Cute little sushi restaurant in Savannah, you can eat at the sushi bar, at a table or cross legged at a much shorter table with your shoes off...not sure how I feel about people's shoes two feet from some of the tables, but luckily, I sat far enough away from the shoeless patrons and shoes on the floor next to my table area to make a personal decision. A good place for a first date. The food: Havana Roll is described as light fried...this one wasn't. It was hard fried and a bit more spicy than I expected. Sunomono Salad was a bit more exotic than the "cucumber salad" that was described to me by the waiter. In fact, I think the cucumber should have been left out entirely, taste didn't complement the sauce and the three types of raw fish that came with the dish. Beware, the Nigori Sake (unfiltered) is very sweet...this one is on me for thinking all unfiltered sakes are made alike. The service: Somewhat disappointing...I had three people serving me and no one taking responsibility for my experience. I would have ordered the Mochi for desert but decided against it when my waiter, waitress and owner respectively walked to my table and waited for me to initiate the conversation...all were asked for the bill and only one decided to double check and confirm that my request had been ignored by the prior two servers. Three stars because I'll be back with a date...stay tuned. read more

Sushi Zen - Sushi Bars Near Me - Savannah, Georgia

So, I have to confess something. I've only had sushi in Georgia a few times. I've been impressed once, so I know there is some possibility of good sushi. I am comparing this place to other sushi I have had around the country. The waitress informed me that they have nothing pre-cooked and they are the only restaurant in the US that does that. I have no idea where she got this information, but ok. She also said the sushi chef teaches sushi making classes somewhere..also ok. She kept pointing out what American people like and how things are done in Japan. She said the hot towels they serve are better served after the meal and are served in the beginning of the meal in Japan. Interesting observation. This kind of went on for a bit. Let's just say, she really set the bar very very high for this food that was to come. They brought hot green brown rice tea. This is excellent stuff! Such depth of flavor, absolutely delicious. I usually order a salmon skin hand roll, so I did that right away. This took about 20 minutes, this is where I got the "nothing pre-made speech". I don't mind waiting for food, but she could of said that earlier, then we could have ordered some fresh items while we waited. That's probably ok in any country. Eh, it was ok. Greasy, not crispy enough, too much rice..honestly this was disappointing. Also got a few nigiri items: Ikura (fish eggs), Salmon, sweet shrimp, and mackerel. They asked me I wanted the fried shrimp head with my sweet shrimp and of course the answer to that is always yes. It's important to mention that the nigiri was not put together well. The sushi rice kept falling apart and it just seemed sloppy. Salmon was very fresh and mackerel had good flavor. Sweet shrimp was just ok and was served without the head. It's usually part of the presentation, but head was brought later. Both were just average at best, especially the sweet shrimp. Now, the sweet shrimp is $6.50 or so for 2 pieces, which is pricey for a nigiri item usually. Small and bland is not what you expect, this was another disappointing item. Ikura was good and fresh. We got a rainbow roll as well, but it didn't look all that great, so I didn't try it. I was going to give this place 3 stars, but I felt a bit let down here. If you are going to push the traditional Japanese route, have the traditional tables with pillows and no shoes option, have the waitress talk up the sushi chef and the incredible authenticity of your restaurant..etc...etc.. Then you have to use higher grade fish. Right? That's something you can taste pretty quickly. It's low grade quality fish and I am very sure the chef knows this. I don't want to speculate as to why the execution is shaky, but this might have something to do with it. Maybe I am being too critical, but I love sushi and love authentic food from any culture; So if you are going to build it up, you have to deliver. read more

Sushi Zen - Not great. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Savannah, Georgia

Excellent, quick sushi for a low low price. Plus, being open till 10:00 fits my late schedule. Rolls aren't extravagant, but they're well crafted, and flavors blend nicely. Staff was friendly and attentive. Will definitely return. read more

I was in town on business and ordered take away from sushi Zen. The dining room was closed, as this is during the quarantine. I had to Takoyaki and a Havana and Nandan roll. The sushi was very good. I especially enjoyed the dipping sauce that they offer instead of straight soy. The Takoyaki was amazing. read more

I've had sushi in TN, ATL, and NY, NY. THIS IS THE BEST SUSHI I'VE EVER TASTED. We got an assortment, but my favorite one was the pink panther. The salmon was so delicious. The cream cheese, avocado, crap meat... all of it, PERFECTION. I'd call it a hidden gem, but honestly they were pretty busy for a Monday. They have one girl running around delivering everyone's food. We took her suggestions and weren't disappointed. read more

Sushi Zen - Sushi Bars Near Me - Savannah, Georgia

What a great experience! My boyfriend and I have been struggling to find a Japanese spot with a nicer ambiance and some variety on the menu beyond the usual sushi offerings. Sushi Zen is it!! Such great service, fresh food, and the little bit extra that makes for a great dining experience. We had a mix of usual and unusual fare. The chicken teriyaki was excellent, but my favorites were the Vegetable Tempura and the Sunshine Tomato. The tempura batter was perfect; light and flaky - not too greasy. The veggie selection was nicer than the usual. And please try the Sunshine Tomato! It is a tomato stuffed with rice, fried tempura style, and topped with mozzarella. Unexpectedly my favorite dish from this visit. We also tried their new dessert special that was a lightly flavored fruity yogurt/custard dish that was a refined - perfect and delicious ending to the meal. Why didn't we go here sooner!!!! read more

Sushi Zen - Dessert special at Sushi Zen. Delicate, delicious and beautiful! - Sushi Bars Near Me - Savannah, Georgia

This did not look like much from the outside, and in a strip mall that also did not look like much either. So it's a hole in the wall sort of aspect but when you get inside you get a nice surprise. The decor makes it a special Japanese feel. Service was real friendly and quick. Food was really good - loved the steamed gyoza!!, they did it well. Nice experience!! read more

My favorite place in town for sushi, always fresh and delicious the customer service is always super great and I love the atmosphere. Very very authentic. read more

There is a long list of rules that greets diners at Sushi Zen. A longer list, perhaps, than the rules I was advised to read when taking my Florida Teacher Certification Exams. The list looks casual -- hand-written and taped casually to the wall. You might even overlook it, unless you are left standing by the door for 5 or 10 minutes waiting for a table, as I was. Never mind that I was the only customer in the restaurant at the time. The rules are pretty strict and more than a little scary. Diners can't sent food back. If a diner happens to sit at a table where a plate or cup breaks, the diner will be buying that plate or cup. Diners daring to ask for separate checks will be charged a utility fee of 1/3 of their life savings and getting the checks will take FOREVER. As a result of reading the rules I was feeling rather apprehensive about dining there and seriously considered doing a runner before I was seated. That, however, is when fate intervened. The waitress finally deigned to acknowledge my presence and showed me to a seat, just when I was mentally marking all of the emergency exits. As it turns out i was glad I stayed The food was good and fresh and the portions were large. I enjoyed having lunch (as opposed to dinner) in a sushi restaurant and thus, for a change, leaving a sushi restaurant with change in my pocket. I had the Terriyaki shrimp rice bowl. Came with salad, soup, 4 big shrimp, a sort of squished together vegetable tempura "fritter", and enough rice to feed me for a week. In all a good lunch once I made it past the front door. read more

Prior to eating here, I had almost given up on having great sushi in the Savannah area. Besides one or two places in the area that we enjoyed, there was nothing here that stood out... Until we discovered Sushi Zen! The sushi here was delicious! My husband and I started with gyoza and takoyaki. We decided on the Havana roll and the Volcano roll and let me tell you the Havana roll was so good! My husband and I demolished it within seconds. Had absolutely no complaints about anything at Sushi Zen and looking forward to coming back and exploring the rest of their menu! read more

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First impression: sucks!! I had to ask for a menu. I had to ask the owner of the restaurant to place my order. I saw the waitress handling other people's orders before mine. I had to ask the waitress to place my food order. The other person in our party got his smaller sushi dish before I got my much larger combo type dinner. The waitress delivering the other dish wasn't the one who took the order, so she wandered around confused. I was told at that same time that my dish wasn't even started yet(!!!!). Then I was told it was on its way. The salmon was very good, and so they get a star for that. But beyond that? Never coming back here again, I guarantee you. read more

This a solid four star establishment in my humble opinion . The staff goes out of their way to inshore you're having a wonderful experience . If you have a child the staff will make them origami's which my daughter just loves . The food is great and the sushi is amazing . The only downside is the price they charge you for a soda which is highway robbery when you consider it's coming from a can , because you can hear them popping the tab . Other than that this is a great . read more

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Our favorite Sushi spot in Savannah! It's often hard to tell good/average/great, but it stands out here as excellent. Great cuts, very high quality. And the waitress Hitomi is just the sweetest and friendliest waitress we've encountered in town. Makes you feel very welcomed and important. Highly recommend! read more

An actual legit Japanese restaurant serving quality sushi and other Japanese fare, by actual Japanese chefs. People, this place is fantastic. It is my only go-to restaurant for the most authentic Japanese menu in Savannah. Not only are their sushi rolls great, but the quality of fish, and the authenticity from the takoyaki's to the fried tempura shrimp, everything is just on point here. On cold winter days, I always enjoy a bowl of delicious nabeyaki udon. The broth is quite deep and fragrant. All in all, while the service may be slow at times, the authenticity of their sushi and other Japanese items, staff members, and quality fish gets my sushi fanatic rating of 5 stars. read more

Sushi Zen - Nigiri, salmon and eel. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Savannah, Georgia

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First time customer. First the service was excellent. I have never had Miso soup before. They gave me a small taste first. I enjoyed the Miso soup. I ordered the grilled vegetables which included the soup. You have a choice of fried rice for a up charge. I got the white rice. The vegetables are served in teriyaki sauce. While the entree was delicious, I felt it was 90 percent onions with very little broccoli, mushroom,bok choy and carrot. So delicious, affordable but could be improved. read more

Pros: beautiful presentation of food, excellent service, great tasting sushi/miso Cons: pricey for what you get Forest Gump roll: small but good Sushi zen platter great choice read more

Sushi Zen - Cool tables for a fun option - Sushi Bars Near Me - Savannah, Georgia

I love this place. Seriously love it. Not only is the sushi amazing, but the staff are the nicest people that I have ever met. Ben, the sushi chef, is just wonderful. He always takes care of me and gets to know his customers by name. I usually order the sashimi bridge, which is a beautifully arranged generous assortment of delicious sashimi. I also always get the uni when they have it available. It is always so fresh and melts in your mouth. They don't always have it, so it's always a welcome treat when they do have it in. I will miss this place when the Army moves me away from Savannah. read more

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My favorite sushi restaurant in Savannah. Having lived in Japan for 5 years, the food is authentic Japanese and extremely tasty. From the tempura to sushi, this place is the best. Highly recommended! read more

Best Sushi in the area. The interior is in that modern/asian vibe. The sushi however is fantastic, with a large variety of rolls including some vegetarian ones (including the garlic roll, yum yum) They have some problems with service. Sushi can be slow anyplace that makes it to order, big tables really flummoxes them here. Went here for a birthday party with a group of ten. Their solution to deal with our large group was to take every ones order in the restaurant (even those sat after us, and yes we had a reservation!) and take our orders last. I guess then the smaller tables weren't complaining, but why would you p*** off a large table (oh right, auto tip) I still give it five stars because the sushi is great (I have never tried anything else here, it's called SUSHI Zen, I like sushi, end of story) I always order a beer and just enjoy the meal whether it is fast or slow. read more

I came to this restaurant with my 3 year old daughter with a kids meal from McDonalds. She has alot ot food allergies and I have to know how her food is prepared. I carried her inside while it was raining and sat her in her highchair. I went to sit down and a woman came out if the back and told me that the owner doesn't like for there to be outside food. I explained that she cant eat sushi or lots of food and they proceeded to tell me they have a kids box. I frequent both locations and spend approximately $30 each time and today I was forced to leave, again in the pouring rain, because I didnt want my 3 year old simply sitting there watching me eat. I will NOT be back to either location and I hope my friends remove their business as well. read more

My mom and I both got chicken teriyaki. My mom wanted white meat only and hers was decent but mine had old chicken and it was disgusting. I can't believe they served old meat. The gyoza was steamed and mushy. I ordered the Mexican roll with no cucumber. The shrimp was cooked good but they didn't put any sauce on it so it was dry and boring. I tried to point out out they forgot the spicy sauce but the server pretended like she didn't understand. Speaking of which, the service is really bad too. Slow and awkward servers. This place has gone down hill and I won't be back. read more

Have yet to find better sushi than the Havana roll. Sushi Zen has been an all time favorite for the whole family for years now. Not always the quickest but well worth the wait! read more

Sushi Zen - Havana roll is a must have! - Sushi Bars Near Me - Savannah, Georgia

I'm pretty confident this is the best sushi in town. We've been here several times, been up and down the menu and always leave happy and satisfied. The fish is always fresh. It's authentic Japanese sushi. We are regulars. read more

This restaurant has turned my 6 year old daughter into a sushi fan for life. She begs for sushi and is so sad that this place is not open for lunch on weekends. I used to eat at the downtown Sushi Zen 10 years ago and it was always amazing. Now we are more likely to go to this south side location. Everything is fresh and high quality. My daughter's review is below: I love the sushi. The sushi is named the California roll. I liked the squid because my Daddy gave it to me. At the end the owner gave me origami birds. read more

The service was outstanding! Our server made us little cranes in a box with our names on them (so cute!) I loved sitting on the floor with my shoes off, that was really nicce too. They have a section of tables as well, for those who prefer traditional american seating. The sushi was fresh and delicious! We also got a hot dinner plate with seafood and that was good too. A very charming cheerful place with great service and food. read more

Amazing! Not only was the food delicious, but the hot towels were a PERFECT addition to the experience.

My family and I really like this place. we try to go every time we are in town from Jacksonville. The hamachi kama and the ramen are really good. read more

This used to be my favorite Japanese restaurant in town around 7 years ago. Went there again for the first time in that many years. Service was good food and was alright. The reason I give it 3 stars because the shoyu ramen was way too salty. I think I was drinking salt water from Tybee Island. Chef should really taste the broth before serving. Way too much sodium read more

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I want to go back...right now! It was warm outside (which always makes me happy). The company was amazing. The sushi was super great as well. The waitstaff were helpful and out of our way. They do have a lot of rules at the front door which is kind of funny after having read the reviews. But, we didn't get in any trouble I guess, so no one brought up the rules while we were there...next time I will see if I can get them to bring out the rule book. Next time I want to sit on the floor. I want to move to Savannah, now, and eat here a lot. Please? read more

Loved the service! Prompt and friendly. I normally eat at the downtown location but I was pleasantly surprised at the same treatment, if not better on the Southside. Owner gave me the sweetest origami paper cranes as a "thank you" for coming in. The House Plum Wine is my personal favorite! read more

First off there are an overwhelming number of menus thrown your way which makes your selection process a little confusing since some of them had the same options. We ordered a speciality sushi roll it was really good a little pricey for just 6 pieces but it was worth it. The pork cutlet dinner and the miso ramen was good I've had better but it wasn't disappointing either, it's probably the best you're going to find in Savannah. I'll definitely be back for the sushi if not anything else. Also I know yelp says you'll get a free dessert if you check in well that's only for the Martin Luther King location it does not apply to this location when we pointed out that it says other wise they were nice enough to give us a plate of strawberry mochi on the house and said they'll get on fixing it. read more

Best sushi place ever:) servers and sushi chef and owner are so nice and friendly. good place for sushi nigiri and rolls. my favorite one is philly roll. All of their fish are really fresh. read more

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I first discovered doing Door Dash, very quick service. Visited to buy carry out second time. I'm here to tell you, it is must visit and try. Great food with great employees and great service. 5 star definite!!! Food is awesome!! read more

This is probably the best sushi place in Savanna! We had the All-Star plate first and tried 5 different rolls. Then we decided to get the Pink panther and a Havana roll. The pink panther was amazing definitely try it! Our waitress was very speedy and helpful with recommending fantastic dishes! read more

I've been back so many times since discovering this place. They have a phenomenal lunch special that comes with a ton of delicious sushi and soup/salad. Their ginger dressing tastes wayyy better than most sushi places. Their wasabi and ginger is also superior to other places. The best part of this place is the waitress. She's super sweet and attentive. She's given me handmade origami a few times for good luck! Super fast service. Definitely check this place out, especially for lunch! read more

Out favorite sushi place. Yoshi is the best! We have been following him for 25 years. Keep up the good work.

Terrible service ever. Came at 8 pm and stand for ten minutes. Nobody talked to even looked at me at all. And I walked inside tried to speak to the staffs and got blamed as " so many people are waiting for food and I can't take you unless you can wait for one hour." Do I owe you anything? Why can't you tell me earlier? read more

We were in town for a day. This place was a bit hard to find but well worth it. They have something for everyone. The service was great! Our waitress Hitomi was wonderful. She made the experience great for us. She was super friendly and fast. They only had two wait staff on hand and they never had anyone waiting for anything long. Was impressed. The sushi was wonderful. Tried some new things and was pleasantly surprised by them. The man making it truly cares if he did a good job as he asks if it is ok. Before leaving we were given a gift from our waitress. She had made us origami items. I will keep and cherish them. She was truly a gem! Highly recomend this place if you are in town. read more

What happened??? We were here in July 2017 and Dec 2017 and the food was excellent, sushi was very good, if slightly expensive compared to Los Angeles Japanese standards. The menu was colorful, the Tonkatsu was excellent, not overcooked or oily. We went there on Sept 12th 2018. New menu, much less variety, no Bento Boxes, no Tonkatsu, supposedly only grilled chicken teriyaki and tempura for lunch ... I ordered the Tonkatsu Ramen. The ramen came with one small (quarter size) piece of boiled pork. No fried pork cutlet on top of ramen as is traditional, just a sliver of boiled meat in noodle soup. This is NOT Tonkatsu. Horrible. Service was not good, and complained that we ordered the wrong thing even after pointing to the menu. My friend ordered the grilled (that is grilled) chicken teriyaki plate. It used to be grilled chicken teriyaki, with rice, miso soup or salad. She explained this was all that was available after we complained. It was a chicken bowl, with just a few small pieces of boiled chicken (that they cook first in the AM, then microwave to heat before serving, she explained) that was grisly and basically raw. She claimed it was chicken Donburi. REALLY? That isn't event correct (no egg, no sauce and RAW). No teriyaki, raw veges, no sauce on a 3 pound bowl of under cooked rice. The health Dept needs to look into this, I had to spit. I was afraid of food poisoning. read more

Yes, I enjoyed my sushi very much and the service was great. I will come back and recommend highly. Thanks.