Came in for lunch and it was good! Shio Ramen & Crudo is the sister restaurant to Sushiholic, which…read moreis 2 doors down. I like the interior decor of Shio with cute cartoon cats slurping noodles and interesting looking wood panels on the ceilings and walls. On Friday around 1:45pm it wasn't busy at all. The staff were all friendly, and food came out right away. The lunch special essentially is a discounted price bowl of ramen from $17 to $13 and some additional sushi options at $4 (limit 1). We opted to try 2 different types of ramen so we could share-- Tonkatsu and Spicy Miso. Both solid flavors and my main gripe is that for some reason my tonkatsu bowl used a different type of ramen noodle that was thinner and less chewy than the Spicy Miso. I liked those noodles better. The pork that comes with the ramen is delicious! Rainbow roll was good and I probably didn't need to order the tootsie roll, as it was essentially a rainbow roll minus the fish on top. We tried the green Matcha IPA from Kyoto for fun and because we love Kyoto, it was pretty good. I'd come back on happy hour to try other items and have a drink.

Ramen cravings = handled. Shio Ramen & Crudo brings a…read moremodern, stylish vibe with seriously good food. Their tonkotsu broth is rich, creamy, and full of depth without being heavy, you can tell it's crafted with care. We ordered a little bit of everything to try: Edamame, Pan-fried gyoza, Chicken karaage, Tonkotsu ramen Everything hit. Flavorful, fresh, and satisfying. The space is clean, modern, and has a fun, themed vibe that makes it even better. The service was very good to keep us (15 of us) happy and fed!

You have to try this place. Very good food and lots of it. It is all cooked to order, delicious…read morehealthy food. The staff is super friendly and helpful. I'll be going back

Pepper Lunch is one of those places I keep coming back to--and it hits the spot every single time…read more I've been here three times now, and the consistency is spot on. I always get the veggie rice and add tofu and egg, and it's so flavorful and satisfying every time. I also really appreciate how vegetarian-friendly they are. It's not always easy to find places that have solid veggie options that don't feel like an afterthought, but Pepper Lunch definitely delivers. The sizzling plate makes it a fun experience too. Parking is always easy to find even though it's street parking. If you're looking for something quick, delicious, and customizable, this place is a win. Definitely a go-to for me!

What a great surprise. We found this restaurant, Xami Sushi, in what used to be a rougher part of…read moretown and now it's an outstanding sushi spot. When you first pull up, you might think, "maybe I should keep driving," but don't doubt yourself. Go inside. The place is clean, bright, and welcoming. The owner actually took our order and was happy to chat and also offered to customize anything we wanted. He really cares about the food and how it's presented, and it shows. I think they've been open here for about two years, and they're doing things right. We were there for lunch and I had three basic rolls (tuna, salmon, and Philly), and my wife went for the more adventurous rolls. Everything came out fast, fresh, and with generous portions of fish. Every bite was delicious. If you're anywhere near Broadway Road, give this place a try. It's fun to explore a different part of town and discover a restaurant that delivers on great sushi. Highly recommend...

Have you ever dated someone who is homely as a mangy dog but had a certain charisma, intelligence,…read moreand desirability that was in stark contrast to their general look? That's Xami Sushi. Was the sushi delicious? Was it fresh? Was it presented beautifully? Were the rolls creative without being ridiculous? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. OMG yes. This place is butt ugly, sitting in a dirt parking lot nextdoor to a ramshackle house with a "Beware of dog" sign on a busy four lane road in a quasi industrial area. Service was kind and attentive. Professional. The sushi chefs were young and enthusiastic. Go ahead and go on this blind date. Don't judge her by her looks. Love her to the end of your days because she's truly the one.

Nice place for dinner! We got the spicy edamame, salmon and yellowtail sashimi, and Atkins roll…read morewhich was my fave and really nice. It came with sushi pieces on a toothpick(!) and some of the sushis, although they had all the normal delicious seafood like crab meat, salmon, and yellowtail, were placed inside of a cut-out cucumber type piece! So it was like a "diet sushi" type dish which was really fun to eat. They also have amazing hot sake here, would recommend :) Layout's a bit atypical it's a long room, some other people in groups but not too crowded, and I feel like closes maybe earlier than midnight (more like 9-10pm?)

What a great place! Hidden Gem.!!! Super nice staff, really…read moregood food and fair prices. Casual dining... some kids, although more adult oriented. Noise level was moderate, and we were able to have a conversation without volume. I will totally go back!!!

Popped into this place for our last meal before leaving AZ and it did not disappoint! We were the…read morefirst people in. When we walked in it had a very fishy smell, so it kind of made us second guess our choice. But we went for it anyhow. The greeter/server was very pleasant and sat us. It was very clean inside with ample space between seat. We browsed through the menu and started with our usual edamame and pot stickers. The edamame was salted well throughout where a lot of places just put the salt on top only. We ordered a couple varieties of sake which were both good. Out of all of the things we ordered the karange skewer was just a little more oily than were use to, but still good. The spicy salmon roll had really great flavor and the lollipop roll was probably one of the better versions that we have had. The musubi was giant to say the least, it was good, but offered a bit too much rice. Overall the food and service was great and we were very happy that we ended up here!

On a Sunday evening, after checking out the Desert Botanical Garden, I was looking for some food in…read morethe area. I came across Zu Izakaya and it's great reviews as one of the options. I love Japanese food so my decision was made. I drove over and parked in their complimentary lot. Ambiance (3.5/5): I've been to Japan and there are plenty of izakayas there. Think of them as small bars which often serve solid food. Zu fits that bit. It's a relatively small restaurant, probably seats about 30 people. and it's pretty no frills for a Japanese spot. I was seated at a booth in the corner of the restaurant. They have free WiFi which is always a good touch. Service (3/5): Service was friendly, though a bit inconsistent. My waitress wasn't as attentive as I would have liked. The type of service where you have to flag them down to get what you want and to close out. Drinks (4/5): Zu has a nice menu of Japanese and Korean beverages, including sake, soju, Japanese beer, and more. With that being said, I just had an iced green tea. Food (4/5): I got a nice variety. I went with the Japanese sausage off of the grill menu, the OBI mayo roll off of the sushi menu, and the cheese corn off of the appetizer menu. Let's start with the sausage. It's a small item, two small sausages, but absolutely delicious. The sausage was bursting with flavor and basted in a sweet sauce. Minus the portion size, perfection. The cheese corn also hit the spot, but the execution was off. The corn is served on a hot platter, and unfortunately some of the corn on the edges was badly burnt. The type of situation where they should start over. Which they didn't. Lastly, the OBI mayo roll is essentially a California roll with marinated warm shrimp on top in a mayo sauce. I didn't love the hot and cold combo (shrimp and sushi), but outside of the temperature, it was a delicious roll. All in all, a very food meal. My only gripe with Japanese food is that it can get expensive quick. Given that Zu is in Tempe, I was hoping that prices would be a little cheaper. With that being said, they do have a solid happy hour (and reverse happy hour) with both food and drink specials. Next time I stop by, I'd like to check out some of their Korean options. I focused on the Japanese stuff this time (which makes the majority of the menu). Next time around, the bulgogi is calling my name!

My first time at Zu Izakaya was a blast! I came in with a group of 5 and were seated quickly. Our…read morewaitress Tiana was very attentive and helpful as we decided our orders. Overall, the place has a fun vibe with lots of string lights and Japanese decorations. They have happy hour twice a day. We came during their 9-11PM happy hour (we love a late night happy hour!) Lots of options for sushi, drinks, and appetizers on the happy hour menu. The spicy tuna roll was a refreshing roll with just the spicy tuna, cucumber and rice. A simple roll that still has a good spicy flavor but not too overpowering that it takes over your meal. The Vegas roll is a classic if you like fried rolls! Can't go wrong with this one. The nigiri was top notch. The yellowtail nigiri quite literally melts in your mouth and the flavors are buttery and soft. It's my personal favorite whenever I want nigiri. The salmon nigiri was also very good. Slights sweet but if you add soy sauce it balances it out. The jjambong pot was so filling. We ate this after the sushi. It's enough to be shared with 2-3 people and includes a mix of some seafoods, enoki mushrooms, onions, and ramyeon with a spicy broth. The noodles were good, the broth was delicious and not too spicy if you're not a person that handles spice well. My only complaint is that we had about 6-7 mussels but only 2 pieces of shrimp. It would've been nice to have a more even distribution of the seafood but other than that the taste was amazing. With the happy hour it was incredibly affordable. Even without the happy hour I would definitely come here again. 10/10!!

What I got: Bulgogi with side rice…read more Seaweed salad Miso soup Wasn't a lot of meat on my Bulgogi dish was a small square skillet and I was mostly of onions and some zucchini pieces. I decided to try their miso soup which was not bad tasted like the packets you get from the grocery store, but at least they had seaweed and tofu in it compared to other places, the seaweed salad tasted pretty fresh they don't give you too much of it they put a bunch of lettuce underneath it so it makes it seem like there's more at first my friend got the plate and some parts kinda tasted raw, but he didn't care much since he likes it either way but then again I was supposed to be a cooked dish so. I had gotten a draft beer to start with and for some reason it was warm so that was very un appetizing but then I got a bottled beer and it was cold. I don't recommend draft. This place has gone through a name change in the last few months and have removed a lot of of the stuff from the old menu went to see the difference was told that they kept the same quality as it is the same owner as before, but honestly to me the only thing that seems like the quality stayed the same was the oysters. Everything else seems that gone down a bit and the portion seems really small now some things are priced decently and some things are overpriced and we can't forget to mention how bad it smells in here like sewage. There's so many restaurants like this which is the problem like I don't need to come here and there was nothing memorable about it and it's a pretty far drive from me so I probably won't be coming back

I got a salmon bowl with added chicken. Dry chicken. Even…read moredryer salmon. So dry, I almost choked. Barely any veggies (I'm pretty sure I had like 2 pieces of broccoli) and bowl came with 90% rice. The spicy teriyaki sauce isn't bad though -- good balance of sweet and spicy.

The staff is super friendly and the food is always good, just like I remembered. The only…read moredifference is the portion size. Back in the day they would load you up with Meat and veggies... I said no veggies as I recall the portions have gotten smaller over the years... I still Love this place and recommend it when looking for a great brown rice bowl! Really laid back vibe with mariachi playing in the background! Check them out.

Cute little Japanese diner near ASU. My wife and I have been her a couple times and it's feels like…read morea real neighborhood spot in Japan. We like to grab the yatai ramen combo and I've tried to katsu and curry as well as the okonomiyaki. A tasty no frills affair! Great value as well. Staff is friendly and there's plenty of indoor and outdoor seating!

The large signage from the street makes this place easy to find. You don't know what to expect when…read moreyou see the modern building and then find it's actually more of a hole in the wall mom & pop eatery. The place is small but there is some outdoor seating. The hubby and I came here on our way home and were in the mood for soup. We both ordered the Yatai Ramen and agreed they were delicious. This was more of a brothy variation of a Tonkatsu which made for a light meal. The flavor was still there. There was plenty of ramen to make it a filling meal. Next time, I would add an appetizer like the edamame or the gyoza. There was something left to be desired in terms of drinks. I was in the mood for sparkling water or a soda water but their soda machine was limited to say the least and they didn't seem to carry other sugar-free options. Regardless, the ramen was good and we plan on returning.

First time here and I was not disappointed. All of the staff were friendly and helped each other…read morerun food and refill waters, which isn't something you see much of these days. We were there at around 5pm and it wasn't too busy, but there was a steady flow of diners coming in and out. Seating is ample, with outdoor, bar, sushi bar, and regular table options. I ordered two rolls: hot havana and mango roll. Both were delicious and the mango was juicy! The purple rice was super fun and set them apart from other sushi spots. I also ordered the miso soup to start. The food came out quickly. My only "complaint" is there aren't a ton of classic roll options. But this is a more upscale sushi restaurant, so it isn't surprising. I will keep this place in my list of spots to hit when I'm looking for a bite to eat in DTPHX.

My only downside was towards the end of our meal when we waited extremely long for our 2nd round of…read morethe wagyu nigiri and our desserts... even the waiters were frustrated with the kitchen because of how backed up/slow it became especially since I suppose the chef came back from break? But I know tables around us were starting to be fed up as well. Despite this, our waiter did cover 1 of the desserts which was nice. And overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the decor and the food. My favorite was honestly the wagyu nigiri and uni nigiri, but everything was delicious. I loved the scallops temaki, loved the mango roll (something different) and the toro sashimi. The burnt cheesecake with caviar was also a hit! My friend got the "oh my god" roll which was a fascinating presentation and she got her mochi ice cream which was also very light and refreshing. I would definitely come back despite the little hiccup!

I don't often write reviews so when I do it means the place is really good and this place deserves…read morethe best review!!! The sushi was so fresh and for half off all sushi rolls - the price can't be beat! Service was quick, great and friendly and most importantly quality was so good!

Man idk what these reviews are talking about, I got the sashimi and it was really bad and clearly…read morefrozen. The flavor was nonexistent. And to make it even worse they didn't even give any ginger and not nearly enough wasabi. Great place if you want affordable rolls where you can barely taste the fish. Not if you like sushi tho