Whether you’re a strict traditionalist or you like your salmon roses served with a dollop of mayo and topped with a tempura prawn, Joburg has the best sushi restaurants that serve everything from new-style sashimi to crunchy bamboo rolls. These sushi spots will test your chopstick skills with their gloriously fresh selection.

Big Mouth (Sandton)

Located in the hip Nelson Mandela Square, Big Mouth, as its name suggests, boasts an extensive sushi menu. Choose from favourites such as the S.U.V roll, Bigmouth rainbow roll and rock shrimp tempura roll. Big Mouth also has a wide range of vegetarian sushi offerings such as the tempura corn roll, vegetable handroll, vegetable California roll, vegetable maki, vegetable fashion sandwich and vegetable nigiri, as well as a vegan seeded California roll. 

The restaurant’s innovative menu, along with its consistency in terms of food quality and service make it a firm favourite for sushi lovers in Joburg. Big Mouth can accommodate 160 people at its restaurant currently, in keeping with social distancing norms.

Catch (Bedfordview)

With a sizeable sushi menu featuring items such as caterpillar roll, rainbow reloaded, springbok sushi and rock shrimp tempura roll, Catch is sure to whet your appetite. Known for its fresh and varied seafood menu, Catch also offers a choice of classic sushi, signature sushi, new-style sashimi and sushi platters featuring 12 pieces of assorted sushi. 

For the vegetarians, the cucumber and cream cheese roll, and avo and cucumber and vegetarian California rolls are popular choices. To sweeten the deal, Catch offers a 30% discount on its sushi and dim sum items all day on Tuesdays and Sundays, and from Wednesdays to Saturdays between 12 and 6pm. The restaurant offers both indoor and outdoor seating.

So Yum (Hyde Park)

Boasting an elaborate Asian menu, So Yum is known for its authentic Asian cuisine. Sushi and dim sum are what the restaurant specialises in, with sushi hot-sellers being the Chicago roll, 4×4 roll, traditional sushi and vegetarian sushi options such as vegetarian California rolls, vegetarian fashion sandwiches, avo maki and cucumber maki. The restaurant does not offer outdoor seating. Reservations are required on weekends.

Yamato Japanese Restaurant (Illovo)

Since its opening in 1995, Yamato has been serving authentic Japanese cuisine to discerning Joburg diners. Touted as the first restaurant to serve fashion sandwiches, Yamato is also popular for its daily set menus available from Mondays to Fridays, which include Japanese favourites and a sushi set. 

Some of the most popular items from the large sushi menu include the salmon platter, salmon roses, salmon California roll and the spicy tuna nigiri sushi. Vegetarian favourites include the avocado roll, vegetable California roll, pumpkin tempura California roll and vegetarian fashion sandwiches. Outdoor seating is available, but seating space is limited, so reservations are required for larger groups.

John Dory’s (Bedfordview)

Known for its family atmosphere and value-for-money meals, John Dory’s is famous for its fresh seafood and varied sushi options. Some of the most popular items from the sushi menu include prawn avalanche, The Bomb, salmon rainbow rolls, prawn tempura and salmon maki. 

Among the popular vegetarian sushi items are vegetarian futomaki, a vegan platter, prawn vegan sandwich, and avo and cucumber California roll. The restaurant also offers sushi platters (with a choice to build your own), sushi salads and sashimi as part of its sushi menu. John Dory’s offers a 50% discount on all its sushi plates as part of its Half-Price Sushi Wednesdays special. It also has regular in-house promos. Reservations are required.

Yamada Sushi (Waterfall)

If you’re looking for the Japanese-style conveyor belt sushi experience, Yamada Sushi is the place to visit. Popular sushi items include Yamada fried sushi, salmon hand rolls, fashion sandwiches, sushi tiger rolls and chirashi sushi. Yamada also offers a sushi buffet from Sundays to Thursdays for R209 per person. All items are freshly prepared and affordably priced. The restaurant has indoor and outdoor seating. Reservations are required on weekends.

Yamitsuki (Bedfordview)

Fancy a bite of “fire sushi” or “smoking sushi”? Then head to Yamitsuki, a Japanese restaurant that has been serving innovative sushi to Jozi for the past two decades. The restaurant also has a conveyor belt sushi experience. 

Alternatively, you can take your pick from sushi-with-a-twist items off the extensive menu such as devil roll, pink panther roll, prawn fries roll, salmon, strawberry and cream cheese fashion sandwich, lockdown platter, vegan roses, veggie heaven roll, and the vegetarian poke bowl. Yamitsuki also offers a daily sushi lunch special R104, which includes eight salmon fashion sandwiches and three spinach and cream cheese dumplings. And every Monday, patrons can enjoy a buy-two-get-one-free sushi plate from the belt. On Tuesdays, all pink sushi plates are priced at R44 (with 88c per pink plate donated to the SPCA).

Hokkaido Japanese Restaurant (Norwood)

Forget the usual nigiri sushi, sashimi, hand rolls, maki and California rolls. Instead, head to Hokkaido where you can experiment with bamboo rolls, bamboo hand rolls, special sushi platters and the sushi lunch box. The restaurant also serves all the popular sushi varieties, and there are a number of vegetarian sushi offerings as well. For the ultimate sushi experience, try the sushi buffet that’s available on a daily basis and priced at R219 per person. Hokkaido has a unique recipe for its sushi rice and can tweak any sushi item on its menu, as per customer requests. Outdoor seating is available. Reservations are recommended on weekends.

Jungle Sushi & Teppanyaki (Bedfordview)

Looking for a place that serves a quick yet authentic Japanese or Chinese meal? Jungle Sushi & Teppanyaki does just that, with a teppanyaki table that is also extremely popular. The restaurant has unique sushi offerings as well, which can be ordered as part of a sushi boat, platter or à la carte. Some interesting ones include the Japanese oyster special, pineapple prawn dragon roll, roasted salmon cheese roll, crab caviar nigiri, roasted salmon nigiri, salmon skin California roll and the oyster sashimi with sushi vinegar. 

Vegetarian options include the vegetarian sushi platter, dragon veg California roll, vegetarian maki and hand rolls. To end your meal, you can try the fried ice-cream or teppanyaki pancakes. The restaurant is currently running a daily buy-one-get-one-free promotion on all its single sushi plates. Jungle Sushi & Teppanyaki offers private seating, as well as indoor and outdoor seating. Reservations are not required, except for the teppanyaki table.

Fishmonger (Illovo)

Freshly made sushi, Norwegian salmon and custom platters are three things that Fishmonger is known for. With a wide-ranging menu, a set menu and a separate sushi menu, there is lots to choose from. Unique items from the sushi menu (apart from the interesting-sounding sushi platter names) include the Adidas roll featuring salmon, cream cheese and strawberry, gunken maki featuring cucumber skin and salmon, salmon slipper, and the reloaded salmon. 

Salmon roses, caviar rolls and the Norwegian salmon salad are also popular, as are the maki, California rolls and fashion sandwiches that are all available in vegetarian versions, too. Fishmonger also offers a three-course set menu, which includes some sushi items. Outdoor seating is available.

Mizuki Sushi & Asian Tapas (Parkmore)

At Mizuki Sushi & Asian Tapas, you can enjoy a variety of unique sushi items and Asian-style tapas, all at reasonable prices. Some of the most popular sushi items include Mizuki’s 4×4, salmon aburi, tiger roll, mini hand rolls, Hiroshima roll, and the 18-piece Mizuki platter. The restaurant also offers vegan and vegetarian sushi such as the vegetarian California rolls, avo maki and vegetarian fashion sandwiches. Mizuki also offers a “Japanese dining experience” comprising seven dishes including soup, starters, tapas and mains for R299. Patrons can also enjoy a daily special offer comprising a 40-piece sushi sharing platter priced at R249. Both these deals can be enjoyed when you buy an online Mizuki coupon from Hyperli. The restaurant has limited seating options and reservations are required on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. For enquiries, call 066 006 0000.

Tataki (Fourways)

Offering Japanese, Chinese and Thai cuisine, Tataki also has a daily sushi buffet priced at R179 per person. Alternatively, you can take your pick from the many sushi platters on offer or choose from the à la carte sushi menu. Popular sushi items include the rock prawn maki, angel maki, salmon teriyaki gift, sushi burger, salmon cake and the prawn tempura gift. Vegetarian maki, hand rolls and California rolls are also popular from the vegetarian sushi offerings. Outdoor seating is available. Reservations are essential and can be made by calling 011 465 6882. 

Golden Rose (Sandton)

With interesting sushi combo platters to choose from, Golden Rose’s sushi bar is ideal for a tasting experience or for larger groups. Some of the unique sushi options include the strawberry rainbow, karate roll, Venus roll, teriyaki tuna roll, rising sun roll, spicy salmon maguro, toro toro and salmon tower. For vegetarians, there is a 12-piece vegetarian box and a 24-piece vegetarian platter to choose from, both of which include assorted vegetarian sushi. Besides sushi, Golden Rose is also known for its Chinese cuisine and chef’s specials meals. For enquiries, call 010 226 9050. 

King of Sushi (Fourways)

Formerly called YuMe Sushi Bar, King of Sushi offers a wide range of Japanese cuisine, dim sum, poke bowls – and, of course, sushi. From the sashimi selection, you can try the salmon with mango and chilli, seared salmon sriracha, sesame salmon, or the sashimi cucumber sailboats. For an interesting twist, you can experiment with the sushi on fire, chicken liver California roll, springbok rose, beef rose, kenjo cooked sushi rolls, salmon mince rolls or the deep-fried fashion sandwiches. 

There are several vegetarian sushi items on the menu as well, with interesting combinations combining tofu, shitake mushrooms, avo, cucumber and more. If you’re looking for variety, King of Sushi has a choice of light platters, sushi platters and a set menu – all of which have assorted sushi options. The 50-piece party platter is ideal for a large group and includes most of the popular sushi items from the menu. For reservations and enquiries, call 011 469 0558.