I would definitely not go back to this place. The rice on the sushi was so thick you couldn't taste anything else. The filling inside the sushi was very minimal. The green tea ice cream tasted just like vanilla. The only good thing about this place was the gyoza and our nice waitress. Would recommend going down the road to the other sushi place instead. read more

This is my first negative review. I tried Sushi Zanmai for the first time this past Saturday. My sister chose the spot to celebrate her birthday. We reserved a back room that was fun and private. Our table was low to the floor with a pit below for your legs. We ended up cramming in 16 people around a 10 person table. Somehow it worked. The waiter's friendly attitude was vastly overshadowed by his OccupyWallStreet-type work ethic. And therein lies the problem with gratuity being added to your tab with parties over 8 people. We arrived in time for happy hour. So I gave a wide variety of their $1.50/bite nigiri options a try. It was edible - not memorable. If I ran a restaurant, this "happy hour" marketing scheme would be how I rehash customers on fish nearing expiration. Why trash old maguro when you can still collect $1.50 for a questionable slice of fish the size of a cashew? Sushi chefs should be held to a high standard regarding their cutting ability, portioning, and quality of fish being served. Fail on all three counts during our first tasting. At this point, the happy hour round had been devoured, round two was being tallied up, and I was on the fence about ordering more. The seemingly drug-addled waiter made my decision easy. He quickly gathered the two sheets circulating around our table before they reached me and disappeared for another 45 minutes. Round two denied. Perhaps the nigiri is adequately served after happy hour. I'll never know - sunk cost was resonating in my head. The feast of roughly 10 different rolls arrived literally an hour and a half later. I sniped bites from the rainbow, firecracker, boulder, and house rolls - not that bad to be fair, but you can find more bang for your buck elsewhere in my humble opinion. The ratio of wasabi and ginger to sushi was a quite askew. Ginger was lacking freshness. Our waiter never returned to check on customer satisfaction or refill drinks. It's one thing to tolerate atrocious service when the food is impeccable - it's another when both leave you unsatisfied. Unfortunately, the latter applies to my personal experience. In short - dreadful service, sub par food, and lively environment. Try The Den if you're looking for first class sushi in Colorado. read more

Five stars for the sushi, three for everything else. The sushi rolls here are arguably the best in Boulder and I haven't had a bad one yet. The fish is always fresh and the sushi menu is diverse enough to cater to the unadventurous (like my mom) and former Japan dwellers (myself) alike. I especially adore the No. 9 Roll and the Green Hornet Roll (best vegetarian roll I've discovered in Colorado thus far!) Prices are decent, and though things can get expensive it is possible to keep your meal under $15 if you plan accordingly. The non-sushi entrees are your average tempura and udon fare. Pretty tasty, but nothing special and a little expensive for what they are. If you want some nice traditional Japanese dishes go next door to Amu or a few blocks away to Kasa - you aren't going to find anything at Zanmai. If Sushi Zanmai were just about the food, I would go there more often. Unfortunately, the service (friendly but slow), the wait to be seated, and - most of all - the noise don't always seem worth the bother for good food. Expect at least an hour to get your rolls, longer if you're there on a Friday or Saturday night. Seating is tight and the restaurant is loud enough I often have trouble hearing the conversation at my table. And unless you are drunk, deaf, and/or a college student looking to have a good time, avoid karaoke night at all costs. There is no place to escape the noise, and you will have to wait half an hour with a pounding headache before you can pay the check. If you like loud, this is the place for you. If you prefer quiet but still want sushi, go to Kasa, which is only a few blocks away. Great sushi though! read more

The staff was very friendly and compromising for our party of ten. Kids loved their kids dinner. Sushi was delicious!

Service was pretty good, raw fish was fresh, How ever the specialty rolls and the rolls that actually had something besides fish weren't the best at all. Usually I can eat 7 roles in one sitting. Could barely eat 3 because it made my stomach very upset. read more

This is, hands down, the best sushi in Boulder. Sit at the sushi bar and ask for Paul. Also, if you buy a beer for the sushi bar, they'll get extra fancy with your sushi! read more

The best sushi lunch on Pearl St. Traditional-style sushi. Well-made, well trained. read more

I have been here a couple of times now and I have to say that I love it! They have such great rolls. My personal favorite is the Orange Crush Roll. I do wish this place was a little cheaper because it is pretty steep for some rolls, but if you go during happy hour then it's a great deal! The only other thing I don't like about this place is that the soy sauce is SO salty. I recommend using the low sodium soy sauce because the first time I went I used the regular soy sauce and it was so salty it burned my tongue. read more

Worst restaurant experience I've had in years. My spouse and I were in a group of eight and we wanted a separate order sheet. The waitress Emily argued that it was too much work for us to have a separate sheet so we reluctantly agreed to join in on the group's list. A few minutes later, she tossed a new sheet on our table and left without a word... We got to our reserved table at 8:05 and gave Emily our two order sheets by 8:15pm and our order was placed... So we thought. Our other six friends received their sushi boat around 8:35. Meanwhile, my spouse and I sat around while not only our friends finished their food, but the three tables around us had new guests seated, food brought to them, and checks paid. 9:25 and still no sushi... We ordered two rainbow rolls and two salmon rolls, yet our friends boat came out in twenty minutes? At this point in time , we had already asked the waitress about our food twice. Is she punishing us for asking for a separate sheet? I understand if it's busy or if you're having a rough night, we are being patient-- I used to work in the service industry, so I'm very understanding when I go out to eat. Well, we finally got our food at 9:50... I wish I could say that it was worth the wait but that was not the case. Quite possibly the most unappetizing sushi I've had; the fish tasted old and it fell apart as you picked it up with chopsticks-- Grocery store sushi tastes better than Zanmai's. A brief word with the manager did us no good. She didn't even apologize or make any attempt to amend the bad experience we had, she just told us that it's so busy. We explained our experience so far and she waved her hand at us, brushing off everything we told her. So we paid our bill and of course gratuity is tagged on automatically. It made sense that despite terrible service, our waitress gets a large tip from us anyway. Knowing how competitive the restaurant industry is in Boulder, I'm surprised that Zanmai is still in business. I do wish I could award 0 stars. read more

I made a reservation earlier in the week and wanted to cancel due to family matter. There is a charge fee of $50 if you do not show up, but you can call and cancel for free. I called immediately when when I found out I would no longer be able to attend, no answer. Waited till they opened no answer, waiting another 30 minutes finally someone answered to tell me if I wanted to cancel I would've had to call around 4. I told them I did and they they would've answered if I did. They just swindle group parties who make reservations in advance. They also proceed to tell me they called to confirm my reservation the day before. I received no phone call and they said they called to confirm that the reservation was still on. They did no such thing. To have the audacity to tell someone what they said. DO NOT MAKE RESERVATIONS at SUSHI ZANMAI read more

Good service, but the fish was not good. Also, the night I visited, there were way too many college students(at least 30 of them) and they were SUPER LOUD. They ordered a lot of beer and Sake and they toasted every 15 minutes banging on the table and yelling weird Japanese. The staff didn't say anything because they drop tons of money but they should do something for the other normal customers. I didn't enjoy their Sushi or the dining experience. It was very disappointing. read more

Watch your bank statement, people. For the second time, we caught this restaurant adding couple of bucks to the final bill (after you add the tip and sign off - changing the total after tip). It is against the law and credit card fraud. We are not obligated to tip 20% when the servers plain sucks (I have no problems tipping at least 20%-25% for hardworking, attentive and friendly waitstaff), and adding couple of bucks to the final bill after you already signed off on it is a crime. We let it go first time w/ restaurant management pleading with us not to report the incident to the authorities. Not this time, they need to employ honest people. read more

We have been sitting at the sushi bar for 15 minutes (I started timing after the first 5 minutes elapsed) and still haven't been acknowledged by the chef. I thought that he would at least say hello? The couple next to us just ordered Bincho Maguro and he didn't even know it was on special. Clearly he isn't into details. Can't wait to see what this experience at Zanmai will be. read more

Sushi Zanmai - This "chef" still hasn't acknowledged us. Time elapsed: 22minutes. - Japanese Near Me - Boulder, Colorado

Not really sure if anyone in boulder knows what good sushi is. Place was pecked but sushi was terrible. The spider roll was cold & tasted old. The sushi pieces seemed as if they were also old. I didn't finish my meal b/c it wasn't good. read more

Booo. Party place full of drunk college students. So loud. Awful service. You can't hear your friends talk.

Went on a Saturday night and this placed was packed to the door. The entrance was a bit jammed so we had to move around to make room. Karaoke night was in full swing and a dad/son combo was having a ball. The atmosphere was festive and loud yet cozy at the same time. Imagine polar opposites but somehow make a nice combination. We were seated at a table within five minutes of arriving. The service was on the slower side but if you saw the number of people here, you would understand. I still give this place four stars because they moved as fast as they could and served under intense pressure from the general public. This is a great place if you want to take your friends to from out of town to experience a piece of Boulder and Pearl Street Mall...that's if they are sushi fans. The sake was on the OK side. The sushi was amazing and presentation will make your mouth water! Like I said, the atmosphere is rockin' all over the place on weekends. I like the place and will definitely keep it on my list next time I head that way. read more

Not a good sushi experience. Our friend had a birthday party there and we were in one of those tables where you have to take off your shoes and squeeze into this little hole with way too many people than it should be. The food was not fresh at all and I will not be back. Hapa is a million times better. This place was gross in so many ways. read more

I also tried really hard to like this place. I went their 3 times for birthdays and every time ruined the birthday. It took us literally 2 hours to get our food on two different occasions. The only reason we went back a third time is because my sister likes the closed tea rooms. The service is so unworldly slow, that you will want to bring a sleeping bag and snacks the next time you go like I did. After the third time of staving to death at a dinner table at Sushi Zanmai, even my sister could not stand it there. We haven't gone back since. I highly highly recommend Sushi Den and its sister restaurant in Denver. If you're up north, I recommend Hana Matsuri in Westminster right off the highly. Much Much better service ad quality too actually. You actually get to eat before your stomach digests itself! read more

I have had my best sushi experiences here. I'm from Boston, where the fish is some of the best in the world, and extremely fresh. I'm a huge snob when it comes to the fish quality, that's what I'm saying. They do it better than most places in California and Boston. The wait time is worth it, and people know why they wait here. It isn't excruciating, it is highly anticipatory, however. I have had the pleasure of coming here on many occasions and I will always recommend any sushi addict here, because it's hard to find better anywhere, nevermind the middle of the country. Go. Just go. Order sashimi, and any of their special rolls and you'll get goosebumps, just like I did eating my last piece of sashimi. Sushi is life. Sushi Zanmai is the life sustainer for me, now that I live in Colorado and can't trust anywhere else. read more

We were here for a quick visit and our first time to Colorado. The hotel recommended it as well as some yelpers. I have to say, I was really disappointed. Thursday night before Halloween, crowded which is a great sign for a sushi place. My experience: The wait for the table was less than 5 minutes. The wait for our food was 1 hour! Service was really slow for even tea refills. When we finally got our food, the combo box of cooked food came first and was cold, the sushi a la carte items were ok. Wasabi wasn't very strong and brownish looking which I like mine on the very green side. (I know this is a personal preference and not used against the restaurant's review.) My chirashi dinner took another 10 minutes to get to the table, yes 1 hour after we sat down. Tuna and salmon did not taste good to the point where I didn't eat them because I didn't want to get sick. They weren't slimy, but they tasted a little off and we all know with raw fish, one wrong piece and you will face the repercussions the rest of the night. This is where things start to turn around. The waitress noticed that I didn't eat all my chirashi and asked how the meal was. When I told her it was just ok she said that they pride themselves on the quality and freshness of the fish and take customer satisfaction seriously. She said she was going to tell the manager. Well, since this was my first time in the restaurant and in Colorado, I had no clue that she was serious. The manager came to talk to me and I told her of my experience and she wanted to make it up to me by offering me a coupon for free dessert or free appetizer or cocktail for another day. (Sidebar: if I feel like I'm about to get sick from the sushi I did ate, I don't think I'm coming back again so anything free wouldn't really help, but it was a nice thought) I told her it was unnecessary. She came back with the bill and knocked $10 off the bill which I thought was very nice of her. That left a nice taste in my mouth as I left the restaurant because after the whole experience I could have left pissed and worried I was going to be praying to the porcelain gods because I listened to everyone, but at least the manager try to make it better. read more

The experience here was horrible. It was a domino effect of bad service, from the waiter, to the food, to us reciving or tab. And not to mention the blaring loud music that left no room for thought or conversation. Let's begin with the wateress. She had no sense of time management, it took her for ever to bring our appetizers, and once she did bring them she forgot to give use utensils. Let's get to the sushi. The sushi was not up to par at all. The fish was not marinated right. You could still pick up on some of the fishy notes. Especially on the salmon and the hamachii. The presentation was another thing. My wife and her brother had ordered sushi rolls. The rolls were loose and falling part. Simple put, they don't care enough take there time on preparation, or presentation. Now I might be a little tuff on my review. But it's because I lived in Japan for a year and a half, and lived in California for 4 years. So I would say that my palate is definitely akin to Japanese cuisine. All in all I was not impressed at all with this restaurant. read more

The most authentic Japanese and sushi restaurant in Boulder Colorado. They even give you the hot towel at the beginning which is such a great tradition. Endless positive energy, fantastic, fresh fish and always a fun atmosphere!! read more

While ordering my appetizer and Sapporo beer, the waiter became suspicious of my I.D. He asked if he could run it by his manager quickly (because he could lose his job) , and I obliged. After waiting around 15 minutes for this verification, the waiter comes back to inform me the manager has "confiscated" my Completely legitimate and valid at the time Drivers License. When the manager came out, I offered her various forms of reassurance that my license was real, to which she continued to reply that it was Fake! Fake! Fake! I then asked her to simply call the police to clear this matter up. She dialed for the police, and I waited another 25 minutes. It was already late at night, and so far my entire evening was ruined. The manager gave back my ID and said she would "let me go" and would deal with the police when they came. Let me go? I'm sorry, was I being Detained? Embarrassed me in front of the whole restaurant , we're condescending the whole time, and never admitted they were wrong. No hate on the waiter, at the end of the day a quick run by of my ID to the manager isn't that big of a deal. But when the restaurant wants to take it a step further and almost steal my property, that's when I feel the need to leave a review. Thanks again, but I had a way better experience at Japango! read more

LOVE this place. Great for birthdays, especially if you book a room in advance. Have to get sake bombs!! So fun !!!

Sushi Zanmai is a treat. When visiting Boulder, I was given this recommendation by a friend. I went 2 days in a row for lunch and probably would have gone back again if my time didn't run out. On the first day, I had the Z 9 roll which was great. What blew me away was the Hamachi nigiri, which was amazing. On day 2, Hamachi, and fresh Salmon were again, fabulous. The Dragon roll was good also, though had too much sauce for my taste. I was wowed by the quality of not only the fish, but the presentation. And the greatest thing that I will always remember, is that the staff was the friendliest I have ever experienced in a sushi bar, EVER. I will miss not having the opportunity to visit Sushi Zanmai regularly. read more

The sushi here is SO good. I frequent Hapa (mainly for happy hour), but recently went to Zanmai again, and was reminded of how good sushi can get. Hapa is like grabbing a burger, and Zanmai is like going out for steak. read more

Really loved the Lucky 7 Roll. You can also have them change things around on rolls and have them add or remove ingredients. Really loved the staff and service and overall quality of the food. Will definitely come back. read more

Sushi is just okay. Nothing is particularly fresh here, as is the case with a lot of Boulder sushi. It also doesn't strike me as a really clean place. We got six rolls for three people, and felt they were all average. Come to satisfy a sushi craving when better places have a wait, but don't come expecting anything great. read more

Don't kid yourself: this is the best sushi in Boulder, although clearly Sushi in Boulder is on quite a different scale than say Sushi in California. I miss it frequently, particularly the deals they have on Sunday. Good for a group- get one of the sweet back or side rooms where you sit on the floor, and also great for 2- be sure to sit at the bar and get recs from the sushi chefs. And DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT miss the Z #9 roll. A little slice of heaven in your mouth! read more

I have tried really, really hard to like this place better. I grew up in San Francisco, lived in Seattle and many times traveled north to Vancouver, Canada, which has the best sushi in North America. So I admit that I am biased when it comes to great sushi. The problem with Boulder is that there just aren't very many good Asian options. I really don't get this given that some of the other restaurants here are so good. That this place gets such high ratings is a complete puzzlement to me. Sadly, I think it means the reviewers have not had the pleasure of experiencing truly fantastic, fresh sushi. At Zanmai, I like some of their rolls. But too often they are made with twice the rice they should be, and not enough filling. The rice is dry and undercooked. When I order nigiri, I expect a good slice of fish. The portions here are measly, and the fish could be fresher. It's often dry, as if it's been sitting in the case too long. I kid you not, but the slice of fish you get at the three top places in Seattle is at least double or triple the size of what you get at Zanmai. The rice is too balled up and squished. There is an art to making the foundation for the fish that seems to be missing. This is not an isolated instance. I've eaten here at least five or six times and the quality of the sushi is consistent. Not very good. I will continue to go here on occasion simply because there aren't a lot of options. I really wish Boulder could attract a fantastic sushi restaurant. This would not be it. read more

Sushi Zanmai continually gets awards for best sushi and such, so we thought we would give it a shot. We assembled our extended family members and reserved one of the "private" rooms where you sit on pillows down low. The atmosphere was interesting from that perspective, but the site is old and not well maintained. Very poor wine selection, and not very interesting sushi items. We had to ask what several of the sushi items were, as they had obscure names (Colorado roll, death roll, etc) with no description of what they were. The food was average at best, and for some things just plain bad. I really can't understand why this restaurant gets so many good reviews. read more

I'm rating the karaoke night here--the service was really great, and the food was fine, not amazing. A huge group of us came here for their karaoke night, but we didn't realize we'd need to be friends with the emcee to even get to sing. Seriously, he shuffled the requests as he got them, instead of taking them in order, and made sure his friends got to sing tons of songs. Our group, a very big group who got there early and made a bunch of requests (and also ordered lots of food and drinks) got to sing twice in two hours. So I guess it's a good atmosphere if you're a two-person table and maybe you don't care if you get to sing once. Most people go there pumped and it's really fun to sing along with everyone. It just sucks when you are a big group and you get the shaft because you don't personally know anyone at the restaurant. Like, the emcee literally was gesturing to his group and waving their request slips at them so they knew he'd given them preference. read more

I've had WAY too much fun at Sushi Zanmai. It's best to go with a group and reserve a booth in the back so you get a little privacy and of course can see everyone in your booth during your sake bombing. We've stuffed 20 people in a booth so there's lots of fun potential. This place is ideal for a birthday party. Sake bombing to get the birthday victim good and drunk, karaoke to record and post to facebook, and in close vicinity to dancing in downtown boulder which they will now do because of all the sake bombing. The staff is extremely tolerant of big groups getting drunk and laughing and spilling and just being ridiculous. Plus, in the privacy of the booth, no one will see too much of the fun. Oh, and because this is a restaurant, I really like the food here (gluten free, dairy free yea), but actually really dig the "colorado" roll made of seared beef. Delicious and something I haven't seen in other places. Take your birthday victims here. They may or may not thank you. read more

I liked this place a lot. We only went because we heard a rumor that the guy who owns it is the guy from Cannibal and Orgazmo. We didn't see him but the sushi was still good. We came during happy hour and prices were fair. read more

Mediocre at best. Nothing special and insanely pricey for kitchen items. Found 16 dollars to be absurd for Yakisoba! They also use entirely too much wasabi on the nigiri & the rice falls apart too easily. The staff WAS very friendly, though. But that is just not enough to keep me going back. read more

Thank goodness. All is well in the world of Zanmi. After a bad experience a couple months ago, I reluctantly returned. Hallelujah, everything is back to normal. Yummy! read more

WORST SERVICE EVER Sever was rude and did not care about our table. Walked by us several times while we we literally trying to get his attention. When he finally came to the table he said "sup" to see what we needed. Food quality itself has gone downhill. read more

We were a bit nervous to try sushi while in a landlocked state, but after a great recommendation from a friend decided to give it a try while on Boulder on vacation. They must get frequent deliveries because the sushi is fresh! The prices are reasonable. We got a table right away and the server was attentive. The beer selection was poor, but no different than any other sushi place I've been to. Knocked a star off because I've definitely had better sushi, but it is still worth a visit. read more

Giving a bad review is not what I enjoy doing unless it's absolutely warranted. My visit to Sushi Zanmai (Boulder, CO) was short-lived and less than positive on a Saturday before 6 pm. My poor experience has absolutely nothing to do with food quality, the menu, or pricing. I had read several reviews about Sushi Zanmai - many had made claims that it is one of the best sushi places to visit in Boulder. While I cannot comment on their food, I can comment on their service. Our party of 3 arrived just before 5:30 pm on a Sat night. Upon arriving and letting them know we had a 3 person party, the front of the house staff decided it would be a good idea to seat us at a small 2 person table and to bring over an extra chair. When we asked for a larger table (made sure that we were polite and not overly demanding), we were told that they could not seat us at a 4 person table because we only had 3 people in our party. However, they did offer us the option of waiting for a 3 person table and would seat us when one came available. What? Yes, 3 person tables exist in the wide world of eateries, but I have never heard of not seating a 3 person party at a 4 top. To not seat a 3 person party at a 6 or 8 top makes sense for sure, but Sushi Zanmai was being ridiculous here. After being given the run-around about why we could not be seated at a more reasonably sized table for a party of 3, we took our hard-earned sushi dollars elsewhere and spent them with pleasure. Upon arriving at Hapa (Boulder) were promptly seated at a 4 person table with our 3 person party. Wise up sushi Zanmai - there is A LOT of good competition out there for dining dollars. You and your staff should not miss out on an opportunity to seat 3 diners with sushi money in their wallets because you refuse to seat 3 people at a 4 person table. I guess Sushi Zanmai does not need the business - I'll gladly take mine elsewhere in the future. Sorry sushi Zanmai - I'll continue to go elsewhere for my sushi needs. read more

I have eaten sushi coast to coast and in probably 30 local restaurants. Tonight I had the worst sushi I have ever had. It was salty, with flavorless fish. If you are craving sushi, go anywhere else and you will be happier. read more