I was certainly surprised when I stepped inside Kabooki Sushi. The location, at the corner of Colonial Drive and Maguire Avenue, across the street from the Sears Auto Center at Fashion Square Mall, and the facade, an unassuming storefront in a mini row of businesses, didn’t prepare me for the chicly styled restaurant inside.

The sushi bar and kitchen are at the far end of the room — far being a relative term, as this is a fairly small place — with comfy looking stools. There is a row of banquettes along one wall with white tufted leather seat backs. The other wall has a row of booths. In between are conventional tables and chairs. Large light globes hang about, and the burnt orange walls sport some Japanese paintings amid the omnipresent flatscreen tvs.

But instead of sports programming or opinionated news channels, these televisions play a video that shows fish and the road they take from the sea to a sushi bar. That includes some bloody scenes that might upset some diners.

The sushi I sampled was very good. The hamachi nigiri was a perfect room temperature, which enhanced the buttery smooth texture of the raw fish slices. And it was prettily presented with a single green sprig on each slice.

Dr. Phillips/Restauarnt Row location of the Michelin Recommended sushi restaurant. The chef and owner, Henry Moso, was a 2023 finalist for the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef: South award.

Kadence offers a unique dining experience, a multi-course omakase meal of the finest sushi and sashimi available. There are only nine seats, and you don’t make a reservation, you buy a ticket (nonrefundable). No menu, the chefs make the choices and everyone is served the same thing at the same time. It is also one of the finest restaurants in the area.

Formerly known as Amura, Kaizen Izakaya has very good sushi (especially the nigiri). An izakaya is supposed to be a Japanese pub or tavern where friends hang out. But the dank atmosphere won’t make you want to linger.

Kimonos is a terrific choice for traditional sushi as well as more creative rolls. Don’t overlook the sake list for something to wash the nigirizushi with.

Nagoya is a pleasant and small sushi bar in the back of the Dr. Phillips Marketplace in the Sand Lake Road Restaurant Row area. Jenny Tay and her staff will welcome you like you’re long-lost friends, and the sushi will be unwaveringly fresh and expertly prepared.

Ootoya doesn’t present anything that would distinguish it above the other sushi restaurants that are opening or that have established themselves, though what I sampled on a recent visit was enjoyable.

Formerly Seito Sushi, Sakari serves a decent menu of rolls and sashimi. Nothing out of the ordinary, but fairly priced.

The quality of the food has improved, and that quality and the price charged for it are more closely aligned.

My guest and I ordered some edamame to nibble on for a starter. I ordered the Shin lunch set and my friend chose a combination of three rolls from a list of about 15 options, a pretty good deal for $15.

Sodo has a new sushi bar and grill. It’s called Sodo Sushi Bar and Grill. It took over the space of the oft troubled Olv, whose name had no hidden meaning or acronymic message. Sodo, or SoDo, is shorthand for south of downtown, which is where it is.

And that’s a good place for this new restaurant, too, because there aren’t any other sushi joints anywhere nearby. Bars and grills, yes, but not sushi bars and grills.

All that seems to have been required to transform the Olv space into a sushi restaurant was to plop a refrigerated case on top of the bar. Voila — or dekiagari, as they say in Japan — sushi bar.