Spicy 9 Sushi Bar & Asian Restaurant
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Restaurants on Franklin Street always have more of a “you pay for the ambience and atmosphere” vibe, but the one thing that drew me towards Spicy 9 was their prices. Ordering online is an automatic 50% off, while in person is BOGO rolls. I just started enjoying raw fish as someone who was strictly into tempura shrimp sushi, so I’m not sure how well my palette can judge the quality and freshness of their fish, but I have never had a problem flavor-wise. The Flaming Salmon is one of my favorites even though it has cream cheese, which oddly enough is what makes the roll so spectacular. I recently tried the Spicy 9 roll and it was a little underwhelming and came without ponzu sauce, but the seared beef on top is a very interesting concept that works well. For tempura shrimp lovers, I recommend the Dragon Roll. Very simple paired with cucumber and avocado drizzled in spicy mayo, but the rice to filling ratio is perfect and refreshing. I think the menu is very hit or miss as it has so many options, but I am still aiming to try all of their rolls. I’ve never tried any of their dinner dishes such as pad thai or hibachi, but I’d like to someday! Is this the best sushi restaurant I’ve been to? No, but as it is one of the only ones in the area, I would still say it is very good and satisfies the sushi craving. Overall for their location, prices, good service despite heavy rush hour, and their well thought out menu, I would say Spicy 9 is well deserving of 5 stars.
Jessica LeeJessica Lee
00
I liked it. Place was set up like a cafeteria or something not very aesthetically pleasing but clean, very white. Tables a little too close together and maybe a bit too small. Or I order too much but they should appreciate me ordering a bunch because they are kind of pricey. Other reviews say bad customer service but we had an excellent server who went above and beyond to get recipes for me. I appreciated it though I was a little disturbed to find out some of the ingredients of these special sauces aren't really that special, it didn't detract from the taste. Although we did have dinner before the rush. So maybe that helped. We ordered 4 sushi rolls with silly names, shrimp curry, and duck: 3 out of 4 rolls were good. One was very boring and honestly just tasted like rice with soy sauce. Slightly disappointed but they're buy one get one so whatever. Can't remember any of the names though except the Flamingo Roll, my fave. Yum! Shrimp in the curry was tough and "not very good" according to my son, but he kept eating it anyway so it couldn't have been that bad. Tamarind duck, itself, was awesome. The weird assortment of stuff they brought with it just didn't go together: kiwi, green beans, bell peppers, asparagus. weird. All that said, I'd eat here again
S HawksS Hawks
00
I would like to start off with, I have eaten at Spicy 9 several times, but it has been over a year. Not sure if the pandemic has caused the slide here, or just some bad business decisions. I also feel really bad for our "server" Victoria, who was working Sunday lunch- by herself. I guess I will start at the beginning of the experience. Spicy 9 no longer has wait staff that will take your order. They use some half baked system called Toast. They explain when you sit down that you order and pay by scanning a QR code at your table. Let me emphasize the word "Pay" in that last sentence. This is a sit down restaurant that expects you to pay before they will give you the food. You know, like McDonald's. They also expect you to tip, before you have had any service, and not knowing how the service will be. This cost Victoria a bit of money because I normally tip pretty big for decent service, but tipping up front does not work for me. Toast is my biggest complaint here, so on to the food. The sushi was just as good as always. That has not changed, thank God! The steamed vegetables were barely steamed, but everything else was good. Due to the way you have to order, through Toast, my wife and I's food came on the same plate, which is ridiculous. If I could get one piece of advice to the management it would be to can Toast, and go back to the way to be, which I would have given five stars to.
Jesse TravisJesse Travis
00
I come here every Wednesday so I felt like it was finally time to review. Food is always good and well prepared, including the sushi we’ve tried, the noodles, the ramen, the poke bowls, etc. I am a big fan of their miso soup. Today I got the drunken noodles with a side of fried rice and white sauce, and my boyfriend got the Yummy yummy roll and the Rainbow roll. Everything was very enjoyable. Sometimes the restaurant can get very busy and wait time is sacrificed for quality of service. I’ve worked in the restaurant business before. Im thankful they try their best to maintain good customer service. They did bring me and my boyfriends food out 10 minutes apart, but my food was still hot by the time his came so it wasn’t too much of a big deal. It’s also important to talk about the one time that my boyfriend and I came here on a Wednesday and we were sat but not served at all. I think that’s an outlier with their service but people should be aware that it happened to me once. I don’t think it happens often or it will happen again, as the other servers we’ve had have given us as much attention as they could. Would still recommend coming here to eat with a friend or family. Just remember it’s in a college town so it can get loud and busy.
AlyssaAlyssa
00
This is my first time eating here. Ordered through Uber eats. I ordered the app spicy 9 sampler and bowl of the hill. Sampler: first, I opened the plate and opened the sauce. I noticed a hair immediately in the sauce. At this point, I would usually not eat any of the food because it grosses me out, but I unfortunately am in the hospital with my dad and just spent $42 to have two things delivered here. (Here all day) so I gave the food a chance. The crab ragoons are very interesting. I’m sure with the sauce they would have been better, but the inside was different than any other crab ragoon I have had before. Not bad but not good either. The entire sampler was pretty neutral. It wasn’t horrible but it wasn’t good either. (Again, we were down a sauce. And sauce can definitely change the game) The bowl: the bowl at first glance came with a lot of food. First bite was way tastier than the sampler. Great amount of tuna. The avocado was brown. The spring mix seemed wilted. The sauce is good and sushi rice consistency was great. I gave it a 2/5 due to the hair, wilted ingredients, and lack of flavor in the platter. I may or may not try this place again(I’d get different items)
Madison PlesserMadison Plesser
00
I’m somewhat regular and order from here about 3-4x/month and the sushi is good. I live down the street so I enjoy the walk. A few days ago I ordered pick-up, and as we were walking over, my friends and I decided to stay and get drinks at the bar. When we arrived, we were refused from being allowed to sit and order more because we had already paid for pick-up. It was very strange. We wanted to sit at the bar, order drinks, and eat sushi. After already tipping 20% on the pick up order, we were more than happy to tip 20% again for the additional service of sitting and ordering drinks. However, we were told it is strictly against store policy to allow people to sit, eat, and order drinks after ordering food ahead. But the good news is we walked down a block to Que Chula, the Mexican restaurant on the corner, and they happily invited us in to sit, eat our sushi, and have margaritas. The difference in service was phenomenal. In conclusion, the sushi here is good, but if you want kind and welcoming staff, walk a minute further to Que Chula where the restaurant wants you to be there.
Katze LoveKatze Love
00
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Learn more insights from Wanderboat AIBasic Info
Address
140 W Franklin St #150, Chapel Hill, NC 27516
Map
Phone
(919) 420-3193
Call
Website
spicy9chapelhill.com
Visit
Reviews
Overview
4.2
(707 reviews)
Ratings & Description
Description
Chic outpost with an extensive menu of raw & cooked Asian fusion fare, plus sake & cocktails.
attractions: iTicket.law - Powered by Hatley Law Office, The Carolina Inn, a Destination by Hyatt Hotel, Tar Heel Escapes, Hampton Inn & Suites Chapel Hill-Carrboro/Downtown, Jeff Repairs Wireless & computers, Shrunken Head, UNC Student Stores, Rumors Chapel Hill, Old Well, AC Hotel Chapel Hill Downtown, restaurants: Al's Burger Shack, Mediterranean Deli, Bakery, and Catering, Mama Dip's Kitchen, Sup Dogs, Time-Out Restaurant - East Franklin, Vimala's Curryblossom Cafe, Carolina Brewery, Carrburritos, CholaNad Restaurant & Bar, Top of the Hill Restaurant & Brewery - Chapel Hill
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