CONTRIBUTED BY SARAH FORTE
You could travel the world just to eat at Samurai Sushi restaurants. Want to “chill” at a Samurai Sushi in northern North America? There are Samurai Sushis in Vancouver and Whistler in Canada as well as Anchorage. Find yourself in Iowa? There’s a Samurai Sushi in Des Moines. There are three Samurai Sushis in New Jersey and double that in England!
But most of you readers are somewhere on Okinawa. Do not fear! We have our own Samurai Sushi! It is a pleasant sushi bar and Japanese food restaurant tucked into the Koza Four Corners area.
We intended to try the samurai sushi boat, but after viewing the numerous menu choices we ended up ordering three separate sushi rolls. We ordered a tuna roll and were asked if we would like wasabi in the roll. We tried it and were really glad we did! The wasabi almost made it into a spicy tuna roll. We also tried the Alaska roll and their signature samurai roll. It featured avocado, egg, cucumber and eel. All of the rolls were as beautiful as they were tasty!
The menu was large and showcased more than just sushi. There was an extensive drink menu, both alcoholic and non. There were sashimi, sushi, grilled, fried, Okinawan, and rice selections on the menu. The menu was in both English and Japanese and had pictures of almost all the items.
The atmosphere was pleasant. There were tatami mats throughout including the bar area. Some of the tables had sunken foot areas, while others had backrests and floor cushions. Our table had a view of a beautifully landscaped outdoor fountain. The one downside to the restaurant is that it had a distinctive cigarette smell.
Samurai Sushi & Izakaya
Payment: dollars, yen and credit cards
Hours: Samurai is open from 5:00pm – 9:00am.
Phone: 098-932-3450
Directions (a bit tricky, but the pin below is accurate):
From Kadena Gate 2: Drive down gate two street and take a right at the Koza Four Corners intersection onto 330. You will see GGG and Four Seasons Tempanyaki on your left. Directly across 330 there is a free parking lot. You will have to U turn to get there. Drive through the parking lot to the back entrance. One short block later you will see Samurai Sushi’s 5-car parking lot on your left and the restaurant on your right.
Coming from the south on 330: Drive north from the Ground Street intersection with signs for the Koza Athletic Park. Turn left into the parking area directly across from the GGG building just before the Four Seasons. Drive through the parking lot to the back entrance. One short block later you will see the restaurant’s small parking lot on your left and Samurai Sushi on your right.
We dined here a few nights ago and felt that we should warn others that there is a 300 Yen per person table fee and that a glass of Coca-Cola will set you back another 350 Yen per glass. So, basically, for our family of three to just sit at the table and have a glass of Coke cost us 1950 Yen. We only realized this after placing our order and I noticed the 300 Yen per person charge on the front of the menu (maybe this is a recent change since it has been awhile since the reviews were written). While glancing at their extensive drink menu I noticed the price of our sodas. While I’m not normally a penny pincher I was quite shocked that one soda was so expensive. We shared an order of fried oysters (5 pieces), husband ordered the fried gurukun, I ordered the Samurai roll and picky 13 year old daughter had one order of curly fries. The food was good (not the best and not the worst), service was fast and friendly. We loved the water feature but as others have mentioned the smell of cigarette smoke was overwhelming even though I didn’t see any patrons smoking. Total bill for our family of three was a shocking 4800 Yen and daughter only had fries! Based on the table fee and the smell, I don’t think we will ever eat here again but we are glad to have experienced it.
We went here a few months ago and totally agree about the ‘distinct smoke smell.’ We liked the restaurant, but left the place with that cigarette smell lingering in our hair and clothes. 🙁