Zu Izakaya Sushi Bar — Restaurant in Phoenix

Prior to entering this establishment, I had absolutely no expectations set. Yet, I was uniquely provided with a pleasing ambiance, presentation beyond compare, service unlike any other, and utmost gratification from my palate. Delectable, delightful, divine. Personal ratings on my entire experience here: it's over 9,000! I will be back for more.

•Hot sake - warm, smooth, balanced, cleansing. •Sweet shrimp nigiri - shining, shimmering, splendid. Notes of sweetness and citrus. Spicy sauce evenly complements and heightens the natural taste of the sweet shrimp. Pleasantly greeted with perfectly fried shrimp heads bursting with its natural flavors within the lightly battered shell. •Philly roll - tender, flavorful, perfect bites of bliss. •Crunch salmon roll - creamy, perfectly balanced textures of soft, melt-in-your-mouth and crunch. •Fire dragon roll - flavors of the tempura shrimp flawlessly surrounded by spicy crab, each bite alternatively paired with avocado and eel is just mouthwatering each and every time. • Tempura matcha cheesecake - beautifully crisp, from warm to melt-on-your-tongue filling, amazing balance between sweetness and earthiness.

•Service - full of smiles, laughs, comfort and openness. Not only from those who visited our table, but from staff all around the room as well, radiating positive energy throughout.

•Ambience - entering the doors, you'd find yourself immersed in a captivating dining room, with much more space than you'd think -- almost as if you're entering a magical world of Narnia or Newt Salamander's briefcase. Lighting gives you a sense of being aware of your surroundings, yet a sense of dining privately. Well-staffed, active,...

This was absolutely incredible. Our old go to sushi place changed ownership and quality, so we picked a new one based on reviews. So glad we came here tonight!

First off, the service was awesome and Jeff, our waiter, was extremely personable and attentive. He helped make our night even better.

Secondly, please do not leave without trying the Thai curry tonkatsu hot pot. Holy moly this is my new go to tonkatsu. I want this every time I’m sick now 😂 the broth was perfectly flavored and balanced, the chicken was soft but not chewy, the veggies were amazing, and the noodles were very well done. My husband even noticed how relaxed I got after eating it. It was perfection. The huge ass bowl was more than enough for a whole meal for two people, let alone the apps and sushi we also got.

Thirdly, the rest of the food. I am from an Oceanside city and I am incredibly picky about my seafood and sushi. I rarely find any I like in this landlocked valley. The sushi here was incredibly fresh, generously portioned, and overall amazing. We ate it before I could take pics. We got the Alaska roll, salmon nigiri, salmon crunch, and one other I forgot the name of. All were incredible.

For apps, we got the jalapeño poppers and the soft shell crab. Please, do yourself a favor and get the crab. It was a whole crab and it was juicy and flavorful. The jalapeño popper was also the perfect amount of spice; tasteful but not deadly.

The best part? For all of the above (2 apps, 3 rolls, nigiri, and a huge hot pot) plus tip was only $97.00. That was incredible.

Thank you for an incredible meal! We...

My husband and I just experienced this place (having been here when Shogun occupied this space, I found them to be mostly meh) so I was looking forward to the change. We were able to get seated right away and everyone was friendly but service was rather slow and disjointed (requests like extra napkins were forgotten, drinks weren't refilled, etc), which is what lowers it a whole star for me.

That said, the food is what shines here. Everything we had we really enjoyed and it was AMAZING. Alaska, California, Spicy Scallop, Spicy Tuna, and Crunch Salmon rolls were amazing...as was the Salmon Tiradito! We also really LOVED the side salad---the dressing was wonderful, and we really enjoyed the mushroom skewer, the Takoyaki (which was new for us) and the Spam Musubi. My husband had iced green tea which I thought tasted better than the regular iced tea I had.

Overall really good experience, could just do with a bit of extra attention from the waitstaff. We can't wait to...