Sonobana

Really blown away by Sonobana. I was recommended to go here because of the authenticity and recently going to Japan I felt like it would be difficult to get that feeling anywhere in TN. They've nailed this place and I can't wait to go back. There is a reason it's tougher to get into this place and seem to always be busy. Food was fresh and properly prepared. They put a ton of effort into their food here. Sushi is pretty good too.

I was a bit underwhelmed after my first meal at Sonobana. Partly this may just be the result of inflated expectations due to the high praise they earn-- a top Nashville sushi recommendation on Yelp, Google, Reddit and often word of mouth. And some of my disappointment might also be on me--I scheduled a lunch with a few colleagues for a Friday and we arranged to meet here at 1 pm. I didn't make a reservation--not thinking one for a weekday lunch in this part of town would be necessary--and I didn't check to see that they close between lunch and dinner (2:00-4:30). As a result, when we arrived at 1 and they were fairly full I asked for a table for 3 and was told it would be a 15-20 minute wait (absolutely no problem) but that also we were being seated "right before the cutoff" so we needed to know what we wanted to eat the moment we sat down. Ok, I said. I asked to take a menu with me to our waiting spot outside. "I'd rather you not, we prefer they stay in here," I was told. "Check your phone, it's online." OK--we wouldn't steal your menu and some friendlier customer service would have been appreciated but that is fine. You're busy.We decided on our basic order and were ready to roll when seated. We ordered a variety of sushi rolls. One I opted for was listed as "Giant sushi" which is indeed what it sounds like--an oversized roll, each piece roughly 2x the size of a normal sushi roll piece. As such, there was no way to eat it in one bite per the usual--you had to bite into it, through the seaweed wrap, causing the rest of it to fall apart. I would recommend skipping "giant rolls" if you dine here. The other rolls were fine--good, not great. It could have been what I ordered. Prices were fair, a bit higher than some locations in town, a bit lower than others. We wrapped up lunch after they "closed" but since so many tables weren't clearing out yet we did take a bit of time to finish our conversation. I get how that could be annoying for staff ready to go (and we would have been out if we were the only ones left) so I appreciate not getting a dirty look as we left. We tipped fairly.So, I'll return for a second appraisal in the future but on first visit I was unimpressed with the sushi and have had much better in town, unimpressed with the service, and unimpressed with the hours to be honest (just stay open on a Friday from 2-4 if you're herding lunch diners out).But still-- "3 stars" which is "good" in my book and I wouldn't discourage anyone else from dining here or myself from returning. The quality was not bad overall, it was just "good".

Sonobana is and will continue to be my favorite place to get sushi in Nashville. As someone who loves sushi and is allergic to avocados, this is a great place to go. They are always careful and I have never once had an issue. This time I got the Blake roll, Tempura dinner, and the fried cheesecake. The Blake roll was good, although I like sushi without cream cheese better. Tempura dinner is one of my go tos and always very yum. The fried cheesecake was a new one for me. It was good although I'd say I prefer regular cheesecake to the fried version. Also the little soy sauce pot that was at the table was made by the owner! Incredible! Finally, our server was wonderful. We probably bothered him a little too much with jokes (not about him obviously), but he was very sweet about it. Sonobana has a large parking lot in the front which is always easy to park in

A decent option for sushi in Nashville. Pretty extensive sushi menu but kind of some strange combos. The spicy salmon and crunchy shrimp were my favorites (although the spicy salmon weirdly came with asparagus?). The broiled salmon skin was probably my least favorite. Service was great though and it's still a good option when craving sushi in Nashville!

The food was excellent! However, we were particularly impressed by the service at Sononana! We were traveling through on our way to North Carolina and were tired and road weary! The hostess got us in in 15 minutes, despite a projected 40 minute wait. The server quickly helped us to get our food order in, brought us our beverages right away, with food soon to follow. Everyone seems happy that works here and the staff all worked together to provide a sunny atmosphere with caring and compassionate service! Thank you for a great dinner!

I had high expectation as its menu was showing more traditional Japanese dish, but was very disappointed at the unagi don.It came with miso soup and house salad. The miso soup was very salty, the slices of mushroom appeared to be just toss in instead of cooked in the soup. I didn't have the house salad, I added cucumber tako salad. The cucumber and tako were immersed in vinegar, very sour. Last the unagi don, they put way too much sauce that made the rice too salty, between the unagi don and miso soup, the salt balance was off. Unagi was not properly deboned, I had 10+ small bones out for the unagi. For me growing up deboning fish myself had no problem, it would be problem for those that are used to it.The service was nice, but disappointing food.

Food was just right, service was good, and the restaurant was clean and not too loud.

Food: 3/5Service: 5/5Ambiance: 5/5They have a big menu of both traditional sushi and fusion/americanized items. What brings the food to a 3/5 is that it is inconsistent. Sometimes it's super fresh and sometimes it is fishy as heck. I need to stop ordering their Uni, as it is one item that has been consistently not good here. Service has always been great, they have really friendly staff! If you're a newbie to Japanese food or sushi, they'll talk you through everything. I love the ambiance because it's a bit outdated but it's just cozy OG Japanese setup. Overall it's a good, solid Japanese restaurant.

What a yummy spot! I came with a group of 8 on a Saturday night so we called ahead to make sure we could get in. The server was attentive, the sushi came out in a decent amount of time, and it was tasty.There was a private room in the back that you can rent out id you have a large group, and there is plenty of seating doe regular dine in guests. I would definitely come back to eat here.

Food is always great. But I'm not sure if we were suppose to get a subcharge with a party of 3.We've been here plenty of years from busiest time to even their slow season. But I don't know if the server intentionally wanted to charge us 20% for the tip regardless but I still tipped 20% more. I just wish if you would have done that you would have told us. Was it because it's valentines weekend? But it's okay. It was my fault for not asking but I have the receipt. I'm just disappointed in the server for doing that in the first place. We are always appreciated of this place because of the service and food but this was kind of sleezy for the server to do that. I do appreciate your hard work. We will be back but do not want that to happen again or even might not even want the same server if it was intended to get charged 20% beforehand. Just wanted to know if this was a new rule of the restaurant or do servers just pick and choose who they want to charge or not. Just thought I warn others incase you're being overcharged for your service because they might of thought we wouldn't tip