Sushi for Dinner | The best japanese places to eat in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota

If you ever stop in Twin Cities, Minneapolis or Saint Paul, and want to have a sushi dinner, here is a list of some of the best places to go. They are all good restaurants with good reviews from gourmet sushi eaters.

Origami

Origami is one of the oldest Japanese restaurant opened in Minneapolis. Its reputation goes beyond and above. For several years, Origami has been selected the best sushi place in town by customers as well as critics, and for ten years it has been nominated in the top 10 American best restaurants by Zagat Survey.

Besides sushi, Origami offers other traditional Japanese entrees and some American favourites. Along with food you can order sake or bar drinks like wine, martini or beer.

The sushi menu is rich and varied and the prices are fair. You can have sushi for $2.50 a piece or sashimi for $6.50 for tree pieces. The restaurant has a sushi bar, a dinning room and dinning booths. It is opened Monday through Friday for lunch and dinner and Saturday and Sunday for dinner only. Reservations are accepted on week day for large parties though they prefer first come first served.

Origami is located in downtown Minneapolis (30 North First Street
Minneapolis, MN 55401 phone 612-333-8430). Recently they opened a new location in Minnetonka (12305 WAYZATA BLVD., MINNETONKA, MN 55305 phone 952-746-3398).

 Nami

Nami Sushi is located in downtown Minneapolis also, at 251 First Avenue North. It is not as famous as Origami but this summer has been nominated in the top tree "best sushi place in town" by the local media. Nami has became people's favourite due to its huge selection of sushi and speciality rolls. Some people call it sophisticated, others find it snobbish, some others may complain about service but everybody like its sushi. The price, again, is fair and you can expect to pay anywhere from $4.75 for to pieces to $16.95 for nine pieces of speciality rolls.

This is a family owned restaurant and the space is large with many dinning areas and a sushi bar, where you can watch chef Hide Tozowa and chef Toshi Matsumoto preparing a sushi plater.

Sushi refers to a traditional Japanese cooked rice which is topped with different fish or seafood (originally, the rice was topped with fish fermented in rice)

Sashimi refers to raw fish

Tempura is deep fried buttered seafood and vegetable (introduced in Japan by Portuguese travelers)

Speciality roll is sushi rolled in a see weed called nori

Sakura

Rated very high in customers preferences, Sakura is frequently visited by the MN Wild hockey players. But its reputation comes from its food rather then its guests. Some people say that there is the freshest fish in town. Like other Japanese restaurants, Sakura offers more traditional entrees along with drinks. The place has a large dinning area on two levels, a sushi bar and it has been recently remodeled to accommodate a full bar. It is open all week for lunch and dinner. This restaurant is actually located in downtown St. Paul (350 St. Peter Street, phone: 651-224-0185), in Carriage Hill Plaza, very closed to Xcel Energy Center. The owner, Miyoko Omori, had been working in restaurant industry since 1970, the years she immigrated in America from Japan. The restaurant is home for Japanese community in Twin Cities.

Sushi Tango

Sushi Tango has two location in the metro area, one in uptown Minneapolis, at 3001 Hannepin Avenue, second floor on Calhoun Square and the second in big Tamarack Village shopping center in Woodbury, a fancy suburb of Twin Cities. In the menu, sushi Tango has a little bit for everybody, from some American appetizers to traditional Asian cuisine and of course sushi. The owner is a Hmong native who had been a chef at other famous sushi bars in town, including Origami. His name is Teng Thao, or Tengo.

The thing that got most people speaking about is the Happy Hours that runs Monday to Wednesday from from 5pm to 7 pm and again from 10 pm to midnight and Thursday to Sunday from noon to 6 pm and then again from 10pm to midnight.

Fuji Ya

Fuji Ya is the first Japanese restaurant in Minnesota. And its all about atmosphere. With two location, on both sides of Mississippi river, Fuji Ya has not only the Japanese food but also the Japanese furniture and decor: paper lamps, bamboo trims, bonsais, private zashiki room, filled with traditional pillows and low tables. There is, of course, the sushi bar and a patio.

Fuji ya has Happy Hours Tuesday through Thursday from 5 pm to 7 pm and again Sunday nights from 8 pm to 10 pm. It also offers take outs for sushi menu and catering for parties with their sushi chef.

Saji Ya

Among all Japanese restaurants listed here, Saji Ya has the best website, where you can find great pictures of their menu. You just go to www.sajiya.com for a full list a delicacies they have to offer.

Famous for their tempura, this St. Paul restaurant offers traditional and modern Japanese cuisine. You could reserve a dinner for 10 and have the honor to see the chef preparing the food in front of you in a show of knives and speed. They too run Happy Hour and offers take out.

The prices may seem a little high for some but they are fair compared with all the other sushi places in town.

This is a small list of places where you can eat sushi in Twin Cities. There are many others, new and old, all serving sushi enthusiasts. Some of them even offer All You Can Eat Sushi for a great price. The restaurants listed above are among the best known places for sushi.