Many of the more affordable sushi places in this area are not owned or run by Japanese people. This doesn't mean that they are bad, but Sonoda's is authentic and it shows. Their fish is far fresher than other places of at a similar cost and the menu include many other well-executed Japanese favorites. This location has countless regulars and the owner and staff know them by name. This is by far the best sushi in Aurora today. read more

The best sushi spot around! I've been a regular for 15+ years and it never disappoints. I've tried many other places over the years and nothing compares! They always deliver...fresh sushi and fantastic service! read more

Everything was very good except for the baked scallops. Too heavy on the mushrooms which drowned out the scallops. Scallops were the small little bay scallops. Dumplings were tasty. Sushi was good. Would go back. read more

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

This is hands down one of the best sushi spots in Denver. Personally, the biggest telltale sign of a fantastic sushi joint is the rice. Not the fish -- fresh fish is the easy part. As far as the rice, there is a certain consistency/stickiness with that slight vinegar-y taste that is not too subtle and not too strong that is somewhat indescribable as you can see. The best analogy is like a virgin experiencing their first orgasm -- you just know. One taste of their sushi, and well...you just know. For all those complaining about the interior decor -- it is clear you don't understand Asian culture. It's about substance, not looks. They put their time and effort in the food. If you like all the cheap "frills" and don't care about authenticity, then this is definitely not for you. And I'm okay with that because I'd rather not dine in your vicinity. :) The service has always been good, but I'm partial to Ad. You should request to sit in her section if you're so lucky -- she'll take good care of you. read more

Our flights were delayed at DIA and we were coming from Vail (a high end little town). My boyfriend and I were craving some yummy sushi in the Aurora/Denver area. After reviewing over yelp reviews we found this place. Mind you, we are from Maine and DO NOT mess around when it comes to seafood and it being fresh. I was SO excited for our shuttle to drop us off here. Not going to lie- as soon as we pulled up I almost asked our driver to bring us back. This is a true tale of DO NOT JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER! I was very skeptical. Instantly greeted by both sushi chefs and the host. Warm ma & pop atmosphere. And last but not least- the food was AMAZING! We ordered you're typical spicy salmon & spicy tuna rolls. But we also got one of their specials, the Dynamite roll. Truly delicious! My advice is if you're looking for a casual, good quality sushi meal, come here! read more

Well, the overwhelming odor of seafood was a bit too much when first walking through the door. It was prime lunch time too and it was dead. Red flags!! I've been here a few times for pick up but never ate in. The service was incredibly slow, and there's no reason it should have been since it was pretty much just us and another table. Even the sushi took a long time to come out. I needed to hurry since I was on my lunch break, so my friends and I were getting really frustrated. The rolls were expensive and unimpressive. We ordered a variety of "spicy" rolls that pretty much sucked. The texture was off and they all tasted the same-bleck. There was no spice at all. We ordered 2 other rolls that had more flavor than the spicy rolls, but still were pretty bad. In the past I've ordered miso soup and I never liked it from here, there's no seaweed in it, just broth, onions and tofu. Today I tried the soup of the day which was a clear soup with mushrooms and tofu that was actually the only good thing I had. Won't be back. read more

Sonoda's has these huge fish in a tank as you walk in the door that makes you wonder if that is what you'll be eating. You know, like a lobster tank. This Sonoda's is located just west of 225 on Parker in a strip mall. The decor is bland, and almost borders on Japanese dive. The food is always great and the fish has always been fresh. I've always been a bit disappointed by the chef specials though, never as good or as creative as at the Sushi Boat. Because of that I always seem to get the same thing when I eat here. The great things about Sonodas are 1) the happy hour sushi prices and 2) they have a Sonodas card which gives you points for the sushi you eat. When you reach a certain number of points, you get a gift certificate by mail. They also send you a gift certificate on your birthday. It's the little things that count. read more

I have been going here forever! It is the best sushi place! This is true to how sushi should be it isn't like the Americanized Hapa. No offense or anything but this place puts Hapa to shame! Yes I have eaten at Hapa and I wouldn't go back it isn't a Sonoda's. The wait staff is awesome and always makes sure their guest are taken care of (especially Ad)! The sushi bar is the best place to sit at watching the chefs whip up the sushi is amazing it is like watching trained sushi ninjas. The food is to die for. The oysters are a great way to start the dinner off. The sushi is always fresh and not to forget the pieces are so big! The scallops are one of my favorites, and is the best! I have had scallops every where and these are by far the best. The sushi in General is the best. The Mochi balls for dessert can I say yum! read more

Having been to Japan several times this is the only place that I can get fresh Chirashi, as I have yet to find another place in Colorado that can make it this good and the price is really affordable for what they give you. I also really enjoyed there katsu curry as it is comfort food for myself. The sushi chef who I assume is also the owner is super friendly. There staff is made up different ethnicities of asians are also very friendly. I think they truly have one of the best Japanese food in the area I can't wait to be back and try there ramen since winter is coming up. Also I just want to add that seeing Japanese customers at this place makes me feel all the more authentic it is! read more

Sonoda's Aurora - Katsu curry!!! Seriously my fav comfort food - Japanese Near Me - Aurora, Colorado

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Delicious! Super fresh fish - delivered every day, the waitress said. We came at Happy Hour and enjoyed 2 for 1 sake, which was awesome. Husband had the salmon dinner (we were told it's sushi-grade fish that is left over after the sushi cuts are taken off) and it was amazing. My sushi dinner was so good. Lots of diversity. For dessert, try the tempera green tea ice cream or the chocolate mousse cake. Waitress was super sweet and patient with us. Place was clean and nice. Looks like they've done a bit of remodeling in the last year. Impressed. Will return. read more

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

Great food (miso soup was outstanding) and sushi of course. Local asian beer as well, pretty good. read more

Sonoda's Aurora - Japanese Near Me - Aurora, Colorado

Yesterday, I was craving sushi & saw mostly positive reviews, so I thought I'd give it a chance. I ordered a few different individual pieces of sushi & a spicy tuna roll. The spicy tuna roll turned out to be just plain tuna, no spicy sauce, nothing, just plain. The other sushi smelled really fishy when I took the lid off. I ate 2-3 pieces from the 12 that I ordered. I stopped eating as it just didn't seem right. I called the restaurant and was put on hold twice & no one ever picked up again. I tried to explain to the person who answered the phone and they put me on hold again. About an hour later I got violently I'll. I'll spare you details, but it was definitely food poisoning. I was up all night & still sick today. It's rather upsetting that the restaurant did not care to know this info to avoid others getting sick. My advice, STAY AWAY FROM HERE!!! read more

I find Sonoda's at Park Meadows to be one of the more reasonably priced, and still very good sushi places in the Metro area. They are consistent, whether eat in or take out. I have been to other places and found that they were similarly priced, but less quality fish. When I am looking for solid, and reasonable-Sonoda's is my firs choice. In fact, when we have parties at home, and cater sushi in, we pick Sonoda's. Also the loyalty card is a nice perk- not much better than to get a $20 gift certificate in the mail for Sushi! read more

We've been coming here for several years. Sonoda's is consistently amazing, fresh, delicious, friendly. I feel like family at Sonoda's. We even spent Christmas here at the sushi bar, enjoying sukiyaki and sushi with our friends Jimmy, Ad, Makoto and the rest of the gang..!! So fun! The RICE here is incredible.. Why speak on the rice? Because it is the back bone of everything. Tender, just sticky enough, a hit of rice vinegar, yet perfectly balanced with the sweet starch. The fish is always gorgeous, and delicious. Just go here but save a spot at the bar for me! read more

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A little too pricey for average sushi. Not too bad. They have neat fish tanks and that's all my kids cared about :D Mostly pleased with the octopus. I usually never order it because I'm mostly disappointed. Not disappointed with the dish here at Sonoda's. read more

Very disappointing. I am a regular at Sonoda and have always found their Sashimi to be fresh and of high quality. I dined their recently and am sorry to say that the quality of their food had gone "downhill" and was well below average. We ordered the Chef's choice Sashimi platter and the cuts were so thin that you could almost see through them. The platter was overloaded with Daikon, I expect as a way to disguise the smaller portions We also ordered grilled fish, and it was overcooked and dry. Sorry to say Sonoda (you were one of my favs) but you have a lot of competition out there and I expected more from you! read more

The best Japanese food I've had in the States. There isn't an "average" dish on the menu. Yuko H. was a perfect server. She was very conscientious about my sons shellfish allergy, very attentive and sweet disposition, just the right amount of attention. read more

Sonoda's Aurora - Shrimp tempura is perfect - Japanese Near Me - Aurora, Colorado

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This was my first time going here. The atmosphere is perfect, the golden sake was great (though next time, I should order it warm) and the food is great. I will definitely return. read more

My last night in Aurora and I REALLY just wanted some good sushi. Sonoda had great reviews and it was within 2 miles of my hotel. I probably would have ventured out further but it was snowing off and on, I'm a Southerner, soooo I didn't want to take any chances. I'm so glad I went to Sonoda. The sushi was delicious and very fresh tasting. The service was great and the atmosphere is very relaxed. read more

Sonoda's Aurora - Shrimp Tempura - Japanese Near Me - Aurora, Colorado

This place is really authentic . When I heard the sushi chef spoke , I was immediately excited because they all spoke in Japanese !!! lol ok be back read more

Sonoda's Aurora - Japanese sushi chef ... enough said .. this place is authentic .. anyone who gives this place less than 5 stars do not know what sushi is - Japanese Near Me - Aurora, Colorado

Solid 4.5 stars. Service is always a little off. They are strict about happy hour. It's first drink only and no sharing. Either sake or asahi. The food is delicious, fresh and consistent. This is my go to for sushi in this area. read more

I guess I should have seen the sign when I walked in, "bathrooms are for customers only" - this is the way you are welcomed in to this business. Not, "enjoy our fresh fish". Service was good ... food was of the quality of a bad all-you-can-eat place ... mushy, bland, and eckkkkk... Miso soup was pretty good - except I think that is what I got sick from! Lastly, I guess I forgot I was in Aurora - serious trash eats here - next table was a girl showing her entire butt (wearing jeans that were too small) - at the other table was an Asian family - all barefoot with their feet on the chairs. I will not repeat. Oh yeah, they had a happy hour menu when we arrived (even though they had no regular sushi menu) - she said the prices were great during happy hour - yet, they were only one piece - again, sushi place, you can not cut the portion in half and offer it for half price, then say it is a good deal! read more

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

Today marks 20 YEARS for us and Sonodas has been our anniversary dinner since the beginning!!! Jimmy has been there since 12/31/1996 and still the BEST SUSHI IN DENVER!!! YUMM!!!!!! read more

Food was mediocre, waitress was awful. She only came by the table maybe twice and she didn't remember what we ordered and couldn't tell us what we were missing. She didn't know the rolls apart, so we had to figure out who's was whose since they were all on one plate. Ended up leaving a tip for another waitress who helped way more. Won't be back. read more

I love yelp because of the honest reviews. I found Sonoda as #5 place on yelp. So I thought I would try it. The staff was amazing the California Roll was amazing and it came with the ramen as a side. Double amazing. I found my new place in Denver. read more

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If you dont dat here, then your opinion about sushi doesn't count. Simply amazing sushi. Chirashi don dinner is perfect. 2 for 1 happy hour as well. read more

Super disappointing. Sonoda's used to be my family's go-to restaurant for top quality sushi and sashimi. Haven't been in about five years so we went for my birthday tonight. Our server was incredibly, painfully slow. Service seemed very dependent on who you ended up with. The table next to ours was sat after us but was already onto their salads by the time we even had our drink order taken. Their server was very attentive while ours was not. The kitchen entrées came out over 20 minutes before my chirashi so my family members and I all ate at different times. Apparently the sushi bar was "backed up" on a Monday night with a half-full restaurant and three sushi chefs working. The fish was good but not as amazing as it used to be. The shrimp, in particular, had a very off taste. The kitchen entrées were... meh. The chicken teriyaki tasted pretty much like salt and the calamari steak tasted pretty much like pepper. For the sky high price, I probably won't be back. What a bummer. read more

Great food, nice calm atmosphere, great prices, awesome food quality and serving sizes. They have beautiful fresh and salt water fish tanks in the restaurant. read more

I used to come here a lot... I mean, a LOT... Everytime I was in Denver (at least once a month) it used to be pretty decent... The fish wasn't the freshest, and the rice wasn't the best... But it was always satisfactory. The last time, I was here, the rice was over cooked, soggy, and disgusting. The fish was dry, and not fresh - I expected this a little, considering we came in on a Monday, but not to the extent that it was. Service, at least, was the same as it's always been... Friendly and efficient. The meal was bad... Just terrible... I'm shocked that none of us got sick from this last meal... It's too bad... I used to be a regular here, as much as I could be, whenever I visited Denver. It was part of my ritual, but no more... After this last experience, I doubt I'll be back... It's too bad... read more

We are here recently and were searching for some decent Japanese food. We ended up ordering some appetizers and rolls. The staff were friendly, except my husband and I both ended up sick the next day. Not too sure if we will be going back anytime soon. read more

Found this place searching somewhere to eat last minute and late. Great service, sushi was good, and mellow atmosphere. Definitely would recommend. read more

Given the great reviews here, I expected a bit more from Sonoda's. While the rolls featured a good amount of fish and not just a lot of rice and filler, it wasn't as flavorful as other places I've been, and the rolls did fall apart a bit while I was trying to pick them up. Plus, the prices were a bit expensive... $15 for a Rainbow Roll is something I'd expect to pay at Sushi Den, not a neighborhood place in a strip mall in Aurora, especially given the quality. At the end of my meal, it took a while to flag the waitress down to get my check -- I must've been waiting for at least 5 minutes and made eye contact with more than 1 waitress, who instantly looked away when I started raising my hand to ask for the check. The place wasn't full, there wasn't an excuse for that. read more

So I decided to come here late night I called about 9:45 to see what time they were open till I believe they said it 10:30 so I asked them if I should just order something to go and they said definitely not how many people were coming with me when I got to the restaurant they have a table ready for me with water and everything set to go the service was amazing and the food was great the place seemed friendly and clean read more

Let's get the formality of the way: this place has the most mediocre, customer unfriendly, dated and ________ (fill in the blank) interior ever. The restrooms are semi-broken, etc. If you can get past the above and give them a shout, you will get good sushi (for Denver). Thursdays are a good day as they get some specialty fish and it tends to be fresher- note we are in a landlocked state so plan your fish eating accordingly. We go with Omakase (chefs choice type of arrangement) and have not had a bad meal yet. With the arrival of a new chef (Jimmy) they are experimenting with new items and are getting better. The newest invention was the Shrek Roll - haven't tried it (we are more of sashimi / nigiri type customers) but it did look good and customers next to us said it was great. A decent place for a decent dinner. Interior remodel and update would do this place wonders! Fast forward to 2016 - specialty fish selection has improved, specialty dishes are awesome - just ask the chef for specials. Seafood udon is yum! Servers are hit or miss but the quality of food makes up for that. If they just remodeled a bit it would be a more pleasant place to the eye. Thankfully, it is a great place for the taste buds! read more

Love this place. I was skeptical, but we have it a try and we were pleasantly surprised. Everything was delicious and the service was excellent. The kitchen was having a bit of an off night and there was a mix up with our order, but they more than made up for with their great service. We will be back! read more

Sonoda's Aurora - Our already half eaten order. We cleaned the plate! - Japanese Near Me - Aurora, Colorado

Amazing happy hour deals on rolls, average $6 ranging from $3-$12 and such a variety, vegetarian, traditional, cooked, and special rolls. We got a tempura shrimp, avocado, spicy tuna, salmon&cream cheese (my favorite) and one speciality roll. All of them were delicious with what seemed to be high quality fish. We also started with a seaweed salad which was marinated in a delicious blend of sesame oil and rice vinegar. Finished off with a surprising find of fried green tea ice cream. The ice cream was pretty tasty but the batter wasn't super crispy. read more

Sonoda's Aurora - Fried green tea ice cream - Japanese Near Me - Aurora, Colorado

This is probably one of the best sushi places in Denver. It is always fresh. The traditional rolls are spot on and their feature rolls that are great. When we go at lunch time, my only complaint is there is one server that is fantastic and one that is not as helpful. If we have the good server the rating would be a 5; the bad server would be a 3. It is still worth going, but the experience is much better with the older gentleman. read more