36 Best Restaurants in USA

Sushi should be a no-brainer when visiting San Diego, especially for tourists from landlocked states who don’t often get fresh fish. This menu is based on the seasons, and you’ll find innovative sushi, sashimi, and a raw bar, all utilizing the freshest local fish (some is flown in daily from Japan) and produce; there are non-sushi options like grilled teriyaki chicken and beef short ribs.

Though it opened in 1994 as a typical neighborhood sushi joint, Mashiko quickly gained a reputation as one of the top spots in town for fresh fish, even before the then-owner committed to using solely sustainable fish. Now owned by his employees and mentees, it continues to uphold its reputation for both quality and a forward-thinking approach to the cuisine. As a product of both, the sushi here skips many classics that don't meet its standards and instead finds sustainable substitutes. But the resulting creativity makes for a unique, environmentally friendly meal, best eaten omakase-style: letting the chef choose the menu.

Opened by chef Masa Miyake three decades ago, this is the place to dig into some of the most inventive, phenomenally fresh, nontraditional sushi in Maine. The maestro has since renovated and sold the restaurant, but his creative legacy lives on in the menu full of lovelies like diced snapper with cilantro, truffle oil, and tobiko.

Buckle up, sushi aficionados: After years of wowing Greater Portland with insanely good and ultra-fresh raw fish from street food carts, food trucks, and a marketplace counter, Mr. Tuna has finally come into its brick-and-mortar own. And these new snazzy digs are a perfect showcase for chef Jordan Rubin's stellar and straight-up creative menu stars: tuna with coconut, avocado, cilantro, and crispy shallots, for example, or the tuna tataki sushi "burrito" with green chili sauce. Good luck trying to stop ordering more.

You'll find some of the tastiest sushi on the Oregon Coast at this welcoming Japanese restaurant with weathered-timber walls and booths and a friendly adjoining cocktail lounge. Beyond the flavorful and creative jumbo spider and hamachi jalapeño rolls, you'll find a great selection of Japanese dishes, including tonkotsu ramen with chashu pork and crispy fried karaage-style calamari.

The successful Sugarfish concept is to simplify one's dining experience by focusing on fresh, high-quality fish with warm and tender rice to allow the natural flavors to shine. Order off the "Trust Me" menu, where the chef curates a selection of nigiri, sashimi, and rolls based on what’s freshest that day. This approach takes the decision-making out of the dining experience and ensures customers get the best possible sushi without having to navigate a menu.

One of Northern Sonoma's most exclusive and theatrical dining experiences unfolds in a private dining space in the rear of The Matheson restaurant, where a perfectionist yet affable team of chefs and hosts executes and presents an exquisite 17-course omakase tasting menu. Some nigiri selections are conventional, others novel, but each contains a defining element elevating the piece into an artistic realm.

After decades spent earning a reputation as one of Seattle’s top sushi chefs, Shiro Kashiba opened his own spot in a location as notable as his skills with seafood. Diners in the simple-but-elegant Pike Place Market space can opt for the omakase (chef’s choice) selection of the best fish from around the world and just up the street, or order from the menu of Japanese classics and sashimi. Arrive early for a coveted spot at the sushi bar or reserve ahead of time for a table.

One fan called it “a notch above amazing”—an accolade not expected for a Japanese eatery wedged into a strip mall in Pacific Beach. But it’s a destination for lovers of high-quality, superfresh raw fish from around San Diego and abroad; reservations are strongly encouraged. The front parking lot is very small, but there's additional parking behind the mall.

Trained at the Tokyo Sushi Academy, Keiko Suzuki is an artist when it comes to preparing and presenting sushi—everything is almost too beautiful to eat. The fish is sweet and ultrafresh, and nothing on the menu is fried. Many say this is the best sushi in Maine, and some claim it's even better than what they've had in Japan. Order the omakase—it changes according to Keiko's whim and what's available. In addition to sushi, there are a few cooked noodle dishes. The restaurant is small, and very popular, meaning reservations are a must.

Austin transplant and James Beard Award–winning chef Tyson Cole creates fresh takes on classic sushi at Uchi. Indulge in rolls of thinly sliced flounder atop candied quinoa or bigeye tuna topped with aji amarillo, tangerine, and pumpkin seed granola, or have all the decisions made for you by opting for the omakase menu featuring a selection of dishes by the chef. Daily happy hour from 5 to 6:30 pm features half-price bubbles, $9 cocktails, and heavily discounted bites.

The title of "best omakase" has many worthwhile contenders in the city, but many would name this sleek destination in downtown's "East Cut" area as the most captivating sushi-centric tasting menu. It's undoubtedly a splurge and can feel a little Vegas-flashy, yet the raw and gently torched fish nigiri preparations are nothing short of remarkable. Service, glassware, ceramics and the ultra-polished, wood-heavy design centered on an abstract triangle-shaped sushi bar are of the highest level of contemporary luxury.

Claiming to be the world’s first certified sustainable sushi restaurant, this Portland-based chainlet partners with nonprofits such as the Marine Stewardship Council and Monterey Bay Aquarium to ensure it sources its seafood from eco-conscious fishing operations. Bamboo has five locations throughout the metro area, including this stylish branch in Downtown's West End, where the counter seating fills for the weekday happy hour, served until 6 pm.

Although the panoramic ocean view is the star attraction at this rooftop restaurant next to Belmont Park, the tasty sushi and share plates are a pleasant surprise for such a touristy locale. Lunch and dinner service bookend a popular afternoon happy hour.

Excellent, somewhat affordable sushi is the main event at this locals' favorite, so get ready to add your name to the waiting list; then watch the cable cars go by on Hyde Street. Luckily, post-wait, the creative sushi rolls and excellent, high-quality fish, as nigiri or sashimi, are always a delight.

A tropical paradise meets an urban aesthetic on the face of this South Boston food stop. Everything about it is fun, contemporary, and whimsical, including the food, like dumplings and bao buns, noodle and rice bowls, sushi and sashimi, and poke. A bar vibe that can get loud invades later on in the evenings—be sure to try the innovative cocktails, especially, of course, the scorpion bowl.

This sushi spot features wild-caught Alaska salmon and the usual selection of rolls and sashimi, with vegetarian choices and the usual sides. They also offer pork, beef, and chicken bowls, tempura, dumplings, and salads with or without ahi tuna or sockeye salmon.

If you want your Japanese experience to be an exclusive one, this intimate, 12-seater on the Fontainebleau’s top floor is strictly omakase, offering a 17-course mostly sushi menu limited to two seatings each evening at 6 and 8:45. Fish is flown in daily from Japan, and a traceability certificate is posted to let you know where in Japan it and your beef originated. Cocktails are both free-ranging and creative, such as the Yumei, a delicious mix of mezcal, Aperol, Luxardo maraschino, lime juice, and yuzu.

With just a dozen counter seats—its name means "12" in Japanese—this NoPa (North of the Panhandle) omakase sushi favorite is one of the Bay Area's most exquisite sushi experiences. Diners sit in pods of four at the sushi bar, with one sushi chef serving each quartet in the serene-meets-modern room. It's no doubt one of the most intimate dining rooms anywhere in San Francisco. After the first sake is poured, the lucky dozen diners at each seating get treated to an array of pristine fish and a few splashy Californian-Japanese bites prepared by chef Geoffrey Lee and his small team behind the bar.

Sushi-ya Henry Moso makes hip, modern-day variants of old-school sushi, with everything from standard spicy tuna rolls to tempura-fried St. Louis sticky ribs. The noteworthy, 10- to 15-course omakase events cost as much as $300 and feature such rare delights as Japanese flying fish or live scallops.

The smell is enticing as a thinly sliced Wagyu sizzles on a 1000° Hot Rock at the table in this dark sushi restaurant near the base of Snowmass mountain. Kenichi has been operating in Aspen since 1991, so Snowmass locals are happy to have their own outpost of the institution. Start with a warm dish like miso black cod before diving into sushi. Be sure to order whatever special roll the chefs have concocted, or if you're sticking with a warm entrée, try the pan-seared duck with a caramelized blood-orange soy glaze.

Off the beaten path even for residents, this microscopic sushi bar is an adjunct of a wholesale seafood market and has a sort of cult following. The fish, air-freighted from around the world, is ultra-fresh, well-cut (into huge pieces—to the regret of those who follow the one-bite rule), and prepared for the serious sushi lover. You can spend as much or as little as you like—from $6 veggie sushi to the $135 omakase (a series of small courses) menu.  Rest assured, it's unlikely you'll run into anyone from your hotel here, and locals will be mightily impressed you ventured so far. (Barack Obama has been know to drop by when he's in town.) The final seating is at 7:45, so plan (and make reservations) accordingly.

Ignore the official name—Momoya Soho—of this stellar bi-level sushi spot that is technically in NoLIta, and focus on having an affordable sushi feast. Getting high-quality sushi in Gotham means forking out a chunk of change, but 100-seat Momoya turns that idea on its head by slicing high-quality sushi for a lower price. The various sushi and sashimi combos are a good deal and the sleek space, with floor-to-ceiling windows, is inviting.

If you're looking for Austin's best sushi, you might just find it here. The tatami-lined interiors are sleek and sophisticated, and chefs achieve unparalleled quality in every dish, whether it's nigiri or hand rolls, Wagyu short ribs or snow crab. Omakase is available for connoisseurs, and don't sleep on their sake pairings and delicious desserts like lychee jellies and milk chocolate semifreddo.

The classic Japanese omakase experience (the chefs select the sushi and other small bites) gets a seasonal Californian influence at Adam Tortosa's hip, modern restaurant. The raw fish preparations are magnificent, and it's a relative deal where diners can name the price between $109 and $209, depending on their desire to splurge.

Sakatome is easily the best sushi restaurant in Montana. Owner Drake Doepke creates great flavors with unique combinations of local and exotic ingredients, and he only uses the freshest fish not found on the Seafood Watch list. Try the Bigfork Bomb, one of several specialty rolls.

The idea of eating raw fish in a landlocked desert might give some people pause, but be assured that a meal at Sandfish—an uptown sushiya melding Japanese techniques, Scandinavian plating, and a sexy minimalist earth-tone aesthetic—is a gastronomical leap of faith worth taking. Chef Engin Onural studied at the reputable Sushi Chef Institute, so he obviously has classic rolls, nigiri, maki, and sashimi on lock, but not trying his original creations that incorporate unusual ingredients like black-truffle zest, coconut flakes, or fried-potato threads would be a rookie mistake, as would skipping the cocktails made with desert botanicals and titular whiskey.

Japantown has a host of sushi options at all price points, but this longtime staple on the second floor of the Japan Center stands out for its excellent rolls, nigiri, and sashimi. The omakase menu, with eight pieces of sushi and nigiri, is a fraction of the cost of its downtown peers, but close to equal in quality and diner satisfaction. The mellow, wood-paneled space is a striking contrast to the constant chatter and mall activity outside.

As you walk down the stairs to this subterranean hot spot, rattan cane pendant lamps, a tiki bar, and a striking tropics-to-Japan mural wall light the way to plates of tasty nigiri, creative rolls, a 12-course omakase priced very reasonably at $85, and bar bites (the burgers and tots are local favorites). Named after a sailor’s leisure time on dry land, the bar's drinks create the perfect escape, with rum old-fashioneds, highballs, and punches on the long menu. The namesake cocktail blends local and Jamaican rums with Madeira, molasses, passionfruit, lime, and a hefty dose of Angostura bitters. The menu's grilled hamachi collar is a do-not-miss.

The sushi selection here is vast and top-quality, but chef Taichi Kitamura really distinguishes himself with his ippins—small, delicate dishes such as egg custard, grilled black cod, braised wagyu beef, and mustard greens and albacore with almond-wasabi sauce (among more than a dozen choices). You can order a la carte, choose from several set menus, or sit at the sushi bar and indulge yourself with omakase. The location is in Eastlake, just west of Capitol Hill.