Baru has big city elegance and vibe. It is an absolute must while in Cincinnati. The nigiri sushi is a limited selection, but after cautiously trying the Hamachi, we ordered an order of Sake and Unagi as well. All were excellent. In fact, they were so good I wondered why other reviews seemed underwhelmed at the quality of the food! The quality was extremely high. The Tokyo Wedge Salad is divine. I will never eat at Baru without starting with this salad. The dressing is perfect, the melange of ingredients is deft. For those who do not care for raw fish, the cooked specialties are also excellent. The salmon plate with ginger greens was very good, as was the scallop fried rice. Next time, I plan to try the New York Strip Steak. The bar is excellent. There is a huge selection of sake, whiskey, and other spirits. Chris, the bartender in charge, is a master of his craft. As a side note, the stemware and glassware are solid quality, which makes a huge different in the cocktail experience. Baru's ambiance is totally fun without being obnoxious. The lighting, seating, and glass box esthetic are all brilliant, making Baru a wise choice for any occasion. The acoustics are great, the sound system is top notch, but the music does not overwhelm. Very notable are the moving light sculptures throughout the room. This is an excellent choice for a date night, a group event, a business dinner, and also would be an enjoyable solo experience. Going back again Friday and will update! read more

Finally an elevated sushi/Japanese restaurant in Cincinnati! The restaurant boasts that it flies it's ingredients in (no Ohio river Fish :)) fresh every week and it sure seemed like it. The food was spectacular with the ingredients and quality of the fish topping the reasons to come back. The food had a lot of flavor but was not covered in sauce and toppings taking away from the freshness. The Chirachi, Nigiri and tuna rice dishes were favorites (truthfully the shishito peppers as well). Cocktail menu and drink list was not overwhelming and delivered the perfect accompaniment to our dishes. As far as the atmosphere goes the location is definitely going for an upscale lounge/restaurant experience so we're curious to see how they take that direction! Service was great (food came out almost too quick!) but it was their first Friday. Will definitely be coming back! Pictured below (and yes we had a feast for four): Jalapeño Hamachi, Crispy Tuna Rice, Shishito Peppers, Ahi Nigiri, Rolls: Tuna Tuna Tuna, Trifecta, Fallen Angel, Shabu, Chirachi Don read more

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The restaurant is beautiful and located right next to Tokyo Kitty. The food was delicious and had a nice presentation. However, the prices were high for the portions and I did not taste a large difference in quality from those places that are a lot less expensive. It may be different depending on what is ordered, so I'm still saying it is worth trying out at least once. It was a nice night but understand it was not cheap. Oh the one thing I will say is worth whatever the price .... the corn ribs. They were so delicious and well seasoned. read more

Baru - Chirasi Don - Sushi Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Spicy tuna, crispy rice, eat it once, eat it twice, it's so delicious, the smoked soy's nice, spicy tuna, crispy rice. This dish is good enough to prompt bursts of singing, but the rest of the menu is pretty great as well! The sushi rolls are done well, but I'm most impressed with the freshness of the nigiri. The ahi was very high quality and and the waygu was lightly seared for a perfect bite. I would recommend either. Make sure to order the fresh wasabi- it is a completely different flavor from American wasabi and a revelation in a good way. I also tried the crab fried rice and found it to be fully of crab and flavorful. I've been to Baru twice already and will definitely return again. Service was attentive on both visits and the atmosphere is electric- if a little distracting from its excess! read more

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We went in for Friday happy hour and were amazing! This place is delicious! I don't know why we didn't try it sooner! The bartender was fantastic and the sushi was absolutely the best in town. We had espresso martinis and dirty martinis. The bartender makes the best dirty martini in town for sure! Can't wait to go back! read more

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Food: 4.75/5 This is Japanese food done in an American way. The portions are large, and it's not super traditional. This is definitely a Cincy guilty pleasure. Drinks - I like dry sake, so I get the green one, the joto. My boyfriend got the qcc, which was a citrus vodka cocktail. Appetizer - We ordered the crispy rice spicy tuna, and it's never a disappointment. When they serve it, they spray some special soy. Sushi - Baru has super approachable rolls and brought my boyfriend from being a sushi hater to a sushi fan. We ordered 2x tuna tuna tuna (since we like it so much and we can't share), a fallen angel, prime nigiri, and quail egg nigiri. Service: 4.5/5 I highly recommend making a reservation because they can get busy. The servers are usually hustling and are attentive. Most recently, we sat at the bar and had excellent service. We were checked in on a lot, and refills were fast. Atmosphere: 5/5 The dining space here is incredible. It looks clean and modern. Most of the seating is bar seating; they have very limited actual tables. They have light fixtures that move up and down, which is the coolest part of the space. Hacks: 1. They have a deal on Mondays with half-off sushi rolls and sake. This makes it super affordable, but it can get quite busy. 2. You can order real wasabi for an additional cost; if you haven't had real wasabi, it is worth the try! It's more favorable but less spicy. read more

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Ambiance had super cool lighting around the bar with tear drop glass blown ornaments that lowered and raised intermittently. Service and food were outstanding. Our server Mallory P. was engaging, always attentive and recommend several apps, sashimi & rolls that are now fav when we come back! read more

Baru - Lobster shots - Sushi Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

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Very cool vibe. The service was top notch and the food/drink delicious! I can't wait to go back and try something else. read more

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Ambiance is nice dark and intimate setting. I had the chicken Katsu and my husband had chicken friend rice. Great taste just slow coming out. They are still working out the kinks but the service was great! Pierre and Marcus were very knowledgeable from the cocktails the sushi to the sake! Good company and good food, grand opening is official 4/14/23. read more

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Great food and ambiance! Steak tartare was delicious, with the egg yolk and crispy seaweed as delectable additions and was the spotlight of dinner. The Rodeo Drive was okay, although nothing to write home about. Would come back again! read more

Baru - Rodeo Drive - Sushi Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

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Amazing thoughtful menu. There aren't not too many places that I eat that I can honestly say "one of the best meals I've had". Baru meets the expectations! Great happy hour menu, superb staff and the lobster toast with the shot...oh Lordy good! I love the atmosphere cool and swank. read more

New favorite sushi place. Ray the bartender, was an absolute delight! (All the staff were fantastic). Great recommendations. By far, the fallen angel sushi roll was my favorite roll ever in my life...(bold statement). We also had the tuna pike, crispy tuna and lobster toast. All were delicious but i probably should've ordered two fallen angels and replaced the lobster toast . The coffee and donuts dessert was also fantastic. Overall, would come here again. read more

I've been searching for an exceptional sushi place in Cincy since moving back from bigger cities. I've finally found the best. The dishes and drinks are creative very high quality. Service is inspired especially by bar tended Jacob. read more

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Experience was great, we will be back! We shared the miso potatoes and crispy brussels before the rest of our meal came out. We shared a plate of nigiri (hamachi and escolar were my favorite bites of the night), 2 lobster hand rolls, and two house rolls. Bill including tip was $200. Our server was very kind and even ran our box out to us after we had forgotten it. No picture because it was late and pretty dark but was fine for a romantic dinner. read more

I was so excited to discover Baru. The atmosphere was so cool, and the food was delicious. The crab fried rice was highly recommended and did not disappoint. Our server was amazing and did a great job recommending dishes. Also, we loved the cocktail menu. Will definitely go back on our next visit to Cincinnati. read more

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You will not like the food here if you have eaten good quality sushi. Bad quality fish, terrible service. The worst sushi I ever ate. Avoid it, you will thank me later. read more

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Coming from a family of sushi snobs, I was counting down the days until I could try Baru! It did NOT disappoint!! I went with my family and we all tried a bit of everything so I'll walk you through our favorites: Drinks: -Amazing liquor selection -the cucumber mint mojito was the dark horse that really stole the show here, it's on the specials menu, but this is me casting my vote for it to find its permanent place on the cocktail menu!! -the bramble was a big hit -my mother loved her old fashioned! Apps: -Crispy Rice Spicy Tuna was SO good!! For 6 people we got 2. Each serving came with 3 bites, 2 servings was the right call. Sushi: I will preface this with the fact that my family enjoys sushi without too many fixings, and appreciate good fish over fried / lots of toppings type sushi: #1 overall was the Tuna, Tuna, Tuna. When I tell you on bite 1 I closed my eyes and wanted to live in that moment forever I'm not exaggerating. If you're not much into fish, as the name suggests, this may not be your cup of tea. For us? We ordered extra of this one. #2 Shabu: Fabulous recommendation from staff. Was incredible but I was anxious for my next bite of Triple Tuna. #3 Trifecta: Just make sure one person at the table gets this. It's artsy, fun, colorful, and delish! Only down side on this one is that it is a BIG bite. #4 Rodeo Drive: At the risk of sounding ungrateful, I want to say had I not already been enamored by the prior 3, this one may have gotten a higher ranking. Caviar on sushi was creative, but didn't add much to the bite for me. Very good, but you can get 3 triple tuna rolls for still less than the cost of one rodeo drive...and given the opportunity I'd eat that many. Try it for fun though! Where else in cinci can you try that? Ishiyaki: We did tuna and salmon, and it was super fun and delicious. Very interactive and entertaining! Dad did say he could've eaten the plate of tuna steaks raw without doing anything else to them though because the fish is that good. Desserts: they just have mochi, for now, and we have a dairy allergic fam, so that one you'll have to explore for yourself! Overall: Highlights: beautiful interior, kind and attentive staff, insanely fresh ingredients and high quality fish. Lows: a little loud for my relatives who have a hard time hearing but staff was super kind and lowered music volume for them. Finally no decaf coffee or espresso for dessert. Hopeful for more options to come as this place grows! Our family had the best time, and hope yours does too! Thanks for reading! read more

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Yellow tail yuzu: you'll love this if you're looking for something simple without any sauces. There's avocado, yellow tail, and Shiso leaf in the rolls. It comes with 8 pieces; would probably recommend one more dish if you're looking to be filled. Japanese highball: this tastes like your classic Japanese highball. If you don't like the taste of whiskey this probably isn't it for you because it's quite pronounced. It's not very sweet; only a little bit of simple syrup and tonic water is in here. Service was great; the majority of customers seems to be in their 20-30s. Ambiance was great, dimly light super trendy. read more

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Love this spot! They're open for lunch now too! our server, Charles, was wonderful and took his time with us. Food was delicious, every single bite: crunchy rice spicy tuna starter, the truffle roll, the land and sea roll (insanely good), and the crab fried rice with spicy mayo (suggestion of our waiter). SO GOOD! Thank you for a wonderful meal and service! read more

We came in on one of the first nights they took reservations and were impressed. The sake selection is solid, and the cocktail menu sports some unique concepts. The appetizers (crispy rice cakes a la Nobu, edamame, and beef tartare) came out promptly and showed a bit of Asian fusion flair. The sushi rolls (pictured) were solid as well and match anything I have had in the city thus far. Service was great from start to finish, atmosphere is a bit of a work in progress, as the restaurant was super bright when we arrived around 6:30 but much more intimate after the sun went down. The chef came out to chat and gave us the lowdown on the menu while he hand-grated fresh wasabi, a nice touch. Will definitely be going back. read more

Baru - Sushi roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

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Good quality, fresh sushi. Slow service for a Monday night- waited 1 hour for 5 rolls. Cool, modern decor.

I got the Brussels sprouts and truffle roll. The Brussels sprouts were SO good. They were crispy and had a really yummy glaze! The truffle roll was prepared well, but I personally didn't love the way the truffle and sushi tasted together. Our service was great and the restaurant is cool on the inside! read more

Baru - Truffle roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

The service the food everything was amazing! And you should definitely try the truffle roll or something it was so good!

Best sushi in Cincinnati. I adore the asparagus roll. The atmosphere is really cool and modern, and the food has never come out slow.

I really wanted to like this place so I'm bummed to leave a less than stellar review BUT Needs must. To start with the good, it has a really cool vibe and the decor is outstanding. The lights over the bar go up and down, the bathroom has this cool tiger wallpaper and great lighting, and the service is very friendly. There is bar seating as well as tables indoor and out. What I didn't think was stellar was the sushi. The edamame had a chili oil that it was tossed in, which was a bit much and made it kind of greasy. And the sushi itself was just not very good. Not tasty, sort of warm or room temperature at best and didn't taste super fresh. It had a mushy flavor and I'm sorry to say just was not great. If sushi is their specialization, they should spend more time and attention on the actual food and not on the interior. They have a good cocktail and so list but not much of a wine by the glass list. They do have some pretty cool espresso martini options, but they're all premixed and very creamy so you have to like that version of an espresso martini. Maybe we caught them on a bad night sushi-wise, but I would definitely grab a drink at the bar because it's a cool space. read more

I went to Baru on a weeknight with a group of friends. None of us had been before but we wanted to check out a new place. We had a decent meal, but left unimpressed with the whole experience. The location is close to street parking, and also has a parking garage above the restaurant and right across the street. Inside there is a large bar area, a slightly smaller sushi bar area, and maybe a dozen tables and booths. The space is open, with large windows on two sides, and relatively tastefully decorated. They have these glass decorations hanging above the bars that go up and down, that are rather phallic shaped. Odd choice. Men's and women's restrooms were clean, multiple stalls and well stocked. We were seated quickly, and waited a few minutes for the rest of our group to arrive. Water was brought out quickly, and our server was pretty attentive as far as checking in and seeing what we needed. One notable mishap was two of us ordering virgin mojitos, only to be given alcoholic ones. To be fair, our server recognized it very quickly, returning just seconds after putting them down. But that was after we had each taken a sip and noticed it ourselves. Food wise, we started with shishito peppers, Brussels sprouts, beef tartare and edamame. Shishito peppers weren't all that, but the rest were solid. We also ordered the chicken fried rice entree to share, which was great. Didn't come with a spoon to serve it as we were eating family style, and after requesting one, we were given a teaspoon. Not very helpful. We ordered 8 of the 10 sushi rolls, which were all fresh, well prepared, and overall reasonably priced. I would return for the food. read more

Do NOT ask about the Omakase dining experience. Ate here for the first time a couple of months ago. Had a good time, great server. On the menu it says "ask about our omakase dining experience". Our server described it to us, and it sounded awesome. Fast forward to February. Two weeks prior to my wife's birthday, I call into the restaurant to book an omakase dining experience for my wife's birthday. The host connects us with a manager, who sets the whole thing up and books us. We are so excited. The perfect way to celebrate my wife's birthday. On my wife's birthday, we arrive at the restaurant. We are greeted by the host, who asks if we're here for omakase, and takes us over to the sushi bar. Suddenly our server walks up and tells us omakase isn't available, has never been available. I explain their manager booked it for us, that we were celebrating my wife's birthday right now, that this was the whole reason we booked the restaurant. No apologies, just it's not possible. A manager comes out. The same exact thing. No apology for booking us erroneously, no offer to make it right, no birthday wishes, just no can do. We begrudgingly move to a table, and order off the menu instead. The food is fine, we have a good time with the company that we had, but it is not at all what we had been hoping for. At the end of the night, we expected a little something to be done since it was their mistake. But nope. No acknowledgment of their error. Not so much as a drink taken off for the mess up. Didn't even wish my wife a happy birthday. It was all just so weird and pretty disappointing customer service. They made the mistake in booking us, never reached out to us to clarify until it was too late, and then did nothing to make it right or apologize for their mistake. The food is fine, but the customer service left us with no desire to return. read more

We went back to Baru again last night and again, it was great! The service was wonderful and I really appreciated that they had a whole menu of specials for the day, including different sushi rolls too! read more

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The portions were very small, and the sushi tasted like store-bought (heavy on the rice with very little meat). The server was super nice and knowledgeable, and the ambiance was great! I really liked the seating arrangement and the furniture. Overall, it's a nice place for drinks and appetizers but not ideal for a full dining experience. read more

Best food and service i've had in town Cincinnati in a long time. Our server, Christina was great! The food and ambience was top notch. He will be back soon! read more

Baru - Hari logo ice in a delicious well balanced Manhattan - Sushi Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

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All pomp and no substance. Expensive and flashy. Food was just ok. Service was great. Ambiance was strange. Pass read more

Not my cup of tea. Loud setting with old pop music--distasteful, to me. Doesn't fit the decor and possible upscale vibe it could have, from what I see. I sat at a high top with my boyfriend; it was a small table but we couldn't hear each other and had to yell and lean into each other to try to hear. The food was overpriced and didn't wow me. read more

It was really nice to discover a new place to enjoy the tastes of familiar foods. Baru has just opened and currently seat patrons by reservation only - this is a "soft opening" of sorts and I'm not sure when the formal opening will be. We were greeted at the front of the house and our server, Christian, was welcoming and helped us find our way around the menu. The layout of the restaurant is modern with a large mural of a Tiger - maybe a bit of an homage to the Bengals? The seating is a mixture of high tops, booths and tables. The Bar is a fairly large space in the center of the restaurant with comfy chairs facing an amazing array of spirits. The cocktail Menu had a wide variety of drink offerings - I can say, Baru is the place to go for that Tapas Bar experience, Asian style. The sushi offerings are limited to several maki sushi - and as a bonus you can request fresh wasabi. The appetizer offerings included tempura fried green tomatoes with an amazing sauce to add a little spark to the dish. The tomatoes were fried to perfection with crispy edges and not greasy. Our dinner choices included deep fried chicken and the Chef's choice "scattered sushi". We didn't ask about a dessert menu due to the fact we were stuffed - they have parking conveniently located in a nearby garage - I am sure you will enjoy the delicious food and amazing cocktails read more

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I usually try to wait at least a month before trying a new place but I just couldn't. We love Omakase style (the Omakase option is not yet up and running)The quality of the fish was top notch. Same for the hot rock wagyu. The wasabi margarita was not too spicy. The decor was beautiful. We enjoyed our curved booth. Cannot wait to return. read more

Baru - Trifecta Sushi Roll with soy paper. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

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Great food, yummy cocktails,and great super fresh seafood! Cool vibe! Very good service. All wait staff know the the fish and menus

Sake and Sushi Mondays! What a great deal. Bartender very attentive and great recommendations.

Service was great. Wonderful greeting from host and staff were helpful Beautiful interior and design but the star of the show should be the food. The sushi lacked flavor and visual appeal. Had the Rodeo Drive. Very overpriced for what you receive. Not what you expect for an upscale sushi roll. Ordered the salmon and scallop dishes. Scallops came to the table cold with a chilled pasta. Lacked overall flavor. Salmon was cooked nicely but the rice and greens left a LOT to be desired. Overall, this is a one and done! Not worth the $150 price at all and I'm always willing to pay for a great experience and restaurant. read more

Baru - Rodeo Drive roll. Not worth the price AT ALL. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Sushi maki rolls were flavorless. Spicy rolls were not spicy at all. Salad appetizer and drinks were the highlights. Nice place to chill with tasty drinks though. read more

Ambiance is really sexy and cool, and the playlist was so good. Everything we tried was tasted great -- shishito peppers, sumo tacos, chicken katsu, ebi crunch roll, gravlax roll, mochi for dessert and espresso martini, daquiri, and the QCC for drinks! Gravlax roll was a little too heavy on the wasabi for me, but still good. We sat at the bar and our bartender/server was super friendly. All of the staff was really nice and helpful. They are still working out new restaurant kinks -- like we had to wait awhile for everything we ordered (which I didn't mind) and had to ask for napkins/silverware and wait on those too. But I'm sure they will work those out as time goes on! read more

Baru - Espresso martini, Daquiri, menu - Sushi Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

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It was our first time last night. The ambience is amazing with a modern vibe. The bar is magnificent and is the perfect spot for a drink before going elsewhere to eat. Beware of Sushi places that do not have sushi chefs out in the open preparing elegant sushi!! This is the case at Baru where the sushi is mediocre and industrial. A huge disappointment! read more