I just had lunch for the first time and here and the sushi was so bad I only ate one piece of each roll. The miso soup was very good but the starter salad was strange. The dressing reminded me of 1000 islands and was not very appetizing. This seems like a place that used to be decent but has worsened over time. There's a lot better sushi close by at Sushi to go in Ballston. Just went back for a couple sushi rolls several years after leaving the above review. It's slightly better than one star this time so upgraded it to 2 stars but it was still mediocre. So many better options around imo. read more

Always a good experience! High quality sushi, great service, and worth the price! We always get the same few rolls and occasionally pick a new roll to try spontaneously. Always great quality-- Tuna roll Salmon roll Tuna Avocado roll Salmon Avocado roll California roll Spicy tuna roll read more

Sushi-Zen - Tuna Roll, Salmon Roll, Spicy Tuna Roll, Tuna and Avocado Roll, Salmon and Avocado Roll, Rainbow Roll, Tuna Nigiri - Japanese Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

This is a bad place, the servings are small and unremarkable. And everything is very expensive. Customer service also gave me a FAKE EMAIL to try and "rectify" the awful experience I had. I cannot recommend this place to even my worst enemy read more

We ordered from here for the first time today. We loved it! We ordered chicken teriyaki, chicken Katsu, and sushi rolls. Everything was so fresh and delicious. Loved the panko crust on the katsu. Perfection! I really appreciate the safety standards in place, too. Very enjoyable lunch. We look forward to exploring more of the menu! read more

We have been going to Sushi-Zen since it opened. Lovely place and great food! I hope it lasts a very long time. We do a lot of carryout and food is ready in about a half hour. A great "go to" restaurant. In the many years that we have been going to Sushi-Zen I don't think I have ever had a bad meal. I think the best place to sit is at the bar. read more

I ordered delivery via Yelp/GrubHub. The delivery itself was great and quick. The food, on the other hand, was just okay. Nothing was inedible or scary but nothing was especially great, either. I tried the "doughnut" as well as the salmon belly nigiri and a specialty roll and everything just tasted very mediocre. The rice wasn't well seasoned, the fish didn't taste concerning but also not especially fresh or high quality, and prices were a bit high given those points. For what I paid, I'm not sure it was really worth it. I probably won't be back. read more

Extremely satisfied! Fish is fresh. Service is great. No frills sushi restaurant with difficulty parking but totally worth it! Best place in Arlington by far! Will definitely return. read more

The sushi is good, actually very good compared to the other sushi places in the Arlington/Falls Church area but that's about it. The reason I'm writing this review is we have been warned not to get the Udon soup. I appreciated the honesty at the same time it left an unsettling feeling in my stomach. In addition, most dinner options are in the $20+ range (For teriyaki? Udon soup with tempura?) and the sushi costs can add up fast. If you're looking to come here for sushi, come during lunch when the prices are more reasonable. read more

This place is so good! We loved the Arlington roll, the Cherry Blossom and the Sakura. The prices are just right, there is usually plenty of parking available and the fish feels really fresh. They also have a good selection of drinks available which is really nice. I noticed that the servers knew the people that came to pick up their food, so this is like a true neighborhood gem. Love it! We are definitely coming back. read more

Sushi-Zen - Japanese Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

Some of the best sushi in the area!! Options are ample and the service is great. I recommend all their specialty rolls.

First time- great service. Good food. Everything on point. Came back here a few weeks later and we waited over 50 mins for four rolls- 2 speciality and 2 regular. At this time, they were so focused on turning out online and DoorDash orders but we had to ask twice about the food. One at 40 min mark and again around 50 min mark. I understand that it's a Sunday but not good if they cannot focus on in-house dining. read more

They have the best sushi in Northern Virginia. I've tried A LOT of different sushi places in the 20 years I've lived here, and Sushi-Zen is my favorite sushi place in Northern Virginia. It's just the best. I STRONGLY recommend going here. read more

Fantastic sushi and nice service, also reasonable prices. Wine glasses are a little small or this would be a 5 star.

This place surprised me. I've tried many restaurants in this shopping center but avoided this one because it had mixed reviews. But we decided to give it a try as we were craving sushi. We kept it safe trying the unagi, shrimp tempura, and spicy California roll (which is just sriracha dropped on top). Although it's a bit pricey, it's actually pretty tasty and not too bland. I did try another place in the area for sushi and it was a waste of money. This place is much better, and we would definitely come back to this place. The miso soup and teriyaki chicken were pretty decent also. Worth the try if you're on the fence. read more

Wonderful sushi! Love the specialty rolls in particular. The Cheery Blossom, Arlington Roll, and Virginia Roll are favorites.

The best sushi place in Arlington! Always fresh and delicious, plus the waitress Divine is so sweet and helpful. Every roll is great, our favorite is the Cherry Blossom Roll and Super Crunchy Roll read more

Definitely the best sushi in the area. As a frequent patron, I can say that the service and food are consistently excellent. Great staff and great menu. Be sure to try the Cherry Blossom roll. Thanks to all there. read more

Our server was SO patient with our kids and so nice. She was so intent to make sure everyone was happy. Excellent service and food. Her suggestions were on point!! Loved the Cherry Blossom Roll and the Arlington roll. Miso soup was delicious. We will be back!! read more

Mediocre, overpriced, small serving size, I'm struggling to find anything to like. The service is about the same maybe worse than the food. Not worth your time or money considering the choices surrounding it. read more

Went here last night and I wish I could give 3.5 stars. We went for the sushi and I got the fireworks roll and my boyfriend got the outrageous roll and we started with the miso soup and vegetable tempura. The starters were good but not mind blowing. As for the sushi itself, it was tasty. I definitely enjoyed it but it honestly didn't really fill me up. I left there still hungry. If you're in the area and looking to try out new restaurants I would give this place a try but there are definitely better sushi places in the area. read more

The sushi was excellent as always and the service exceptional as well. We had the Fireworks and Virginia Rolls which were expertly prepared, fresh, and delicious! Sushi Zen is our number one choice for sushi in the tri state area! read more

I've lived in arlington for about 7 years now and this is the best sushi place I've found! Great value for very fresh and tasty rolls. They have a ton to offer on their menu and the service is so friendly! The food comes out quickly and they have so many fun rewards programs and certificates they give out. I would and always do recommend Sushi zen to friends, family and coworkers when they are looking for a tasty bite to eat! read more

Very good sushi! Had the Crispy tempura roll tonight. So yummy. My kids like the chicken teriyaki and miso soup. Their salad dressing is also amazing. read more

Excellent! Probably one of my favorite sushi spots in Arlington, and a top contender for sure! So glad we stumbled on this place via yelp last minute on a beautiful Saturday evening. The place eventually filled up, and we came during the peak of dinner hours on a Saturday night but were seated immediately. Ordered the seaweed salad (yum, fresh!), a couple of salmon rolls (woah- absolutely generous amount of salmon, meaty and delicious), California roll, cherry blossom roll (this was my FAVORITE! You have to order this!!! Thick tuna slices over a roll stuffed with salmon and topped with roe. Ohh my stars yum yum yum!), and shiro blossom roll (also unique!). I love how the rolls are named and designed after the seasons and neighborhood names. Makes such a great friendly neighborhood hole in the wall sushi joint! Do not be fooled by the size, we were beyond filled from this meal for two. A great sushi stop in Arlington for sure, also located and snugged in a great shopping plaza with other great places to stop by for dessert afterwards. We did not have any trouble with parking. Definitely returning! read more

Sushi-Zen - Ordered a la carte, favorite is 8 Pieces Cherry Blossom Roll bottom right - Japanese Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

This is my most favorite Sushi Restaurant in Virginia. And this is coming from a Japanese, who loves and is particular about the quality of Sushi. I had Edamame, Agedashi dofu, and Moriwase, which is 9 nigiri sushi and a Californian roll. Agedashi dofu was crispy outside and soft inside. I know how to make it at home, but I can't make it with this high quality. Moriwase was fantastic!!! It was AMAZING!!! I think you would pay about the same or even more to eat this in Japan as well. And people who work there, owners and waitress, were very friendly. I would take many friends to here. read more

Hands-down the best sushi in Arlington. The staff is always welcoming and friendly. We usually do carry out so I can't comment on the in restaurant dining. read more

Fantastic food! Authentic, fresh. Unaju dinner is a great portion and the best around!

Lunch review ... I have to admit the quality of their teriyaki chicken and veggie/shrimp tempura bento box was on point. It was really tasty! I got it to-go, and my interaction with the lady who took my order over the phone and the ladies who welcomed me when I came in were pleasant and hospitable. It would be worth trying their sushi.... it's just a matter of when. read more

My family loves this place, it's so homey and the food is great! Compliment your meal with the salad, the dressing is fantastic. Even when my kids were little and wouldn't eat many veggies, they loved this salad. The staff is great and attentive. Wonderful local restaurant! read more

We are so lucky to have this restaurant In our neighborhood! Everyone who works here is very welcoming, personable, and you can tell they truly care about each other as well as their customers. Over the years I've enjoyed stopping in with my husband for date nights, with my daughter for early dinners, and quite frequently on my own for lunch. They have an awesome variety of rolls and not only is everything delicious- it's FRESH! They also have great meat/veggie based meals for those not wanting to enjoy sushi ( meaning something for everyone). Today in particular the staff blew me away- I haven't been by in the last two months due to dietary restrictions, when I came in and explained this .... the sushi chef went above and beyond , he created the roll I typically like with a few tweaks so it would fit my dietary restrictions. The waitresses were very helpful as well! This is definitely somewhere worth trying out, we will continue to support this business over the years. :) read more

Wow! I can without hesitation say that this place has the WORST quality sushi I've ever had, and that includes the stuff in the cooler from the grocery store. Unlike some other reviewers, I thought the prices were reasonable. However, the quality of the fish was really lacking. Most of the pieces of fish were rubbery and lacked any sort of texture or flavor. Stay away! read more

Sushi Zen gets my business only because it's the easiest thing to get to from my place. The food here is middle of the road. It's fresh enough that you won't really complain, it's not super fast or slow, it's not a great price, and no one is going to make you feel super welcomed. On all accounts it's average. I will say that the last time I ordered take out from here that there were bones in my sushi which is pretty horrifying. That was the only time I've experienced that of the dozens of times I've visited... but now when i think of going it makes me nervous. The way to do sushi zen if you want take out is to go in and order, then walk to Harris Teeter and shop for wine while they make it. When I order on the phone, often times I come in and it's wrong. In their defense, I never have corrected them when I've had a phone order mixed up. All in all just an average if somewhat dangerous sushi option that I will probably be brave enough to try again in the near future. read more

The food here is terrible! The sushi is really bland and the chicken teriyaki was just a slab of chicken breast with some canned teriyaki sauce poured over it! And then they charged about $16 for it!! The tempura was ok. The miso soup also tasted like it was from a can. Avoid this place! Even the sushi they serve at Whole Foods is better! read more

First of all, I was surprised to see such a low star rating when I looked up this place. I have been coming here for the past 5 years since I moved to the area. I have ate sushi from all over the country and this place is pretty damn good. Their sushi portions are good, everything always tastes fresh and delicious! The restaurant itself is very small so it is separated by these 5 foot high paper walls. Both of which do not bother me at all, but like I said it is a very small place and can get a little noisy. I believe the owner is Japanese so you know it is authentic. He is usually sitting behind the bar but sometimes when it is busy you can see him making sushi. There is ample parking, although since it is located in a strip mall, it can get packed at times. The reason I gave it 4 stars and not 5 is because the staff is not too friendly. However, sushi is the best you will find in the area. read more

This is actually 1 1/2 stars. I've dined here plenty of times in the past (when I'm looking to have a good conversation) the service takes forever and the sushi is really horrible. And their mi-so soup...have no idea what it is but it just tastes wrong. The only reason I keep coming back is because of the location. I decided to switch to take-out because I couldn't stand the wait anymore but the quality of the sushi is still the same....awful. It never really tastes fresh and has copious amount of unnecessary rice. The price bothers me too, definitely too much for what they're providing. I would suggest walking two doors down to Harris Teeter and picking something out of the fridge, might not taste better but you're not spending as much or waiting on it. read more

Love this place. Come every once in a while, and they know me and my kids, and what we order. There is this one amazing waitress who serves us every time. The food is delicious. It's nice, because it never gets too loud or crowded. Their service is quick, the place is clean, what could I complain about? I would definitely recommend this place to anyone. read more

In a word-- disappointing. My dining companion and I have been looking to support local businesses, and I can say without a doubt, we will never be back. Overall, the food was disapointing, probably 2 stars. The service knocked it down another. We waited at the front of the restaurant for a few minutes unsure if someone saw us enter. We were finally seated, but were not offered menus for 5 minutes. By the time the waitress returned to take out drink orders, we had already filled out our Ala carte menu. 15 minutes to get a water refill, 10 to get the check and another 5 to get change. Essentially, a highly frustrating experience. The ambiance of the restaurant itself is all wrong-- it is sectioned off into small quarters with cheap "japanese" wall sectioning. It looked tacky and made me feel like I was in a jail cell. My dining companion and I started out with two miso soups and edamame-- both equally meh. The miso lacked tofu, tasted mostly of green onion and was overwhelmingly salty. On the contrary, the edamame wasn't salted enough. We orded two Rock n' Rolls (eel, avacado and cucumber) a tuna avacado roll, a softshell crab roll, a spicy salmon roll, and a spicy scallop roll. In all of the rolls, the rice was overcooked and sloppy. The eel was overcooked and crunchy--almost inedible. Both spicy rolls were bland and mushy. The softshell crab didn't have much taste and the tuna avocado was just fair. What surprised me most was how many tables were filled in the place. People! Stop giving this place business! I get fresher, tastier sushi at Whole Foods! read more

Wow, where'd all these bad reviews come from? I am in shock right now... I could not disagree more with these bad reviews!! Sushi-Zen is one of my favorite Japanese restaurants, and I only have a couple! I love their AMAZING sushi, especially the Sophia roll! If you've never had this, you must definitely try it. Go, now now now! I rarely sit at the sushi bar by myself, but at Sushi-Zen, I would do it in a heart beat. The people behind the bar will make you feel as comfortable as if you're actually dining with somebody else! Another thing I love about Sushi-Zen is how fresh their ingredients are. I remember my first time having toro, and I had it at Sushi-Zen, and I just fell in love! I craved toro for a couple weeks after that. I tried a couple of other restaurants' toro, and they definitely did not suffice. I love their salad dressing, which they make themselves! You can't really find a lot of restaurants that still make their own dressings and things like that, and I was surprised to learn that Sushi-Zen did. You can eat their dressing with ANYTHING, because it is that AMAZING! I love Sushi-Zen! Don't let these bad reviews stop you from going if you've never been! Judge for yourself, because TRUST ME, you will keep coming back!!! read more

I had never been to Sushi-Zen until the quarantine started. I placed a pickup order online. When I arrived, I was super impressed with the health safety protocols they had in place; a hand sanitizing station at the door, designated pathways, plexiglass barriers. Probably the cleanest and safest setup I've seen anywhere. Service was very quick. I was in and out with my order within a minute. And the sushi was great. I got the avocado roll and sweet potato roll. I will be back! read more

At a sushi joint, moreso than in other restaurants in my opinion, how much you like the place depends on what you order. But at Sushi-Zen, it didn't seem to matter what you got. It was all bleh. They have a large menu with a good deal of variety, but everything we got last night (a mix of nigiri and maki - both traditional and specialty) was either not pleasing to me or simply ok. Not tasteless, but not flavorful either. Like when you eat a black cherry snowcone made of packing peanuts instead of ice. Service seemed ok for us on a Saturday night, and price wasn't an issue. But I doubt I'll be going back any time soon. The hunt continues for good sushi in Arlington... read more