Utamaro Sushi Bar

My husbands family have been eating at the restaurant for years and years and we never stop loving it. Bob and his team are so friendly and their food is really fresh and the sushi is delicious! I highly recommend the Mojito roll and the dragon roll, but to be honest it’s all great and they have something for everyone.

A little hole in the wall place that is truly authentic Japanese sushi and has a sushi bar. The Spicy Tuna Role is the freshest most delicious roll I’ve ever had! Using soy sauce would have ruined it. The place is super clean inside and the waitstaff is knowledgeable. Our new sushi spot!

We’ve tried just about every sushi place within the Tampa Bay area (seriously, every burrow, nook and cranny), and this one, in downtown Sarasota of all places, is the best, and the most authentic.
I do not say this lightly.
The fish is consistently the correct temperature, it is always as fresh as you can get here in America. It is cut nicely and sushi is assembled with care. The rolls have multiple dimensions and are prepared as if they are art. The appetizers are diverse and every one is delicious in it’s own right. Our favorites: sunomono (which is actually a roll wrapped in cucumber), tuna yuke (interesting chili taste that you can’t stop eating), Bob’s white fish salsa (almost like bruschetta except instead of bread, it’s grouper), tuna tataki (well seasoned and delicious), stuffed avocado (fatty white fish with an avocado, what’s not to love?), and the age dashi tofu (while most restaurants have it, not everyone makes it to perfection like they do here).
Aside: Make sure you order green tea and bunraku for your meal.
Lastly, the service is consistent and practically infallible. We usually visit once a week– it is that good!

Today was my first time ordering… I order over the phone and they where very nice and my order was correct. They give very little sauce in the to go cups and there spicy mayo does not taste at all like spicy mayo it’s sour almost. The yellowtail and avocado roll was great but the sexy lady roll taste like publix grocery store sushi. The portions are good size I got two rolls for less then 17 dollars. I would go again but I would stick with traditional rolls no specialties. Also Unilocal has the hours wrong they are only open 11 – 2 today.

The best sushi in town. It’s rather small and quaint inside, but the food is stellar. The love roll is a favorite of mine.

Utamaro is hands down the most delicious sushi in Sarasota, easily beating out the other main street sushi joints. The agedashi tofu, crispy in an intensely savory broth, is to die for, and every sushi roll is perfectly balanced. I love the ginger dressing on their house salad. The staff is friendly and accommodating, and they always remember their regular customers.

I still love this casual Japanese restaurant. It is as good as it gets in Sarasota, where we have Japanese restaurants on every corner. It is run by a lovely Japanese family. Their food is delicious, authentic. It’s probably the only place in Sarasota where the shiso leaf is used as a garnish. I had this leaf for the first time in Japan many years ago, in Kamakura, and never forgot its amazing flavor. The sushi and sashimi are expertly prepared, fresh and delicious. It’s my favorite lunch spot, it is unpretentious which I really appreciate. One of my favorite dishes is a tuna roll made with cucumber which is just delicious. My husband likes the grilled fish. Sushi rolls are supposed to be small so you can eat them in one bite, humongous fusion rolls are a travesty. Utamaro knows how to deliver the true Japanese experience.

Underwhelming small sushi spot on Main. The rolls are small and there aren’t many to choose from. Service was impersonal. Not bad but certainly not good enough for me to come back. Sake House is still the best sushi downtown.

Good food… SUPER slow. One of our rolls was WAY sweet… it was like they drizzled French dressing on it. yuck. I did like how they toasted sesame seeds and put it in the rice. Could have provided soup and salad w/​all the big rolls like some places.

I love the intimate feel of this family-​run restaurant. We sat at the sushi bar and enjoyed every delicious minute! This is our favorite sushi place in Sarasota!

Had a very nice meal. Sushi was good and the hosts were very nice. The sake selection was good and the waitress was very knowledgeable about them. Food tasted very «authentic» (when did that become such a benchmark anyway? Food should be celebrated for being tasty not for being made in an unchanging manner since the dawn of time) and the plate presentation was dynamite!

I’m here a couple of times each month (always for lunch, as I work across the street)
Pros: Holy Cow! Had the Volcano Roll today and it’s my new favorite. Wish it weren’t as big, but the flavor was awesome! The Utamaro Roll creates subconscious cravings when I start thinking of sushi, and I have started duplicating the stuffed avocado appetizer at home. Service is quick and friendly.
Cons: The shrimp shumai comes with plain yellow mustard and no brown sauce. The waitress told me that’s the traditional way to serve, but I’ve had shrimp shumai at almost every sushi joint I’ve been to. It’s a must-​have. I have yet to see it served anywhere in the country without the yummy brown dipping sauce.
Overall: Good to go!

We love Bob and we followed his sushi here from Philly. Easy spot next to movie theatre and bug parking deck. Check it out.

There is nothing wrong with this place. Clean, fresh, friendly. The only problem I have is that I was underwhelmed. After seeking out great sushi and reading all these reviews I was really looking forward to some good stuff. They had no toro which was a bummer, asked if the sushi chef has anything special or could recommend anything and he simply said the specials are on the board. Decent rolls, good nigiri, nothing unique or amazing. Sad to say.

The trip to Florida is not complete without going to a Japanese restaurant. Since all of us, my husband, myself and my stepdaughter love Japanese food, we found this great place. We also got to meet the owner, Nobuyoshi-​San and his wife Chieko-​San. The owner is also the sushi chef. So if you order sushi or sashimi, your plate is most likely prepared by the owner himself (like in many traditional Japanese restaurants). We ordered a delicious mussels dish as appetizer in spicy sauce, so good! Then I had chirashi dinner, my husband had sushi deluxe and my stepdaughter had some rolls that you can find under their special menu — was so good! We had a great time and a great dinner. Quality of the fish is superb! Would definitely come back for more when we return to Sarasota…“oishi”! *:)

Quintessential Japanese Sushi Bar! Service is perfect! Food is amazing! A true gem in Sarasota.

Disappointing. Looks like a high end place and we sat at the bar as typically you get some interesting comments with the chef. We even ordered the Toyko Tasting Tour, hoping to get their best and most interesting. We did not come away satisfied. The sushi bites ranged from boring to down right gross. Including a large slice of octopus tentacle with no rice or sauce, might as well have given me a rubber ball to chew on. They even managed to screw up the ginger, which did not taste fresh and it was the ginger that they dye pink for some reason. At least the beer was cold and the price was not obnoxious ($ 20 per person). But it is disheartening to be able to smell the ocean and yet still get bad sushi.

Atmosphere is aesthetically pleasing but cramped. My dinner mate loves to steal the chair against the wall and leave me out in the aisle which I find uncomfortable. Especially since I am 5’8″ and she is 5’1″. In this restaurant you have only those two choices. No booths or sideways tables where nobody has to be in the aisle. Anyway, it is expensive. I got green tea for $ 2.50 just because I did not want to pay $ 8 for a glass of wine. I ordered the combo Chicken Teryaki and Tempura Shrimp Sushi. The portion, although beautifully presented in a Bento Box, was not very big. The chicken was dry and there was barely any Teryaki sauce for my rice. I didn’t bother finishing it and took it home. The next day I ate bland sticky rice with soy sauce. I spent $ 20.00 for my entrée and tea.
My friend got the full Teryaki dinner and Sushi because she did not like the Tempura part of the combo. Her sushi was an additional $ 8.95 plus her two glasses of wine and $ 15.25 entrée which came to $ 40 before tax and tip. We did not have dessert. I don’t know that I would go back due to the price and serving size. It was packed in there though so I am glad for them.

I came to Utamaro with high expectations, once I knew that the sushi chefs are actually Japanese, which is rare in these parts. They have a prime location directly across from the big movie theater on Main St. The dining area is slim and deep with black marble top tables and rickety black painted metal chairs. The servers and sushi chefs will greet you upon entering and the service is stellar.
However, the sushi is overpriced for what it is in comparison to other establishments within walking distance. The raw fish sashimi, nigiri, and rolls are 4 stars, but the cooked rolls are 2 stars. The slices of fish are generous on the nigiri, about three times as much as you actually need. This is common with Japanese chefs, which are rare to begin with, so you don’t see it often. The quality of the raw items is pretty good, but not excellent.
The cooked entrees from the kitchen range from tempura to broiled salmon and will set you back an average of $ 25.00. A bottle of Nigori is $ 14.50, rather than $ 7.00 like I am used to– at least they keep it chilled for you while you drink it. Most of the appetizers are about $ 8.00. The Agedashi Tofu was prepared perfectly served floating in dashi broth with bonito on top. I did not see any desserts offered on the menu. But, there is a Coldstone right next door if you need a quick fix.
The cooked style rolls are a whole other story. If a restaurant is going to charge a fortune for cooked rolls that are terrible, then just don’t make them at all. Just sell what you specialize in and maybe it will keep your customers coming back. I had a roll with fried shrimp and spicy mayo dots on top, which tasted very strange– smokey and bitter and way too spicy. I eat spicy food everyday, but this was pretty hot. The Volcano style roll that I had was completely disgusting for $ 13.95. It was covered in a mix of mussels, scallop, and faux crab with more mayo than seafood and no additional flavorings such as chili, scallion, or garlic. It was just a super chewy, tangy mess. Run away! Actually, if you are on foot only, just run to Yume.
My husband and I only had four rolls, a small appetizer, and two ordered of Nigiri, which was $ 95.00 with tip. It was fairly ridiculous. Depending on how you want to weigh that in with high prices comparable to Vizen, but less quality and interior atmosphere, then you draw your own conclusions. Me– I would rather spend the same amount of money for better quality food all around. Leaving here I felt like a chump, and I hate that feeling so I most likely will not return.

The small galley shaped restaurant at the east end of main street is a nice little haven of tranquility. I first discovered Utamaro here shortly after they moved to this part of town from St. Armands during the wait between movies at the Sarasota Film festival.
The sushi has always been top notch here and you have to get the hamachi kama (yellow tail collar). A bit of tasty morsel of the fish that usually gets thrown out with what some think are the scary parts. Very yummy and well done here. Besides the sushi the Udon’s are excellent. A wide range of sake is another great draw, be sure to try some of the cold varieties and not the rut gut that most americans get when they go to a sushi bar. Utamaro has an excellent set of different types, so get one of the good ones.
What makes this place extra special is the staff. They are very knowledgeable and make good recommendations. From suchi, to the saki, to some of the cooked items, trust the server! Even when you think you know what you like be sure to ask them what is good that night and you might be surprised. Many times I’ve gone there and what the waitress recommend was much better than what I was hungry for when I walked in the door.
I only have one minor quibble. It seems to be that the ratio of fish to rice is wrong in the nigri. Very large pieces of fish. While I love having a nice large piece of eel or hamachi the esthetics just seem a bit off. It is almost like they have fallen into the «bigger is better» trap. Maybe I’m wrong and they just love sharing great fish with their customers, but this has always seemed a bit off to me when I come here for sushi, but I never let it hold me back from visiting!