Utamaro Sushi Bar — Restaurant in Sarasota

Gave this place a try because of a friend who kept saying it's the best sushi in the area. It's quite nice. Went in on a sunday afternoon. When we got there, noone was there, and 2 other parties rolled in 20 minutes after us. If you don't want the placed packed, pick sunday rather than saturday/friday.

Ginger dressing salad and miso soup came out, and they were delicious. Got us sushi combo (12 sushi nigiri and 1 tuna roll) and medusa roll. Sushi combo let us try the fish we never tried before. Didn't like all of them, but none of them had bad smell or taste. It was just a preference thing. Medusa roll was good, eel sauce they put on top was a little overbearing, but overall, still very fresh tasting roll.

Udon was ordered for the kid, not crazy good (i can make it better at home) but we went there for sushi, so I won't knock a star off becaues of mediocre udon.

Server (Wynn) was very nice and attentive. Price is a little on the high side, but environment and downtown location probably justifies the higher price than average.

Will probably return when i crave something special.

Note : parking can be a little tricky during peak time as there are limited number of spaces. Yes you can find spots for sure, but you might have to park a few minutes away if you can't find...

Very small restaurant (which I prefer!). Sashimi list is sparse. Specialty roll list looks long but too many of them are almost identical. Steamed pork buns were the star of the meal! Just perfect in every way. If were not for these, the rating would be 3 stars instead of 4. Tried sashimi yellow tail, salmon, salmon roe. Very nice portions for the price. Salmon & yellow tail were good, but not great. Fresh, but not as velvety soft and rich as it should be. The salmon was leaning toward neutral flavor and was almost fibrous. Not sure what happened there. Salmon roe was exquisite. Tried 3 very different rolls, but all of them tasted incredibly similar. They were quite good generally speaking and I'm sure the casual sushi goer would love them. But they were very "one note" and the main ingredients were just kind of lost. This restaurant is perfect for the semi-rednecks that were there... loud talking, tactless, t-shirt & flip flop wearing folks... the type that order California rolls because they love "sushi." Very down the middle flavors with fish flavors neatly hidden away from the palate. Side note: maybe don't use the restrooms for storage and install a toilet paper holder. Such a stereotype for Asian places to have junky...

Don’t judge a book by its cover. These are words that I have to live by.

I read the reviews of this restaurant and decided to give it a try. I was excited about supporting the new chef Brian.

I am new to Sarasota. I really did not know where the place was. I kept walking on Main Street and the scenery changed. It made me a little nervous but I kept going. When I got to the restaurant there was no outdoor seating and the place was empty. I was a little suspicious about how the food was going to be and was wondering how the reviews were so good. I had made a reservation and so the staff knew that I wanted outdoor seating. They quickly brought out a table and chairs and placed it on the sidewalk. There’s enough room for pedestrians to walk by without interfering with our dinner.

The menu was busy and had quite a few misspellings. Attention to details was a concern and thus I wondered how the food would be. I decided to be polite and order a few sushi rolls.

Much to my surprise and delight the sushi rolls were fresh, creative, tasty and aesthetically pleasing.

I would strongly recommend you give this place a try. The staff was very friendly and the chef was kind to ask us our opinion of the place.

I will definitely go back and...