My new favourite go-to for Americanized maki. We shared the Mandu soup and a variety of rolls. Here's their report card: Mandu soup (3/5) - 3 chicken filled dumplings (they seemed too fresh to be from a supplier) in a chicken broth with scallions and sticky rice cake pieces. $6 was steep for the portion but if they added some udon noodles in, it would make a good cold weather meal. Ginger Honey Tea (4/5) - This was legit ginger honey tea (lots of floating ginger) but so strong. If they cut it with lemonade, this would be one epic summer drink. Maki (4/5) - We tried the Hot Snapper, Meat Lover, Shema, Red Dragon and Volcano rolls. All the rolls were good...except for the Volcano roll. It was a gamble that didn't pay - cheddar cheese does not belong on a roll no matter how Americanized it wants to be. I loved the addition to arugula to the spicy tuna roll. All the seafood tasted fresh. I thought the prices were fair for the quality of the fish. Service (5/5) - The server was extremely friendly, nice and helpful. When I tasted the gochujang (Korean pepper paste) on the Hot Snapper roll, I asked her if they do Korean dishes. She explained while the owners are Korean, they want the focus to be Japanese food. She mentioned they do run Korean food specials during the week and to check on Facebook. I can see myself coming here often. My only whine is the tricky parking situation (I didn't check if you can park in the lot behind but I thought that was for Medical Arts building residents only) but hey, that comes with living downtown! read more

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used to love coming here. have celiac and shell fish allergy and they were accommodating. were repeat customers but not anymore after tonight. order the same thing every time bc i am limited to what i can have. they made my sushi rolls with the fatty more expensive tuna tonight. they never had used it before on the many times i have ordered these rolls. i do not like that part of the tuna and asked if they could remake it with the regular tuna and the chef refused. spending $100 on sushi and they couldn't accommodate the request. also brought it out on a plate with shellfish after i told them i have a shellfish allergy and wouldn't remake it. you have lost a repeat customer. response to owner: i told the server when i ordered anout my shellfish allergy and she said she would make a note of it. whether she failed to tell you isnt my fault. this is not something i would forget to tell someone since i could die. also.....i have eaten here at least three times a month for the last six months. every time i say and order the same thing. this is the first time it came out with the fattier more expensive part of the tuna. i have texture issues with food. that part is fattier and chewier and if i ate it i would puke. i was not going to be forced to eat something i could not tolerate when im the paying customer. the fact you are blaming me for not telling the server, which i did, and are lieing is disgraceful. when i stood up to leave you also acted like a child and stared me down. grow up! you were wrong and could have made a better business decision but chose not to. read more

I have been looking for good spots for sushi in ROC and this spot delivered. Portions were great, fish was fresh, and there was excellent variety. Additionally the service was incredible. Can't wait to go back. read more

One of my favorite sushi restaurants in town! Excellent service and cozy atmosphere. The sushi is delicious and very fresh tasting. read more

Shema Sushi - Sushi date night. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Rochester, New York

I decided to review the food, and not the service because they were slammed and they seemed to be low on waitstaff at that moment. I ordered the shashimi and a salad, and shared a ginger honey iced tea and the ika salad with my lunch companion. The ginger honey tea was lovely, but I must warn you, it's strong. I say this because I love the flavor of ginger, so I was thrilled to have such a bold tasting tea. Also, since we share it, we were able to water it down to our taste. The ika salad is basically raw squid with daikon, some baby arugula and a generous slathering of Gochujang. Well, it was wonderful, the squid was lovely and fresh and I was suprised how much I like the texture, I had not enjoyed raw squid the first time I had it. However, the sauce was the highlight of the dish, it was spicy and slightly sweet and complex, really good. My companion asked for a side of the sauce and we proceeded to eat our main course, which for me consisted of two appetizers, the sashimi, and the green salad. The green salad was better than most places' since it had more than just iceberg lettuce, but the dressing didn't have as much of that sesame/ginger flavor. However it provided a great balance to the strong flavors from the Gochujang. The sashimi was tasty, really fresh fish on a bed of daikon that had a small amount of citrus juice, light and refreshing! However I just slathered the fish on Gochujang! When I asked which brand they used, since the gochujang I've had before didn't taste as good as this one, she told me they mix their own! In conclusion, this will become a new favorite for my sushi/sashimi cravings. read more

Shema Sushi - Delicious, Fresh, Sashimi plate - Sushi Bars Near Me - Rochester, New York

This place has one of the best sushi in Rochester. I love going there with friends or by myself. Their prices are reasonable and their sushi taste amazing. I get food from this place at least once a month and it always taste great. I highly recommend this place to anyone who loves sushi as much as my friends and I do. It's close to the bars on East Avenue and Park Avenue. If you live within this area you can easily walk and get yourself delicious food. I highly recommend their Philadelphia sushi. read more

Delicious sushi, but for eight to eleven dollars for a roll that doesn't fill you up, we won't be back. Shema opened yesterday right next to Old Toad. There is free parking behind the building, just tell the attendent you're going into Shema. We arrived at 540 and ordered about 10 minutes later. Everyone got their apps about 15 minutes after that. Everyone but me - my edamame came at 640 with the rest of our food after many apologies for the wait. It takes me 5 minutes to make edamame at home, so I'm not exactly sure what happened there. The meat-lovers roll with Korean BBQ'D pork was delicious. The sushimi, firecracker, and red snapper rolls also got good reviews. But after the meal, we were all still hungry. We thought an app apiece plus a roll of that price would be sufficient; they definitely were not. read more

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I would give this place 3.5 stars - we went in for the first time tonight and sat right away. A group walked in after us and was sat right away and then received greeting, drink order, and drinks before we were even greeted by our server, which was a little annoying but they were pretty busy. We decided to get Miso soup, salad with finger dressing and edamame gyoza to start. Miso was good, I liked the ginger dressing on the salad (peppery and spicy kick!). My favorite part of the meal were the gyoza- they were crispy on the outside and a nice sweet and spicy flavor. They were a must try item. For dinner, my boyfriend got a crunch roll and a spicy tuna and he like both a lot. I decided to get the hot snapper which had a little too much Korean sauce on it for my liking but snapper was pretty fresh along with the salmon nigri. I would go again to try another roll out in the future read more

Shema Sushi - Crunch roll and spicy tuna roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Rochester, New York

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Fantastic sushi and the nicest staff! Very chic and clean inside, Definitely going to visit here often!

It may look expensive, but the quality is great (and you can't expect to go to a sushi restaurant and not be spending this much anyway.... they DO have cheaper and non fish related options too!!! So come one come all) and I always leave satisfied with both my service AND the food. There was recently a change in ownership, but the service/quality has not worsened at all!!! I come here fairly often and it's always a pleasurable experience. Go-to dish: chirashi bowl. Strips of different types of raw fish, and even egg! Served with rice too. I always come hungry and always leave happy with this dish. The atmosphere is very nice and quiet, but not the awkward kind. Quiet enough for dates, but loud enough to hide your introvertedness. Bathroom is unisex, and they only have one for the whole restaurant, but it is almost always clean and well-kept. Parking is ample. Street parking available nearby, but also a parking lot in the back of the restaurant! Bring your friends! Kitchen and sushi bar is viewable throughout most of the restaurant. It's pretty fun to watch them prepare your food if that's what you like. Service is very good/kind. A little short-staffed, but not short on personality and care for you as a customer! read more

Shema Sushi - Chirashi "Bowl" - Sushi Bars Near Me - Rochester, New York

Such great food! It is a little on the pricier side but everything was made to perfection and totally worth it.

Food was good and the service was really fast and friendly. The salmon teriyaki was really good. Very light on the sauce and the salmon itself was cooked perfectly. The rice was delicious. The chicken goyza was great but the highlight of dinner was the grilled yellowtail appetizer. OMG soooo good!! It's a big appetizer so great for two people to share. For desert you can't for wrong with the fried cheesecake. Yum. read more

I have eaten sushi all over the world and this place is terrible. The service is really bad and the sushi is over priced. Really disappointed! read more

We have love to going to this restaurant since it opened. I'm addicted to their honey ginger tea for sure which they offer hot or cold! The other day I saw that they were open during weekday lunch hours and I was thrilled! I placed an order online and had an excellent and safe pick up experience. The food was absolutely fantastic and so satisfying after weeks and weeks without any sushi. I highly recommend this place! read more

Shema Sushi is my favorite sushi place of all time. The fish is so fresh, it's almost as if it was caught that same day. The Wait staff are very friendly and their service is great. The food itself you can tell is made with love it's just so delicious, I would die for the eel box they serve at lunch, honestly all the lunch specials are amazing. In conclusion eat at Shema Sushi. read more

Shema Sushi - Lunch special, Awesome! - Sushi Bars Near Me - Rochester, New York

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I've tried so many sushi places here in Rochester ever since moving here. Most have been just "okay," their sushi being either not fresh, or there being too much rice on their sushi. I was bummed because I couldn't find a place I wanted to return to. Made the trek out to Shema by a friend's recommendation a while ago, and it's been my go-to sushi spot ever since! Some pros: - fresh fish with really generous cuts for sashimi - clean tasting rolls (Phoenix, Golden Bridge, Trio Amigo (chef special) have been my top choices so far) HIGHLY RECOMMEND - hot-food is great too! (Spicy miso ramen, bulgogi, KBBQ) - they give appetizers on the house, if you get lucky haha (I came for graduation and the server overheard and brought some flower-shaped sashimi appetizers--the closest thing on the menu to this is "tuna tataki") Some cons: - on super busy nights, it can get understaffed. The quality of the food doesn't change, but it might be a wait (but I think it's worth it!). So I've found the perfect time that if I go anywhere from 2-6pm, there's no wait nor problem at all (and I lowkey have the restaurant to myself haha). I took some pictures this time because their presentation is soo nice too lol. I would highly recommend this place! read more

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The sushi here is fine for the price but I wasn't really blown away. I'm much more a fan of bubble fusion just down the street. You'll get thicker slices of fish and avocado. In fact we headed over to bubble fusion right after dinner for 2 more rolls and honey toast! But, you do get waiter service here, while bubble fusion is a more casual order at the counter kind of place. That being said, food comes out verrrryyyy slowlllyyyyy. The restauarant was around 2/3 full and it took 40 minutes for 4 rolls to come out... we'd ordered at 7:45pm so it wasn't even peak time. Decent sushi, but I'll probably avoid coming here weekends or other peak times. read more

Shema Sushi - Shema roll and spicy salmon roll! - Sushi Bars Near Me - Rochester, New York

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Sushi is one of my favorite cuisines to date, so when traveling, of course I have to test what the city has to offer. After reading a few reviews on yelp, along with some recommendations from friends, I decided to try Shema Sushi. The service was polite and the staff was very talkative and friendly. I was able to get the roll of my choice even though it was not on the menu. I think my only issue with this place is that I had the unfortunate observation of them microwaving the Edamame and pulling it out with gloveless hands. Otherwise the Sushi was well made and I would consider recommending this place to a friend in the future. read more

Shema Sushi - Eel Avocado and Spicy Tuna with Wasabi. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Rochester, New York

Yay this place was great ! I really wanted sushi, so I looked this place up on Yelp (go figure). I noticed it wasn't too far from me and I figured.. why not. I checked out the menu online before hand, and noticed they had several vegetarian sushi options including a radish sushi roll(I just tried looking up the name of the roll but the website is currently down).. that's what caught my attention. I love seasoned radish... I love sushi.. I was hungry. Figured it was meant to be, you know? I really love on the menu how they have a V next to the vegetarian options... it makes it easier for me to find these items and makes me feel like they are conscious of my diet. I have to say, even though the sushi was excellent, I really really really liked their miso soup the best of all! Very rich in flavor and the tofu was softer. My only complaint would be the parking. I drove around back of the building first and was tempted to park there... but didn't see any signs for "Shema Parking" or anything along those lines.... I could've just parked there but I didn't want to get towed. I found a street spot right out front, but had to drive around the block to find it. The place isn't totally visible with big light up neon signs or anything like that... so you really need to keep your eyes open for this place... or you can just wait till google maps says.. "you've arrived." Then you're like "oh okay where?" They have one small "open" sign thats lit up but that's about it. The other sign is that plastic material. OK enough about the signs. You know what I'm sayin' I'd like to come back and try the other vegetarian sushi options or some of the other dishes. They're friendly, reasonably priced and delish. I like this place ! read more

Best sushi I've had in Rochester. My wife and I have been there 4 times and have always been very pleased.

We waited for 40 minutes in the restaurant. We asked why there was nothing. The owner said others had waited for an hour and there was nothing too. We said you can't give me a perfunctory answer for this reason, and such an attitude is not good. Then the boss said if you don't want to eat you can leave, then started to point a pen at us and started to yell: you leave! Now!!!!! It's the most ridiculous thing I have ever met. read more

Very Very Very impressed with this sushi restaurant! I am always on the hunt for a good sushi place and i definitively found one to add to the top of my list. Speaking of list, I should make a sushi yelp list! We went on the Wednesday before thanksgiving, it was kind of dead in there, but that wasn't because the sushi is bad, I chalk it up to being the holiday week. My boyfriend, his sister and I order 6 rolls, the love roll, snow white, spicy tuna, salmon, the volcano roll and I can't remember the other. Everything was delicious! The Love roll and volcano roll were my favorites. Everything was very reasonably priced also! All the rolls on the menu sounded delicious! I wish we would have gotten a few more rolls, but it was the perfect amount so we were not over stuffed, but next time we will be trying a few different rolls to see what the rest of the meun is like! read more

Shema Sushi - Far left Snow White and love roll, volcano roll, something w spicy tuna and then regular maki rolls off to the side! - Sushi Bars Near Me - Rochester, New York

Really quality sushi here! The Red Dragon roll was my favorite, and the spicy salmon was also fantastic. I had to order the snapper roll because I saw so many reviews, and although it was good, the Smokey sauce that was on it wasn't my favorite combination. I liked the sauce and I liked the sushi just not together. However the fish all tasted fresh and delicious! Same thing with the tuna roll, wasn't my favorite sauce but the time was very good. The appetizer of chicken gyoza was hot and flavorful. We finished with green tea ice cream which had a perfect texture and great flavor!! And it was not expensive for all the food we got. Loved it! read more

Shema Sushi - In order front to back: spicy salmon, red dragon, spicy tuna, hot snapper roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Rochester, New York

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This place is flying like crazy. If you didn't try yet, your life has been lying to you. Go there ASAP ROCKY and get your life changed. I am living in 2080 right after I tried sushi here. Sushi chef is amazingly nice and young lady who works there is so pretty. Your mouth and eyes are joyful so you dont even know how to act upon this experience. read more

I came here a few weeks ago after work after reading mostly positive reviews, I sat outside as the weather was perfect, I ordered a few rolls and the fried calimari the fried calimari was awesome and so was the dipping sauce...next up was the New York New York, it was ok, I didn't quite dig the flavor, nothing "bad" just not my thing, admittedly, I asked for them to knock down the spice a hair, maybe that knocked down the flavor? still feeling like I could eat a little more, I ordered an unagi roll, it was ok, I admittedly don't eat much "traditional" sushi, I'm definitely more of a fan of "California" style if you will, with that said, I'll definitely be back, the prices are fair, the service wss great and there's so much more on the menu to explore read more

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If they're too busy you can't order takeout which is fine but DO NOT COME HERE ALONE, they won't seat a table of one and their sushi bar seating was closed (which is usually the best seat in the house in my humble opinion). And I was super sad to walk out and see a party of one so I guess they only do one party of one at a time. I know this is a 2 star review but really they should be thanking me because this is going to keep all of the lonely people away from their establishment. read more

My wife and I eat here almost every Friday. We have yet to experience a bad dish, appetizers included. Their sushi is incredible and some of the best in the Rochester. The rice is always soft with a creative selection of speciality rolls. The older Japanese sushi chef ensures consistency. read more

Such a wonderful place. The care, craftsmanship and creativity they put into every dish is inspiring.. and the results are incredibly delicious. Don't miss the tofu appetizer, avocado salad, pearl role, or vegetable tempura... all are exquisite. I wish more restaurants approached their service and food with the kind of honor and integrity that Shema Sushi does. read more

Love the sushi here! Great variety and rolls are really big! Always super fast and the fish always tastes fresh! read more

Shema Sushi - Shrimp shumai - Sushi Bars Near Me - Rochester, New York

Menu change The Shema roll was a favorite, but they changed it. It's good still, but nowhere near as good as it used to be. Everything is still ok, the space is nice and the food is good, but without the Shema roll (the old one) it's not that special anymore. We'll still go sometimes probably, it's so convenient and parking is good. read more

Ok. I usually like my sushi cooked. That said, we went to Shema with a group. I've never before been to a sushi bar. The order was placed, a couple platters, by those in the know. I tried a sample of almost everything. I really enjoyed most of it...which is quite something for me. So, I will return and I highly recommend Shema Sushi. read more

Great food! My son and I were in the area , and decided to have dinner here. We were truly impressed by the quality of the sushi and the great service. I highly recommend this place to true sushi lovers. read more

This is surprisingly the best sushi option in all of Rochester I would go here every night if I had enough money

Service Was Impressive First of, thank you Harrison for making our visit loads better. This gentleman was not only knowledgeable but kind. First things first, this restaurant is Korean owned. I see many people are under the assumption it's Japanese owned. With that being said, it won't affect my review of the food. We started off with the nigiri. We ordered Tuna, Squid, Yellow-Tail, White Tuna, Ikura (Salmon Roe), and Eel. All pieces were very tasty, but I personally would have preferred thicker slices of fish on top of more rice. We then ordered a few rolls which consisted of the New York New York, Shema, and Red Dragon. Presentation was pretty standard and none of the rolls blew me away. To be honest, they all tasted quite similar. The reason I bump this score from a 3 to a 4 is as stated before, our Waiter Harrison was just such a pleasure. I could talk to that guy for hours with that lovely smile of his. I do recommend this restaurant, but I don't recommend the rolls. They sure look impressive, but didn't really do it for me. And as for the nigiri sushi, it's fresh and tasty. Cheers! read more

Shema Sushi - New York New York, Shema, and Red Dragon Roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Rochester, New York

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Went here for lunch with my brother, sister & husband. My sister isn't a fish fan (craziness!) so she had a tempura veggie roll ($8) with added avocado and cream cheese ($2) and said it was delicious. We also split an order of seasoned french fries ($6) and chicken gyoza ($4 for 4 pieces). The fries came with a special spicy sauce rather than plain ketchup. We liked the fries - they were fluffy with an especially nice crust. However the seasoning on the fries could have been stronger/spicier for us. The gyoza were good. Dipping sauce was fine but could be better (spice, scallions, etc could be added). My brother, husband and I split 3 rolls and the chef's sushi lunch special (8 pieces of nigiri, chef's choice, $14). The chef's special included 4 types of nigiri on a wooden board: snapper, red tuna, white tuna, and salmon. They were all standard but very fresh. Wish the chef was more creative with the offerings and mixed it up a bit! For $14 I wasn't sure it was worth it - even though it came with miso soup (pretty standard) and a small garden salad with a gingery dressing (also standard). The rolls we had were: Snow White ($9), Red Dragon ($9) & Crispy Tuna ($10). My favs were the Crispy Tuna & Red Dragon, but my husband and brother loved the Snow White (and everything else!). Crispy Tuna had tuna, roe, avocado, greens and a crispy crust (not too thick). I loved the flavors of this roll and would definitely get it again. Our waitress, Rachael, confirmed it was one of their popular rolls. The Red Dragon had smoked eel, cucumber and avocado with a delicious, seasoned chopped tuna topping. Again, I'd get that one again in a second. Both the Crispy Tuna & Red Dragon rolls had a spicy, creamy sauce that was served with them. I like it and it wasn't overpowering. The Snow White had white tuna (not my fav), crab stick, cucumber and avocado. I found it too bland, but my husband and brother found it clean & refreshing. I was interested in a glass of wine, but was horrified by the prices ($13 for one glass of Dr Frank Dry Riesling?!! That's more than a bottle costs!!!) so we didn't get anything but water. Our waitress, Rachael, provided good service and consistent water refills (thank you!!!) even if she hovered a little too much at check time (we were splitting it on multiple cards, so maybe she just wanted to make sure we didn't need help?). She was nice and helpful sorting through the menu. Overall the fish was very fresh and we will be back to try more of their menu. The pics of house-made food scrolling on the tv look amazing. We may order off that alone next time to try new stuff! read more

Shema Sushi - Restaurant interior - Sushi Bars Near Me - Rochester, New York

I haven't experienced disappointment like this at a restaurant in quite some time. After visiting probably almost every other sushi place in Rochester (I'm a big sushi fan), I decided to stop by Shema since it is close to my job. I picked up my staples- Salmon Avocado (no cucumber) and Spicy Tuna with crunches and tobiko. While the staff was polite and the restaurant nice and clean, I soon found out they are seriously lacking a decent sushi chef. For the chef they have, these two relatively simple rolls were not worth a combined $18. The Salmon Avocado roll was $7 from what I saw on the menu, and the Spicy Tuna shouldn't have been much more but I guess I got charged up the you-know-what for some stale crunches and a minuscule amount of tobiko. The texture of the rice was unlike I had ever tasted, it was too mushy. Also, there was way too much of it compared to the amount of fish they gave. The rolls were cut horribly and the end pieces were twice as big as they should of been. I don't think the Salmon was cut correctly either. The tuna barely had any flavor and wasn't spicy at all. I will definitely not be returning until they've announced they've gotten a decent sushi chef. Worst sushi in Rochester. For the best, I suggest Next Door Bar and Grill. read more

Miles ahead of California Rollin'. Miles. Acres. Hectares? Hectares. I went with a few people and we got ourselves a veritable sampler. Snapper, tuna, sea urchin, eel, crab, you name it. We ate all of it. I was able to add spicy mayo/sriracha to some rolls which made them even more amazing. The fish was good, the flavors were good, the wait staff was friendly, and the price was reasonable. If I were on eBay, my feedback would be "A+! Would eat again!" But I am on Yelp, so my feedback is, "Go! You'll like it!' read more

Ordered Uber delivery from this sushi place yesterday. I ordered the seaweed salad and regular sashimi plate. The sashimi was sliced nice and thick, tasted very fresh, and was a great assortment of different types of fish. The fresh ginger was piled high! My favorite, I always love when they give a nice size portion. The seaweed salad also tasted fresh and was so good. I found this to be a nice, healthy portion size too! I will definitely check this place out again and try some of their rolls! VERY VERY GOOD!!! read more

On my visits to Shema, it's been good but not great. It is conveniently located, the staff are very welcoming and the menu is interesting and accessible. However I've been there twice and find myself now making excuses as to why we should eat someplace else downtown, even if we're grabbing drinks in the vicinity. If I'm paying more than $30 per person for the meal, I generally have sort of an algorithm in my head for "worth it." If the food is spectacular, the ambiance really cool, the drink selection/preparation amazing, the concept unique -- if any of these are stand-out, the place moves up a notch despite being average in other areas. This is simply because if my free time is limited and I want to unwind and relax with a few drinks and some delectable food, I want to make sure that I'm getting the best use of my time and money. I don't mind paying for something, as long as it hits some of my criteria. My problem with Shema is that it doesn't hit any of them, although being good in a number of areas. The ambiance is best suited for the daytime and in the summer, when the generous windows shepherd in large swaths of light and the door can be left open without regret. In the winter, there is very little to insulate you in there. And at night, the lighting and mood prevent it from being intimate or a place to settle in for drinks. One time we went, the sashimi was off in that there was still salmon skin left on chunks of the fish. This left the pieces with a chewy and tough texture and I was surprised that the sashimi was sent out to the table in this manner. The rolls are tasty, especially the hot snapper of which others have spoken. However, there are better places around town. I will say that the green tea ice cream is AWESOME and you should definitely try it if you go. I may head back to Shema once the weather warms up, but for now it falls just shy of the criteria to pull me back on a Friday or Saturday night. read more

Admittedly, my sushi tastes are pretty simple, crab, shrimp, scallop and tuna. Shema was the first place I experienced sushi, back when they were in Webster many years ago. They still remain my favorite. A recent girls lunch with my daughter brought us here for a late lunch on a Friday. We had a scallop role, shrimp tempura and a Tiger. Shrimp tempura is always a favorite and I would have been delighted with 3 of them. The scallop was a little bland, and the Tiger was good. It hardly impacted us, but would be helpful to know that they do close between lunch and dinner, so time your visit accordingly. read more

Shema Sushi - Shrimp tempura, scallop, Tiger - Sushi Bars Near Me - Rochester, New York