Naked Fish Sushi & Grill

Our buddy Amber suggested meeting at Naked Fish for sushi. We had been meeting at a very popular sushi place and had become somewhat disillusioned–needed to try something new! Naked Fish was surprising in a few different ways: atmosphere, menu, and pricing. First, the place is small, but cute, and cozy. I hadn’t been to a COZY sushi bar before but here you have one! The radio was playing but not so obnoxiously loud as is the trend now in too many sushi joints.

I made myself comfortable in my booth and decided to check out the menu while waiting for my lunch mate. Well, talk about out of my element! Page after page of stuff I’ve never heard of for sure, which tells me this restaurant means business! While waiting I decided to snack on some edamame (only $1.80)  and indulge in a glass of house merlot ($4.50) which was quite decent– and the glass was absolutely spotless.

Not knowing what to order (I was now on my own as my friend and I never connected for lunch that day) and not wanting to order a “California Roll” to show what an amateur I was–I decided on the Sun Devil Roll because it was supposed to be “spicy.” Actually the 8 piece roll ($11.95) was BAKED! Not only had I never heard of baked sushi but obviously didn’t read the fine print too carefully or I may not have decided on this selection.

I was very happy with my choice as I took the first bite–baked sushi is good! This roll had avocado, spicy salmon, cream cheese, and jalapeno. The pieces were presented on this warm pinky kind of dipping sauce which I was told was a “sweet mayonnaise.” Again, I had never eaten sushi that wasn’t dipped into the ever-popular soy/wasabi dip but I didn’t need it with the sauce provided. The baking and the sauce actually turned the sushi into a much richer, less sharp version of the more common cold sushi.

My server told me that although they did not have a tapanyaki grill, the “grill” is in their name because they serve grilled foods from the kitchen. Naked is  known for their sushi and sushi-mi because the fish is brought in fresh daily. Now, my roll was one of the more expensive ones at almost $12,but,  there are many less expensive choices. Actually most of the rolls on the menu seem to be in the $5.80 to the $7.00 range. So, to sum up: cozy, yummy, and cheap!  I will definitely be paying Naked Fish another visit!

Naked Fish Sushi and Grill  3945 S Durango just S of Spring Mountain 228-8856  www.nakedfish-rikyu.com