The Must-Try Sushi Place in Every State

This intimately lit spot, where a wide assortment of fresh fish and shellfish is always on display, offers a variety of classic and inventive rolls (the Jinsei Special combines tuna, yellowtail, capelin roe, jalapeño, cilantro, cucumber, and avocado), as well as a list of about 25 kinds of seafood available as nigiri or sashimi.

Anchorage’s cozy Sushi Ya is a destination for sushi lovers who want to sample a wide range of sushi and other Japanese dishes. There are more than 30 rolls on offer, divided into “cooked” and “uncooked.” Start your meal with the Heart Attack (a jalapeño that’s stuffed with cream cheese, spicy tuna, and crabmeat, deep-fried, and topped with two sauces), and finish off with a fried Oreo.

The casual, inviting Harumi Sushi (no reservations – walk-ins only) is renowned locally for its wide selection of super-fresh fish, even in landlocked Arizona. Fish including Scottish salmon and Nova Scotia tuna is flown in daily and artfully served on daily-changing sashimi platters or in rolls made with purple “forbidden” rice. Rolls run the gamut from simple to complex to vegan, and signature appetizers include hamachi kama – deep-fried yellowtail collar.

Little Rock’s acclaimed Kemuri is known for its super-fresh sushi (including creative rolls) and a variety of meat, seafood, and vegetables cooked on a robata grill. There’s a huge variety of specialty maki to choose from, including The Crazy Monkey (“flame-kissed” tempura shrimp, spicy crab, avocado, and masago aïoli) and the Lobster Roll (with tempura Maine lobster tail, blue crab, tamago, spicy lobster mix, avocado, and scallions).

Eater once proposed that this popular San Diego standard “will ruin you for all other uni.” The uni is only the beginning, of course. Though founding chef Yukito Ota has been gone for several years, his successor, Shigenari Tanabe, draws on a large selection of seafood from California, Japan, and elsewhere for his finely crafted offerings – including an omakase menu that includes uni along with nigiri and wagyu beef, among other things.

A Denver hotspot since 1984, Sushi Den is renowned for flying in fresh seafood from the city of Fukuoka on Kyushu Island every day. It’s used in a variety of sashimi, nigiri, hand rolls, and specialty rolls, and there’s a daily rotating “Catch of the Day” menu highlighting what came in that morning. The same proprietors have two other restaurants next door – Izakaya Den and Otoro.

Miku Sushi’s energetic contemporary atmosphere provides a lively backdrop for talented sushi chefs preparing unique specialty rolls and nigiri with artistic flair. One specialty well-liked by locals is the Miku Roll with tuna, salmon, yellowtail, crab, avocado, and jalapeño. Non-sushi appetizers include truffle salmon and Japanese snapper with Asian pear and yuzu.

Wilmington’s stylish Mikimotos is known as the best place in town for super-fresh sushi made with a wide variety of fish. It also has a huge variety of creative specialty rolls and dinner offerings including Korean BBQ sticky ribs and yuzu-maple-glazed salmon. There’s also a full bar that serves a full menu of creative cocktails as well as 10 different types of sake.

Located on Miami’s exclusive Brickell Key, Naoe is a minimalist-style restaurant overseen by chef Kevin Cory. It’s a small gem with just a handful of seats (which are difficult to reserve), and Cory personally prepares every item. It has an omakase-style menu, which means that Cory has full control over what you eat. Each meal starts with a bento box-style appetizer of several dishes and soup, followed up by a variety of super-fresh nigiri sushi and a dessert of ice cream, fresh fruit, and sponge cake. The only alcoholic beverage option is sake, including one that’s brewed by Cory’s family back in Japan.

This traditional upscale sushi restaurant has been a must-visit since 2008 for in-the-know Atlantans looking for the freshest fish in the city. Chef Atsushi Hayakawa (a James Beard Award finalist) sources his offerings from Tokyo’s Toyosu Market and other top outlets around the globe. Guests who choose to reserve the Hayakawa Omakase (just four per night) are treated to a meal prepared by and served by chef Hayakawa himself.

There’s no menu and no soy sauce at chef Seiji Kumagawa’s elegantly simple omakase restaurant. His goal is to use as much local Hawaiian fish as possible, to create what he calls “Hawaii-mae” sushi. A signature omakase menu runs to 13 or 14 courses, but diners may stop at any time and will be charged only for what they’ve eaten. There is a serious sake list.

A collaboration between Lost Grove Brewing and Sushi Shack, this Harris Ranch “sushi bar taproom”, which opened in 2017, showcases the legendary Copper River salmon in season and serves a good selection of rolls (including vegetable options like the Mango Dango, with avocado, cucumber, bell pepper, and mango). The restaurant is also known for its poke, which it describes as a “deconstructed sushi roll.”

The omakase-only Kyōten from chef Otto Phan is one of the best, and most expensive, restaurants in Chicago, with the price ranging from $440 to $490 per person depending on the day. Most of the fish is brought in wild from Japan, and Kyōten was the first restaurant in America to use an exclusive varietal of Japanese rice called Inochi no Ichi, which Phan seasons with a different vinegar blend for each type of fish. He also serves Edomae-style sushi, in which the fish is aged, cured, and/or marinated in order to create layers of depth, complexity, and umami.

In business since 2012, Sushi Bar has earned a reputation as the best place to enjoy sushi in the city. The casual and inviting restaurant has a wide-ranging menu featuring sashimi, maki, bento boxes, noodle dishes and soups, hot appetizers and entrées, and more than 30 specialty rolls (the Spicy Girl is a construction of whitefish tempura, pineapple, escolar, crabmeat, eel, spicy mayo, and green sauce).

This casual spot in the heart of Des Moines serves a huge menu of nigiri, maki, opulent platters, and traditional Japanese specialties. It’s best known for its specialty rolls, which range from the tame (salmon, avocado, cucumber) to the wild (deep-fried pork cutlet, carrot, and asparagus – a nod to Iowa’s iconic pork tenderloin sandwich). Popular non-sushi items include pork or chicken katsu-don and katsu curry. Don’t miss the tempura-fried cheesecake for dessert.

The contemporary interior here provides a relaxed setting for diners as they choose from a selection of more than 30 types of seafood in sushi or sashimi form or more than 30 rolls. The kitchen, meanwhile, prepares various ramen, soba, and udon noodle dishes, while appetizers include grilled whole squid with ginger sauce and seared salmon belly sashimi topped with mango salsa.

Riotously colorful rolls, some of them involving fruit as well as savory ingredients, are the specialty here. The Happy Roll, for instance, is a combination of fried shrimp, asparagus, and cream cheese rolled in soy paper with avocado, strawberry, nuts, and a topping of eel sauce. The restaurant prides itself on the freshness of its fish. Other dishes, including fried rice, yakisoba, tempura, and teriyaki are also offered, and there’s a wide variety of Japanese beers as well as hot and cold sake.

This strip mall restaurant, overseen by a classically trained chef from Osaka only known as Chef Elvis, fancies itself a “California Sushi Bar.” Elvis serves a wide-ranging menu brimming with fresh nigiri and appetizers including yellowtail neck (collar) and fried panko-sesame soft shell crab, but Kanno is best known for its rolls. Standouts include the Kanno Special (broiled salmon, snow crab, smelt roe, and avocado, wrapped in seaweed and soy paper and topped with fantasy sauce) and the Elvis Roll (mixed salmon, snow crab, and avocado with blue crab on top).

Under Tokyo native Masa Miyake, this place has become a must-visit for Japanese food lovers in the decade-plus that it’s been open. The restaurant has a 10-seat sushi bar as well as a menu of shareable plates like tempura-fried octopus with nori and wasabi salt, and a full range of sushi (including chumaki as well as nigiri), and sashimi. They also have innovative rolls – like a Ceviche Roll made with diced Japanese snapper, citrus, cilantro, truffle oil, and shiso.

Baltimore’s small but mighty Shoyou brings in locals for its variety of super-fresh sushi that’s hand-selected by the owner, a chef whom everyone just calls Sushi Bruce. He’s created a stunning variety of specialty rolls with cheeky names (including the Hot Night Baby! with shrimp tempura, spicy tuna, avocado, spicy mayo, eel sauce, and crunchy flakes). But don’t miss his famous Japanese Burrito, with fried shrimp, crab mix, spicy tuna, avocado, and capelin roe wrapped up in soy paper.

Boston’s most famous and inventive sushi restaurant – hailed last year by Boston Magazine as “still the most reliably sublime dining splurge in town” – is also the best in the state. Co-owners Chef Tim and Nancy Cushman have turned their small dining room into a certified Japanese destination where diners are treated to a nightly-changing 20-course chef’s omakase that includes a variety of unique nigiri, sashimi, and cooked dishes.

The unassuming Noble Fish, located in the Detroit suburb of Clawson, has been a staple of the community since 1984. It started as a small Japanese market with a kitchen added in 1991, and in 1998 Kyushu-born Takayuki “Guchi-san” Sakaguchi took over and put it on the map. A 2020 renovation doubled the number of seats (to a whopping 42) to accommodate more regulars who flock there for the expertly crafted nigiri, maki rolls, and hand rolls.

Chef Enkhbileg “Billy” Tserenbat, who has competed in the 14-country Global Sushi Challenge, is passionate about using the freshest ingredients and creating delicious and innovative maki rolls – like the Billy Roll stuffed with salmon, cream cheese, scallions, and smelt roe, and the Fire Dragon Roll featuring spicy tuna and cucumber topped with salmon and firecracker mix. He also serves nigiri and sashimi showcasing selections like bluefin tuna, sweet shrimp, and seabream imported from Japan.

A favorite with discerning diners from Ole Miss as well as just about every other food-lover in town, Kabuki sources top-quality seafood (including smelt roe, sweet shrimp, and toro) for its sushi and sashimi, and produces a lengthy repertoire of both raw and cooked rolls. One of the more extravagant is the Out of Control Roll (pepper tuna, avocado, and mango, topped with tuna, salmon, yellowtail, eel, and eel and mango sauce). There’s also an extensive dinner menu including teriyaki, tempura, and hibachi specialties.

A family-owned and operated restaurant that has been serving sushi and other Japanese dishes since 2005, Tokyo Sushi has a relaxed atmosphere, with tatami mats, shoji screens, and other traditional Japanese decor. There’s a good choice of seafood for nigiri, a selection of rolls (including rice-on-the-outside uramaki), and cooked dishes including soba, udon, teriyaki, and katsu variations.

Inspired by what they call “the ‘hang-loose’ style of Hawaii,” Dave’s Sushi focuses on very fresh fish. This includes line-caught Hawaiian ahi and escolar and sustainably farmed New Zealand Ora king salmon. You also can’t go wrong with the well-crafted rolls, including a variety of hand rolls and such specialties as the John Wayne (tempura-fried shrimp, crab, cucumber, and carrot, topped with seared rare beef tenderloin, avocado, citrus soy sauce, diced shallots, and cilantro) or the vegetarian Pamela Anderson (tempura-fried tofu, cream cheese, green onions, avocado, and carrot).

Omaha’s intimate, wood-paneled Yoshitomo has a long sushi bar and a menu of shareable plates, nigiri, sashimi, and maki. Standouts from the maki selection include the Go-san (spicy crab, shallot, jalapeño, tuna, yellowtail, cilantro, and tosazu dressing) and the Saigon (shrimp tempura, smoked eel, pineapple, cucumber, lettuce, coco nuoc mam, and rice paper). Creative non-sushi small and large plates from chef David Yoshitomo include wagyu with uni butter and Nikiri soy and Hokkaido scallop with whipped tofu, finger lime, and spruce tips.

For the best sushi in Las Vegas, leave the Strip and head west to the unassuming Yui Edomae Sushi, which practices traditional omotenashi service, emphasizing hospitality and openness. Three different omakase menus are offered, ranging in price from $190 to $295. Guests can expect an elegant, light wood sushi bar in a flower-bedecked space and courses including an appetizer, soup, a sashimi platter, a charcoal-grilled platter, nigiri, a handroll, and dessert.

There isn’t much in the way of familiar Japanese fare that you won’t find here – including tempura, teriyaki, noodle dishes, and hibachi dinners – and of course a lengthy listing of sushi, sashimi, maki (among the choices are about 10 vegetable rolls), hand rolls, and sushi bar entrées. Unusually for a sushi establishment, there’s also a blackboard listing a few daily specials.

Julie Wahyueli and Jin Zhang Lin opened this New York City-style modern sushi restaurant in 2021. It quickly gained a following for its ample selection of fresh fish and shellfish, its maki and hand rolls (including vegetable options), and its imaginative specialty rolls – among them three involving lobster.

Chef Hiro Fukuda – whose family opened New Mexico’s first Japanese restaurant more than 40 years ago and who himself first won fans in Albuquerque with his Naruto Ramen restaurant, which opened in 2015 – now offers a full range of sushi at this place in the city’s historic Sawmill District. The selection of fish for nigiri and sashimi is limited, but you know what state you’re in when one of the special rolls is made with green chili, avocado, and cucumber.

Chef Daisuke Nakazawa, who trained under Jiro Ono, the subject of the documentary “Jiro Dreams of Sushi,” is passionate about using the freshest ingredients and creating delicious and authentic sushi at his eponymous Michelin-starred restaurant. The 10-seat sushi bar provides an intimate setting where Nakazawa’s team prepares each item with precision and artistry. The 20-course omakase menu, featuring globally sourced seafood with a focus on Japan, costs $150 in the dining room or $180 at the sushi bar. This menu is well worth the price.

This cool, contemporary sushi venue, more elegant and restrained than some of its counterparts, serves a small selection of non-sushi appetizers and a good range of nigiri and sashimi and classic rolls, then has fun with its specialty rolls, like the Bang Bang Shrimp (spicy tuna and avocado topped with shrimp tempura, wasabi aïoli, tobiko, and microgreens) and the Crazy Monkey (salmon, yellowtail, crabmeat, and panko-fried avocado, sauced with sweet soy reduction, wasabi aïoli, and tobiko).

Oshima offers a wide range of seafood, including tuna, yellowtail, ono, and surf clam, in sushi and sashimi form. It is best known, however, for the chef’s creative maki, including a Baked Lobster Roll with crab, cucumber, and avocado; a Las Vegas Roll with deep-fried crab and cream cheese, topped with spicy tuna, crab, and lotus root; and an OMG Roll with lobster, yellowtail, and avocado, deep-fried and topped with seaweed salad and tobiko.

Sushi En offers traditional sushi and sashimi, but with its modern Japanese decor of dark woods and colorful murals, it provides an authentic atmosphere. You can enjoy unorthodox specialty rolls like the Kinky Eel (eel, smoked salmon, salmon skin, and cucumber) and the Sober Monkey (spicy crabmeat, cream cheese, avocado topped with torched Cajun salmon, spicy mayo, Cajun powder, scallion, shallot sauce, and eel sauce).

The winner of acclaim from Oklahoma Magazine, The Oklahoman, and Oklahoma Gazette, among other publications, this attractive restaurant serves a full range of Japanese appetizers, noodle and rice dishes, and main courses, but also does a splendid job with a long list of fish and shellfish sushi and sashimi, rolls both classic and imaginative, and sushi dinners and “boats” filled with nigiri or rolls or a combination.

When Bamboo Sushi opened in Portland in 2008, it became the world’s first certified sustainable sushi restaurant. Among other things, all the seafood is identified by place of origin. Today, it has four Portland locations along with ones in Lake Oswego, Denver, Seattle, and the San Francisco Bay Area. It’s also certifiably excellent, with menu standouts including four types of crispy rice; unusual “signature sashimi” (seared or marinated with a variety of ingredients), and signature rolls including the Full Circle with spicy albacore, tempura-fried green onion, seared tuna, watercress, crispy onions, and citrus ginger dressing. Kitchen items include a popular wagyu burger topped with caramelized onion and Tillamook white cheddar.

Overseen by executive chef Hiroki Fujiyama, Philadelphia’s Hiroki is a small, elegant restaurant with a large, round wooden door, a handful of tables, and a counter where diners are treated to an omakase-only menu for $155 per person. As at most of the country’s top sushi restaurants, the omakase menu changes daily based on what arrives at the restaurant that morning. Chef Hiroki’s menu is inspired by his hometown of Kyoto, and his 20-piece omakase always includes small appetizers, cooked fish, meat, nigiri, a handroll, miso soup, and dessert.

Newport’s Mori is a quick-service spot that’s completely unassuming — until your food arrives, that is. Grab a seat at the counter and take your pick from a large variety of nigiri and sashimi, or choose from a wide selection of special rolls including the deep-fried Newport Roll, with eel, smoked salmon, avocado, cream cheese, and eel sauce. Aside from the sushi, you can’t go wrong with Korean-style fried chicken, tuna tataki, teriyaki, tempura, or noodle dishes.

A nigiri-focused omakase restaurant from chefs Kazu Murakami and Chris Schoedler, Sushi-Wa has commanded crowds for its artful sushi since the day it opened. The menu changes daily and seating is limited, but at just $100 the omakase menu is a true bargain. They also offer a takeout tray brimming with 21 nigiri pieces and five rolls for $125.

“Here in the midwest – we are your GO TO sushi restaurant!” brags the website for this friendly establishment, where the nigiri and sashimi are impeccable and the premium offerings range from two versions of the ubiquitous California roll to an only-in-the-Midwest Walleye Tempura Roll. A small number of appetizers and dinner entrées are available, but sushi is really the thing here.

Nashville’s Samurai Sushi is a poorly kept secret as the best sushi restaurant in town. It’s best known for its super-creative rolls, including the Choo Choo (salmon, crab, and cream cheese, covered with avocado, strawberry, nuts, and eel sauce) and the Rainbow Naruto (tuna, crabmeat, salmon, white fish, and avocado, wrapped in cucumber with no rice).

Here’s a place characterized by dark wood, intimate lighting, and a three-sided sushi counter where chefs prepare their exquisite sushi and sashimi from a selection of seafood that changes daily. Calling itself a “product restaurant,” Namo takes special care with sourcing ingredients. The Edomae-style omakase menu of about 20 courses is offered in two seatings on Wednesdays only..

Here’s a sleek contemporary-style sushi place, with paper lanterns of varying sizes illuminating the minimalist decor. Chef Takashi Gibo serves his sushi in what Salt Lake Magazine called “politely eye-popping style.” Among the less commonly found items on the seafood list are torched sablefish and Tasmanian sea trout. Elaborate preparations of sashimi are one of Chef Gibo’s signatures.

The chefs who founded this downtown essential, led by Kazutoshi “Mike San” Maeda, boast over 60 years of combined sushi experience. Rolls, including a number of vegetarian options, don’t get too crazy; the quality of the fish and shellfish is tops; and the comparatively modest menu of non-sushi items offers such uncommon choices as soba sashimi salad and ground venison with garlic, ginger, chiles, scallions, and egg, served over rice.

Arlington’s stylish Yume Sushi is helmed by Bangkok-born chef Saran “Peter” Kannasute, who’s devised a non-traditional menu with standout items including spicy sashimi salad and the Mexican Roll, with shrimp tempura, tomato salsa, cucumber, jalapeño, and tempura bits. There’s also a “create your own roll” section on the menu and a wide variety of sakes and cocktails.

Three-time James Beard Award nominee Shiro Kashibi, who trained under renowned sushi master Jiro Ono in Tokyo, opened this place in 1970 as Seattle’s first sushi bar, and it remains the city’s gold standard for sushi. At his upscale Pike Place Market establishment, Kashiba offers two multi-course dinners, “Peak” and “Omakase” at market price, as well as a menu of hot dishes like sautéed geoduck with asparagus and shiitakes and chawanmushi with crab and whitefish.

The relaxed, stylish Kita is more a tavern-style izakaya than a sushi bar, but in addition to the tempura, teppanyaki, and robata grill dishes and more, there are a number of sushi and sashimi combination plates and individual offerings, as well as about 25 rolls – many of them involving fresh or smoked salmon.

Expect a full range of nigiri or sashimi choices, 10 different vegetable rolls, and a long list of classic and house-special rolls at this warm, greenery-filled place. (The Green Bay Packer combines smoked salmon, crispy fish, cream cheese, cilantro, cucumber, and jalapeño topped avocado, tobiko, eel sauce, and wasabi mayo.) There’s also a ramen menu and daily specials are offered.

King Sushi is known for its creative sushi rolls and lively atmosphere. Located in a historic log cabin just off Jackson Town Square, the interior is modern, with colorful murals and upbeat music. It is a gold medal winner for the Best Asian Cuisine in town from Best of Jackson Hole. This sushi spot serves hot and cold izakaya dishes and rice bowls, but also specialty sashimi preparations (hamachi tartare wrapped in hamachi sashimi; tuna with Maytag Blue cheese, shaved white onion, and lime-ginger sauce) and house rolls.