Sushi Joa

We love love love sushi joa! We live nearby and used to order from here all the time- still do a lot! Their bento box is a ton of food for like $25. And they have a ton of not sushi options too for those who don't eat fish. This is one of my fiancés favorite places and he doesn't even eat sushi! The bento box he gets comes with tempura veggies and chicken karage, it is delicious! I eat sushi and I love their sushi. It's our favorite sushi place on the island.

This place is awesome! I am only tempted to give it a lower review just to keep it a secret still! haha.This is really good sushi at really good price point. It is much more affordable than any comparable sushi in either Seattle or in Bellevue!Once we came here for dinner, and now it is a monthly staple. We bring people from out of state here and they too are impressed. The service is very friendly and quick. You can usually come here at dinner time and get a table for two either right away or very very quickly. For apps: recommend the agedashi tofu for vegetarians, and the tempura jalapeno poppers with spicy salmon inside for those feeling adventurous.The tempura vegetables are also really great!When it comes to choosing a roll, there are too many good ones to recommend. I personally like the firecracker, Island, red lantern and red dragon. But honestly you cannot go wrong. If you are vegetarian try the crunchy asparagus roll. The nigiri and sashimi are also all great and never fail to dissapoint!Try this place out! Bring your friends, (just not too many so this place can still stay somewhat of secret)!

The service today was the worst I've ever experienced here. I've been eating here for years. This afternoon from 1:30pm -3pm with my friend while completely NOT busy; the waitress was walking away from me as I was trying to talk with her. The other waitress was doing her hair in the kitchen. The food was all the same luke warm temperature and completely uninspiring. The carpaccio was slimy and too thick, the rolls were mushy. The jalapeño poppers were good though. I never got my seaweed salad.

Most of the sushi is okay. Unfortunately they care way more about the to go orders than their actual patrons, service suffers.Ordered the black cod today, it was mushy and flavorless--nothing like it should be or is at any other place. It lacked body, flavor and was totally overcooked--not to mention lots of bones!I let the waitress know--not even asking it to be remade, I had only taken two bites and left the rest in my plate, she asked if she should box it up when she was boxing other food, I said no it was honestly terrible, totally mushy, overcooked and flavorless. Her response "that's how it always is" and walked away. No apology, no offer of any concession whatsoever. At $25 it is about the most expensive item on the menu. One would expect them to care even a little--a sincere apology or an offer of a discount or a free dessert or anything (probably wouldn't have taken them up on anything else at that point anyway) but the indifference sealed it--sorry, no interest in spending my $$ at a place that does not value its clientele.

Decent sushi if you're in the area. I've had better and much worse. We got the following:- Mixed fish sashimi carpaccio (great)- Negi hamachi roll (yum!)- Unagi roll (OK)- Nigiri sampler (OK)- Ama Ebi with deep fried heads (yum!)

Solid 3 for being one of the only few island options. It wasn't the best but it wasn't terrible either. Some items were better than others and service was friendly enough. We ordered:Agedashi tofu (good);Crispy rice roll (fun interesting texture);Fried oysters (ok);Calamari (good);Sunshine roll (great);Salmon lover (good);Udon tofu (skip);Salmon nigiri The items were mostly fine but as a non MI resident, prolly won't return anytime soon.

3.5 stars.Standard sushi/Japanese fare in a nice location. Reasonable for the price if you stick to the bento lunch specials. Maki and nigiri are on par. Don't get the hand roll (temaki) because they have zero clue what that is. The waitress even seemed confused when I ordered it. What came to our table was a dwarf sized mutant form of a maki roll. I've had better temaki from the Kura sushi conveyor belt, just to make my point. Would have been 4 stars if not for that order.

I had a class to go to with limited food options in the near vicinity. Because I had time and Mercer island was the second to last stop, I decided to eat at Mercer for a change in pace. A place that was open on a Monday afternoon was Sushi Joa. I found out later that it was a sister restaurant to Kiwami in Kirkland which I had for takeout previously. According to Google Maps, they were in the same vicinity as the Walgreens I needed to go to. However, when there you will notice that the sushi place is upstairs on the left side of Walgreens next to Pogacha Restaurant. So keep that in mind if you are driving or walking there.When I arrived, the place had no outdoor seating and the inside was nearly empty (it was Monday after 3 pm so not surprised). It was a quaint place with a good amount of tables and a sushi bar. I chose a table for the day. They had hand sanitizer at the front and the music was playing pop/modern hits (Taylor swift anyone).Because I had a class that required physical activity, I didn't eat much. I had a nigiri sampler which was good and affordable. I had miso soup which if I chose a meal option, I could have had it come along side instead of a la carte. I also had the hand rolls which I had an albacore version a negitoro one. I really enjoyed those and wished I had more space in my stomach for those items. When it came closer to 4/5 pm, more people ended up coming in either for takeout or dine in but not packed. But I remembered seeing someone's roll and though it looked pretty good. I like that they had the options to replace the normal white rice with brown rice for the rolls and it gave a standard price which isn't too common. If it ate differently, I might have considered it. They also had specials which they had a special board for. So definitely have the possibly of trying something new if you plan on being a regular. Also funny enough, I liked the chopsticks they had for eating. It wasn't typical and came rounded and pre-separated. One thing I wanted to call out is the bathrooms. I believe they are shared with Pogacha and they are weird. Though they had non unisex bathrooms, inside the door was only one stall. Plus in the ladies room, the garbage can was huge and in the actual stall while you relieve yourself. It was a small thing but I remembered it.Overall, i wouldn't mind coming back to this establishment if I am in the island especially as one of the few, relatively healthy open places on a Monday for dinner especially one where you can dine in.

Hidden gem on Mercer Island! Very fresh and nicely presented rolls. Tempura also tasty and lightly crispy. Restaurant is also clean and casual. Service was super friendly. Must visit for reasonably priced rolls!

Pretty good sashimi and rolls all around, with nothing spectacular and nothing terribly negative. I think if one wants to look for a quick bite while craving sushi instead of looking for anything exquisite or amazingly delicious, which was what my friends and I did, then this establishment would be a good option.We ordered the sake (salmon) and o-toro (fatty tuna) sashimi, and we were given a reasonable amount with the price that was charged. The sashimi was pretty good in a standard manner. We quickly devoured it. The chicken teriyaki and chicken katsu bento box was also pretty standardly good, with a fair amount of chicken and basic salad with dressing, along with two pieces of oranges and a little bit of rice. Once again, good in a standard way. In fact, I could say the same about everything else, from the red dragon roll to the Seattle tempura roll and to the tempura ice cream. I thought they all resembled what I have had elsewhere in the United States when looking for a Japanese food place located in an outlet-looking type of place, so if you know what I mean, then this is what you would expect here at Sushi Joa as well.That's about it! One plus I will give was the playlist, which I even asked about. They put "Snooze" by SZA on Apple Music and all it played was R&B songs by similar musicians and I was totally down for that haha. But of course, that is purely my personal preference so I just want to throw that out there!