Ken Sushi & Asian Bistro
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What's for dinner tonight? How about some sushi? 🍣
urban_explorer365urban_explorer365
280
I finally made it to Ken Sushi in Clearwater last night, had been looking forward to trying it for a long time. On the surface, it’s a small Japanese restaurant in a generic strip mall, with the usual extensive menu. The place was packed with what appeared to be a lot of regulars, the food from the kitchen looked very good, and the three sushi chefs were making almost exclusively rolls and other fancy stuff. But people rave about the sushi, and their Facebook page shows a great variety of fine-looking “special” selections. I wasn’t disappointed. I ordered only nigirizushi, mostly specials. The fish was uniformly excellent, portions generous (probably a bit too little shari for the fish), the preparation very good, service slow (my order took about 45min, but the three sushi chefs were all very busy) but good. Selections from the regular menu were hamachi, saba, unagi and anago (you don’t see that often); specials included uni (from Hokkaido), o-toro, Ora King salmon, arctic char, shima aji and tai. The high point, interestingly enough, was the arctic char, I had never had that raw before, it was rich, complex, almost nutty. O-toro was best quality, as were the hamachi and anago. Only negative was that the saba was overmarinated, far too sour. Shari was probably a bit more compressed than it should have been as well. Overall, this was an outstanding dinner and I don’t think you could do much better for sushi in the Tampa Bay area. They do offer an omakase, and I’ll plan on doing that sometime, maybe on a less busy night. Given the selection and quality of high-end and exotic fish, I think this place is a hidden gem and could really give Sushi Rexley in downtown St. Pete (omakase only) a run for their money.
Jonathan T StewartJonathan T Stewart
00
We just moved to this area from Sarasota, and we have constantly been let down by poor quality sushi. Looking for a new sushi restaurant, we stumbled upon Ken Sushi. The quality of Ken Sushi is unmatched for what we have tried in Florida. Outside of omakase, they served us the best quality fish that we have had in the entire state. If you are looking for truly authentic Japanese flavors in a more casual setting, you have found the ideal place. The sushi rice was perfectly seasoned, and every piece of fish was properly portioned and very fresh. You could tell that the chefs put a lot of thought into the quality and flavor pairings of the food that they serve. First, we ordered their beef yaki udon. We received the pork yaki udon instead, but we were not displeased. The udon noodles were cooked to perfection, and their signature sauce was exceptional. For sushi, we ordered everything as nigiri. We ordered their saba, hamachi, maguro, anago, unagi, quail egg, and tamago. Every piece of fish was perfect and just lovely on our taste buds. The tamago was exactly what you would expect, and the quail egg was a solid finish to our first order. The star of our selection was most definitely the sea eel (anago). It was pristinely prepared in traditional 日本人 fashion. We just had to place another order of the anago and the hamachi because they were by far our favorite bites. The service was good, and every member of the staff was very friendly. The atmosphere of this establishment was very enjoyable, and you never would have expected such an astounding sushi restaurant in the area that it resides in. We look forward to trying Sushi Ken’s omakase soon. We will definitely frequent this eatery.
Allison DAllison D
00
This is a very nice but small establishment tucked away in a little strip mall on Gulf to Bay Blvd. The Mall has a traffic light, making it easy to get in and out if. When we arrived, we were asked if we had a reservation, good to know that reservations are accepted. Someone was waiting at the bar for a take out order so we also noted this fact. The tables are all set with very cute koi fish chopstick rests. There were 2 sushi chefs busy at the sushi bar, 2 servers and other kitchen staff that we observed during our time there. Inspite of being well staffed, we found the service to be slow. Menus weren't offered when we were seated, the food was slow to come and because we were trying the place for the first time, ordered small portions of shashimi thinking we would order more after deciding which was the best. We also ordered glasses of wine and water. After the wine, water and food was long gone, we had to ask another wait staff for our server before getting more food and drinking. The restaurant wasn't full and we were puzzled by the lack of attention. The food and wine were very good but I don't think we will go out of our way to visit again soon
Pam GardnerPam Gardner
00
Creative, inventive, and inspired sushi!!! This is a beautiful and sleekly designed little gem tucked away just a short distance from Clearwater beach Chef Ken, with his decades of experience, has created a spot both loved by locals, local celebrities, and local sports teams. It’s understandable why he has made a name for himself in this popular beach town. He has the best sushi, Thai, and Asian inspired dishes!! My main complaint about so many places that serve Thai iced tea is that you get no more than 3 sips before it is empty. Not here!! Ken’s is served in a huge glass with crushed ice and it lasted me almost the entire meal!! We ordered fried gyoza, fried shumai, and sashimi to start, followed by ICY roll and yaki udon with shrimp, then finished with green tea cheesecake. It took a long time to come to a decision because all the dishes and rolls looked so good!! You could tell Chef Ken’s creations came from his his soul and life experience in the business. Looking forward to our next visit to Clearwater to try more items from the menu!!
JONNY JUSTINJONNY JUSTIN
00
If I had a bigger stomach, I would've tried more sushi rolls or nigiri sushi! All the sushi is prepared at the front sushi bar. I had to try some new kinds of sushi since I don't see much of the freshest seafood in the high desert. Sea eel nigiri & Nitro Eel roll, bc who doesn't like BBQ eel? The Key West roll is a phenomenal spicy conch roll ... made with cooked conch with some Japanese spicy mayo. If you've had conch fritters, this is a definite MUST to taste! I had to have a bowl of miso soup (it was a little chilly in the TB area ... I guess the cold front stuck around while I was on my cruise to the Bahamas. But I digress ... the soup always a great pairing with sushi or any Asian meal. The meal pricing is reasonable ... ~$40/p is to be expected for sushi. Less if you don't order Japanese beer or if you oder dishes from the menu. I'll most definitely return here when I visit Clearwater again. Happy eating ... ching ching!
Xtine TrinidaddyXtine Trinidaddy
00
Nearby Attractions Of Ken Sushi & Asian Bistro
Clearwater Mall
Best Buy
Costco Wholesale
Drew 19 Shopping Center.
Michaels
Target
Clarion Inn & Suites Central Clearwater Beach
Marshalls
Five Star Car Stereo Clearwater
S & M Truck World, Inc.

Clearwater Mall
4.4
(3.7K)Click for details

Best Buy
4.1
(2.8K)Click for details

Costco Wholesale
4.5
(2.5K)Click for details

Drew 19 Shopping Center.
4.1
(874)Click for details
Nearby Restaurants Of Ken Sushi & Asian Bistro
Smokey Bones Clearwater
Mellow Mushroom Clearwater
Original Hooters
Saki Endless Sushi & Hibachi Restaurant
Crumbl - Clearwater
Pete & Shorty's Iowa Bistro
WingHouse Bar & Grill - Clearwater
Indian Bistro
Aldo's New York Pizza
Carrabba's Italian Grill

Smokey Bones Clearwater
4.2
(2.7K)$$
Click for details

Mellow Mushroom Clearwater
4.5
(2K)Click for details

Original Hooters
4.2
(1.8K)Click for details

Saki Endless Sushi & Hibachi Restaurant
4.3
(1.2K)Click for details
Basic Info
Address
2801 Gulf to Bay Blvd, Clearwater, FL 33759
Map
Phone
(727) 315-4902
Call
Website
facebook.com
Visit
Reviews
Overview
4.5
(562 reviews)$$
Ratings & Description
Description
Traditional Japanese dishes, an extensive sushi menu, & sit-down sushi bar with pagoda-style awning.
attractions: Clearwater Mall, Best Buy, Costco Wholesale, Drew 19 Shopping Center., Michaels, Target, Clarion Inn & Suites Central Clearwater Beach, Marshalls, Five Star Car Stereo Clearwater, S & M Truck World, Inc., restaurants: Smokey Bones Clearwater, Mellow Mushroom Clearwater, Original Hooters, Saki Endless Sushi & Hibachi Restaurant, Crumbl - Clearwater, Pete & Shorty's Iowa Bistro, WingHouse Bar & Grill - Clearwater, Indian Bistro, Aldo's New York Pizza, Carrabba's Italian Grill
