* Food: Rated 10 out of 10 for high quality * Ambience: Calm and relaxing, great for a chill time * Service: Friendly and efficient staff. read more

Zu Izakaya - Amazing sushi I need to remember which one I took - Asian Fusion Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

The food was actually very good, which makes the experience even more disappointing because the service was absolutely horrible. We were a party of 12 visiting on vacation, and none of us are from the area. We ordered spam musubi and a chicken skewer as appetizers. Both appetizers arrived well after our entrees had already been served and we had essentially finished eating. Each time we asked about them, we were repeatedly told, "They're coming." Mind you, these are simple appetizers that should not take anywhere near that long to prepare. When we asked for the third time, we finally asked that the appetizers be cancelled since we had already finished our meal. At that point, the gentleman working the front area , tall, with red hair, loudly yelled from across the restaurant, in an extremely rude and confrontational tone, "It's already on the grill!" There was absolutely no reason to speak to paying customers that way. His response was unprofessional, unnecessary, and honestly created a very hostile and uncomfortable feeling during what should have been an enjoyable dinner, especially while our group was on vacation and simply trying to enjoy a meal together. When the appetizers eventually came out, we left them sitting there because we were already done eating and ended up taking them to go. He eventually told us they would be removed from the bill, which we appreciated, but that did not excuse the way the situation was handled. Again, the food was good, but good food does not make up for poor service and especially not for an employee speaking to customers in an aggressive and disrespectful manner. Management should seriously address how customers are treated, because the interaction with this particular employee overshadowed what could have otherwise been a good dining experience for our party of 12. read more

I had eaten at this place before when it was Zu y Pocha. I am so glad that the menu has not really changed! Stand out items to order: the corn appetizer, the yellowtail carpaccio, or the salmon carpaccio, and sashimi on the menu. We have tried almost every appetizer and all of them are good. This place is truly not known well enough for the quality of the food. Finally, the servers are amazing, and there is plenty of parking. For some reason, this place is not often busy, so you don't have to wait forever to eat. read more

My husband and I were looking for a good sushi happy hour and stumbled upon this gem in our own backyard! We had our cousins meet us for lunch and were delighted with the joy of sake bombs, delicious food and the friendliest service. We truly enjoyed an afternoon of deep belly laughs and full, happy stomachs. Our server even humored us by helping our table play a dicey little game of sushi roulette where you pray you don't grab the one loaded with wasabi which made our family outing even more memorable. A big shoutout to the team over at Zu Izakaya for cultivating such a fun happy hour! read more

Zu Izakaya - Shishito Peppers - Asian Fusion Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

See all

Awesome late night spot, for decent quality Japanese eats, and in the Tempe-Scottsdale area. Zu Izakaya was a solid post-study dinner spot when I was a student, and this time it definitely held up! We were nearby for a show, and decided to stop in on a Wednesday evening for a late dinner with some friends. They have a good happy hour menu, and my friends ordered off there, but I was craving sushi so I got the nigiri omakase. It came with miso soup, which I enjoyed, definitely hard to go wrong there. The sushi itself was decent, nothing crazy, but definitely better than grocery store quality. The tuna and salmon pieces were a little fishy, maybe not the freshest, but it was also quite late (~10pm) so I wasn't expecting too much. Beautifully presented, and the cuts were quite large which was nice! The food came out pretty fast, and the service was pleasant. The restaurant vibes are pretty dark, and moody. The bathroom was kind of scary personally, super dark and a little messy, so I decided to wait till I got home. Overall, a solid experience, and definitely a good choice if I am in the area. read more

See all

On a Sunday evening, after checking out the Desert Botanical Garden, I was looking for some food in the area. I came across Zu Izakaya and it's great reviews as one of the options. I love Japanese food so my decision was made. I drove over and parked in their complimentary lot. Ambiance (3.5/5): I've been to Japan and there are plenty of izakayas there. Think of them as small bars which often serve solid food. Zu fits that bit. It's a relatively small restaurant, probably seats about 30 people. and it's pretty no frills for a Japanese spot. I was seated at a booth in the corner of the restaurant. They have free WiFi which is always a good touch. Service (3/5): Service was friendly, though a bit inconsistent. My waitress wasn't as attentive as I would have liked. The type of service where you have to flag them down to get what you want and to close out. Drinks (4/5): Zu has a nice menu of Japanese and Korean beverages, including sake, soju, Japanese beer, and more. With that being said, I just had an iced green tea. Food (4/5): I got a nice variety. I went with the Japanese sausage off of the grill menu, the OBI mayo roll off of the sushi menu, and the cheese corn off of the appetizer menu. Let's start with the sausage. It's a small item, two small sausages, but absolutely delicious. The sausage was bursting with flavor and basted in a sweet sauce. Minus the portion size, perfection. The cheese corn also hit the spot, but the execution was off. The corn is served on a hot platter, and unfortunately some of the corn on the edges was badly burnt. The type of situation where they should start over. Which they didn't. Lastly, the OBI mayo roll is essentially a California roll with marinated warm shrimp on top in a mayo sauce. I didn't love the hot and cold combo (shrimp and sushi), but outside of the temperature, it was a delicious roll. All in all, a very food meal. My only gripe with Japanese food is that it can get expensive quick. Given that Zu is in Tempe, I was hoping that prices would be a little cheaper. With that being said, they do have a solid happy hour (and reverse happy hour) with both food and drink specials. Next time I stop by, I'd like to check out some of their Korean options. I focused on the Japanese stuff this time (which makes the majority of the menu). Next time around, the bulgogi is calling my name! read more

Have only ordered takeout so I can't speak too much on the service but the food is always so delicious. Highly recommend for a small or more neighborhood sushi spot. read more

We have gone many times to the other location in Paradise Valley but we found ourselves in the Tempe area so we decided to give this place a try. First, the building is a good size but it is split between the bar and restaurant with the kitchen in between. There is no sushi bar which was surprising. Anisty, our server, was not only amazing and prompt but she immediately removed our dirty plates as soon as we were finished something I truely appreciate. My husband ordered a hot pot and I ordered sushi and both were great! Definitely we will return! read more

See all

We were not impressed. Everything was mediocre. Sent the yellowtail collar back because of no flavor. The bulgogi was dry. Sushi and tempura was good. We won't return. There are better restaurants. read more

See all

We were out in the Scottsdale area and starving for some sushi. After consulting my very extensive book mark collection "Funny thing about that...." list, Zu Izakaya was channeling its inner goodness straight to my stomach and I wasn't able to deny the connection. We were greeted immediately and everyone was extremely nice and pleasant. After sitting down, we had our drinks order with a couple minutes. The hostess walked us through the menu and recommended a few different options based on our likings. Everything was delicious and amazing! We may or may not have gone a bit overboard :) It was worth it!! We definitely left full and completely satisfied. On a scale of 1 - 10, this place has such a great vibe and the food is down right fantastic! Hit it up, smash it, do all the things...you won't regret it! read more

See all

Small, cozy eatery with friendly staff. The food was good, we tried a bit of everything. My group dined in later at night, so most of what we ordered was happy hour prices - starts at 9pm. The squid salad, seaweed salad and rolls were tasty but the ramen broth was a bit salty for my liking. I forgot the brand of soju they serve here, but it had a weird after taste for me. All things considered, it's a enjoyable restaurant to grab a quick bite. read more

Zu Izakaya - Asian Fusion Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

Food was okay! Sushi roll was good we got the Philly roll. I would avoid the hot pot, a lot of people mentioned it tasted like instant ramen and I wanted to give it a try still but I agree it does taste like a pack of ramen. It was too expensive for it to taste like that. Service was decent! read more

Zu Izakaya - SPICY KIMCHI POT - Asian Fusion Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

My husband and I came to Zu for a quick happy hour meal before our flight back home. It wasn't too busy so we were easily able to grab a table. I like that the menu featured not only sushi but some great apps too. Everything came out very quickly & prices were great. I enjoyed the food and bonus points for them having fresh wasabi. I'd definitely come back again. read more

Zu Izakaya - CHICKEN KARRAGE SKEWER, GARLIC SPICY TUNA ROLL & LAS VEGAS ROLL - Asian Fusion Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

Popped into this place for our last meal before leaving AZ and it did not disappoint! We were the first people in. When we walked in it had a very fishy smell, so it kind of made us second guess our choice. But we went for it anyhow. The greeter/server was very pleasant and sat us. It was very clean inside with ample space between seat. We browsed through the menu and started with our usual edamame and pot stickers. The edamame was salted well throughout where a lot of places just put the salt on top only. We ordered a couple varieties of sake which were both good. Out of all of the things we ordered the karange skewer was just a little more oily than were use to, but still good. The spicy salmon roll had really great flavor and the lollipop roll was probably one of the better versions that we have had. The musubi was giant to say the least, it was good, but offered a bit too much rice. Overall the food and service was great and we were very happy that we ended up here! read more

See all

Good service, but the food was very Middleton. Reviews do not reflect the quality of the food.

Love this place for the happy hour specials. Can't get a better deal on a seaweed salad anywhere else and the food is actually pretty yummy. I don't really recommend going to their bar for a date night, or really coming here for a date in general, for several reasons - but they are a solid choice for an inexpensive happy hour when you want a solid sushi burrito or some inexpensive options. Would not come here if you're in a rush though, they tend to have a long wait no matter what time you go, but especially during happy hour. read more

( This is the first of five reviews I've prepared for describing some of the food I ate while I was out in Phoenix, Arizona. ) So this is going to be an unusual review for me in the sense I'm not reviewing a local spot -- over the last few days, I had to fly over to Phoenix for work-related events. While I was worried about becoming homesick, I also realized that I had a prime opportunity to check out some of Phoenix's food scene! The next five reviews will thus focus on some of the restaurants and joints I tried while I was in Phoenix -- call it a foodie's travel log and diary if you will! When I flew in late on Tuesday evening, most of the restaurants close to my hotel were closed... needless to say, aside from cursing my late flight, I was about ready to go to bed without dinner. Then, I saw that Zu Izakaya was open! A short drive from the airport and located on Scottsdale Road, Zu Izakaya was listed as one of the best sushi restaurants in Phoenix -- and with its late hours, it was a perfect place for me to go and grab some much-needed late night sushi and dinner! It looks like a Mexican restaurant on the outside, but don't let it fool you -- it's one of the most unique izakaya restaurants I've seen, enough so that this would easily be at home back in Vegas. It looks like it's fairly popular with the late night crowd, too, since this place was fairly packed at 10 PM, long after most places in Phoenix have closed for the night. Food-wise, they offer quite the unique menu -- along with traditional Japanese dishes, they also serve Korean-style jjigaes and grill items that are popular among the late night crowd! Of course, for the sake of my review I tried mostly the Japanese menu -- though you better believe that if and when I'm back in Phoenix next time I'll come back to try the rest of their menu! As this was my first time in, my server, Tanja, was nice enough to provide me with recommendations on what to try at Zu -- and needless to say, I enjoyed everything! See the attached photos for examples of what I had -- of course, my favorites were all the sushi, but the miso soup, tempura, and their skewers were also amazing. Shout-out to Tanja for helping make my first meal in Phoenix be this memorable! Despite my frustrations with flight delays, my experience at Zu redeemed that night -- enough that I'm already planning to go back to Zu if and when I return to Phoenix next time! I can't think of any better way to make a great first impression. Here's to hoping I'm able to come back sooner rather than later! read more

See all

Zu Izakaya in Tempe is so good! The sushi is fresh and really well done, and their happy hour is definitely worth it. I love that they have two separate rooms, so it doesn't feel too crowded, and they're open late which is a huge plus. Great spot for a chill night or not so chill if you sit at the bar. lol Overall this is my go to sushi spot. read more

A friend and I were in the mood for sushi and decided to choose this spot for our monthly group get together recently. We came in on a Monday night for a party of six and we were seated relatively quickly. We decided to go family style and share everything. After looking over the menu we ordered, butter corn, agedeshi tofu, shrimp tempura roll, eel cucumber roll, spicy scallop roll, siracha shrimp roll, spider roll, baked scallop roll, crunch salmon roll, tofu tempura roll, salmon uni ikura don, and a chicken katsu for the kids in our group. The dishes that stood out the most during our meal were the spider roll, crunch salmon roll, tofu tempura roll and the agedeshi tofu. The only dish we didn't end up caring for much, was surprisingly the salmon uni ikura don. The style of the salmon wasn't what we were expecting, and the rice was a bit mushier than we would've liked. Overall, the service was fast and friendly. I would say the ambiance was casual yet cozy. It's a solid spot all around for all sorts, a date night, a meet up with a group of friends, or a family meal with the parents and or the kids. The quality of the sushi isn't top tier, but it was decently good for the prices. We really liked how extensive their menu was and how it offered much more than just sushi, a little something for everyone's taste buds and preferences in the group. read more

See all

I have a perfect seafood spicy pot pot My daughter enjoyed the pookie. I arrive early. It's a quaint small restaurant. The servers are lovely. read more

Zu Izakaya - Poki - Asian Fusion Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

The food here was phenomenal. Everything!! The fried food was fried to perfection! Delish. The sushi was fresh. Small place, I couldn't see if they have area to accommodate large parties. Tables and booths sat 4-5 people. All the staff were nice. The music was our vibe. Great prices! It's not listed on the drinks menu but they also have a full bar. For a double jack and coke was $14! Even better!! We really loved the smaller portions of the food we ordered to be able to try other things. We will be returning! This is a place we show our friends or family who visit us read more

See all

Great service here! The alfredo udon is great for kids. We also liked the miso soup, house salad, and chicken skewer, but found the agedashi tofu not as soft as usual. All great happy hour deals. read more

I fear we went in with high hopes to unfortunately be severely let down! Disclaimer, the service was 100/10, our server was so being kind and accommodating, and I personally loved that she was so knowledgeable about the food (answered all the questions we had). We were excited to see such a highly reviewed restaurant with ramen/noodle options, of course being wary with the few negative ones - especially the one who mentioned that the noodles tasted like maruchan ramen lol. Much to our dismay, that comment was 100% true, all the noodle dishes we ordered tasted EXACTLY like the at home ramen packets to the point they were unappetizing at almost $20 each. My biggest issue was that there aren't actually a lot of seafood/vegetarian, even though it looks like it on the menu. A lot of the items listed as seafood centric or vegetarian have a beef ingredient in them so it REALLY limits your options down to just a few. Other than that, the other items like the corn and egg rolls were good, and the miso soup was good too. read more

See all

The food here was incredibly well priced and delicious. We tried the egg rolls, pork gyoza, beef bulgogi, shrimp and the Las Vegas roll. The Las Vegas roll was by far my favorite and then the beef bulgogi. The service was really good and the food came out quickly. The restaurant is casual and great for late night. I would definitely come back as it was well worth it for happy hour read more

Service was great, staff was very friendly and quick. The food was very good, I stared with a spicy yellowtail roll and it was delicious and for my main course I had bulgogi which was also very tasty. I would for sure come back here. read more

To be honest, nothing really impressed me. I thought the food was okay, our server was attentive. However, I do like the ambiance of this restaurant. Not sure if I would visit again. read more

Sushi was pretty good. Isn't my favorite or top 10 but it was better than most. Ambiance was great. Service was prompt. I'd go here if it is 10pm and everyone is closed. read more

Go-to sushi spot, amazing and local. Great service and vibe in restaurant. Been going here since I moved here! read more

Zu Izakaya - Asian Fusion Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

See all

what a GEM to stumble upon when I was in the area!! Dark & cool vibe. Came for a late night dinner with a group & enjoyed some selections from their late night happy hour. Nigiri salmon & yellowtail quality was incredible and fresh. The hot pot was a hearty portion for $20 and filled with seafood. Service was fast & our server Tanya was very thorough in asking just the right questions. read more

Zu Izakaya - JJAMBBONG POT - Asian Fusion Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

See all

Delicious sushi, great service, nice happy hour prices! Why is it that sushi is so good in landlocked Tempe, and with such great prices, too? read more

Service was quick. Last call for sushi was 10:45 and I got there at about 10:40 lol. It also happened to be the end of happy hour (3-7 and 9-11) so this dinner was for a steal! Music is in the evening was lowkey a vibe too. Chill rapa and r&b Miso soup was good. Tastes as expected. 8/10 Edamame was okay. It didn't really have a lot of seasoning but considering it is a vegetable I guess that's okay lol. 6.5/10. It comes with a lot though and it's free if you check in on Yelp Pork gyoza was fried which I've never had so I was excited to try, and it didn't disappoint. Very tasty, loved the extra crunch. 8/10. Crunchy salmon roll came with a lot of crunch which I loved. It is crunchy, yet moist, and really filling. There a lot of meet in it and it might be one of my fav sushi rolls yet!! 9/10 White peach sake was smooth, tasty, and most importantly, STRONG. 9/10 read more

See all

Me and my boyfriend were craving sushi per usual. Came here late one night, we ordered quite a bit. The service was amazing, the food was even better. The spam musubi was so good, definitely also one of the best salmon nigiri I've ever had. Since that night we've ordered take out like twice and it's only been a month. Definitely one of our fave spots! read more

Zu Izakaya - SPAM MUSUBI - Asian Fusion Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

Fun and cozy space. Sushi was good, the yellowtail spicy roll wasn't my favorite, tasted a bit mayo-wasabi-y for my taste. Spicy tuna was good. It was super busy when I came and they only had a few people working. read more

Great sushi restaurant/ Bar. Friendly atmosphere and staff. Elisa is an awesome bartender and got my food order right and drink. Great smile and I live the location. I will definitely come back to this place next time I'm in town. Btw I love The Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, Arizona area. What a beautiful nice surprise I got on my business trip read more

Zu Izakaya - Bartender Elisa and I. Good hard worker with great personality - Asian Fusion Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

See all

Love this place, especially for late night eats. there's usually a long waitlist so I would reserve ahead of time, but besides that the food was great & inside was super inviting. read more

Zu Izakaya - Asian Fusion Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

See all

Favorite sushi restaurant in Phoenix! Service was great and the server gave excellent recommendations. All the rolls we had were fantastic...sriracha shrimp, Jalapeño Vegas, and the jalapeño Hamachi roll. Can't wait to come back and try more. read more

We came here for dinner on our trip to Arizona. Very fresh sushi and fast service. Would come here again. Funny thing is I used to live in Arizona and never really explored the restaurants here. read more

See all

Restaurant is divided in 2 sections, the bar and the restaurant side with 2 different entrances. The bar side was not crowded during happy hour on Sunday. The interior is very dingy and desperately needs an update. The service was ok, the sushi came out slow and not at the same time but the server was nice and our waters were always filled. I started with the wasabi hamachi, yellowtail in a yuzu ponzu sauce. The pieces of fish were really thick, way thicker than I have ever had hamachi before. I also got the spicy tuna roll, the rice was hard and the tuna was very fishy. I got the spicy scallop roll also, I ate 1 piece and I immediately regretted ordering it. Super slimey and fishy tasting, I've only had nobu to compare it to and unfortunately that did not hit the mark. My stomach was on 10 after eating here. I give 2 stars for the service only. The fish and rice were definitely not fresh. read more

Friday night was my second time visiting this place. We arrived at 10:30pm and their closing time was at midnight. When we walked in, the hostess area was packed with people still trying to get seated. Once they all moved out of the way, I was able to put my name down on the list. The wait wasn't bad as we waited in total about 10 minutes. Once seated, menus were left at the table. We looked them over and decided on a few dishes. We ordered: Shrimp tempura Miso soup Jalapeno poppers Egg Rolls 4 sushi rolls 3 waters Our server was very busy and he apologized for making us wait. Once we ordered though, the food started coming out one by one. Everything was delicious. All four rolls and all the small plates we ordered were great! I will definitely be back and I'm glad they are open late! read more

This is always our go to when we are out here for a team offsite. I always cave and get nigiri but it's always meh. Their rolls are so much better! Come during HH and it's such a good deal! We get so much food and kept within our budget! There's a lot more food but didn't get a chance to take pics. We will continue to come here whenever we are out here. read more

See all