Sushi

Banrai Sushi

Address
City
Phone
Price

Rosen Shingle Creek
Orlando
407-996-3663
$$

This is the latest in the ongoing trend of sushi bars in hotel lobbies. But this isn’t just a slap-dash sort of place. The sushi here is unfailingly fresh and creative.

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Banshoo Sushi Bar

Address
City
Phone
Price

Rosen Centre Hotel
Orlando
407-996-9840
$$

Banshoo is the latest in a mini trend of hotel lobby bars. Here, chef Yoshi prepares skillfully crafted rolls and nigirizushi for hotel guests and locals looking for fresh sushi. Banshoo means sunset, so naturally it is open only in the evenings.

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Boku Sushi & Grill

Address
City
Phone
Price

140 Independence Lane
Maitland
407-960-5577
$$$

Albert Eugene DeSue, formerly chef at the now defunct Yuki Hana, has taken over kitchen duties at Boku Sushi & Grill, one of several restaurants at the new Maitland City Centre.

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Bonsai Sushi

Address
City
Phone
Price

5174 Dr. Phillips Blvd.
Orlando
407-292-0333
$$

Just a small mom-and-pop sushi place with good (if not traditionally authentic) sushi. Nigirizushi is expertly prepared. Be sure to try the Dr. Phillips roll (note: does not contain Dr. Phillips).
 

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California Grill

Address
City
Phone
Price

4600 N. World Drive
Lake Buena Vista
407-939-3463
$$$$

After more than a dozen years at the top, literally and figuratively, California Grill is still one the Central Florida’s best restaurants. Much of the concept of California Grill has not changed over the years, and the menu still features, as it has for much of the time, flatbreads and sushi as well as more traditional appetizers. The menu supposedly changes daily, though with three weeks separating my two most recent visits, I noticed most of the changes were in the wording and ranking of ingredients rather than completely different entries.

Service is impeccable and exemplary of the best that Disney can offer. The wine list focuses, as it should, on California and other American cuvees.

The pork tenderloin remains a favorite, but the filet mignon is a contender for best entrée. Sushi from master chef Yoshi is a treat.

Of course the best feature remains the view through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Seven Seas Lagoon and the Magic Kingdom. And at the appropriate hour the lights dim slightly and the music that accompanies the Magic Kingdom’s fireworks display plays in the restaurant. It’s one of the best shows in town.

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Danketsu

Address
City
Phone
Price

11425 Lake Underhill Rpad
Orlando
407-988-3093
$$

Go to Danketsu if it’s in your neighborhood and you have a hankering for Japanese, sushi, Korean or just about any other Asian cuisine. But I wouldn’t drive across town just to go there.

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Dragonfly Robata Grill & Sushi

Address
City
Phone
Price

7972 Via Dellagio Way
Orlando
407-370-3359
$$$

It’s big and modern and offers so much more than sushi, although the sushi is some of the best of what it does, especially the deftly executed nigirizushi. Dragonfly also features robata grilling, a popular cooking method in Japan but still fairly uncommon in the U.S. A robata grill uses special charcoal that heats to one thousand degrees (oh, how I wish I could do that on my Weber). The intense heat sears the skewered meats that are leaned against it, which results in tender, juicy bites. We tried the chicken, and it was impressively tender. We also tried the braised short ribs, served with pickled carrots, shiitake and tamago. They weren’t the most tender short ribs I’ve had — and a bit difficult to pick apart with chopsticks — but the flavor was very nice.

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Izziban Sushi and BBQ

Address
City
Phone
Price

5310 E Colonial Drive
Orlando
407-270-8811
$$

This is undoubtedly the largest sushi restaurant I’ve ever seen. Izziban Sushi & BBQ occupies a warehouse sized building on the shore of Lake Barton, which lies between Semoran Boulevard and Orlando Executive Airport. There have been a few failed businesses here, including a gay bar.

There is an immense indoor dining area and a couple of very large sushi bars, including one that is shaped like the bow of a big boat. There is also a large covered patio, screened in but with nice views of the lake and planes taking off from the airport. Its rusticity is more suitable for the type of fried foods you’d find at fish camps, but it isn’t inappropriate for sushi to be associated with a waterfront locale.

And sushi isn’t all that is done here. The kitchen food menu is also rather sizable, and if you so choose, your table can be the kitchen, as most of them have built-in griddles and devices that can be used for grilling meats or hot-pot cooking. The cuisines range from Japanese to Korean.

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Japango

Address
City
Phone
Price

1212 E. Colonial Drive
Orlando
407-897-1377
$$

There are certainly more attractive restaurants than Japango, a new boxed sushi concept in Mills 50, but it offers a first-rate product for a fair price, although it does have one major but entirely fixable flaw.

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Jimotti’s

Address
City
Phone
Price

2545 S. French Ave.
Sanford
407-952-3329
$

Jimotti’s is a bit of an odd place. Odd name, too, at least to my ears, which want to hear something Italian.

But Jimotti’s is Japanese and has a surprisingly substantial menu of kitchen foods and a more compact roster of sushi, sashimi and specialty rolls.

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