If you're reading this review And you happen to work at Fat Salmon I need your help. Only you can change my life in an immeasurable way, at least a way that I could not express pointedly in words. Please hear my plea... take it under advisement, and then if you want to spread the love as I'm trying to do here... please reach out. I would be forever in your debt. And if it's something that you don't feel comfortable talking about online and you'd rather meet in person... just let me know. I will drive up from DC where I live so we can talk in person. OK... deep breath. How... How do you... ok *puts hands in praying fashion* How do you get your lettuce in your avocado salad so crisp, cold, and fresh? Like... is it that it's washed in a special solution and then refrigerated for some time? Is it a special type of lettuce that's just known for it's fresh crispness? Do you put it in some sort of blast chiller for 1 minute before serving? Does it have something to do with the cold plate? I know the intro is a bit dramatic lol, but honestly I NEED to know how I can make salads with the insanely perfectly chilled, unbelievably crisp lettuce. I have been to one other restaurant in my life (coincidentally a Japanese Restaurant) that had such a crispy, cold, fresh, delicious consistency in their lettuce. That restaurant is Niwano Hana in Rockville MD. I don't usually go there, as I find that the sushi doesn't really measure up to a lot of other places in the area, but their lettuce is like yours. Unbelievable. Ok... my life is in your hands... I hope it's not too much to ask. Service here was AMAZING. My waitress was on her A+ game The rolls I ordered were quite good. Chef knows what they're doing. Agedashi tofu with the marinated shiitakes on top *Chefs kiss* - what a nice touch. I mean... I found this restaurant in a Yelp Collection when I was in Philly. I think the collection name was "Places that you'll get in line to dine at" or something like that. Luckily, I came when Fat Salmon opened at 4pm... cause I eat like someone twice my age haha, and there was no line to get in at all. I would unabashedly recommended Fat Salmon to anyone who was looking for bomb a$$ sushi in Philly. One thing I'll say... parking is expensive in the garages nearby. But that's something that I noticed throughout Philly. MY LORD Philly. Calm down with your bloody parking fees. Philly garages be like... It's 17 dollars for the first 16 minutes, and anything from 18 minutes to 6 hours will be 39 dollars. Philly garages be like... please get what you want and LEAVE. I don't think I've ever paid so much in parking fees in a 2 day span. I was on some much needed PTO, so I just chalked up the extra fees to being off and trying to enjoy myself. But even I couldn't help but balking again... and again and again. I feel bad for these types of businesses with little to no reasonable parking, I hope Philly can get a handle on these insane parking fees for these small local amazing businesses. Oh, back to the salad. Also, that carrot ginger dressing you served the salad with is one of the best dressings I've ever had. I would not be foolish enough to task for the recipe - I know that's asking too much. But if you could just share with me about the lettuce, I'd be forever in your debt. read more

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Went here with friends Sunday night. Nice and friendly service and cool ambiance. They sanitized tables between diners, although my menu was a little sticky so that was a little unfortunate. Our waitress was super nice and timed our orders great while checking in at appropriate times. The sushi was 10/10 and the takoyaki was good but I will get something else next time. The lighting is quirky and the music was maybe a tad loud but I'm ok with it because it matches the brand and it works honestly. There was an odd man who wandered in and acted like he owned the place or something with shoes in his hand, guess he wanted to use the bathroom or something, unfortunate that there wasn't anyone working to kick the guy out but the waitress did check in with the tables the guy bothered afterwards. I can't complain about something I personally wouldn't know what to do about, but it was an odd experience nonetheless. Wouldn't take off any stars for something out of their control of course but had to include as one of the weirder experiences I've had. read more

Fat Salmon - Takoyaki (comes with 4 balls and broccoli pieces, I started eating so looks messy in the pic) - Japanese Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Delicious sushi! We visited the Fat Salmon early on a Sunday night, and it was mostly empty. Pop music played during our visit and the restaurant has white chairs and tables. One wall has is illuminated with lights that alternate through a rainbow of colors and the other wall has a stylish bar. We tried the cauliflower tempura, fat salmon, white forest with salmon, and the lost rainbow. The cauliflower tempura was perfectly cooked with a fantastic sauce. The fat salmon had a scrumptious cilantro pineapple sauce. The flavors of the white forest and lost rainbow work well together. Overall, I had a great experience at the Fat Salmon and would highly recommend them for sushi in Philly. read more

Was down in Philly for the afternoon was looking for a really good sushi place and landed on fat salmon and was lucky enough to front street parking. What a very cool looking decor. We started off from shared the grilled octopus which wasn't grilled tentacle but baby octopus a little ones that was not my expectation in the server unfortunate was not able to really convey to us but regardless it was a very nice day she had a really nice flavor sauce on top of the grill vegetables and the and the octopus was tender I guess I would've hoped for more tactical meet then the whole baby piece. We also shared the dancing vampire roll which was asparagus cucumber crunchy sweet chili sauce on the inside and salmon and tuna in a sweet chili sauce on top it was quite nice. read more

Fat Salmon - Japanese Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

I've finally decided to write my review after my second visit. I'm in love with this place. It definitely tops my last favorite sushi place. The quality is so good here. The one thing the restaurant lacks is service. Each time I've been here it takes a while for food to come out and you have to ask the wait staff for water every single time you need it. However, they are very kind and the restaurant can get busy. The FOOD though...I haven't tried one thing that I didn't like yet. My favorite is how big the sashimi slices are in the sashimi appetizer. I also highly recommend the fat salmon roll! If I could, I would come here every night and try every roll. read more

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Delicious fooooood!!!!! Great service!!!! In order of preference, even though all were sooooo good: Double down Katsu Maki White forest read more

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Fat salmon has an ambient atmosphere with low levels of overall lighting to make way for a pleasant cool tone provided by the surrounding LED installations exuding a mixture of mostly blue and green tones. It was a great place to experience a menu that not only explored new flavors, but one that had an extensive vegetarian menu that tasted as great as their non vegetarian options. The crispy rice was pampered with a Korean fried chicken sauce and as a Korean myself I was quite surprised at how well it went with the crispy rice's texture. It made it a very nice appetizer to get my stomach ready for the rolls. The rolls were a mix of hit or miss, and some of the rolls should be met with the expectation of trying new combinations and flavors for the best experience. One of the really pleasant ones in my opinion was the Lady in Red roll which had a combo of ingredients that included cream cheese and pickled jalapeños topped off with red bell peppers, providing a flavor profile akin to a charcuterie board condensed into a roll. The seaweed salad proved to be a great palate cleanser and overall the food coupled with the great service from our waitress made my time at Fat Salmon quite satisfying! read more

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I dragged my husband here a while back and it was so good i gotta get back there. beautiful atmosphere as well. definitely worth the trip into town from the burbs. read more

Such incredible variety of rolls, service was very accommodating and the style of the restaurant is very cute! I can't wait to go back and try more rolls! read more

Fat Salmon - My son's plain rice, seaweed & broccoli...he's a vegan and couple days a week - Japanese Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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I dined here tonight with a group of six and we appreciated the leisurely pace of the meal. I was disappointed that a drink I ordered made it onto the bill but never made its way to the table; however, the server easily removed it from the check. The sushi was good - it wasn't superb, but it was tasty and met my expectations. If a friend asked me to dine here again I would happily say yes, but I don't think I would come here solo or actively seek out reasons to return. read more

Fat Salmon - Spicy scallop roll and Volcano Roll - Japanese Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Sushi is delicious and reasonably priced. Vibe is terrific. Servers are pleasant and efficient.

Tucked away on Washington Square, very unassuming from the outside, is this gem. This is absolutely one of best sushi spots in the city. The sushi is always fresh and the combination of flavors is divine. We love the Fat Salmon Roll and order it every time, but everything else we order rotates because you really can't go wrong here! read more

Wow, I was very impressed with this pick. I trusted yelp pick my dinner for my birthday and if you're looking for great food for a moderate amount of money this is your place. These sushi were very big and the fish was not shy. I ordered the alaskan roll and it was packed with salmon and tuna! It was during covid times so they took everyone's temperature and we were sat one table away from people. The inside is way more trendy than you would think from the outside. The service was just find for our night. The sushi came out on the wrong places and she switched it for us. This place definitely seemed like a take out spot too. They're hooked up with grub hub i believe, so that is a plus as well. read more

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Solid "Very Good" offering with great value. Quite simple to eat for $20, which on Walnut is difficult. Trendy L.A. vibe with lots of seating. Hip and showy. + salmon skin hand roll ($8). Great broil on the salmon, crispy skin. Nicely done. + Tamago nigiri ($6). Made in house, but not today. Will be very glad to try this again, day of. * Miso soup ($2). Seaweed not quite right, strange marinade, started anemic, even with a stir done discretely, but last bites unctuous! * Sashimi "gauntlet" ($26) Tuna, yellowtail, salmon. Generously thick cuts, and great flavor. Bit cold on preso. Let it sit 6-7 minutes to let the oil rise. # rice too loose and wrong vinegar drops # Unagi nigiri ($8). Wrong flavors on sauce, I think it was teriyaki sauce. Syrupy and sweet like a bbq sauce. # nori clumsily wrapped on all. # Wasabi Shumai ($5) oil and vinegar sauce not right. Not my thing. Wish sushi chefs were out front and that I could see them. They've put a liquor prep area there instead. read more

Fat Salmon - Japanese Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Nothing crazy. Interesting special rolls, however, not all of them work. Probably wouldn't come back. Unfortunate! read more

Food was great, atmosphere was great. A little dead when we first went around 7 pm on a Friday, but it definitely picked up in the time we were sitting there. Great walk-in spot. Service was excellent. read more

Absolutely delicious sushi, sashimi, signature rolls, and salads. Fish is always the freshest. Friendly, helpful staff. And, after dinner, take a walk through Washington Square! My favorite sushi restaurant. read more

So many options, great service! We enjoyed the variety of vegetarian options. We also liked the crispy rice bites as well as the agedashi tofu read more

This used to be my favorite go-to sushi spot in Philly, but I feel like it hasn't been the same the past few years. The ambience is excellent, although I miss the sushi chefs making the roll in front at the bar. The rolls just don't feel the same quality as they did for past 10 years. It's still good and a solid sushi spot, just not as amazing as I used to think it was read more

Fat Salmon - Japanese Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

I've been coming to Fat Salmon for over ten years and consider it to be one of,if not, the best sushi spots in Philly. The rolls are fresh and delicious, they have a nice variety of options, standard, specialty rolls and even vegan rolls. As someone who isn't vegan I must say the vegan rolls are some of my favorite items on the menu. If there were anything I'd say fat salmon could improve on it would be adding more staff. The servers they have do a good job but always seem to be short staffed and rushing. 5/5. read more

Fat salmon has amazing sushi and creative options for vegetarians. It had been awhile since we visited so on a nice night we ventured over without a reservation. The restaurant was busy but we had a wait for about 5 mins for a table. Once seated we were sad to see that the menu had changed. Especially for the vegetarian options, there seemed to be less. We ordered some rolls and wine. Our waitress was very friendly, however it took a solid 15 mins to get our wine. This is the reason for docking one star. Food was great and we enjoyed our time. We missed the open sushi table in which you could watch sushi being made. But this didn't affect the quality of food. Just as a FYI the food is pricey but worth it. We can't wait for our next visit. read more

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It looks like a hole in the wall, but once you're inside. The ambiance is amazing and the food is even better! They have the best sushi rolls in town! Also, the stuff is super friendly and very accommodating as well! read more

If I could give this place more than 5 stars, I would do it in a HEARTBEAT. I can't even describe properly how unique, delicious, tangy, and tasty the food at Fat Salmon was. In fact, we loved it so much, we went again for dinner the next night! Fat Salmon has excellent vegetarian and vegan options, which was a huge plus. We started with the Spicy Edamame - such a good start to the meal, the sauce on the Edamame needs to be bottled and sold. We tried 4 different vegetarian rolls and fell in love - the flavors and textures of each roll were different and tasty, just the right balance between spicy and sweet/savory. My personal favorites were between the Kimchi Ya and the Old School. It's very hard to find good vegetarian/vegan sushi and Fat Salmon NAILS it. DO NOT MISS if you have the chance to experience dining here. read more

Fat Salmon - Japanese Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

I'd say we were slightly disappointed but it is still a good sushi option . Fish is fresh but no piece totally shocked me read more

Fat Salmon - Japanese Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Came in with some family to try a fancier sushi spot for my birthday. We had a reservation fir 8:15 and showed up on time. Despite the restaurant not being very busy for a Friday night, we waited almost 20 minutes to get seated. After being sat, one server filled some water for us and let us know that another would be taking our food orders. It took about 20 whole minutes for the second server to come over, greet us, and take our sushi orders. He was fairly apologetic, and we were patient. It was just a bit irritating to wait that long after already waiting extensively to be sat. He was pleasant, nevertheless and took our orders. After already waiting about 25 minutes, we were brought out a "complementary" 4 dollar edamame due to our sushi taking quite some time to be prepared. I would say it ended up being almost an hour until our food came out. Our server was very good at getting the orders accurately as to which person ordered which rolls. As for the meal, I really did enjoy the taste of the sushi. I had order the Kimchi Ya roll, Lady in Red roll, and M&M roll. I did find the quality and flavors to be above average compared to many sushi places I've been to. It's somewhat of a shame, just because the service was so bad. Overall, I have very mixed feelings. I didn't make a big deal out of the bad service, because I just wanted to enjoy my birthday. I also know that most servers don't intentionally do a bad job. It's just that 3 different bad service experiences in one day at a pretty pricey restaurant shouldn't be acceptable to me. I know that I don't represent the typical experience; I may or Kay not give Fat Salmon another chance one day. read more

Fat Salmon - Front to back: Lady in Red Roll, Kimchi Ya Roll, M&M Roll - Japanese Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Overall: Amazing good and great service Ambience: Came here for a birthday celebration and the food hit just the spot. Menu: Get their crunch roll read more

Fat Salmon - Japanese Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

I came to Fat Salmon this past Sunday with my bf at 6:30 pm with a reservation I made via OpenTable. When our uber dropped us off, we walked right past the restaurant. For those that have been to FS many times/live in Philly, you probably already know the area well enough to know where it's located. Anyways, once we walked into the restaurant and were seated, I was blown away by the menu. Pictures for every item? Count me in! This was extremely helpful for someone like me who doesn't venture far from the basic avocado + sweet potato rolls (since I'm vegetarian). The pictures on each item really helped me venture out of my comfort zone. For an appetizer, I ordered a miso soup and Vegetable Gyoza to share with my bf. First off, the miso soup? DELISH. I would say this was the best tasting miso soup I've had in my entire life. The vegetable gyoza was tasty as well, but nothing out of the ordinary. For my entrée, I ordered a sushi roll called 'Sweet Meadow' which had avocados, cucumber, cream cheese, and spicy mayo all INSIDE. Wowowowowowowow. My mouth is watering at the thought. 100% recommend for vegetarians. My bf got a chicken based sushi roll and he loved his as well, however, he requested our waitress multiple times to bring out spicy mayo, and by the time she remembered to bring it out, I was on my last sushi roll (my boyfriend waited to eat until he got his spicy mayo). Although the lack of quick service didn't ruin our meal, I would still give it a 4.5 stars. Can't wait to be back! read more

Fat Salmon - Best Miso Soup ever - Japanese Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The creativity they have here is so astounding. I absolutely loved the Fat Salmon roll because the flavors were so unique and different than any standard rolls. The cilantro dressing on top really topped off the roll. The ebi nigiri is also super fresh and we honestly did not intend to get 6 orders but we did after the first bite. We also tried the French Kiss and the Alaskan roll, which were just as amazing. This is one of the best sushi experiences I've had and cannot wait to come back for more! read more

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My go-to-sushi place in Washington Square West. I have ordered from this place several times and it has never disappointed me. The sushi always tastes fresh and is great quality. read more

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Good quality salmon sashimis. Would recommend for others to come. It's a bit pricey though, we went for restaurant week and it made it better to try food items read more

We went to this restaurant prior to to elite yelp event. We needed to wait a bit, but the wait was not long. We ordered 2 appetizers and 2 sushi rolls. Seaweed salad Mr. shiro Garden salad Rock and roll sushi Our choices were outstanding We both drank water We did have a bit of a wait for the sushi We needed to remind our waiter that we have somewhere to be Finally our sushi came and they tasted so fresh and good. I will again come to this restaurant The atmosphere is cozy, dimmed lighting and good vibe feeling. The bathroom is very clean with no smell, sadly it only has 1 bathroom both for male and female. read more

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My friend and I came here for one of my last meals in Philly before moving and had a great dinner! To drink, we decided to split a sake sampler with the Nigori, plum, and yuzu sakes. Based on that sampler, we liked the yuzu the best, so we ordered a carafe of that to split! The food was delicious! It did take a pretty long time for us to get our food (which is especially surprising for sushi) but when it did come, it was DELISH. I got two rolls - the Sweet Meadow (Cream Cheese, Cucumber, Avocado, and Spicy Mayo in the middle with Eggplant Tempura in Teriyaki Sauce w/ Jalapeno on top) and the Old School (Cucumber, Avocado, and Fried Onion on the inside with a Broiled Spicy Mayo Zucchini Sauce and Fried Tofu Skin on top). The rolls were insanely good. I definitely recommend Fat Salmon for an upscale sushi experience with many unique flavor/ingredient combinations! read more

The decor is very nice, service was attentive, but I feel like the tables/ chairs are too close to others especially during covid time. I can hear everything the table close to me is saying. The sushi was great, but the variety could use some work. I came here for my friends birthday and they were able to give her a dessert which I thought was sweet. Food: Great sushi, $$ pricey, but expected for the area, would recommend. Service: Good, would recommend, no problems. Decor: Nice, but table is tight. Parking: Street metered parking. Would I come here again? Yes, I would and I've recommended it to others as well. read more

My friend recommended this place so we went here for a birthday dinner. We were the first ones here exactly as the restaurant opened (without reservation), so there was no wait time. We were promptly seated near the windows. We ordered an assortment of nigiri and specialty rolls, mostly focused on salmon, because salmon is what this restaurant is known for. All the food was amazing and the rolls and nigiri were served fresh. Surprisingly, the salad (the appetizer) was pretty good; it was really crispy. As well, the service was great and we didn't have to wait too long for our meal. I recommend this restaurant if you want a fancy sushi dinner. read more

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The vibe might be great for a first date if you think you're gonna be nervous. It's got like a night club vibe so it's dark and loud so if you look or say something goofy it's more likely to go unnoticed. Naked gyoza - pretty pricey for the amount that they give you. It wasn't a bad bite of food, but I probably wouldn't order it again. Will probably replace this with an extra special roll next time I go. Agedashi tofu - I've only had this dish like three times so it's automatically top 3, however I would go as far as to say it's venturing into GOAT territory for me. Every component of the dish was great (tofu, mushrooms, nori, broth). Only thing I wish was different was the spoon they give you because it wasn't optimal for scooping up all that delicious broth due to the shallow plate it's served on. Sushi for 2 - Comes in a boat. Nigiri are all good, I like that you can taste the wasabi hidden underneath the fish. California roll was solid. Spicy tuna roll actually tasted like tuna which I appreciate. Dragonfly roll - Was so good. Makes me want to try more of their special rolls the next time I go. read more

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I've been wanting to try this place for a while now and I have to say it's one of the best sushi places I've been to! Their signature rolls are really unique (and I appreciate how on the menu, it tells you exactly which ingredients are in the roll and on top). The dragonfly signature roll was really good and the rolling fire was pretty unique (it had scallops scattered across the top). For apps, the shumai and seaweed salad were really good. And overall it wasn't as pricey as I was expecting (compared to other sushi places I've been to). Really cool ambiance inside and I want to say they're reservation only (not positive though). read more

Fat Salmon - From the left - dragonfly, lost rainbow, rolling fire - Japanese Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

One of the best sushi places in town! Great ambiance and service was excellent! Ordered several rolls and all rolls were very delicious. Fresh fish, fresh rice. The plating of the rolls were beautiful! read more

Fat Salmon - Japanese Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

If you're a sushi fanatic in the city, this spot is a must stop! The ambience of the place is very bouje, but can be slightly casual as well. It's pretty dimly lit so although it's cute, it's not the most ideal place for pictures. The music however was a 10/10, superb taste. We ordered the vegetable gyoza and it was fried to perfection. The filling reminded me of a creamy avocado spring roll and it came with an amazing sweet chili sauce. I ordered the old school sushi roll and it was to die for. The Kimchi ya roll was also amazing and we felt very refreshed after dinner, not feeling too full and heavy. The server was super sweet, but it did take over an hour for food to be served. Other than that, 5/5 would recommend! There's some really great options for vegetarians & it's a cute date or hangout spot. read more

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I am only giving Fat Salmon 3 stars because the service was very slow. The restaurant was crowded and it appeared to only have 2 servers. Our server kept forgetting what we ordered. The food was tasty but if they don't get more servers, not going back. read more

I've been coming here most sundays because the service is amazing everyone is super nice and has a great attitude. just makes the food that much more delicious. I'll be back. read more