Mouthwatering Japanese in Nashville

Samurai Sushi

★★★★☆ 4.1 (421)

"Located in the heart of Nashville this sushi spot is not only budget friendly but the food was phenomenal . Sushi tastes super fresh and will have you ordering more, trust me! Yum yum roll is my recommendation for one of the rolls . Chilli edamame heads up you might as well ask for a spoon because the sauce on bottom is that good. (Dip your sushi rolls in ) not much of an ambience or a vibe but for the price this place is way better than a 5 star restaurant. The service for our first time was really good and the food came out pretty fast . For the price and the food give this place a try"

Tokyo Japanese Steak House

★★★★☆ 4.3 (366) • $$

"Dinner tonight did not disappoint!! Tokyo is THE BEST Japanese Steak House in Middle TN!! The employees are kind and courteous, the chefs put on a GREAT show and serve a tasty meal. And the sushi is fresh!!We went this past weekend and 2 people in our party have a shrimp allergy. EVERYONE (chef, servers, Hostesses, etc) were made aware and every precaution taken to keep from having cross contamination of the shrimp and the shrimp was the last item cooked on the grill.It was my birthday, so I got the drum and song fromThe employees which was fun!We all left with full belies, smiles on our faces and even leftovers! (My favorite!!)"

Wild Wasabi

★★★★☆ 3.9 (401) • $$

"Just renovated, the whole place got a great face lift. Still fast and great sushi and a couple of other entres to choose from. I like that this place is usually not packed, service is always good and they have a lot of different rolls to choose from. Cute and easy !"

Sonobana Japanese Restaurant and Grocery

★★★★☆ 3.9 (373) • $$

"As I've gone to Sonobana habitually over the years, I've learned that there is quite honestly nothing I wouldn't try on the menu. I think visitors have to remember that this is an establishment which still does many things in a retro fashion: they have a landline, and they often use it. Waits can range from 5 minutes on a slow weekday to over 30 minutes in peak dining hours. I can attest to the insane lines on weekend evenings: we once parked, saw the line and considered waiting in it (it was out the door), and walked right back out to consider dining elsewhere. Just be mindful of when you go, and your party should be fine. You can always call ahead, but know that the line may be busy.I just ordered the futo maki roll, salmon roll, and tuna roll yesterday evening for pickup. There was a 30 minute wait, but the rolls always come out exactly as they should: balanced portions of rice, fish, and nori. The rice is seasoned well but not enough to make the rice mushy, and the fish is always fresh. There's a reason Sonobana always has a line out the door, and it's because they do simple rolls (and also complex ones) really well. You can taste the hard work and craftsmanship sometimes, I swear.Ambiance feels like retro family dining to be honest. As an AAPI person who calls Nashville home, it can sometimes feel othering when a customer at another table is unabashedly staring at you. This is no fault of the restaurant of course: just something to be mindful of when you dine. We have often stopped by the small market during our waits if it isn't closed. It's quaint and actually sells fresh seafood. If you're expecting Mitsuwa though, honey, this ain't it. Think more mom and pop bodega, and you'll feel much better.Plenty of parking in the Trader Joe's strip mall area. Highly recommend (and always kicking myself for recommending a local favorite)."

Peter's Sushi & Thai

★★★★☆ 3.8 (386)

"Love Peter's for a workday lunch stop. Service here is impressively fast and always friendly. The sushi always comes out extremely fresh and the quality of fish is too notch. Highly recommend checking out the Michael Jackson roll if you like a little spice with your roll."

Oishiya Hibachi & Sushi

★★★★★ 4.6 (227) • $$

"Finally tried. We ordered the shoyu ramen no pork. This came with chicken,egg, and some veggies inside of course noodles. Bento box with fried tofu, veggies (broccoli & carrots) choice of sushi roll(avocado and peanut roll) white rice , miso sou and a side salad. Their dressing is good the miso soup was very good. The ramen had good flavor and they give a lot of food. The bento box was good as well. Cute restaurant, our waiter/and others were very nice. Definitely will go back to try other items."

Maru Sushi & Grill - East Nashville

★★★★☆ 4.4 (222) • $$

"We were super tired and didn't want to go out, so we had Maru delivered to our Airbnb. It was refreshing to eat something light as opposed to all the other heavy food we were eating in Nashville!I got a cup of miso soup, which was all broth with two cubes of tofu, it was good. We split three rolls. I was worried that would be too much food, but their rolls are on the smaller size so it was perfect.Philadelphia - Typical salmon, cream cheese, and avocado roll. I was happy with it.Yum Yum - Yummy for sure! This was "spicy" crab, cucumber, more crab meat, and "spicy" mayo. This did not pack a punch with the spice level, but it was really tasty and our favorite roll. I loved how much crab meat there was!Crunch Shrimp - I was expecting the crunch to be on top, like every other sushi place I have been to, but it was inside the roll? Very odd...it was like eating sand. The shrimp was dry, the crunch was dry...it needed avocado or some sauce or something to compensate for the dryness. We didn't finish this roll.Prices were cheap, each roll was less than $10. Without all the Postmates fees this probably would be been less than $30!"

Xiaos' Hibachi and Sushi

★★★★☆ 4.2 (218) • $$

"Really enjoyed this plane and the open atmosphere. You have the hitachi tables and than you are able to see the folks cook and prepare the food for the non-hibachi tables. It loud and busy, everyone rushing around it's like your on Main Street in Japan... The service was spectacular, they are consistently tending to tour needs in a fashion that's not overwhelming. The food was good, the steak could be a little better seasoned but nothing I'd really complain about. Portions could be a tad larger in size but again I left full so not complaining there either."

Nomzilla! Sushi Et Cetera

★★★★☆ 3.8 (266) • $$

"My cousin and I had lunch here recently and it was really good. There was only one waitress and she was swamped and apologized that it would be a bit before she could get to us. We did not wait too long and she got us some sodas while we waited for her to take our order.We started with the Vegetable Gyoza. Nicely fried, good flavor inside, nice dipping sauce. For my entrée, I had the Spicy Bulgogi Pork - spicy bulgogi pork, kimchi, scallions, and steamed rice with mixed vegetables. I really liked this. Good sized portion, especially since I added the mixed vegetables. A bit spicy but not overwhelming. Good flavors throughout. My cousin had the Poke rice bowl: salmon, tuna, avocado, seaweed salad. She really liked this. A good sized portion as well. Fresh fish. Overall a nice lunch even with the service starting off slow."

MoriMori

★★★★☆ 4 (226) • $$

"The first time I came to MoriMori, it was because I had a hankering for ramen. The second, third....and up to tenth times I've been here have all been for this reason, too! The service and food are consistent. I'm always seated quickly, and the food is always good. I've mostly gotten some kind of ramen with an extra egg (I don't even eat many noodles; the broth is where it's at). I've had the Japanese miso, spicy miso, & Shoyu, plus I tried the Korean ramen the last time, though I prefer any of the first three. I've also had some of their sushi rolls, and they are good. The avocado-mango rolls I got last time were very fresh and delicious!"

Sapporo

★★★★☆ 4.3 (191) • $$

"Great customer service! We order from Sapporo often. Great sushi and rice entrees. The one time we dined in, they were so kind and enjoyed playing with our littles. So cool to sit at the hibachi tables!"

Shabu Shabu

★★★★☆ 4 (220)

"Shabu Shabu is a very good hot pot restaurant that is a fun time! I've been twice and both times it's been very busy with wait times, so be prepared for that! It's a price fixe menu and you select your broth base with a variety of options. I had the Szechuan base when I came in and ordered it the hot level. I was a little worried it would be all heat, but was pleasantly surprised that it had a very good flavorful broth with a kick of heat on top. You can also add on a grill offering where you grill your own meats at the table. That's a nice option, but I prefer just the hot pot since it's very filling and I found I typically skipped the grilled meats. You select as many meats, veggies, noodles, eggs, etc from the buffet and conveyor belt. They also have sushi and desserts. Be warned that it gets very hot in the restaurant with all the grills and boiling broth happening. The servers are attentive and they have wine, beer and sake. Come very hungry because it's a filling meal!"

Sapporo

★★★★☆ 4.2 (190) • $$

"We love this restaurant! We went around 7pm on a Wednesday, and were seated right away. The service is excellent and they are very attentive. I ordered the chicken teriyaki bento box and my husband got beef bulgogi bento box. When I say it's a bunch of food, trust me! There's sooooo much! Each box comes with your choice of 4 rolls, we both got the California roll, veggie and shrimp tempura, soup and salad, two crab cream cheese rolls, rice and your entree. All of the items were delicious! It was so much food, that we took all of our many entrees home. The leftovers were delicious too! The restaurant has plenty of parking, and a decent amount of tables. There is seating around the sushi bar too! We will be back!"

Sakura Japanese Cuisine

★★★★☆ 4.4 (158) • $$

"This is mediocre Japanese food. We went here bc my friend's daughter loves the salads for some reason.She ordered 2 kinds of sushi that was cut too thick, so she asked to have it sliced more thinly.My friend and I got bento boxes. They were pretty big. Tasty.The fried rice was just salty and just soy sauce not really fried. I had to ask to replace with reg white rice which was better.Their miso soup wasn't great either. I had to ask them to replace with an udon type of broth soup which was a heck of alot better.Not the greatest dinner for about $30 per person."

Umi Japanese Restaurant

★★★★☆ 4.4 (155) • $$

"Good sized space, feels even larger as they appear to have taken away a row of banquet seating due to staffing shortages. Sadly no sushi bar seating allowed, also due to staff issues. Overall a clean, simple and attractive space. Nice amount of room between tables. No draft beer but they do have the appropriate Japanese bottled beers. Gyoza came out hot and quite tasty. Nigiri and rolls were fine, it's not the best sushi I've ever had, but it's good, and I'd certainly come back for more. Lots of diners enjoying the non-sushi options, so the menu looks worth exploring."

Suki Sushi

★★★★☆ 4 (187) • $$

"Found this place through all these awesome Yelp reviews! We went for lunch on a weekend during an off hour and it was such a nice and calming lunch.The staff was great! Everyone was so courteous and attentive. Sake and beer selection was great. Orders the shrimp hibachi for our little one and it was delicious. We ordered several sushi rolls and they were all fresh and delicious. Highly recommend this place!"

O'Sake

★★★★☆ 3.9 (192) • $$

"A year later and several consistently impressive visits, this spot never fails us. It's our fav date spot! The staff is so warm & helpful, the food is superior for the price point, and the ambiance is casual yet intimate! Still our #1 sushi spot!"

Arigato Sayonara

★★★★☆ 4 (167)

"A true hidden gem tucked away in an assuming plaza in Madison (located next to Longhorn steakhouse)! I've been here several times now, a couple times before their expansion and a couple after. While I can't give a review on the hibachi side- I have nothing but good things to say about their sushi! A friend introduced me to this spot pre pandemic and I have been hooked ever since. You will not find a spot that offers a better deal while also maintaining the quality of food! At least I personally haven't. Is this the absolute best sushi? Hard to say as ultimately we are landlocked here in Nashville, but none the less there's still good and bad sushi to be had. I prefer only the good kind but to each their own. Arigato has the good stuff when you combine the price point, taste and quality. Arigato offers an impressive variety of really creative rolls. You can also see pics on their walls which is very helpful visually speaking. I think this spot is particularly good for beginners as there are plenty of rolls that are not raw yet still has lots of good raw options. I personally like both so I appreciate their offers. Moreover, Arigato is the only menu I have come across offering a choice in the rolls you want for your sushi combo meal! Meaning you have a list of rolls to choose from for a certain price point. I.Love.This. sooo much! Most sushi places will offer a combo but on their terms, such as a California with either philly, spicy tuna/salmon or alaksan roll - for example. For me I like picking from their Arigato special sushi menu- either two or three rolls for under $25 (a steal!)The price point honestly can't be beat when you choose one of these combos. A la carte, the rolls are similar to any other place you might find sushi. The deal really lies within these combos. Beyond sushi, I can tell some of their other hibachi or bento combos are also decently priced as well.Lastly, the service has always been pleasant here. All the ladies are alway kind and attentive. No complaints here. Also, it's never been too bad of a wait time either. I can't wait to go back. Don't wait. Bring your fellow sushi loving friends/ lovers/ family. You won't be disappointed."

Kobe Asian Restaurant

★★★★☆ 3.9 (140) • $$

"I was very pleasantly surprised with this place. It doesn't look like much from the outside but I really enjoyed the food! The server was very pleasant and attentive to anything that I might need. I had read a complaint that the yum yum sauce tasted like peanut butter. There's a reason. It is! The peanut butter yum yum sauce was unusual but very good! I really liked it. I recommend this place, especially if you're like me, traveling for work and dining alone."

Chikuyo Tei

★★★★☆ 3.9 (136)

"Absolute delight find. I didn't expect this place to have sushi and have been to two others around the area in search of finding a great neighborhood sushi spot; the others were let downs, so search continued, and this place was on the list. Learned my lesson from the last ones to check the menu out, which had some variety. Not all California rolls with other toppings. Sooo much better than the other places I've tried in the area, and I will be a regular. Super fresh. Great cuts and presentation, super friendly staff. The sushi chef seems to truly like his craft & hospitality. They can only serve beer on the adult beverages which is a bummer but everything else here is really great sushi and service wise."

Sushin

★★★★☆ 4 (129) • $$

"It's always a treat when we come here. The staff is super friendly and so their best as they are short staffed. The portion is fair and the sushi is always so good."

Hai's Sushi & Pho

★★★★☆ 3.9 (132) • $$

"Got takeout for work, ordered the drunken noodle with tofu, asked for spicy. Surprisingly good. Noodles at the top were a bit hard, might be because it was sitting for a while from takeout, not sure - bottom noodles were chewier. Needs to have more vegetables, tofu was slices and not cubed which was odd. Spicy was alright, not spicy enough for me but I'll just ask for spicier next time if I want it again."

Samurai's Cuisine

★★★☆☆ 3.3 (184)

"Whhhatttttt!!!! This place was delicious!! And the scorpion bowl for 2 was super fun! Great service, wonderful food... I'll definitely be back!!"

Shogun Japanese Steak & Sushi

★★★☆☆ 3.1 (202) • $$

"Came here for lunch and definitely recommend. Lunch is half the price as dinner for the same thing so if you are able to go at lunch that's what I recommend. We sat at the hibachi table on a Friday afternoon and it wasn't busy at all. We started with the traditional miso soup and salad which hit the spot. I ordered the salmon hibachi. It came with A LOT of fried rice, vegetables and a decent sized piece of salmon. And of course the "show" of cooking the food was excellent."

Sakura Japanese Steakhouse

★★★☆☆ 3.2 (182) • $$

"We just ate on the sushi side. They have a good selection and the price is very reasonable for sushi. The fish was fresh and the presentation of the food was fun. I will be back if I am in the area."

Rice Box

★★★★☆ 4.1 (107)

"Food and service were both excellent. The inside is pretty small but we were seated in a booth right away. I also must mention that it smelled AMAZING inside. I couldn't decide what to get since everything sounded so good. Our waitress, May, helped me decide on the pineapple curry. It was a little more spicy than I expected but it still tasted good! I also tried some of my friend's pad thai was so very good. The team at Rice Box was very friendly and attentive at refilling our drinks and getting our orders in. It is also right next to a Kroger in a strip mall so there is plenty of parking."

Sushi 88

★★★☆☆ 3 (191) • $$

"Sushi is alright here, you get what you pay. However, one thing I commend this restaurant for is being able to recognize what trash looks like. I came here with my cheating ex bf, and they put a staple in his soup. The only reason why I took one star off is because unfortunately, he did not die from this incident and is instead very much alive."

MARU IYAGI - Hendersonville

★★★★☆ 4.2 (93)

"My first confession is that I visited Maru Iyagi, not once, but twice in 2 days because I was so impressed with their sushi. My second confession is that I don't have any pictures because I devoured my sushi upon receiving it both times. I think maybe I would have remembered if I dined in, but it was for takeout both times. In Hendersonville & Gallatin, I've tried several sushi-specialty restaurants and restaurants that serve sushi but none "wow'd" me like Maru Iyagi.The staff are very nice. I tried ordering online but I wasn't familiar with their menu, so I ended up just ordering to-go, in-person. They were accommodating and answered all my questions, even gave me suggestions. Between my two visits, I ordered 7 maki rolls and ginger salads. They even recognized me the second time.The ginger salad is OK. Not knocking on Maru Iyagi specifically, but it seems to me all ginger salads have underwhelming flavor. It's like the ginger dressing is watered down. So to deal with that issue on the 2nd order, I just ordered extra dressing because doubling your dressing means more flavor, right?Now the rolls. On the first order, I ordered these rolls:Pink LadyHurricaneRainbowBaja FreshOn the second order, I ordered these rolls:Pink LadyHurricaneDragonInitially, I thought the Pink Lady & Hurricane were my favorites, that is until I tried the Dragon roll. That is my current favorite there.The Dragon Roll's fish of choice is eel, which isn't my favorite fish but it's the avocado and eel sauce that make it. I'm a big avocado fan, sometimes I eat it straight with just a spoon. The Dragon Roll has so much avocado, each piece is silky & smooth and the eel sauce gives it a nice sweet-soy sauce flavor.My second favorite is a tie between the Pink Lady Roll & Hurricane Roll. Both are very similar because they both have the same base: spicy crab, cucumber, & avocado. The differences are that the Pink Lady uses yellowtail, scallion, fish roe, and spicy mayo while the Hurricane uses tuna and white sauce. I'm not sure what's in the white sauce, but the flavor profiles are close. I question whether the spicy crab is made with imitation crab or real crab (probably the former), but both rolls are savory, sweet, and creamy.The Baja Fresh would be up there at #2 but it's spicy. I love spicy food and although I enjoyed it, it wrecked me 2 days later. I don't think it's so much the jalapeno slices but the chili sauce that did me in. The jalapeno slices & cilantro give it a fresh flavor with a crunch.Lastly, my least favorite was Rainbow. Nothing against this roll flavor-wise, but more price-wise. It's a variety crab/cucumber/avocado roll that alternates tuna, salmon, white fish, and shrimp. This roll is 10.95$. A plain Spicy Tuna or Salmon roll is $6.95. Despite alternating the protein here, I doubt crab/cucumber/avocado is worth the $4 upcharge.Currently Maru Iyagi holds the crown for best sushi in the area. It's not as fancy as the places down in Nashville but it's delicious, it's fresh, and it hits the spot."

Fukutoku

★★★★★ 4.6 (75)

"Fukutoku opened not too long ago in Mt. Juliet and it's a fantastic addition to the town. I came here with my family a few weeks ago and we had a blast. Our server was very kind and attentive and she did a great job overall. We all enjoyed our drinks and I absolutely loved my steak and shrimp hibachi. My wife loved her ramen and the rest of the group really enjoyed their meals as well. The place was very busy all night and it was great to see. Prices are reasonable and we can't wait to see the hibachi show next time. Fukutoku is a great addition to Mt. Juliet and we're really happy to have a great Japanese restaurant so close to home!"

Bodeli Sushi Restaurant

★★★★☆ 3.5 (124) • $$

"I always stop if I'm in that area. They all ways make me feel special and the rolls are always mouth watering. It's the best Sushi place I've visited in Nashville area. I sit at the bar to watch the chefs. It was amazing today watching one lady serve the entire restaurant in a quick efficient manner! There was over 20 of us. Also their beer selection was great. I had a Orion beer from Okinawa. It had a great taste. It easily around $12 but produced 4 glasses of beer."

Miso Japanese Restaurant

★★★★☆ 4.2 (86)

"I'm not sure why we don't frequent here more often. Went on Friday night and it was packed. (they do a brisk takeout business so that is an option if the dine in is full).We ordered the Fire Dragon roll to share as appetizer. Our server informed us they were a bit backed up on those, but we were okay with waiting. It turned out to be a not very long wait and she put our dinner orders in when the roll was almost out so things flowed smoothly for the dinner.Fire Dragon roll was really good, such a nice crunch and the avocados were perfect with the Salmon etc. I ordered a Shrimp Teriyaki Bento box with Vegetable Tempura, Fried rice and California roll. Everything was so good and freshly cooked when it arrived at the table. Vegetables Tempura were fresh from the fryer hot and so tasty! I could probably make a meal of just those. The Shrimp Teriyaki was fresh and delicious also. The Bento Box is a lot and I couldn't finish but fortunately there were others in the party who helped me out. Service was great and they were busy! Again, why have we waited so long? Great spot!"

Hana Japanese Restaurant

★★★★☆ 3.7 (109)

"Hana never disappoints! This small quaint sushi joint is perfect! Service is always amazing and food is always fresh and delicious. If haven't been into this small sushi restaurant, you are missing out. Definitely take time and go by for a visit. There is nothing on their menu that isn't good. Tonight we stopped in for graduation dinner. The waitress recognized us and threw in an extra roll for her, on the house."

Ichiban

★★★★☆ 4.2 (79) • $$

"This is a quite nice restaurant. It is reasonably large, reasonably clean and neat, and reasonably comfortable. They are obviously concerned with social distancing. All staff were wearing masks, there is hand sanitizer on all tables.Considering we went on a Monday night, it was surprisingly busy. The service is fair in a cafe-ish sort of way. So, what about the food. We ordered calamari, miso soup, tempura, a dragon roll, vegetable maki roll and a couple of drinks. The calamari was quite nice, the tempura was also quite good although the batter was a little heavy. The sushi was also good but not great and the drinks were cold. The miso soup was very forgettable. It was watery and tasteless. It appeared to me to be a packet mix which was mixed with too much water which was not as hot as it should be. The waitress confirmed the origin of the soup was indeed a packet.Miso soup is a Japanese staple and as a Japanese restaurant, the soup, which is simple to make, should have reflected this.The bottom line is this restaurant is as good as any in Springfield but might struggle in competition with restaurants of a similar Asian bent. But, we may well return as, with the exception of the soup, the food was reasonably good."

Sakura Japanese Restaurant

★★★★☆ 3.8 (92) • $$

"Sakura is consistently good! It's tucked away in a nondescript strip mall next to Franklin's only legitimate late night bar, The Pond. It's the kind of place you know is good because of the lack of fanciness. They have a pretty wide range of Asian dishes, including Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and Vietnamese. Want Thai Curry or Tom Kha, gatcha covered. What Sushi? Covered. Vietnamese Pho? Yep. "Chinese" General Chicken? Why not? They may have "Japanese" in the name, but all of it done well, at least to my American tastes. I think their Tom Kha is the best in town, and the Hong Kong shrimp really hit the spot."

Yokohama Japanese Grill

★★★★☆ 4.1 (74)