The 12 best sushi restaurants in Charlotte, and what to order at each
The people in Charlotte must love sushi, with the city’s great selection of sushi restaurants to choose from. And the best part is, we’re not just talking rice, raw fish or tempura. We’re thinking outside of the bento box.
Our options in Charlotte are far from boring. Choices include classic rolls, burger sushi (burgushi on one menu) and even a sushi burrito at our city’s local restaurants.
We’re going to give you multiple reasons to break out those chopsticks. We’ll tell you our picks for some of the best sushi restaurants in Charlotte and then we want to know your favorites:
Blacow | Burger Sushi Bar
Location: 1515 S Tryon St. Charlotte, NC 28203
Neighborhood: South End
Location: 517 University Center Blvd. Charlotte, NC 28262
Neighborhood: University
What to try: The Blacow Bento Box B. It comes with a special burger slider (your choice between Frog Burger, Flaming Cow, Blacow or Korean Pulled Pork), hand-cut fries, Thai cucumber and edamame, with your choice of sushi roll (Lion King, Rainbow, Spicy Girl or Summer).
Price: $16
What to know: Order in person, order online or call 980-237-7447 in South End or 980-237-6985 in University. Open Monday-Sunday.
Blue Orchid
Location: 8170 S Tryon Suite-G, Charlotte, NC 28273
Neighborhood: Shops at Whitehall Commons/Olde Whitehall
What to try: The Lollipop Roll. It’s made with tuna, yellowtail, salmon, kani stick and avocado, wrapped in thinly peeled cucumber. The roll is served with sweet-spicy tangy sauce.
Price: $13+
What to know: Order in person, order online or call 980-430-3971. Open Monday-Saturday.
The Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar
Location: 4310 Sharon Rd. Charlotte, NC 28211
Neighborhood: SouthPark
What to try: The All American Bacon Double Cheeseburgooshi — it’s a cheeseburger inside and on top of sushi, and it comes with seasoned fries.
Price: $17
What to know: Order in person, order online or call 704-365-1922. Open Monday, Wednesday-Sunday.
K.O. Sushi
Location: 230 S Tryon St. Charlotte, NC 28202
Neighborhood: Tryon Condominiums/Uptown
What to try: The Fire Works. This roll includes shrimp tempura, crab, and cucumber, and is topped with torched spicy tuna with special sauce.
Price: $10.99
What to know: Order in person, order online or call 704-372-7757. Open Monday-Saturday.
Konnichiwa Charlotte
Location: 1315 East Blvd Ste 130, Charlotte, NC 28203
Neighborhood: Dilworth
What to try: The Hadouken Roll is spicy tuna, crab salad and crunch, topped with seared tuna, salmon, spicy aioli, ponzu, assorted tobiko and scallions.
Price: $15
What to know: Order in person, order online or call 980-498-0420. Open Monday-Sunday.
The Hadouken Roll at Konnichiwa Charlotte.
New Zealand Cafe
Location: 1717 Sardis Road North #6-A, Charlotte, NC 28270
Neighborhood: Sardis Crossing/Sardis Woods
What to try: The Charlotte Roll is a spicy tuna roll with avocado and smelt roe on top.
Price: $9.50
What to know: Order in person, or call 704-708-9888. Open Monday-Sunday.
O-Ku
Location: 2000 South Blvd Suite 510, Charlotte, NC 28203
Neighborhood: Atherton Mill/South End
What to try: The Potato Roll stands out with tempura shrimp and avocado, wrapped with fried shoe-string potatoes, eel sauce and sweet chili.
Price: $13
What to know: Order in person, order online or call 704-594-1922. Open Monday-Sunday.
Red Sake
Location: 8410 Rea Rd. Suite 100, Charlotte, NC 28277
Neighborhood: Village at Robinson Farm/Ballantyne East
What to try: The Nigiri Platter features a spicy tuna roll and 6 pieces of nigiri.
Price: $28
What to know: Order in person, order online or call 980-498-1578. Open Wednesday-Sunday.
Ru San’s
Location: 2440 Park Rd. Charlotte, NC 28203
Neighborhood: Park Square/Sedgefield
What to try: The Jalapeño Candy Roll is tuna, salmon, shrimp, white fish and avocado, wrapped in rice paper, topped with sweet jalapeño and drizzled with sriracha mayo.
Price: $11.95
What to know: Order in person, order online or call 704-374-0008. Open Monday-Sunday.
Soul Gastrolounge
Location: 1500 B Central Ave. Charlotte, NC 28205
Neighborhood: Commonwealth/Plaza Midwood
What to try: The Godzilla Roll is made with salmon, cream cheese, kani stick and jalapeño, coated with spicy fish mix and flash fried, then finished with sweet and sour sauce, wasabi mayo and sweet sushi sauce.
Price: $14
What to know: Order in person, order online or call 704-348-1848. Open Monday-Sunday.
Yamazaru Sushi & Sake
Location: 2173 Hawkins St A, Charlotte, NC 28203
Neighborhood: South End/Brookhill
What to try: The Salmon Oyako Don Sushi Rice Bowl. It’s served with fresh salmon, grilled salmon and salmon eggs over sushi rice.
Price: $15
What to know: Order in person, order online or call 980-201-9134. Open Monday-Sunday.
Zukku
Location: 1115 N Brevard St. Charlotte, NC 28206
Neighborhood: Optimist Hall/Optimist Park
What to try: The Land & Sea Sushi Burritos are filled with panko chicken, tempura shrimp, avocado, mixed greens, cucumbers, carrots, sesame seeds, spicy mayo sauce and sweet eel sauce.
Price: $12.95
What to know: Order in person, order online or call 704-940-8095. Open Monday-Sunday.
What’s your favorite sushi restaurant in Charlotte?
You can submit your favorite sushi restaurant in our survey below. This is not a scientific poll or survey. If you have more than one favorite, you can refresh the page and submit a second option.
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This story was originally published November 9, 2021 at 6:30 AM.
