Sanya Sushi Bar Japanese and Chinese Cuisine — Restaurant in Kitty Hawk

AMAZING. Came on a Thursday night. It must have been the day for the weekend fish order, because the fish was super fresh. Tuna nigiri was clearly bluefin and was as well-marbled as the toro I get in many places. The toro nigiri was pricy but perfect. The salmon nigiri was belly cut and very rich. The yellowfin nigiri was uber-clean (no bloodline) and perfectly fresh. Traditional fish rolls were well constructed, generous with the fish, and the rice had a perfect texture. We had the sexy beach special roll (spicy salmon, avocado and topped with escolar (white tuna) - it was wonderful - topped elegantly with a few sprouts (radish?). Vegetable rolls were very traditional, tempura rolls were crisp and warm - even for takeout. We ordered early in the evening, but a huge order for 6 people was ready to pick up 20 minutes after I called. Ultra-COVID safe. Pickup is through a window. They put your order in a pass-through box. They even have a little slot in the window to stick your credit card into the chip reader. Hand sanitizer on the table. Server on the other side of the window was wearing a mask. They didn't even ask for a tip on the card, so I put some cash in the box. Love supporting places like this that are working so hard to make it. Never expected to get sushi this good in the OBX.

UPDATE: came back the next night (Friday) and had another great experience. In addition to a reprise of the sushi (tuna nigiri, tuna-avo and sexy beach rolls, which were just as good as the first night), we tried the (American-style) Chinese menu - the Gen. Tso's chicken and orange beef were both excellent. Service was super quick again - order ready about 20 minutes...

We were in a bind. It was 4th of July. Most restaurants had closed for the holiday. We stumbled across this place and figured lets give it a try. We were told its a 15 min wait. It turned out to be more than 30 mins. We order our food. The appetizer sampler came out piping hot and was tasty. Our soups also hot. Our oldest got his food. They didn't bring rice. We got our two entrees and they said our youngest will have his food very soon. We asked for our rice 2 times and finally after 10 mins it was brought to us. His entree was still not out. We waited another 10-15 mins then asked about it. They came out and said that his food wasn't even cooked. We were told by the waitress that she thought the other waiter, who only brought us refills once, had brought his food. So she says she will get the cook on it right away. Another 20 mins go by and she brings it out in a to-go bag. So not only did they completely derail our dinner as a family, they also caused us to miss 4th of July fireworks and rushed us out in the process. I rated 2 stars because the food was good. Otherwise I would have rated the entire experience a 1/5. Very...

What a gem of a restaurant! It's easy to call Sanya the tastiest (and friendliest) Japanese and Chinese place around. The two chicken dishes we had were made with plump, high-quality meat. The sauces were thick and sticky in that delicious way that coats the back of your teeth and makes you want a little more. And there's lots of other things to choose from (check out numerous reviews praising the sushi, for example). Best of all, the staff is friendly and welcoming, we had a nice little talk with our server and we only had to wait just long enough to know they weren't rushing our dishes. Just check out number of pictures sent in by their customers and you'll see that this place has truly made a lot of people happy. We were looking for a change of pace from the countless seafood/meat grill places around OBX and Sanya...