Enkai

I have to say I think Enkai is my favorite sushi spot on island right now… whenever we come here, the fish is always fresh, the rolls are awesome, the service is super, and its all-​around a great time! Enkai has definitely deserved this 5 star review!
They are tucked away in a little corner of Frenchtown across the way from Scotty’s, and next to where the Kon-​Tiki docks. Their atmosphere is awesome, when you walk in they have a stand-​alone bar area, and then the actual restaurant area is to the right. They are an open-​air place right on the water, and after dinner if you ask the wait staff they usually let you feed the tarpon that hang out right there… they are really cool!
My favorite roll there is the Roadtown, I usually order one of these every time we come, and its always very consistent and tastes awesome! It has tuna on it and has plantains inside with other things, so its sweet but oh-​so-​good! My husband usually gets the California roll, and even though its simple, its done right and tastes really good. Fresh fish, good quality rice, you can tell the ingredients in their rolls are high quality, and I don’t think I have had a bad piece of sushi here yet! This Is How I Roll is another good one, my friends and I usually end up sharing rolls, and everything I have had here has been awesome! Their miso soup is also really good, and of course the saki is definitely flavorful as well.
Our waitress is always super sweet and great also, and always asks about refills on drinks and if we need anything extra. Every time we come here its always a good time with good people and good food… I would say Enkai’s forte is being an outside-​the-​box type sushi place, since their rolls are creative and unique with things like plantains, jalapenos, and bacon inside, but they are done very well and the flavor combinations are on point! So if you want some awesome, exciting sushi rolls, Enkai is your place, and I definitely recommend it!

Delish! Loved the Sushimi Garden, Storm and Panda rolls. Super service, great cocktails and solid wine list. Nice water front view and cool vibe and comfortable atmosphere. Tough to find but definitely worth the effort.

Hard to find but totally worth it! The sushi was inventive, fresh and delicious. The view is spectacular, overlooking the water. The atmosphere is casual and friendly. And the service was fast. I highly recommend this restaurant and can’t wait to go back.

Stumbled upon Enkai… the hubby and i decided to give it a try. We asked everyone who works at the Marriott and nobody even knew it existed we’ve lived here 8 months and tried all of the other sushi places on the island. So happy to have found this little hidden gem!!! so i looked it up on Unilocal and it had mixed reviews.
So what the heck we tried it.
We were amazed how nice the restaurant is its seriously hidden and not easy to find!
Its right on the water i mean RIGHT ON THE WATER GORGEOUS!
We were seated immediately and three different waitresses came immediately to our table to take our drink order. Everyone of them super friendly and very attentive. Our actual waitress came to our table and gave us the specials. We ordered the Baconator Roll, The Lava Roll The mussel appetizer and one order of Tuna and Salmon nigiri all good. We had a Moscow Mule and a Fuji rum drink both strong and refreshing!
Lastly we order the glazed donut stuffed with java chip ice cream battered and fried in tempura and drizzled with Caramel and chocolate sauce HOLY CRAP PEOPLE ITS A MUST!!!
Small world our waitress is the manager of Barefoot buddahs boutique!!! She was excellent in service and recommendations.
Anyways its a specail treat and definately a must try!

My bf and I were sure to include Enkai in our culinary experience after being told by locals that it was the best sushi and reading some good reviews here. We were, unfortunately, a bit let down.
Let me start by saying that the atmosphere is incredible. As others have said, it’s completely open-​air and situated on a harbor. Breezy and summery, just how you’d want in the islands.
Now to the food — honestly, it was good. Nothing to complain about very directly; however, we felt as though we’ve had sushi that was just as good back home. We’re from Pittsburgh, so, there’s that (we do adore our local sushi places back home, but I guess were just looking for something more while on vacation, like most vacationers do).
As for the service, it was pretty much a complete abomination. Our reservations were for 8, we were promptly seated. We ordered two drinks, a glass of wine for me and a Sapporo for him. The waitress brought the other Japanese beer they offered out to us instead of Sapporo (I forget the name). Not a huge deal, but an annoyance. We ordered edemame to start, it took 25 minutes to arrive. Boiled and salted soybeans took 25 minutes. When 9 pm rolled around (one hour after being sat) my annoyance was on my face and the waitress popped over and said «everything will be just a few more minutes.» 25 minutes later she came by to say «they’re working on your food now!» 15 minutes after THAT our food finally came. If there’s anything I hate it’s when servers just straight up lie about wait times. Your lies appease for the few minutes you promised, then I’m even pissier than I was to start with when I realize you didn’t actually check the kitchen to get an accurate wait time.
They comp’ed our drinks, but when my boyfriend ordered another beer toward the end of our meal it just never came. Obnoxious, and when our meal alone (after drinks were taken off) totaled $ 70 I expect the service to be better than that. And I definitely shouldn’t be just starting my entrée an hour and forty minutes after I sit down.
If just ‘good’ sushi coupled with atrocious service is something you’re into, give Enkai a shot.

the service was okay and it was the only thing that’s okay. Sushi was really bad, the rice was like stone. Worst sushi I’ve ever tasted. Thought the desert would make the night better, but they had us waited half an hour for a fried tempura ice cream, which was only mediocre. It might be a good spot for view but def not for food

We must have hit Enkai on a good night! Food was excellent, and service was spot on. We always eat here when we’re on St Thomas and yes, we’ve experienced the long wait for service in the past, and yes, we miss the original owner as well. But, I must say that the fish is fresh, tasty and innovative. We had the sashimi platter, which was exceptionally good. We also had one of the specialty rolls that was very tasty and plentiful. I would recommend Enkai to sushi lovers.

Amazing find!!! There are no words for the view, friendliness of staff or quality of food. I’m almost hesitant to post this cause we would love to keep this place a secret for us to enjoy on future trips here!

If you want to wait an hour and a half for your dinner, than you must go here! Sushi are nothing to write home about.

I really want to support this place. However, nearly every aspect of it has fallen since Katie Lombardo left.
The atmosphere is the saving grace of Enkai. It’s right on the water and the evening vibe can be intimate, if the adjacent bar isn’t filled with young, shot-​drinking, party kids. Here’s where the two stars are earned.
Every roll I have had there in maybe the past two years and been mediocre, at best, to sometimes pretty lousy. They are all overdone with dubious sauces, sprinkles, and geegaws. The rice is consistently overcooked, and the fish is often mushy. Here’s a hint to the9 kitchen: quit putting those awful onion crunchies on everything. They aren’t even any good on Aunt Ruth’s green bean casserole at Thanksgiving!
Service leaves something to be desired, as is often the case on St. Thomas. With the exception of Eric, the barman, and a pretty cool dude, service has been lackluster. I have either been more or less forgotten between receiving my food and being given the check, or had a server beat my ear about how she hates working here. FOH manager: how about hiring a few professional servers who know what they are doing, instead of those young girls with body art and alarming hair colors?
I truly wish this place was as great as it was a few years ago. It’s not. And I don’t even know if what they have now is even worth saving. It would take Gordon Ramsay to turn it around.

The place was unbelievably hard to find but so worth it! The sushi was fresh and they had very interesting combinations of ingredients in many original rolls. The green salad with ginger dressing was also dressed up with sesame seeds, sea weed and bits of tofu. Good stuff!

I love sushi so this was a place that I was excited to go to. Very interesting rolls and also delicious rolls. Great place by the water and in the evenings, you can see the tarpons lurking by the water. Great service and great food. Must go at least once.

Pretty good sushi joint located in a hard to find spot near water. Wait staff was friendly and was quick to seat, take orders and bring to table. The maki rolls and nigiri were very good and presentation A+. We didn’t have too high of hopes with limited feedback but were impressed and would go back. Needs more reviews to appeal more !!! The jerk tuna nigiri was our favorite by far — need to order.

We stopped off for my Mom’s birthday lunch. Location was hard to find but eventually we found it!!! Three of us ordered the $ 15 lunch bento box which had your choice of 1 sushi roll, 1 nigiri, and one side. My Dad ordered a cooked sushi roll (he is not a raw fan). The sushi was good but nothing especially wonderful. The price was decent for what you got but I wanted the rolls to be bigger and have more fish!

If you’re dying for sushi in St. Thomas, look no further! This is the place. Super yummy rolls Frenchtown, Carlito’s, eel & the list goes on! And then we weren’t stuffed enough so Chef Katie came to our table personally as she was making a special roll with Escolar aka white tuna & bacon! Super quality, friendly service & beautiful presentation. I highly recommend this little gem. Libations are yummy as well. Get the fried ice cream for dessert. Bön appetit

As we say here in the islands, «Dim Sum Great Sushi, ‘Mon»! We’ve made it our mission to try everything on Enkai’s menu and are happy to report that each item is absolutely fantastic. As a professional chef, I know exactly whether or not food is being prepared & served by someone who is passionate about their menu. I can tell that Katie Lombardo & her staff love what they are doing. They take the time to know their guests as well as their like & dislikes. Enkai’s menu has creative as well as traditional sushi options, all perfectly executed with great style. Don’t miss this «hidden gem» of a restaurant… and don’t forget to order some Dim Sum too!

OMG it is Delicious Sushi.!! Great service. Go, Go, Go!!! Get Some !

Dearest Enkai,
I wish I could have packed you in my suitcase and took you home with me. You were a true gem. Dining with you was truly one of my favorite experiences during my 1 week tour of the Virgin Islands. I couldn’t disagree more with Sarah L.
You were priced just right, especially for lunch. Actually priced so appropriately that my scuba buddy and I order more than 3 meals for just the two of us and relished the experience over 2 splendid hours with amazing service, excellent conversation and of course a breath-​taking view.
I still dream of your seared jerk tuna and your home-​made iced green tea. The lovely ladies here were a breathe of fresh air… a true inspiration.
Enkai, your décor is fantastic and the entire story behind your creation is worthy of a lifetime movie.
Love always,
Stacy

We decided to try out Enkai on our first night on the island. After reading some positive reviews on Unilocal,I was über excited to try a sushi restaurant right next to the ocean.
Eating by the ocean is amazing. The restaurant sits on the back-​lot of a boat harbor and it’s pretty hard to find. I would suggest using your phone’s GPS plus calling the restaurant to ask for directions. Most locals will not be able to tell you road names, just landmarks. So make sure your keep an eye out on where you are going. The restaurant reminds me of a cute little tiki hut which is mostly open air, and breezy.
To start off our meal, DH & I ordered the appetizer special of the day, shrimp dumplings. MISTAKE ONE! Six nicely packaged dumplings were presented to us, but that’s where it ended. They were hard, as in I almost broke my tooth hard. The sauce served next to it wasn’t any better, too sweet and not enough flavor. I was not impressed. We next ordered a four maki rolls. It took a while for it to come out, but when it did I was not happy. The sushi was falling apart as I tried to pick it up, umm really? I would expect the chef at a SUSHI restaurant to know how to properly roll a maki roll. Their sushi is what I would call fusion, definitely not traditional by any means, but I’m OK with that. However when mixing flavors from different culinary backgrounds I feel that it’s important that they taste good together, which it did not. Adding onion crunchies to a maki roll just does not taste good together. Not only that but it was poorly executed. I could roll a better sushi than that! To top of it off, it was majorly expensive. The bill came to $ 80 before tip. If I were you I would avoid this place, unless you are in the mood to have a few good drinks and enjoy the beautiful harbor view.

I look forward to coming to Enkai almost as much as I anticipate my trips to St. Thomas. The fish is so fresh, and the rolls are so different and delicious. I’ve tried several different rolls in the few times I’ve been here, but I think my favorites are the Panda roll and the Spicy Tuna Roll. Also, start with the spicy edamame and order a bottle of Pearl saki — it’s super delicious.
The restaurant is right on the water. You can see the cruise ships leaving the island at night and see some pretty huge fish swimming around, due to the lights in the water. It’s quite atmospheric. Can’t wait to go back!