Sandfish Sushi & Whiskey, Phoenix — Restaurant in Phoenix

sandfishsushiwhiskeyphx, by Chef Engin Onural will have its grand opening on November 30, 2022, in the Melrose District.

Chef Enguin’s story is especially unique, considering he has earned a sushi certification from the Japanese government, is one of the top 30 sushi chefs in the world, and has been added to the ‘Best Chefs of America Index.’

Chef knew he wanted to be in hospitality since he was a boy, and began his professional life at Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Business Information Management. Soon after graduation, he moved to Los Angeles to train at Andy Matsuda’s Sushi Chef Institute. Chef Matsuda’s philosophy of appreciation and gratitude for nature, people and family is very palpable at Engin’s sushi concepts. His sushi restaurants in Palm Springs have received numerous accolades such as “Best Sushi in Palm Springs.”

Ambiance: Modern Japanese-Scandinavian design. Wood paneled floors and ceilings, subdued earth tones and lighting, vintage photographs of Japanese fisherman,

The cuisine and concept:: Gorgeously executed sushi rolls such as the Baby Langoustine roll with crab meat/avocado/tempura-style baby langoustine/spicy aioli/teriyaki sauce/microgreens and The Experiment with snow crab/mango/yuzu aioli.

Chef recommends the spicy tuna tostadas of crispy thin tostadas piled with spicy tuna, spicy mayo, mixed greens and feta.

Must try’s: scallops served in a shell with walnuts/yuzu/sea beans albacore tataki/fennel/house-made lime koshu from Norway/taro chips/seaweed salt. Japanese Pork Belly bao buns/Gojuchang Honey Glaze/Cucumber Black Radish Sunomono/Sesame Seeds Cocktails such as the Freydis w/pau maui vokda/lychee puree/passion fruit liquer/joto yuzu sake or Ragnar’s Revenge with Laphroaig/green...

I found this restaurant online show casing it as a new place to try. We started with the crudos or the salmon ice cream cone (I forget its exact name) and it was quite unique and tasty however a very small bite. I chose the full sized plate even though it was happy hour. Next was the blue crab zushi. This one was cool because the rice was a light blue as it was made with butterfly pea flowers. It was a firm crispy air fried texture with a hearty load of blue crab on each one. The herb oil under this was so tasty we saved the plate and was dipping other things in it. Both of these were pretty pricey, and despite the prices we were still hungry and got some more. We also got the duck bao bun - we did not get a photo of this and the roll - was light and tasty. The venue roll we and our friends got and was a very nice combo of fish, spice and fun toppings. I really came for the ube cake and as good as it was I was bummed to see the piece was much smaller and less fluffy than pictured in the video that brought me to this restaurant. We sat outside which felt like a homey back yard however it was incredibly dark once the sun went down and we were only using the small table lights pictured. There were lights above us that they did not want to turn on because they were apparently really bright. For the price we paid we did not leave feeling full, however overall this was a great experience. Quite pricey for small portions and next time around I would choose to sit inside. The bathroom wallpaper was super cute and the place definitely has well established chefs with technique and care...

I enjoyed my overall experience at Sandfish! I did think service was a bit slow/awkward to start and drinks/food did take a while to come out at times, but that every dish was enjoyable.

Started off with one of their mezcal cocktails which was fantastic and came in a very appealing glass!

We decided to order off the happy hour menu, however I’m not sure if it saved any money. We ordered 3 crudos for $8-10 each however each crudo was only 3 pieces of fish in total. So 9 pieces of fish was $30 which I think was overpriced, so I would not necessarily gravitate to the happy hour menu again! The crisp fish and sauce however was my favorite thing we ordered and absolutely delicious. The blue crab zhushi was really good! Great texture and flavor to it.

We also ordered the octopus, which was good flavor but very small amount for the price in my opinion, but the flavor was good and I thought it was cooked perfectly. So it had nice texture and not chewy!

We ordered the venue sushi roll and another one titled umi-something and I would say both were very solid sushi rolls but nothing crazy from a flavor perspective. I would say it’s predictable and typical sushi flavors!

The restaurant itself is beautifully decorated and great for small pairs! For larger groups I can imagine a reservation would be ideal as it’s on the smaller side. There are very few parking spots outside so something to consider as far as getting there.

I would definitely go back and try more items...