Circle Sushi — Restaurant in Sandy Springs

This is the best sushi I've had since I last ate at MF Sushi in Inman Park in 2017 or 2018. It might even be better than that but my memory is only good enough to know that's the last time I had something this good. This place was recommended to me by a huge distributor for asian food in metro Atlanta. Me and a buddy met him by chance and we got around to asking him what the best sushi was in Atlanta. He said circle sushi was the best he had tried, and I mean come on. What better authority are you going to get than that?

I ordered their spicy tuna roll, and the name was something crazy like "ultimo spicy tuna extravaganza" (I'm exaggerating, but it had a grandiose name), and I thought, oh lord here comes the wasabi mayonnaise, the shrimp sauce, etc. etc. etc. You have to remember this was an earlier time, when I was young and naive and I've since forgiven myself for these transgressions but not after great effort and angst.

The roll that was presented to me was not figuratively the freshest tuna I can remember having, with more f*cking ocean-fresh, smell the briny saltwater, eat some citrus to stave off scurvy, tuna on top. The texture and marbling of the tuna were sublime, the overall experience a series of ephemeral ecstasies immediately followed by deep sadness in contemplating the brevity of each bite. I lived more in 30 minutes than most people live in 30 years.

I also had some excellent smoked salmon sashimi. The wasabi they used was chunky like authentic wasabi is (wasabi is notoriously difficult to source, so if it actually was authentic wasabi, then you need to eat there asap because they are losing money just to buy the stuff). The only part of the experience that I wouldn't rate 5 stars was having to leave.

This restaurant is in a random strip center in Roswell and is quietly the best sushi I've had for a stupid good price. I haven't read any other reviews, but I suspect a lot of the lower reviews complain about the portion size, which as a broad abstraction I kind of understand. I don't want to discredit those reviews, and if you're shopping for portion size, there are better restaurants out there. Hell, I love La Parilla because you get a lot of good food for a good price. I get it! But, this is to la parilla what a gulfstream g650 is to a carnival cruise ship. No matter what you prefer, you're not wrong, they just are different things that are hard to compare...

Sushi night? Get it on at Circle Sushi!

Circle is one of my all time sushi favorites in any city. If you want to go for just rolls, they have a creative couple of pages, ranging from the tasty Magic Monster spicy roll with mixed fish in a nori skin, to the artful Circle Box Roll, a rectangular sushi-as-Mondrian creation. Chase it down with a mini-carafe of hot house sake and your sushi night is made!

If you're feeling like more traditional dishes from the kitchen, they have really tasty katsu don (pork cutlet, egg, onion, on rice). Even the gesokara (called just "calamari" on the menu, but are certainly the tasty, lightly breaded fried squid legs) is crisp and peppery without being rubbery.

Not the easiest place to find if you don't know it's there. At the Northridge and Roswell Road intersection, the yellow brick strip mall exterior only hints of its presence with a standard issue yellow lettered sign that says, well, "Sushi." Only until you get closer toward the tinted windows will you see 'Circle Sushi' and it's lightly peeling window decals.

The interior is modern and minimalist, which is the opposite of the flavor, texture, and overall culinary experience awaiting you inside, offering you pleasant service and the self proclaimed fresh fish flown in from Japan's famous Tsukiji...

This place was awesome. From the outside, you wouldn't know this was a great sushi restaurant. It's small on the inside, but it stays busy, and the staff takes care of their customers quickly and with great service.

I came in late Saturday evening and only had to wait maybe 15 mins. There were others waiting, but they seemed to only have to wait about the same amount of time.

Once in, I sat at the sushi bar and enjoyed watching the chef prepare other patrons' dishes. My server was very attentive and made sure to always check up on me. It only took a few mins to get my sake and app after I ordered it.

Once i was ready to order my main dish it came out with about 10 to 15 mins which was right as I finished my app and man, my sashimi and grilled salmon looked and tasted awesome. The grilled salmon was the juiciest I've ever had, and the included dipping sauce was perfect.

Once finished, I had to try a dessert. I asked for a recommendation between the green tea mousse or ice cream, and my server was so nice, she brought me the green tea mousse on the house and boy was it good.

With such a wonderful experience and great tasting food this is one to go to numerous times. Hit them up, you don't be...