Sushi 101 Bar and Grill

Love sushi 101! Been going here since 2004. Great food and new specials weekly. All the managers are great. Try the spring rolls or yakisoba if your not wanting sushi. Otherwise the 101 and Palm Springs rolls are my favorite. Love their iced green tea too.

I know there are probably a variety of sushi restaurants in Tempe and Phoenix, but I have been going here for years. My sister and brother-​in-​law recommended this place to me about 6 years ago when I came to visit. And we continue to come back.
Since we’ve been here so many times, we actually befriended the owner, who is so kind and accommodating. She even let me host my sister’s bridal shower here and closed off a section for us.
You can’t go wrong with happy hour here! Some of our favorites that we always order are the Roll 101, Palm Springs Roll, ASU Roll and the Volcano Roll. I highly recommend the Palm Springs Roll since it has some spicy tuna, a little crunch with the tempura toppings, and light feel. In terms of appetizers, I would definitely go for the spring rolls, which come with this nice citrus-​type sweet dipping sauce, and my all time favorite, agedashi tofu!
Although I love the food and the owner, service can be hit or miss, but definitely coming on a less busy day/​time will make you see how great of a place it is and how much I enjoy coming back here when I’m in Tempe.

Love this place. Everything is always delicious and the staff is wonderful. Great variety of sushi and other entrees. Only downside is for take-​out I was quoted 20−25min and it took 30+

Sushi 101 has been my go-​to for late night eats for the past 8 years. They have a ton of options for vegetarians; their sweet potato roll has to be the best vegetarian roll I have had anywhere! They also offer happy hour prices on sushi and some appetizers from 4pm-​7pm and 9pm-​close.

YUM! This was my third time here and I love this place. They truly have something for everyone.
I love vegetarian sushi, and my boyfriend doesn’t eat any kind of fish, so it’s usually hard for us to find a place to eat. Sushi 101 offers a full menu for him, and lots of vegetarian sushi options for me.
He loves the teriyaki chicken and rice platter. Always cooked fresh with yummy grilled vegetables.
I love the sweet potato roll and the asparagus tempura roll. Both come with avocado inside and are topped with crunch. SO delicious and definitely made fresh.
Most recently we had a waitress named Chelsea. She was super sweet and very on top of her game! We will definitely be asking for her from now on.

Their happy hour prices were decent, and the setting is nice. Sushi rolls were good, but just be aware when a roll says «crunch» roll, there’s barely anything on there. We thought they gave us a normal Cali roll until we looked really close and noticed it was dusted with very tiny tempura flakes. Not what I expected, but still good food, just not really crunch rolls.

If I could give this place zero stars I would! I’ve been coming here for 4 years and it’s gone down hill slowly but surely. Today was utter disappointment.
They gave my food to a table that literally had just been seated with menus in hand and I had already waited 20 minutes for my food to come out since placing my order. Also my waitress didn’t check on me during that 20 minute time span. How do you not notice that one of your tables doesn’t have anything but water and chopsticks?!
I shouldn’t have to get up and ask where my order is. Nor should I have to wait an additional 10 minutes for my food to be made after you realized you gave it to the wrong person. They didn’t even know they screwed up until I said something.
Taking care of a $ 7 sushi bill (it was happy hour) isn’t exactly that great of an apology. Never mind the amount of food you wasted and cost you just made for yourself. Not sure how that equals profits for you guys. The manager didn’t quite seem to feel too bad about what happened. She seemed rehearsed as if this happens often for her. What I don’t understand is how that happened because it wasn’t busy at all when I got there. From now on I’ll take my business else where.
Tip: Hire competent and attentive staff and managers so stupid mistakes like this don’t cost you loyal customers.

The server who helped me was super friendly and fast so I hesitate to give a low rating (and this all might just be because they were busy) but the food was a hard MEH bordering on not edible. And for the price I paid it should have been better. I ordered mackerel sashimi (which I love and was super excited about), a couple rolls and veggie tempura. The sashimi I ordered did not smell right. I just couldn’t stomach it so I fed it to my cat who loved it. I added an extra star for him. The rolls were okay but I asked for ginger and wasabi and got neither. I didn’t realize it until I got home and the rolls were bland without it. The tempura was ok but kind of chewy and no longer crispy and there was no sauce for them. I’m extremely disappointed and unless I’m willing to hop back in my car and go back to complain (I’m not) there’s really nothing I can do about it beyond leaving this review. I really don’t think I’ll go back after such a dismal experience.
Edit: the wasabi and ginger was included, hidden behind a plastic leaf and I didn’t see it until I had finished the sushi. I added a star because my stupidity isn’t their fault.

First of all, this rating is mainly based on the food and as 2 stars is described above as «Meh, I’ve experienced better.» is just the perfect description. I came here with a group on a Monday night and it was pretty empty. It was happy hour which I was excited for only to learn that the happy hour prices were not your typical half off — it was merely 1 or 2 dollars off, maybe 3. Pretty disappointing if you ask me. I gave them the benefit of the doubt that their food must be pretty amazing if they won’t shave off much for happy hour but I ordered the Ahi Tuna salad (regular price $ 13, happy hour price $ 12)… which did nothing close to blowing me away. It was lettuce, carrots, avocado, with lightly seared-​on-​the-​sides ahi tuna. I kept waiting for the flavor to pop in but it just didn’t do it for me. I gave them another chance to redeem themselves by trying my friend’s sushi roll. I’m not sure what it was called but it was basically a California roll with a piece of unagi on top. And like the salad it was just OK. It wasn’t the freshest I’ve ever had and with the abundance of more decent sushi/​Japanese places around the valley, I probably would never choose to come to Sushi 101 again based on the food. The service I must say was fantastic — our girl was very sweet and accommodating. She even didn’t hesitate to take our photo for us until we were satisfied with it. I liked her enough to leave her additional tip on top of the added gratuity for our party.

I’ve never had a bad meal at Sushi 101. Love the happy hour menu and drinks. Crunchy CA roll, calamari roll, Philly roll with the smoked salmon — yum, yum yum! Service is good (but we’re really easy) and the food is fresh. Love the close proximity to my job — makes it easy to satisfy cravings when they hit!
A few months back we visited and wanted to try one of their new beer flights. Unfortunately they were having issues and none of the drafts were available. We haven’t been in the mood for beer with sushi since, so we haven’t sampled any.

Oh my word, did I spend most days after class here! Their happy hour is fantastic, the sushi is always delicious and the sake… oh the sake!
I also brought people here who visited me in the desert, they loved it as well. All in all I love this place, every time I visit ASU I have to stop by for a nicely priced roll and sake bombs!
I highly recommend it, it was delicious and affordable on a college student’s budget-​what more could you ask for?!

First place where I was able to find some decent Ramen. The environment of the restaurant was great, made me feel welcomed and relaxed. The place was clean, staff were really polite. Only thing I didn’t like was the soy sauce, way too salty. Other than that the place was great

I had a great time here with friends. Had a little bit of everything. Big fan of the Black and Yellow and Chicken Katsu. Tried the Crunch Lollipop too, it was a little too sweet for my taste buds.
Fantastic service and laid back environment.

Sushi 101 will always be one of my favorite places to get sushi in Az. It’s the type of place where you can bring a newbie sushi eater: plenty of variety so one could easily find something to their taste.
For vegetarians too! Every time I come here I will either have the Crisp Green or Asparagus Tempura (add cream cheese) and I am never disappointed. They also have a unique spin with the edamame: they flavor the pods with this spicy garlic-​iness. So good!
We also got the chicken katsu and chicken yaki soba. Huge plates of food! I love the Korean BBQ sauce that comes with the katsu dish and the noodles were quite tasty.
However, their specialty rolls are where its at: unique, hearty, and tasty. I just experienced the Black and Yellow as well as the Grizzly for the first time and they were scrumptious. Both have a shrimp tempura foundation but the BY has spicy krab inside and topped with seared yellowtail on top — it is a wonderful merger of flavors. But the Grizzly subs baked salmon inside and tops with fresh salmon… and this roll is fresh and filling. Interestingly enough, we ended with something almost like a dessert roll, the Lollipop. Each piece comes out on a skewer and the roll is filled with eel and cream cheese then deep fried = yum.
All together, perfect dining experience.

STK ninja of the culinary atmosphere. I channeled my ki into this Tempe staple not long ago. Breaking my solemn vegetarian vow I stormed in like a tsunami. Of flying sharks. In outer space. Just kidding. Items Unilocaled about as they arrived to the battlefield.
Spicy Garlic Edamame (Profound)
Not only is the pungent taste of garlic a wonderful beginning to any fight with hunger, igniting the nose and throat, but the olive oil served as an excellent messenger of the balanced spice mixture. This plentiful bowl seemed to never end, which my kunoichi ladies would agree provided well needed umami nourishment. Vegetarian to boot!
Pork Gyoza (Suuuu-​weet)
Parting is such suuuu-​weet sorrow! We made the gyoza become invisible within 3 minutes.
Chicken Katsu (Crunchygood)
Katsu in my native tongue is a word of onomatopoeia. It is used in ancient ritual to help the speaker to acquire a state of enlightenment. Which I feel we achieved after the first bites. I had to spar to acquire three of the four end pieces, my personal favorites to dip in the sweet reddish-​purple sauce that accompanied. Rice and vegetables rounded this course up to awesome.
Monsoon Roll (Fresh)
It is hard to not get what you want from the proprietors of this noble house. We waded deeply into our appetizer and entrée to be enticed by the sweet offerings of our first sushi roll. The jalapenos, salmon, avocado, cucumber and yellowtail came and went like the monsoon season of my childhood. 5 ingredients and a sauce to top it equals sweet and simple success.
Chicken Yaki (Transcendent)
Noodles demonstrate synchronicity. They flow around and with the chicken, ginger, broccoli and cabbage. The warming sauce was sweet and folded its flavors well into the buckwheat soba noodle. This plate reminded me of childhood in Osaka and storming castles in Edo. Good times.
Grizzly Bear Roll (Savage)
Felt like the namesake bear, pawing the last pieces with my O-​hashi/​chopsticks. I begrudgingly find that it is good form to offer final pieces of a roll that you find most favorable.
Black and Yellow (Aggressive)
With it’s layered complexities, it was our dark horse. This SeaBiscuit delivered! Crunch, spice, char, it was all right on target.
Crunch Lollipop (Legend…wait for it… dairy)
An excellent ending to an epic culinary journey. It was more like a sweet treat to put the exclamation mark on. Served on a skewer with the accompanying sauce, I took my last breaths on the battlefield with this in hand…
Eliminate your insurrection known as hunger, at Sushi 101.
CN

Sat in the bar and ordered happy hour items. Was thrilled that happy hour goes till 7pm on a Friday night!
Tried:
Spicy Garlic edamame– the flavor was good but they were shiny with grease. That was odd
Gyoza — really good
Cucumber salad — it was long grated pieces of skin. This was the worst thing we had.
Vegetable tempura — really yummy.
California Roll — my daughter thought it had a bit to much «krab» for her kid tastes.
Asparagus Tempura roll — good!
Philly roll w/​smoked salmon — really liked!
Sake bomber — $ 5.50 for large hot sake and large beer. Awesome!

We always get great food and service here! And I love how Yumi remembers us each time we come in. We had our first date here in 2007 and keep coming back.

My boyfriend and I wanted to have sushi for dinner to celebrate my birthday. We had actually found another place, through Unilocal,but wound up here due to wonky GPS directions. But I’m not disappointed that we ended up here!
We sat at the bar and we didn’t even know we had gotten there at the last 15 minuets of happy hour. The bartender let us know, got us menus right away, and checked back quickly to get our order so that we could take advantage of the happy hour. She was great! Happy hour prices are a couple to three dollars off the original prices, but it was nice to take advantage!
The bar menu had a hard cider I enjoy and my boyfriend had a few to choose from that he liked.
We started with the pot stickers (Gyoza), they were good. The outside wasn’t too crispy or overcooked and there were good. We also shared a spicy salmon roll, the 101 roll, the sakura roll, and the monkey brain. They were all very good! If we are back in town, we would come back. The prices were decent, the food was good, and the bartender we had was great!

My daughter found something very disgusting in the caterpillar roll she ordered this afternoon from sushi 101.

I hate writing negative reviews, but Unilocalers of the world need to know about this. So… here’s the deal…
Going out for drinks with an old friend and we decided we had better eat before getting our drunkenness on. The decision was then made to grab some sushi and although my recommendation was Sakebombers on Broadway and McClintock, she recommend Sushi 101. I’ve never been, it’s close to my place… why not?
I’ll give you the good before the bad…
— Cool atmosphere for sure (t.v.‘s with the game on, ASU chicks abound, decent layout inside the place),
— Excellent outside sitting area
— Great location
— The flavor and quality of the rolls and food in general is not bad.
HOWEVER, here’s «why not»:
— We got there, asked for a booth and got seated at a middle table… ok, fine.
— Ordered a Bacardi Coke tall… waitress didn’t know what I meant. Literally had to explain it to her.
— The calamari appetizer came to the table literally 30 seconds before the first two rolls we ordered were delivered. The other two rolls we ordered didn’t make it to the table for another five minutes.
— The presentation of the rolls was HORRIBLE. Both rolls, for each of our orders, were on the same plate, which is obviously fine. BUT they weren’t presented in any type of meaningful way… they were just there. All mixed up with some of the pieces on their sides, some upright, some stuck to other pieces just like they were literally thrown onto the plate. I mean, I couldn’t tell which roll was which and neither could the waitress so??? Yeahhh…
— So, we eat some of the food, order some Sake and step out for a smoke. The waitress watched us walk outside. A could minutes later the waitress comes out and says «Oh, there you guys are. I thought you left. Sorry guys but your table was bussed. I’ll take the sake off your bill.» I mean I get it… mistakes happen. Everybody’s human and it was really cool of her to at least openly acknowledged that we should not have to pay for the sake… But what about the rest of my dinner!!! There was still a very good sized portion of sushi that I ended up paying for which we were not able to eat! My friend had at least half of her order bussed, about a third of mine and almost a whole order of spicy edamame.
— To top it all off, this place was expensive. Even after the sake got taken off, it was still $ 100+. If I enjoyed the experience then the money wouldn’t have been a consideration. But, I paid $ 100+ for a lackluster dinner that I didn’t even get to finish.
Nope, this isn’t a place for me. Sakebombers… I’m sorry! Please take me back…

I’ve driven by Sushi 101 many of times and never really had that urge to try it. My son and wife always has Japanese urges and we were in Tempe so what the heck.
I walked in and the place isn’t too big or small. Nothing really stood out to me. The waitress was very good in greeting us and getting our drinks.
I ordered the Spicy Chicken Yaki Soba with skinny noodles. It had cabbage, carrots, chicken, and green onions. Not bad. It had a nice kick to it. Not overly spicy but probably just right. My daughter had the Chicken Yaki Soba and it was exactly like mine but without the spice. She really did like her dish and gobbled it up.
As for my son and wife, they got the Raman noodle soup. It had everything in it. Cabbage, carrots, fish cake, chicken. They both thought that it was way too salty. So they didn’t like it at all. This is why I was struggling on rating this place. It’s really a 3 ½ star.
We got all of our food before our sushi. We got the Rainbow and Dragon rolls. I thought they were sort of small but were very good. Enjoyed them. Liked the idea of presenting the rolls on tea leaves. Nice.
Overall the service was good. She kept our water glasses filled and kept on checking on us. Food was good and so so (little to salty for our liking). So since my wife and son are the Japanese food lovers, not sure if we will be back again. We’ll see. Again 3 ½ stars.