Service and ambiance was successful, as usual. I gave six pieces of the Boston Roll (consisting of cooked shrimp, avocado, lettuce, masago and mayo) and six pieces of the Eastern Roll (consisting of cooked shrimp, tamago [egg] and avocado) a shot. I had both with tamari, which gave them a nice salt concentrate. Overall, a respectable experience for my first Asian cuisine review. read more

Zen Sushi - Boston Roll Eastern Roll - Japanese Near Me - Asheville, North Carolina

I cannot say enough as to how great of an experience we had at Zen Sushi! First off, the service was so welcoming and friendly. It felt more personalized than what you normally expect at a restaurant. The server was cheerful and made us laugh. We ordered the house salad, which was fresh and the ginger dressing tasty. Then, because I was so overwhelmed at the huge selection of veggie sushi (and figured them I could have lunch tomorrow), I ordered 3 rolls and some nigiri. The sweet potato roll was great - crispy with a little eel sauce on top. I added cream cheese to the avocado, asparagus, cucumber roll (which happens to be my favorite roll), and they added it with ease and for a fair cost (some places scramble when I ask for this roll). The joy roll with the tofu and crunch inside was so creative and great - probably my favorite roll. Then, I love it when places have the tofu skin nigiri, and they def had a good one. Not to mention, the presentation on our dishes was beautiful and so unique. After trying several places around Asheville, we now have a new go-to place for sushi for sure. We will be back! read more

Zen Sushi - sweet potato roll, AAC + cream cheese roll, joy roll, tofu nigiri - Japanese Near Me - Asheville, North Carolina

See all

We were walking downtown and I started feeling hangry and when we saw sushi it was done-zo! Not only was it delicious and priced right it was my son's first time trying sushi and he said "my life feels better now that I know I like sushi!" It was music to my ears. Thanks for your contribution to this memory. We will def be back :) read more

Zen Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Asheville, North Carolina

The only place open bc of the snow. we walked in 30 mins to close, they didnt give any attitude. THE SWEETEST PEOPLE EVER! we got the USA rolls and they are to die for! read more

Zen Sushi - USA Roll - Japanese Near Me - Asheville, North Carolina

I have lived in Asheville for the last 10 years. I found Zen sushi at that time and that was one of my regular places to go. The food was fresh and delicious Haven't been there in a while, but I decided today to go there because Ichiban was destroyed by the hurricane. I was served food that I couldn't even believe! It was so un appealing and so poorly made. I would take pictures, but I wouldn't even waste my camera on film to show you how the rolls looked. I'm guessing that they changed the ownership because the lady that owned it when I used to go there was always present, and everything was done to perfection read more

Very expansive menu that includes dozens of traditional rolls and well as specialty rolls. I like that they also have hibachi and bento box options. I couldn't decide so I got a roll and bento box. Staff is friendly and the ambiance is pleasant and welcoming. read more

Anytime we think sushi, we head to Zen! The rolls were amazing and delicious! We had an odd number of people, so it was a short wait. Service was good but a bit crowded. It was a busy Friday night. We will be back for more rolls soon! read more

Zen Sushi - Miso Soup & Edamame - Japanese Near Me - Asheville, North Carolina

Great sushi, convenient location, and affordable pricing! If you ever are on Merrimon Avenue it's definitely worth checking out!

Zen sushi is a great place for sushi. Really affordable for the quality of their fresh food, and the atmosphere is fine. Service is outstanding: friendly, quick, accomodating. I love supporting this place. read more

This is the only place I go to for sushi. I've lived in Asheville for 11 years and It's consistent, fresh, tasty, service is great, everyone is super friendly. I've probably eaten there 35 times and it's always incredible!!! read more

High quality for locals check this place out. Better than most sushi around town. Friendly staff, quick service

Easy parking, good food, fast service and reasonably priced. Usually you can only get two of three, but here you get four of four!

We love this place great service everyone is so welcoming and friendly and the food is always great

Me and my husband have been going to Zen for years now and it's never disappointed. The food is consistently exceptional quality and freshly made, and it's delicious. The wait staff is always super friendly and the atmosphere it relaxed. Zen sushi is a favorite of ours and we are always beyond satisfied with our visit. read more

My daughter looked up a place for us to go have sushi as we were having a mother daughter weekend in Asheville. She found this place and we went and it was the best place that we ate at all weekend long. The service was fantastic the place was clean the food was delicious. I'll definitely eat there again when we're in the area. If you love sushi, this is the place for you. read more

Zen Sushi - This is the sushi boat for two with sashimi, nigiri, and sushi. It also came with either choice of salad or soup for two. - Japanese Near Me - Asheville, North Carolina

Great takeout experience this evening! We ordered a few sushi rolls and an appetizer; easy fast service over the phone and our food was ready shortly. We ordered spring rolls, a Spider Roll (fried soft shell crab, cucumber, lettuce, avocado and mango), a Sweetheart Roll (spicy crunchy shrimp, cucumber & avocado inside; salmon, lemon slices, & wasabi mayo sauce on top) and a Spicy Tuna Roll. Everything was great; we truly loved it all and ate it all! The sushi was well made and extremely flavorful. We also enjoyed the spring rolls, they were hot & crispy and the sauce on the side was delicious. The sushi was the star. Would love to dine in next time we're in town and sample some more sushi rolls and explore the menu. Thank you for a great dinner! read more

Zen Sushi - Spicy Tuna Roll & Spider Roll; both were delicious! - Japanese Near Me - Asheville, North Carolina

We stumbled across this place on a busy Friday night. They graciously saved a table for us after a quick phone call and the dishes we ordered were all enjoyable. The fish and veggies were fresh and the staff were all friendly. If you order one thing off their menu I recommend the jalapeño bomb appetizer! read more

See all

Great sushi, great staff. Attention to detail above average. I love the vibe of this place.Family friendly and a great place to take a date, all in one. read more

We love eating here in person. The food is yummy especially the vegan sushi options. They have a wonderful tofu, vegetable soup. If you go for earlier dinners before six it's usually pretty empty but then it gets filled up pretty quickly especially on weekends I did take out the other night for the first time, and that was not a good experience. They forgot the rice, they over cooked the edamame, I asked for no onions in a dish. It was full of onions, I asked for extra wasabi I didn't get it. If I was in person, I would've seen all this and I could've gotten in remedied the issue as I drove home and found out when we were eating. We won't order takeout again, but we do love this restaurant for dinner. read more

Great sushi/sashimi in a casual atmosphere.Been there 3 times, consistently great everytime.Excellent service,nice selection.We had the Lovers boat last time- it was excellent - loaded with all winners. We love the Mio sparkling sake too.See you again soon Zen crew. read more

Really good sushi. Staff are friendly and service is usually pretty quick. Food is consistently very good. The hanado roll is my favorite.

The sushi was absolutely wonderful, and it's was affordable. the service was okay, and the food came out pretty quick. will absolutely be back! read more

I basically stopped eating sushi in Asheville for the past few years because every time I went out for sushi, I always left unsatisfied with the mediocre food. THEN I remembered Zen Sushi about a month ago, went for dinner and have been back three times since! Their sushi is always beautiful, fresh and delicious! My favorite roll is the Perfect Match and I would eat one every day if I could! The service is nothing to write home about but the flavorful food makes up for it. Already planning my next meal there. read more

Zen Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Asheville, North Carolina

See all

I really liked this lunch spot. I was across the street and a lady was talking about how good this place was. It is another hole in the wall shopping better please and you know those are my favs! It is much bigger inside than it is from the outside. It is on the second floor of a shopping center. It is really cute inside decorated with a bamboo flare. The sashimi lunch was fantastic! The fish was excellent. Absolutely delicious! The miso soup was your average miso soup. The server was very nice and quick. The steamed rice that was served on the side was not fresh. I didn't eat it because it was kind of hard. However, I do recommend this place if you like great sushi AND sashimi. read more

See all

Our go-to for sushi in the neighborhood! I love you can order online and pay cash. Excited the dining room is open again and there is indoor and outdoor seating. Consistently good and great service! read more

Been going there for 6 years . They had a rough patch coming out of the draconian covid restrictions but are back and consistantly very very good . read more

I rarely give restaurants 5 stars as they are normally rarely deserving. We have been to Zen several times and they have performed exceptional each time. The taste is good. Fresh fish. The presentation is good. And the service is good. Zen sushi rocks. Highly recommend. The sushi and sashimi are fresh, clean and correctly proportioned. The tempura cooks are skilled and respectful of what is served and have not served deep fried char thingies. Excellent. Veggies are prepared until soft and not over cooked under heat lamps or on the grills. They have not served to me, which counts the most. All good non-pretentious sushi. read more

Favorite sushi in Asheville for sure! Love the Devil D and passion roll the best. Great service, they are all soo sweet.

I've eaten at Zen Sushi numerous times and it has always been good - It's not great sushi like you might find in NYC or on the West Coast but it is very good The fish is well prepared, and fresh And no it doesn't taste like it just came out of the ocean because Asheville is 5 hours inland Zen Sushi offers a wide variety of well prepared, well handled, fresh and well chosen fish -you'll be happy and come back for more read more

I ordered from Zen sushi tonight for the first time through door dash. I've been trying to support local and find people who are taking all the right precautions during Covid/quarantine. I called ahead of time to ask questions about their gluten-free options as I have celiac and Katie answered the phone. She was kind and helpful. The order came beautifully presented and packaged safely. The delivery man wore a mask and dropped it at my front door. Katie made sure everything was gluten-free and exactly what I needed and the food was delicious and fresh. I will be ordering again and again. I highly recommend zen sushi in Asheville! read more

Zen Sushi - a plate of sushi and chopsticks - Japanese Near Me - Asheville, North Carolina

See all

Amazing sushi, hibachi, and the service was prompt and friendly. We've gone many times and love it more and more each time we've visited.

Zen has always been my sushi place of choice in Asheville. It is quick, casual and you almost always are able to get a table. Zen is located in the top portion of the shopping strip on Merrimon across from Vinnie's and CVS. There have been quite a few changes here but Zen Sush has remained a constant guiding light to us all. Prices are really affordable IMO and you'll find most of your sushi restaurant classics on the menu. I typically go the way of a green salad because I could drink ginger dressing by the gallon and then probably also bathe in it and not have enough. If I'm feeling real wild, I will also order some edamame. As far as sushi goes, I always get the Joy Roll. Tofu, cream cheese and crunchy wrapped with avocado on top. It's so simple but actual perfection. I've never ordered the hibachi myself but have had bites of friend's and it seems tasty and pretty classic for your typical rice, veggie chicken dish. This isn't fancy by any means, but Zen Sushi is good at what it does and you won't be mad at the bill at the end of your meal. Plus The Hop is downstairs and I never need a reason to sneak out for ice cream. read more

Really great service and sushi! Very convenient sit down place for lunch that is right around the corner from UNCA.

Gluten free diners beware: they gave me regular soy sauce after I ordered tamari on a doordash order and I didn't notice right away, causing me to become incredibly ill. This is simply not ok. Never eating here again. read more

I order 75.00 worth of food today, 3 stirfry chicken, vegetables and rice. When I opened the packages, I had a very think layer of vegetables and almost no chicken and this big container was 95% rice. All 3 like that. This was outrageous. I did not have enough chicken and vegetables to serve my guests. Do not go to this restaurant. Do not order takeout because they cheat you. No Asian restaurant ever gives you 95% rice and 5% vegetables where you can't find the little chicken pieces. I was embarrassed in front of people I was hosting. I will go on every single site that I can go on to blacken the name of this restaurant for doing this to me. Don't go there. read more

Really good quality sushi. Some nights they are short staffed. As many restaurants. But they are so nice and apologetic about it.

I've been to many Sushi places in Asheville over the past 12 years and this one remains my favorite still today. I think they have the freshest fish around and their rice is always cooked perfectly. Although the presentation of the rolls may not be the greatest, the quality ingredients make up for that. Their miso soup is on point. The atmosphere is laid back, it makes for a great work lunch spot with coworkers or employees but also charming enough for a date spot. There is even an ice cream place down below to go to afterwards. read more

Zen Sushi reminds me of the West Coast mom and pop sushi joints that I miss from Los Angeles and Orange County, back when Orange County was ever so slightly less affluent and corporate than it is now. It's a real family establishment, with decent sushi and a very friendly local feel. Prices on the lunch menu are not too alarming. We got a large hot sake to share, a 12-piece sashimi plate, a bento with shrimp and vegetable tempura, two free sides of miso soup, and a pair of mackerel nigiri for just under 40 bucks, including tip, and left feeling well fed and cheerful. Service was charming and very kind. Considering the quality of food we got and the fact that it cost only about twice what our usual lunch order at the McDonald's drive through down the street would set us back, I think we made out like bandits. Will definitely return and bring friends! read more

Okay, I've had lots of sushi before and I can really vouch for this place. Their sushi was really good, and so affordable! I'll definitely be coming back. We had so much food (4 rolls) and were so happy with all of it. read more

Zen Sushi - Japanese Near Me - Asheville, North Carolina

I really appreciate the marked gluten-free menu and delivery but the sushi wasn't any better than what you could pickup in the sushi case at the grocery store. After moving to Asheville from a larger city, I really, really miss having sustainable, inventive, and delicious sushi restaurant options. The fish didn't taste particularly fresh, or really like anything and the mayo used tasted like Miracle Whip, not great. I ordered three rolls, The Boston (a shrimp based roll), the avocado/asparagus/cucumber roll, and the New Horizons Roll - for $30 The price would have been fine if the quality and taste matched. read more