Numa

Unfortunately, it closed. But I guess when a clown from Top Chef by the name Spike who wants to put a burger joint offers the owners a pile of money to take over the lease one takes the money, says «thank you» the the clown and «what a dummy» to herself and promptly leaves smiling.
It was *the* sushi place in Philadelphia. Incredibly innovative, incredibly tasty. Of course you had to sit at the sushi bar and tell the chefs «Feed me». Sometimes it had flying fish sashimi served on the flying fish. Sometimes you could get a live scallop that was opened in front of you. You could get a yellowtail collar that was dropped into smoking hot oil for just a few seconds so it did not even occur to you it was deep fried. Oh and the dumplings… dumplings made by the Dumpling Man himself. You have never had anything like that before — they even hard perfectly crispy skirts.
It will be missed.

This location has closed.

By far the best sushi I have found in the city. The product is always fresh and I have never had a bad roll from here. The lunch specials are great as well if you are looking for a quick bite or a more intimate place to dine. The pricing is über reasonable and you definitely get what you pay for with quality and quantity. I will definitely be making a return trip here

I have to admit I am not a big fan of raw stuff. However, my friends insisted I try Numa, and I am glad I did. First of all, it’s not all raw. There were lots of menu items that were familiar from other Asian restaurants. The tempura was top notch, and the California Roll was fabulous. And all for a very reasonable price. I’ll be going back soon.

I end up here frequently on nights when I feel like going out but haven’t bothered making plans ahead of time.
The food is uniformly good — always fresh fish which is really the only thing that matters at a sushi joint. The standard menu has all the basics, but little more than that. The daily special rolls though tend to be excellent. And they will customize them to your taste if you don’t want roe, spicy sauce, whatever.
Service is friendly and efficient, the décor is attractive and the vibe is low-​key. Plates are reasonably priced, but probably a smidge higher than i’d like to pay, otherwise I’d be here more often.
Solid thumbs up.

Trying to find a place open late to even server carry out was tough in the city during the week. I was surprised to see how many restaurants closed by 9pm during the week. Numa was still open, just barely, so I tried a quick carry out.
I tried their Spicy Tuna Roll and Salmon Sashimi. I was happy to see the freshness of the fish and rice even that late at night. There wasn’t anything super special about either one, but that said, neither were bad, poorly made, or not taste fresh. Therefore, it’s worthy of additional visits and eating.

cute place, nice owner, but waitress kept forgetting about us.
their Udon noodle soup is AMAZING! (served sizzling in a metal pot — so authentic!) :)

Inexpensive lunch combos. Fresh and tasty. Nothing to write home about though.

The Weekly Specials board caught my attention while I was hunting for some lunchies. $ 10 sushi platter? Sounded good to me!
When I got in, the specials were actually more extensive. I ended up getting the $ 10 Tofu Teriyaki Bento Lunch which included a hefty amount of fried tofu with teriyaki sauce on sauteed onion and carrots, a salad, 3 california roll pieces, 3 pieces of veggie tempura (2 pieces of sweet potato and some sort of veggie dumpling), white rice, and miso soup.
It was all very delicious and filling! The tofu gets soggy quickly, so eat that first if you get it. It ended up only being $ 9.72 as well!

I came her for lunch with a friend about a week ago. I was really craving sushi and being new to the city I still have found my sushi spot. I want fresh sushi with variety, and I dont want it to be too expensive.
We went to Numa because it was suggested to us by a stranger I asked on the street. He said that they had good lunch specials.
The décor is simple and elegant and we got a table right away. Not crazy busy for lunch, just quite and a few scattered tables.
The waitress was very sweet and attentive.
I got the lunch special of salmon roll and tuna roll and it comes with miso soup or your choice of a salad. I also got the seaweed salad on top of it. Yummy sushi. But still more then I would like to be spending.
My friend got the sashimi lunch special and a glass of wine. He wasnt able to finish all of it, which I guess is a good sign. I have never heard of too much sushi but he was full.
Ill come again. Maybe check out the dinner prices.

Perfect for what we wanted.
Had been walking around all day, but dinner reservations were at 8, so we decided to stop in here and grab a snack.
I got miso soup and unagi and dave got a couple different sushis off the ala carte menu. The tea they have is fantastic… I don’t remember what it’s called, but our waitress said it is Korean.
Service was great, my only complaint is that it seemed awfully pricey for what we got.

The sushi here is pretty solid, albeit a little too pricey for my liking. I tend to go here if I plan on eating in the restaurant or when I have a particular craving for spicy scallop rolls (which they do quite well). The staff is friendly and the restaurant itself is nicely decorated. I just wish the prices were a tad lower for lunch; I’ve spent $ 16 on a lunch here, a lot higher than I’d pay other places.

Quiet, good service, good fish, standard (boring and tasteless) app and salad, nice décor, good menu. Would go back. Would avoid the salad. Happy hour M-​Th 5 – 7 drinks and appetizers.

Not objectionable, but certainly not good.
I judge a sushi restaurant first by the quality of the sushi and second by the quality of the restaurant. Numa does well on the second criteria, but poorly on the first.
The sushi was acceptable but not great. The fish fell slightly short. It seemed to be lower quality fish than you would find at a nice restaurant, and maybe slightly less fresh. The rice was a bit hard. Overall, the taste of the sushi clearly said second rate sushi joint.
On the other hand, I liked the décor.
FYI on pricing: My sushi dinner plate was $ 20. Came with miso soup.

Numa has taken over one of my old favorites (Moshi Moshi) from the days when I worked in the evil world of legal marketing. I was happy to see a trendy overhaul had taken place with regards to décor, since its former self was pretty dated.
I found prices to be on the high side for lunch. My tuna set which consisted of a miso soup starter and two pieces of tuna sushi, a tuna avocado roll and a spicy tuna roll set me back $ 14. This is definitely higher than typical sushi roll combos at most places, but I did think the sushi was better than average. It was quite delicious, actually.
I’m happy to know that this is still are reliable spot for quality sushi and I’ll likely return.

I was dragged in here, kicking and screaming.
Okay, no, not literally. But I should let you know that I was the one who once told all of her friends, «You will NEVER get me to like raw fish. Never.» So when I received the invitation to eat at Numa, I was fully prepared to plaster a fake smile on my face while forcibly moving my mandibles in a grand show of mastication. By the time i left, I was hooked.
When walking in, I was greeted with a modern yet welcoming décor, and it made me wish I’d seen the place before the huge renovations. From what I hear, the place has undergone an incredible visual turnaround. The waitresses were lovely and helpful without being swarming or smarmy. Even during the lunch rush, there was none of the harried feeling that sometimes accompanies service when the room becomes filled with hungry customers.
And on to the most important part — the food. The raw fish was outstanding. I never expected to use that combination of words from the English language, especially about a place that’s on the smaller end of the grand scale of sushi eateries, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the owners have invested in truly high grade sushi. For me, that just translates to — «Om nom nom, is there more, nom nom?» The salmon melted away into clouds in my mouth, leaving none of the fishy aftertaste that lingers after eating not-​so-​fresh fish. The toro, which I had for the first time, was torched briefly before being set down on my rice, and it was no less beautiful. We also tried a few of the signature rolls, each seeming to emerge fresher and more beautifully prepared than the last. The vegetables were crisp, the tempura in the cooked pieces were lovely, and the accompanying sauces were perfect, never overpowering and tipping the balance of flavors too much in one direction. The miso soup was standard fare, but arrived nice and hot and rounded out my meal. To top things off, the owners, who were on site during our meal, were a lovely couple and warm and charming to boot.
We had some young children in our group, whose limited vocabulary precluded them from full participation in this review, but I heard no complaints from them as they ate heartily from their salmon teriyaki bento box. In fact, their chopsticks seemed to travel more often to our plates than their own, and I can think of no higher compliment to any eatery than when kids are happily shkoffing their food.
Can I say I love sushi now? Will I eat it more often now? I’m a little sorry to say — absolutely not. Because once you have it so great in one place, it sets you up for disappointment when you taste subpar fish elsewhere.
But even this normally non-​sushi lover can wholeheartedly recommend Numa.

I had high hopes, new restaurant, right around the corner from me — I hoped it was reasonable and tasty but ended up costing as much as
Zama. Zama is much better and just as pricey. $ 40 per person is not my idea of a neighborhood restaurant.

The lunch special was a really good deal. The chicken teriyaki was okay, but everything else was pretty good. They just need better quality chicken. I would go back for lunch or to try some sushi.

The owners are a fantastic couple — perfect blend of hospitality, care, initiative, wisdom, and hilarity. The décor is trendy and the waitstaff is attentive. The sushi is pretty solid but not cheap. It is also unfortunate that Vic — the dominating Philly sushi joint — is only a couple blocks away.
But something about knowing that your money is helping to contribute toward a Kenyan orphanage makes it taste that much better!
Also being able to have more than 6 people without filling up the entire place is a plus.

Always looking for a good sushi spot in Philly. Numa just opened up at the beginning of the year taking over what used to be Moshi Moshi. I enjoyed the simple presentation and service. Definitely a nice stop for lunch. Just read a review of them and was impressed with their mission to be a business with a conscience. They give much of what they make to projects around the world. Makes me feel good to know that I’m supporting a good cause while gorging myself on sushi.