OK, the best sushi spot in Sarasota, FL is no more... see my prior review history for location, sadly it's gone forever. Now, moving up a slot, is Utamaro Sushi Bar located downtown Sarasota. Been going here for years, always exceptional, now 100% the go to place in SRQ for sushi. Note this review is for take-out, holiday party at the office, everyone but the CEO loves sushi, but he stepped up and tried Yellow Tail, LOL, and loved the cooked orders. You won't be disappointed, please GO. Check out this spread of delish photos! Here we have: SUSHI = Hamachi, Bluefin, Uni, Sake, Scallop, Fatty Tuna. The only thing missing was Saba... I requested but somehow the request was denied LOL by ordering party (private joke). ROLLS = Manhattan, Flamingo, Seakosho, Dragon, Emperor, Spicy Tuna, Bang-Bang, Mexican Roll, Triple Tail, Eel, California. read more

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This place is so cute and the staff is so friendly and attentive! The food comes out quickly and is beautifully plated. Would definitely recommend the crispy tuna and tuna belly sushi! read more

Utamaro Sushi Bar - Sushi Bars Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

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Amazing service, they were very attentive and mindful of any needs we might run into. Moreover, the food was wonderful! Highly recommend the madai appetizer especially, the yuzu & wasabi sauce works so well with it. Overall, this is going go be one of our go-to places for a date night out in Sarasota. read more

Utamaro Sushi Bar - Madai Japanese Seabream with Yuzukosho & Kizami Wasabi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

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I ordered the side salad with ginger dressing. Sushi was really good the crispy rice appetizer was delish and we had an order of chicken fried rice I will come back soon really good read more

Utamaro Sushi Bar - Crispy tuna appetizer - Sushi Bars Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

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4.5 stars. Excellent sushi - wide variety of rolls, with some creative options too - one of them was topped with tempura eel - something I hadn't seen before. This gave the roll a nice savory crunch. The tripletail roll had nice big chunks of tuna , hamachi and mango inside, then topped with salmon and avocado. Fish was fresh - our first order of salmon sashimi was nice and buttery. So we ordered it a second time - unfortunately the cut of the second round was not as nice so the pieces were a bit more chewy. Sea bream and hamachi ngiri were also great. I wish the scallops were a bit larger, but they were fresh. There's a specials board right over the sushi bar but it's not visible from many of the tables. We sat right in view of the board and didn't notice it until we put in our order! Service is attentive, my green tea was refilled each time before the cup neared empty. Would definitely return. read more

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We were here for vacation for 4 days and we came for lunch 3 times, sushi was that good.The fish was super fresh and the sauces were not too heavy. The servers were very accommodating. Only street parking but always found good parking spots. read more

Being from California we have some of the best fusion sushi in the country... BUT! We have met the challenger and possible winner! The owner chatted with us during dinner and was great! This restaurant is MUST TRY! read more

Utamaro Sushi Bar - This presentation was off the chain! And the sushi was the best! - Sushi Bars Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

1230ish Lunch crowd on a Thursday Food: Lunch special - Good - Dynamite and Tampa Rolls w/Miso Soup $15 - Soup: 3/5 Std, minimum tofu but good flavor - Rolls were fresh 8/10 Service: - Good - Promptly seated w/waters less than 2mins. - Soup/Salads served within 5 mins of order. - Water topped off quick - Food brought out ~15 mins after order Ambiance: - Expected - Small roar of patrons, low enough to have a convo Overall a good place for a relatively quick lunch, I'll come again. read more

Utamaro Sushi Bar - Dynamite and Tampa Rolls - Sushi Bars Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

Utamaro never disappoints. Suzie provided amazing service. Sushi was delicious. We will be back. read more

Utamaro Sushi Bar - Sushi Bars Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

Second visit here and it lived up to our delicious memories from our first visit. We met some friends here for dinner and were glad that reservations are accepted. Just call and plan in advance as it is a small place. This time we tried a few different rolls. Dragon roll with avocado on the outside was very good. I do not care for fake krab or mayo with my sushi and the staff were accommodating with my requests. Only roll that we would not order again was one from the blackboard that had chopped mushy blue fin tuna on top. Friends order salmon rolls that were served with tuna by mistake. It was quickly replaced and fresh rolls delivered. The specialty rolls are more $$ but they have more pizzaz than the typical rolls that also available. Usuzukuri was amazing, tender and flavorful with the fresh thinly sliced raw hamachi and jalapenos. Good size portion and I loved the sprouts that soaked up the ponzu that was served under it. Hubby ordered tempura veggies and a decent portion with large sized veggies was enjoyed. Asparagus, onion ring, potato, zucchini. Servers were pleasant, service was prompt and they were very patient as we were chatting quite a bit to catch up with our friends that we were there almost 2 hours! Parking meters end at 8pm and there are a couple of parking garages close by too. read more

Ambiance was nice, cute small place. Service was great. Reasonable prices for bottles of wine. Food was good.. nice date night. read more

Utamaro Sushi Bar - Crab Rangoon's and Spring Roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

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Best sushi in town! @ Uni @ Bluefin Tuna @Ikura salmon roe @Utamaro Tartar @ Amazing! read more

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Amazing ambience, service and most importantly sushi! The best crab Rangoon I have ever had. read more

Utamaro Sushi Bar - Sashimi Combo - Sushi Bars Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

I had the Godzilla and the Mexican roll. They were so delicious! I am an avid sushi person and found this place to be very delicious and clean. I normally sit in front of the chefs and saw that Tony and Martin are very clean and sanitary while they work. I love this place and will definitely be back! The vobe is great! The parking is hit or miss right in front of the restaurant but luckily there's a free parking garage across the street. read more

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I really enjoyed this lovely sushi (and more) spot in downtown Sarasota. The service was excellent and the variety of food was nice. It is a more energetic, trendy sushi restaurant and I enjoyed the music and atmosphere. I wanted sushi the evening I was thereselected rolls with hamachi (yellowtail) and they were delicious! I will return. read more

Utamaro Sushi Bar - Great venue for girls' dinner out - Sushi Bars Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

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Excellent sushi all around. Very fresh. They will Aburi if asked, a must for any belly you order. Look forward to trying some of their entrees. read more

Top notch sushi! Love the waitstaff, always friendly and helpful! Nice relaxed vibe. Our favorite place for sushi! read more

Utamaro Sushi Bar - Sushi boat! - Sushi Bars Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

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Sushi snobs from Los Angeles and this is the best we've found in the area since we've moved! Super yummy! We are not roll fans, but the Lion Roll and Lobster Roll were phenomenal! The takoyaki melted in your mouth. Yellowtail special was so tender. We will definitely be back. read more

Sushi was a 10/10 and everyone was super friendly! I would definitely eat here again! Such a cute ambiance. read more

This place is the best sushi place ever!!! My boyfriend and I come here all the time. The staff are very nice. The atmosphere is very fun as well. read more

Utamaro Sushi Bar - Sushi Bars Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

Fantastic food. Great service and in a nice location for seeing a movie. There is a great ambiance as well.

I had the chirashi and the boss had the salmon teriyaki. Just a squirrel moment for me. For some reason, no place in Sarasota knows how to make a proper chirashi. Okay, back to our regularly scheduled program. The fish was fresh, high quality and generous in portion. I have to say it's the best cuts I've had in Sarasota. The boss' teriyaki was very good. Fish was cooked thoroughly and had a good crust to it. The teriyaki sauce was sweet and not overbearing. The veggies, primarily squash, were cooked well and was also tasty. Service was attentive and friendly. Also have a sleek vibe to it. Best sushi I've had in SRQ. I will be back for sure. read more

Utamaro Sushi Bar - Chirashi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

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Well we were heading to a Korean Bibimbap a bit North but surprised it was closed on Sunday?? So we re-grouped and looked these folks up at Utamaro Sushi Bar and drove on over. A very nice surprise!! Got a bunch of rolls both specialty, veggie, and traditional. Fairly tasty and well made. Saw some comments about composition and rice/roll ratio, but in our picture you can see these are expected size and look. I will say many of the fillings were mixed or constructed pastes or pâté or constructed of piece of fish or seafood. Our service was terrific and the places is spotless and very clean. I always peek over the sushi bar and see how the kitchen looks on the way in.......Checkmark! No problem parking so we arrived happy!!!! (it was a Sunday so no charge) read more

Utamaro Sushi Bar - Veggie and traditional sushi rolls. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

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Utamaro Sushi Bar is superb! The sushi rolls are fantastic and I would come again to relive it. Located in downtown Sarasota, Florida on the corner of Links and Main Street, this cozy restaurant is great for small groups. There is a parking fee of $1.50 every hour from 10am to 8pm. Menu offerings include starters, soup, salad, classic sushi, specialty and veggie rolls. My favorite is the Mango Tango Roll ($16) with crispy shrimp tempura, cream cheese, and plenty of sweet mango, so yum! Second is the Mexican Classic Roll ($8) with jalapeño and it's spicy but still good. They also offer bento box and lunch specials from Monday to Friday which includes miso soup or house salad. Restaurant is lovely with the intimate atmosphere, good seating, and soothing music. Ambience is relaxing and perfect for romantic date night. Service from Linh is absolutely wonderful! She is attentive and efficient, and made the dining experience very memorable and pleasant. read more

Fresh sushi and low key atmosphere. I asked for something that wasn't on the menu and they made it. Super personable staff and everything is made perfectly. The staff is extremely attentive. If you like fresh fish and sushi, this is a great choice. read more

Utamaro Sushi Bar - Quail egg and Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

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Beautiful dinner! Attentive and friendly service, fresh sushi, lots of variety on the menu. Delicious food! Clean restaurant. Friendly sushi chefs. So much variety on the menu that I had a difficult time deciding what to order. We will definitely go back! 5 star experience! read more

Food was absolutely delish. Crispy rice tuna app changed my life, sesame stuff on top is a total slay. 10/10

Fabulous! We ordered our weight in sushi and it did not disappoint. Sadly no pictures to capture how amazing this meal was. We ordered 2 of the crispy rice with tuna appetizers (comes with 6 pieces) and was phenomenal. Bagel and Bang Rolls were fresh and a great portion for me. My husband and family ordered 4 specialty rolls and couldn't stop talking about them. Next time we are in the area, we will be back! read more

Came here for my birthday celebration with my whole family. Had a good experience. Would give food 8/10. Great service. Wasn't too busy, but we ate around 5pm with our 2 kids. Good lighting and nice decor. read more

Food was great, called in a large order for a dinner party. It was ready on time in a beautiful display with lots of extra wasabi and ginger. read more

This establishment offers the best orange and spicy phoenix chicken I've had in Sarasota. The sushi was fresh, featuring a unique mix of rolls and sashimi. However, the standout dishes were definitely the orange chicken and spicy phoenix chicken. read more

Non a traditional Japanese sushi restaurant but was pleasantly surprised by the quality of their fish. Hamachi was outstanding. Extremely nice and cordial staff read more

The service is excellent, and the ambience is intimate and pleasant. The food is delicious and authentically Japanese. I highly recommend it! read more

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This is a hidden gem here in Sarasota. They have fresh fish and unique sushi rolls, and everything was delicious. I was not expecting to find a place like this here, coming from California (haha). We got the usuzukuri to start, and that was SO GOOD! It is their yellowtail with jalapeno and ponzu sauce. So fresh and so good, even the greens were good soaking up the sauce. The presentation was pretty as well. We then ordered a couple other items, including the sashimi combo (21 piece), unagi (eel) nigiri, scallop nigiri, sweet shrimp nigiri, and their dragon roll. The sashimi combo was delicious. I would say the sweet shrimp was unexpectedly very good as well - it was sweet and fresh. The deep-fried shrimp heads were good too. Definitely check this place out if you are a fan of sushi and fresh sashimi! I feel that from the items we ordered, you can tell that they are good at what they do, and you can probably not go wrong with anything off their menu. Also very attentive and friendly staff! read more

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My current favorite of all the sushi spots in Sarasota. Their special rolls on the board are often amazing but everything on the menu is of a high standard read more

First time here after we were told to come here for amazing sushi! Well... definitely it was amazing and then some! Our favorite roll was the Manhattan and others that were unbelievable were Atomic, Hamachi Crazy and the Utamaro! The Kani salad was to die for! The service was amazing and we will definitely be recommending this place to others! Can't wait to come back. Decor was cute and very clean too! read more

Utamaro Sushi Bar - Sushi Bars Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

Teriyaki chicken was unpleasant, soda is 4 bucks. Sushi also didnt really taste like much of anything and was madly overpriced. At least that didn't taste bad. If i stopped at the steamed buns, however, it wouldve been a 4/5. read more

Quick lunch on the way to the beach, was craving sushi and this place did not disappoint. Place is a little small so get there early. We sat at the sushi bar so service was pretty quick even thought the restaurant was completely full. read more

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Such a delight to have found this place. We came across it when someone from Sarasota foodies commented that they too were glad to have found this place since they were spoiled with delicious sushi in southern Cali. The restaurant was busy when we got there and our order took some time but we were served complimentary edamame to hold us off. The food was worth the wait! I ordered the seakosho - you can really taste the smokiness of the scallops. I also ordered the triple tail which had the hamachi, tuna and salmon. The combo of these fish was superb! I'll definitely go back and highly recommend this place. read more

Utamaro Sushi Bar - Seakosho, triple tail, volcano and 941. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

Hamachi roll, Bagel Roll, Mango Roll, etc. All were great and well priced. The rice is sweet, and tbe rolls are the right size. The fish was fresh. I travel the world and eat a lot of different sushi. The sushi offered here ranks in the top 25%. read more

Utamaro Sushi Bar - Hamachi roll, Bagel Roll, Mango Roll, and ? Roll (amazing btw). - Sushi Bars Near Me - Sarasota, Florida