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Sonoda's Aurora

4.1 (215 reviews)
ModerateJapanese, Sushi Bars
Open • 11:30 am - 2:00 pm, 4:30 PM - 9:00 PM
Updated a few days ago

Order Sonoda's Aurora Takeout or Delivery

Sonoda's Aurora Photos

SONODA'S AURORA ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Moderate noise
Casual
Happy hour specials
Good for kids

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Recommended Reviews - Sonoda's Aurora

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Reviews With Photos

Japanese Kirin beer
Bennett P.

I came for lunch on Sunday. I was their first customer today. Despite the location facing southwest, it was comfortably cool inside. I started with 12oz bottle of Kirin Ichiban. Great golden color with plenty of bubbles rising from the bottom of the Kirin branded glass. My appetizer was Shrimp Shumai. It came out piping hot. I then ordered the Mackerel (Yakizakana). This plate comes with soup, lettuce salad and white rice. I declined the miso soup and even clear broth because of the sodium level in most soups. The mackerel was perfectly cooked. Two wedges of lemon were provided. The large amount of steamed broccoli was also perfect. My server Chantra P. was great. I looked back thru my photo gallery and discovered my previous visit in Sept 2023 was also broiled Mackerel. I compared the prices, but most prices increased modestly. I need to come back and try other selections.

Kimberli R.

Great sushi!! Sonodas has remodeled and the restaurant looks trendy. Staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Patrons can sit at a table or the sushi bar. Awesome cucumber salad. Watch your sushi made fresh and grab a Japanese beer. Bathrooms were clean and parking is in a lot.

Hijiki salad
Jocelynn K.

This is our go-to sushi spot in Colorado. It is nothing fancy, but the food is always delicious and the service is great. Their sushi rice is well-seasoned and very flavorful, and it never comes out dry or too sticky. Some of our favorites include the unagi, Ume (sour plum paste), George's roll (spicy tuna, scallops, masago, and avocado), scallops, crunchy spicy tuna roll, and the ikura (salmon roe). They use incredibly fresh cuts of fish and you can taste the high quality.

Spicy Baked Yellowtail Roll (5 Pcs.)
Rachel S.

All a GF sushi loving person could want: reasonable prices (especially Sunday and Monday happy hour all night!), GF labels, and plenty of options!

new style sashimi - salmon
Erica C.

Good value and pretty tasty. I liked both of the things I ordered - crunchy spicy tuna roll and new style sashimi. Subjectively from my friends, this is what I would try vs avoid the next time I'm there. Try soba noodles and gyudon. Avoid chicken cutlet. Karaage is just ok. Service is friendly, like the neighborhood aunt kind of friendly. Parking is available in the lot right outside. It looks nicer in the inside than it does from the outside. I'll be back!

Steven S H C.

Just an update. For that important days like Valentine's and falls on Friday and during HH, Google will assist with reservation. Normally, Sonoda is walk in most of the time but has hunch that I may need to make a reservation. For dinner, they do open at 4:30 pm and we were there at 4:25 pm and "Open" sign was on. As we walked in, one of the waitress greeted us and asked us if we had reservation. Of course. I did notice every table had "reserved" sign on it. We got the most preferred seat which is right next to the aquarium by the window. Our favorite l, most outstanding person "Rose" was taking care of us. She is perfect hostess and valuable to this establishment. She bought everything we needed and in timely manner. Our experience was perfect. I have been noticing their sushi rice consistency has improved a lot. In the past, it was slightly to the "too moist" side but lately, it's been perfect. Maybe the new machine they got is helping? It was definitely 5 star experience this evening. Perfect all the way. P.s. HH Friday early evening too. Hoot hoot!

This place never disappoints! I've been coming here for over 10 years. The sushi is always great. Great service! They know us here. I love Baked Bay Scallops for an appetizer. And my favorite sushi rolls are -Kaibashira (Scallop Roll) and Shake (Salmon) they are both like butter, melt in your mouth! Also love Salmon & Cr. Cheese, Spicy Scallop Roll, shrimp Tempura roll, crab Tempura roll. They have the best scallops. I could eat them all!

Sushi Dinner
Jeff David G.

WARNING! Wasabi between the rice and the fish in the nigiri. I am not a fan, but I know some people are. The rating disregards my personal disliking as this was still a pretty good spot to get reasonably priced sushi from friendly staff in an awesome environment. I ordered the sushi dinner which was a spicy tuna roll with 7 pieces of nigiri based on the chef's recommendation. The fish was fresh and was less expensive than I would've expected. I would love to go back and specify to hold the wasabi and I think it would have been an incredible meal.

Michelle K.

You honestly can't go wrong eating here. This place has been around since the 80's and the food is pure heaven. We come here often from Parker to get our sushi fix. We honestly go big and make it a feast. All the dishes are freshen and decent sized. Their nigiri are a mouthful! I love all their rolls. Try their Baked Green muscles and the yellow tail collar. We also enjoyed all their kitchen food items such has their udon and teriyaki chicken. My kids are always asking to come back. Don't expect to come here for the ambiance, this is a small mom and pop shop that is all about the food and service. I love how we've become regulars where Makoto (sushi chef and owner) will take time away to come greet us. I love seeing how they've established a business and built up regular customers! If you're local or in the area, highly recommend check them out.

15. Avocado
Emily K.

I love Sonoda's. Not everything on their menu is a complete win but everything definitely tastes fresh. I order take out from here a lot. The quality is always good and they are fast. I really like the spicy lava roll, miso soup and gyoza.

a variety of packets of food
Erin L.

Absolutely our new go to sushi spot - we ordered via door dash and everything got here fairly quickly and at a good temp. I am so happy of how affordable yet FRESH this place is. You can tell just from their bi-lingual menu and offerings that this place is more legit than others. Everything was very good. No complaints.

Sashimi platter - lunch price is less than 20 dollars!

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8 years ago

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6 years ago

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6 years ago

Calamari was good sized and tasty, had the crunchy spicy tuna roll and the shrek roll which was really good

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9 years ago

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6 years ago

Delicious and the staff was so friendly! Best in Aurora!!! The Rainbow Roll was fresh and delicious.

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8 years ago

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13 years ago

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12 years ago

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16 years ago

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19 years ago

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13 years ago

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16 years ago

Very nice little sushi restaurant. The sushi is great and not too expensive!!! Friendly staff.

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11 years ago

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7 years ago

Service was great and food was decent but my God it took forever and ours was only one of there tables in the restaurant at the time

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8 years ago

Was delicious, just found it odd one waitress came to our table just to look my girlfriend in the face.

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Page 3 of 6

Ask the Community - Sonoda's Aurora

Is this location related to/owned by the one that was downtown some years ago?

Yes, it was before the original owner retired. It is now owned by the chef who has been with Sonoda’s since 1988 when they originally opened.

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Fuyu Sushi

Fuyu Sushi

4.5(102 reviews)
3.6 mi
Locally owned & operated
Minority-owned & operated

Absolutely blown away! The sushi was delicious and fresh. They are generous with their fish…read moreportions, which is rare in Colorado. Everything we ordered was beautifully presented. You can't beat the quality at these prices. Definitely my first affordable five-star sushi experience in Denver!

We went for dine-in and I was hopeful/excited that they had new menus and what seemed to be quality…read morestaff all around. The food was great! Well, the spicy cucumber salad wasn't spicy at all and almost sweet. But the "bad" part was the server. The booth behind us (already seated when we arrived) received complimentary dessert (sesame balls/mochi, patrons left them behind untouched) and the other booth (seated after us, with a very obnoxious child) got towels to wash hands before eating. We got none of that. Instead, while I'm actively working through my meal, chopsticks in hand, server returned with the check and held it out in front of my face, expecting me to stop eating, put down the chopsticks, interrupt my pace, accept the check folio, wait until she cleared a space for me to set it back down before I could resume enjoying my meal. I stared at her until she decided to thrust it in my husband's face before clearing his sushi plate so he could accept the folio, set it down and wait while I finished. I wasn't offended by the offer of forks, that's common when it's us two older white people, but the disparity of service was RUDE. Food was great but that server. Yeeeesh.

Photos
Fuyu Sushi
Fuyu Sushi
Fuyu Sushi - Lunch salad side

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Lunch salad side

Katsu Ramen - Tempura Shrimp Onigiri

Katsu Ramen

4.0(974 reviews)
1.6 mi
•$$

This place was jam packed with several people waiting to be seated when we arrived and several more…read morethat came in behind us. That's usually a good sign. It was! We didn't wait long, less that 30 minutes and it was worth every second. I got the black garlic tonkotsu that was some of the best I've had in some time and an order of Karaage and pork gyoza. The Karaage was fantastic but the gyoza was lacking, falling apart at the seam upon contact with the chop sticks making then very hard to eat. Flavor was ok, not the best gyoza I've had by far. The interior was well decorated with a bustling high energy atmosphere. Service was good with friendly wait staff. Upon entry you sign in on a touch pad to secure your place in line and when your number is up you get a confirmation text. When seated you are given a check sheet with entree and other dining options to check off with the provided table pencils. A server comes by to collect the sheet verifing your chosen options and then fairly quickly your meal arrives. Parking here is a joke, especially in peak business hours. Get an Uber or Lyft would be my recommendation. Overall the Ramen was so good any negatives fall to the way side and if I lived in Denver this would be in heavy rotation routine wise.

Black garlic tonkotsu ramen 9.5/10 - my favorite dish today. Full bodied broth that's creamy and…read morebold. Mixed some of the spicy paste and that elevated the dish to another level. Good amount of noodles and slices of pork with this bowl. Grilled salmon onigiri 9/10 - big portions filled with fish and the kids loved them so much they got another. Shoyu ramen 8.5/10 - light soy based broth without the saltiness. Nice profile and umami flavor. Chicken katsu don 7.5/10 - I didn't hate it but didn't love it. Giant bowl filled with rice, egg with chicken. Teriyaki spam onigiri - 7/10 decent, filled with a few bites of Spam.

Photos
Katsu Ramen
Katsu Ramen - Katsu Curry Rice Bowl

Katsu Curry Rice Bowl

Katsu Ramen - Main entrance

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Main entrance

Domo - Curry Udon with pork cutlet

Domo

3.6(1.3k reviews)
9.7 mi•Lincoln Park, Southwest
•$$

Domo is such a special Denver spot. The restaurant itself is beautiful and they have a wonderful…read moregarden and outdoor dining space really make the experience (bonus points for the cute cat we saw running around). It feels like you've stepped in somewhere completely outside Denver. The food is traditional Japanese country food and very much falls into the comfort food category. Nothing about it is trying to be fancy or overly elevated, and I honestly love that! It feels homey and approachable and is reasonably priced. I got the salmon and tuna sashimi donburi, which comes as a whole meal with pickled sides and soup. Everything was simple but satisfying! Service was pretty fast and the whole experience felt very relaxed. Domo is first come, first served, so you can put your name down and explore the space while you wait. I definitely want to come back and try some of their noodle dishes next. Also, take some time to read up on the history of Domo and the spaces surrounding it! The restaurant is connected to a much larger story involving Japanese culture, a dojo and a museum, which makes visiting feel like more than just going out to eat!

What a quaint place. As if you're transported to Japan back in the past. Next to a dojo, this…read morerestaurant looks so authentic and aesthetic. Service was friendly for the most part, but didn't refill our waters. The food was overall okay. Karaage tasted good and was crunchy, which was probably my favorite. The oyakodon was a bit disappointing. Not much flavor and really had to use the sauce from the Karaage to make it palatable. Definitely don't order it unless you like bland food. Cool place to hang out but probably won't go for food.

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Domo - Waiting room

Waiting room

Domo - Curry udon wiith pork cutlet

Curry udon wiith pork cutlet

Domo - Indoor dining

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Indoor dining

Umami Sushi Bar & Pho

Umami Sushi Bar & Pho

4.5(88 reviews)
1.8 mi
•$$

This was our very first time trying Umami Sushi Bar & Pho, and it blew us away! Right when we…read morewalked in, we were warmly welcomed by the owner, who took the time to walk us through the menu with some amazing recommendations and suggestions. The food quality is, by far, some of the best we've ever had. You can truly sense the pride and love put into every single dish. On top of how phenomenal everything tasted, the presentation was gorgeous--almost too pretty to eat! Ask and try their flavored sake! Wow! We are so thrilled to have this gem in the neighborhood. We'll definitely be back (and often)!

I am always impressed by the ever-expanding options over near Iliff light-rail station. And…read morerecently, I encountered another winner in that area - Umami Sushi & Phở, whose pan-Asian offerings are sure to satisfy your soul. My visit began with two pillowy buns stuffed, in this case, with sizable chunks of Korean-style grilled beef. To my mind, this could almost be enjoyed as a full meal just by itself, and certainly provided the "umami" factor promised in the eatery's name. But I would have been remiss in my duties if I had not ordered a main course, and so went with a rice bowl topped with a generous helping of firm, slightly-sweet grilled eel. This has always been a favorite seafood choice of mine, and the one offered here didn't disappoint - it was plentiful, pleasing, and protein-heavy. To go alongside my meal I chose their very intriguing signature drink, consisting of passionfruit syrup with kumquat, pineapple and chia seeds - sweet and tangy, it helped to keep my palate primed throughout my lunch. Accompanied by service from friendly and knowledgeable staff, my visit to Umami has me ready to sample more when next in the area.

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Umami Sushi Bar & Pho
Umami Sushi Bar & Pho - Tray A and Tray C

Tray A and Tray C

Umami Sushi Bar & Pho - Chicken Fried Rice

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Chicken Fried Rice

Sonoda's Aurora - japanese - Updated October 2026

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