Amori Sushi — Restaurant in Scranton

I've left a review about this place on the Steamtown page, and now that I've found Amori Sushi has it's own page, I'm going to shower them with my praises!

Amori Sushi has the most friendly and interactive staff I have ever encountered at any eatery, diner, restaurant, etc. The owner and his partner work really well together, you can tell they trust each other deeply. The owner's wife and children are always so polite. These people care about their customers and the experience they provide to them. They love to see the smiles on their customers faces as they eat their food--it brings them great joy, and it's so rare to see that nowadays.

When it comes to the price of their sushi, there's no better way to put it than quality and quantity combined in perfect harmony. You get what you pay for, and that's another practice that isn't too commonly seen anymore.

To anyone new to the succulent sushi experience, sushi is the name given to rice that's prepared in a specific manner. Just because you're eating sushi doesn't mean you're eating raw fish. There are sushi rolls that are stuffed with only veggies, only fruit, cooked fish and meats with or without veggies and/or fruits, and also raw (sashimi) sushi rolls with or without veggies and/or fruits. There are rolls with tempura meats and/or fish, as well as entirely tempura rolls.

This is a list of the sushi rolls I have tried from Amori thus far (I have loved every single one of them) and you can find a description of each in the photos section where someone has so graciously posted their menu:

Spicy Tuna Roll - sashimi type Spicy Salmon Roll - sashimi type Spicy Kani (🦀) Roll - cooked type Spider Roll - tempura softshell crab Amori Roll - the colors and the flavors in this roll are as brilliant as the staff themselves, this is also a sashimi type SPM Roll - entirely tempura roll, such a guilty pleasure, but so very worth it Black Dragon Roll - sashimi eel with cooked kani, a bit pungent, but very rich in flavor Rainbow Roll - the most vibrant roll of all, this has cooked kani with sashimi tuna, salmon, and yellowtail Halloween Roll - the colors of this are sure to remind you of that spooktastic time of year, this roll is a roll I get every single time I visit Amori Sushi, cooked shrimp and crab stick, tobiko is flying fish roe, which is served raw, I believe Jalapeño Popper - this roll is so much fun to watch them make as well as to consume, they stuff jalapeños with a cream cheese and kani mixture, then bread and fry them before cutting them diagonally in half and serving with a wet seaweed salad that has a sweet and smokey taste that takes you on an amazing joy ride

Aside from sushi, they have a number of other dishes available. I've tried their salad, which comes with a flavorful houseade ginger dressing. I've had their edamame, which you hold by the stem, slide into your mouth, gently close your teeth, and pull by the stem to get the soy beans out of the pod (this also makes it so you don't eat the pod, which is tough and fiberous) and it's fantastic. The strawberry mochi icecream is wonderful, like a super soft fruit gummy holding a glob of frozen creamy goodness. The cheesecake, though, is to absolutely die for. They dessert tempura fry it before drizzling it with chocolate and strawberry jelly. It's simply a must try!

As I try more of their rolls and menu items, I will edit this post. I do intend to try everything they have to offer. I hope they stay open for...

We were so surprised to find fantastic Japanese food on the second floor of the Steamtown mall in Scranton. Don't let the appearance fool you, they're surprisingly legitimate and delicious.

I judge a Japanese place by the quality of their eel and avocado hand roll. If the eel is chewy or fishy, if the sauce is too sweet, if the nori is too soft, if the sushi rice is indelicate, then that tells you everything you need to know about the restaurant. This place nailed it, though I had to order it off menu. I mean they NAILED it. It was as good as any non-Michelin Japanese hand roll I've ever had.

Their Ebi (shrimp) Tempura appetizer is large, fresh, and delicious, with an inventive sauce. This isn't a pure 100% Japanese influenced sauce, it's got Western stylings, but forget the sauce, the tempura itself was close to perfection.

The chicken ramen was again not classical or pure Japanese style, but that doesn't matter. The chicken, broth, and noodles were all perfect. The addition of broccoli and carrot was welcome and yummy, done in the way that I've had broccoli and carrot in other Japanese main courses in Manhattan and elsewhere. I highly recommend the chicken ramen.

Their Miso soup was on point. Perhaps a touch small in serving size, but delicate, fresh, and yummy.

Their spicy salmon cut roll was better than expected. Nice flavorful pieces of salmon, not the junky precut premixed stuff, and good portion size.

There's nothing special about their wasabi and ginger, except that there's nothing wrong with either. We've had a lot of sushi in PA where either one or both were just so wrong. Not here, here it's up to par.

The people running the place are nice, the chef is well spoken, they take special orders, and although it's not advertised, I'm calling this place BYOB since it shares a cafeteria space with a wine bar and doesn't have a liquor license as far as I could tell.

Just really great sushi. I have to give them five stars even though the menu is somewhat limited. We were legitimately astonished at how delicious...

To find sushi in Scranton, inside The Marketplace at Steamtown, is like finding a codec call hidden in an old save file—you don’t expect it, and yet when it happens, it changes the narrative. Amori Sushi is exactly that: a sudden strand connecting me back to Japan, my home, my memory.

Sitting down here, I felt time bend. Outside: the fading echoes of 90s Americana mall culture, the tiled floors, the fluorescent nostalgia of The Office. Inside: the intimate precision of Japan, a taste of Shibuya or Shinagawa carefully folded into Pennsylvania. It was dissonance, and yet it worked.

The fish was fresh, deliberate. Each piece of nigiri crafted with intent, not just served. It reminded me of level design in Metal Gear Solid 1—nothing wasted, every element purposeful, every detail placed to serve the larger experience. The rice was balanced, not overpowering, carrying the flavor the way a soundtrack carries a cutscene.

More than taste, though, it was feeling. For a moment, I was back in Tokyo. The rhythm of the meal—the way it slowed me down, demanded I pay attention—was the same rhythm I sought in Death Stranding. A reminder that connection is not only between people, but between places, between moments, between lives.

That this exists in Scranton, in the second floor of a mall, feels surreal. Like discovering a hidden mission in a game you thought you had finished years ago. A secret level that suddenly reframes the whole experience.

Five stars. Not only for the food, but for the return. For the way Amori Sushi bridges continents, eras, and emotions in the most unexpected of settings.

Eating here was not just a meal. It was...