this restaurant — which opened in Old Town in January 2024. Expect premium fish from Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market, a seasonal omakase, and a right-priced happy hour, as well fish graced with non-traditional sauces such as chimichurri, nuoc cham, and bagna cauda. Machi cure (think Japanese nachos) are a trip, as is the jasmine cream, a creamy, layered confection of cilantro granita, jasmine cream, pineapple, and honey crumble.

Although the Scottsdale location of this upscale Japanese chain is often packed with pretty people in trendy clothes, it’s more than just a see-and-be-seen hangout. It’s an elegant, Japanese-inflected steakhouse and seafood restaurant with plenty of beautifully rendered sushi and sashimi. Check out the Modern Nigiri section, which offers scallop with preserved lemon and caviar; flame-seared salmon with lemon miso and dill; and toro (fatty tuna) with seared foie gras.

Tucked away in the TPC Scottsdale (the golf club that hosts the WM Phoenix Open the PGA Tour), Toro is one of celebrity chef Richard Sandoval’s many fusion odes to modern Latin cuisine. Although the menu features cooked dishes, the outlier and standout here is Nikkei-style sushi, which blends Peruvian ingredients and cooking techniques with Japanese flavors and sushi techniques. The results are whimsical sushi rolls with bold Latin flavors that were the evolutionary result of Japanese immigrants working on coastal plantations in Peru in the 1800s. Don’t miss the Acevichado Nikkei, which blends shrimp tempura with hamachi tiradito, leche de tigre, togarashi aioli, and kabayaki (think teriyaki-style eel). For sushi traditionalists, there are nigiri, maki rolls, and 32-piece sushi platters.

Sushi chef-owner Hirofumi Nakano trained in Japan for 25 years before opening this comfortable neighborhood restaurant in Scottsdale, where he’s been turning out traditional sushi and other Japanese dishes for 20 years now. There’s a reason he’s still around. There aren’t too many surprises here, but who cares when the sushi is meticulously presented and on-point?

Wine sommelier Mika Otomo and her husband, chef Daisuke Itagaki, took her parent’s comfortable and consistently excellent Japanese restaurant and transformed it into a sophisticated destination offering classic and non-traditional Japanese dishes (think udon carbonara) and premium sushi. Itagaki sources much of the fish from Japan. The sushi menu distinguishes between “American Classic Rolls” and “Japanese Classic Rolls,” the latter containing a few that also qualify as vegan. Shimogamo’s new Gilbert location also features teppanyaki, okonomiyaki, classic rolls, and tiny, taco-shaped hand rolls stuffed with everything from snow crab and octopus to baked scallops and A5 wagyu.

The sushi bar at this unsung hole-in-the-wall looks like a home-built contraption, but nobody cares because every dish chef Shaun Chen turns out — whether it’s sashimi, nigiri, rolls, yakitori, ramen, tempura, curry, or black pepper sizzling steak — is just plain good. He flies in fresh fish such as engawa (halibut belly) and kohada (gizzard shad) from Japan, so customers get high-end sushi in a homey, unpretentious setting, and minus the nosebleed prices.  – more at eater.com